New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-12-26
THE WORLDS FAIR
MUCH WORK To Br DONE BEfoRr COMPATIBILITY
ia AND OTHER rXptNsts.


spondents here not t6say much abont the lnmen'aoe
condition of the Worlds Fair on the opening day.
A good many visitors came from long distances ex-
Meeting 70 see such Fair rs had been advertised
Unless able TO remain here for two or three wcchs'
they must necessarily 90 away deeply Disappointed
Hardly one half of the space In the great builuihsS
was occupied on the opening day, and the vast oo"
fusion of boxes and bales on the inside. combined
with the mud and sush on the outside mado any
thing except an agreeable impression on NlS''oIS
To see such show was a very poor return LOT '"o
expenditure Of time and money on the part oil nun
drcds of people who came from Northern citleS W
witness the opening exercises. .
Then. too. the weather has been disagrccable
This is the short season of unpleasant weather nero;
bnt few people from the North are aware oil that
foot Thcv come here expecting TO revcl IN sunshine
and flowers. to see orange trees loaded with iruit'
and to dress III summer clothing In some respects
tbev will find no reason for complaint Orange
trees with rich looking fruit are plentiful, and IN
many rardcus can be seen n good supply OIL roses
and other flowers. Ono day the visitor may wear
summer clothing. and within twcnty-lour hours nc
may he hugging the stove and 60 about dressed in
tbe heavy winter clothing that he wears in New
York, and still feel uncomfortlby cold Yesterday
the thermometer was $50 above zero, and two DAYS
before it was $50 and to-day 1t Is about OO'. but
the atmosphere Is humid and the cold Is pene-
.rotinp and the changes are great that it makes
one feel moro uncomfortable than when the cold is
steady The frosts of the last few days killed most
of the. flowers, witcd the banana bushes and did
other damage These cold snaps are preceded by
heavy rain storms of which there have been good
many of late The dip of the land Is so slight only
about an inch to the mile, that the water does not
run of readily, but leaves the ground Thoroughly
soaked Hence, the Exposition Grounds, except Oh
the paved walks are little better than slush. 10
step of the walk involves sinking two or three
inches in the soft ground. And ms tho walks are
not MI completed the grounds are not very pleasant
to get about in az present
The streets from the central part of the city lead
ing to the Exposition Grounds are paved less than
half way. The unpaved parts are simply horrible.
The mud is several inches deep, md the holes are
numerous. II no uncommon thing to sec dozen
"stalled " wagons on the two miles or so of unpayed
road leading TO the Exposition Grounds. Carriage
travel under such circumstances Is impossible
Everybody IS forced to take the bob-tail' street
cars They are dirty and about every other one is
filed with men smoking. But what is still worse,
they are wholly inadequate TO accommodate even
the limited travel AZ this time. On two successive
DAYS Il took sinc nearly two hours to get from the
Fxpositon Grounds 70 Tho Hotel Roya distance
80 ntn,t fr- ries Of corrsc Il IS the Intention 20
cNfiNNg fr'N''
otp,i. mai | sprak of thirrs irgt rs ! iint tlri1
fte,p sh6rii .tatr trbr ptitilri hrf6f0 thc ~
pgslll8N Was 8trrrt gi8i Mr'ies ~ ftir''nr thc
sley.ia i .-.if4si e t-Ntt'e.li Nrt ht thr ''r
,le tes}E l4(fi arf9 ~ Nf@i iHrNHit y y ~ N0
hppei that Il WA ~ hN7Nsi al 'i'N' rtNr't rTN
reach the egouudi WittQUt ihr present haeNMl1''a
1t is expected that msaY peianns val afAh
themselves Of the steamboats, which are to run %
the Exposition Grounds, but the seanh AT NhaFYes
are some distance from the hotels and boarding
houses, and the travel that way will probably not
be large providing people can be accommodated by
the street railroad lines. As to the weather, it Is
only fair say that the people here assert that the
rainy and unpleasant days will be few after Janu
airy. In one sense, however rain is blessing to the
CITY 1t cleans the dirty streets aud washes out the
sewers. There are no underground sewers, the
water runs through bitches on each side Of the
street.
While speaking of these matters, which are in
separately connected with the Exposition though not
a Iart Of it, the question of hotels and boarding
houses nav well be included The rates do not diilcr
materially from those of NewYork, but for the same
money much better fare can be had in NewYork.
The St. Charles Hotel which is the prime pal one
here is a very old house and in need OF modern
furnishings Its lowest rate is y day. Under the
same management is the Hotel Royal. on the Eu-
ropean plan, a newly furnished and well equipped
house Its lowest rate for lodgings on the top floor
is 50 80 day. while the restaurant charges are
about the same as Delmonico's in Newiork. took
a list of houses furnished by the Exposition Bureau
of Information, and went in search of lodgings in
private house. The owners OF each house had made
| an agreement with the Exposition managers not to
charge more than 81 30 day for lodgings, cX-
elusive of board found no trouble in getting such
accommodations providing | would share a room
| with some other person Finding the search I'M
profitable concluded to remain at the hotel. am
told by others however that they found good board
at private houses at - day, but persons coming to
the Exposition for few days have not time to 20
on long search for rooms in private houses. The
boardng-honse keepers and hotel proprietors eyI-
IDENTIFY thought that rich harvest was to be reaped
at once. In that they may DC mistaken. As the Ex-
position Will not be fully open before the middle Of
January and as the pie asant weather. II is said
begins them it is prob able that the number Of
visitors will not be great before that time.
Tie Mardi Gras season is in the middle of Fcbru
| airy, and then the city is always crowded Tn
year of course the rush will be extraordinary. BY
that time the large hotel adjoining the Exposition
| Grounds will be completed. When its projectors
| began work lumber very cheap, but the extra
| demand caused by the Exposition building has 50
increased the price OF lumber that work the hotel
| IS almost suspended. As to the project Of bringing
the Great Eastern here for hotel purposes, it is i'm
probable That vessel is over 900 feet long and
draws light not less than twenty six feet. II is said
to be matter of doubt whether or not there IL n
channel of sufficient length and depth to admit of
| the Great Eastern coming 10 this city.
There are plenty of restaurants IN this city, of the
average kind but their charges are higher than
| those in Ncw-York There Is a Public Comfort
| building on the Exposition Grounds. took lunch
| there to-day The charges were for roast beef, 80
cents; cup of tea. , cents; fried potatoes. 10
| cents and everything else in proportion. Nv cX-
| pcrcnce here is that for good board and lodgings
high prices must he paid. while for average acconi-
m In. - IL.