The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-29
THE NATIONAL CONVENTION.
Changes To Be Made in the Hall After
the Close Of the Music Festival.
A Sample of Chicago Cheek-The Number of
Seats Win Be Less than 5000
Items of Floating Gossip
CHANGES IN THE HALL.
Alterations that win Be Made During the
Present Week.

Alterations that win Be Made During the
Present Week.
CHICAGO, May ga visit of inspection was
made to the convention hall in the Exposition
building, and the exact changes necessary to be
made after the closing of the musical festival de
termined. The front six rows Of seats next
the stage and eight rows at either side will be
taken out to make room for representatives of
the press. For these platform foot high will
be constructed One row Of seats will be re-
moved for a passage way between the seats of
the delegates and those of the alternates Two
more rows will be removed back of the seats of
the alternates, and q railing erected
shutting in the latter from the seats to be occu-
pied by general spectators
According to Mr. News statement last evening,
there are now in the hall, as arranged for the
musical festival, something 5000 seats.
The changes to be made would decrease this
number to less than 9, 600, or not far from $500,
he thought. Concerning the report that the hall
was fitted up with Il, 600 seats, and that the To-
cal committee in thus increasing the seating ca
paeity had exceeded its instructions, with a view
TO accommodating greater number Of Logan
claquers, Mr.. New said that it was false. You
can publish this" he said "The number of
seats will be under 1000" Gen. Powell Clayton,
in speaking of the same matter, said that if any
one would agree to give him one dollar for every
seat which the number lacked of 8, 600 he would
give them three dollars for every seat in excess
OF that number.
The committee was somewhat surprised and
not a little amused at finding that the directors
of the Exposition, whose application for six hun
bred tickets had been refused had surreptitious-
ly located about one hundred seats on platform
high above the convention floor in the west fly
of the building, and provided access to them
through the treasuPer's Office This act was pro-
nounced worthy of Chicago eheek, and it was
taeitly understood that no attempt at interior
enee would be made
The question of allotment of tickets to the con-
vention was discussed at length by the commit
tee in the afternoon. No definite action
taken, but the understanding was arrived at Mr.
New said, that each delegate would be given five
tickets besides his own. The alternates will
have but one each The committee is over
whelmed with applications for tickets. OF ne
cessty great many will have to be refused.
Persons who were present at the convention
four years ago, and who have listened to the
musc-festival rehearsals say the acoustic prop
critics of the hall have been greatly improved
There is no particular echo and a speaker can
be heard at the farthest point from the platform
A measurement of the hall showed that it is
Just thirty feet shorter than was the one in 1880
However, the chairs are a little smaller than
those used four years ago. and they are placed
closer together. 1t is possible that ON this
count the seats viii not be too comfortable, and
there will be great deal of crowding.
Outside of the hall arrangements, the sub
committee did practically nothing. 1t is true
that quorum is not present, but considerable
ground can be gone over, subject to the approval
of the committee, and the members who are
hand are beginning to appreciate the fact that
unless certain work is done they may be
swamped. So far, all they have been able to ae-
eOlnplish has been a hopeless stageer' at the
ticket question. The members of the local com
mittee don't know whether their work is over or
not, but they will stick to the subcommittee
closer than brothers until the tickets are dlstrib
uted
The subcommittee of the Republican national
committee spent the entire day in discussing
the question Of the manner of seating delegates
and alternates, without fully reaching conclu-
sion. The probabilities are, however, that they
will be seated in alphabetical order, beginning
with Alabama, next the platform Mr.. New
said to the Associated Press reporter this eve
ming that the tickets would all be ready for dis
tributon by Saturday
Stephen B. Elkns, of New York arrived this
morning, and will open Blaine headquarters at
the Grand Pacific Hotel tomorrow. The other
headquarters have not yet been opened The
Arthur men will have headquarters at
the Grand Pacific, the Palmer and the
Leland. Headquarters of the colored
delegations from the Southern States were
opened by the local colored politicians to-day
They say it is purely a matter of social
courtesy, and is of no political significance. The
New York delegation will have headquarters at
the Leland.
The Colorado delegation will leave Denver to-
morrow night and be met here on Saturday by
Senator Chaffee, who comes on from New York
The California delegation will arrive tomorrow