The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1885-01-17
A Statement from Director
General Burke.

Referring to the reports in circula.
tion in respect to the financial embar.
rassment of the Worlds Exposition,
Director General Burke said last eve
ming there is nothing to conceal in
the matter. The expenses to Jan, !
have been S25O,000 more than the
management estimated for.
The building for Government and
State exhibits and appropriations made
by the management to aid States and
Territories in making collections of
exhibits amounted to over $50O,0O0,
or one-half the Government loan. Our
total expenditures to Dec. were in
side Of subscriptions, donations and
loans.
Instead of opening viii, full re-
ceipts from admissions Dec. |, exhibits
were delayed, constructions retaried
by weather aud bad ra4als, aAtlsthe
enormous demand for space made ADJ
ditional buildings necessary, We have
had thirty-five days Of almost eonlln-
ual rains. During this time, with i'm
passablc streets and railroads block
AIDED with freight, we have moved from
the terminal stations over 5000 car
loads of domestic exhibits, discharged
this freight from cars, immense qnan.
titles being heavy machinery, and
conveyed it to the space allotted to
exhibitors. Not only this, but we have
had to advance over $50, 900 freight
bills on exhibits not PREPAID, which
is, however, all coIlectable from OK
hibitors.
1t became necessary to buy II rail
road to connect from the trunk lines
to the Exposition Grounds and put in
side tracts at cost Of 100000, or 1t
would have taken three months to
dray vast exhibits through the streets,
or even longer if rains continued,
Barge lines at heavy expense had to
be employed to handle immense for
eign shipments to the Exposition,
Two thousand men were at work day
and night in rain and mud during last
month, working over time aud for
extra pay with every nerve strained IN
the effort to surmount obstacles which
at times seemed simply appalling,
Elements which have doubled our
expense, at the same time kept the
people from the grounds, and ] am
not surprised that some of our credit
ors must be patient for u few days.
Our laborcrs have been paid up to last
weeks roll, and large part of those
rolls have been paid and the balance
is being paid from day to day.
Beginning the lst of January all
receipts are first applied to operating
expenses, which have been reduced to
low figures. The surplus is applied to
back Indebtedness. The receipts arc
ample for current expenses, even dur
ing bad weather, and with fair weather
the revenues will be ten times the
amount of expenses.
When asked if the Exposition man
agement would apply to Congress,
Director General Burke said the board
had expressed no such intention, The
board will apply to our own people to
increase their subscriptions and pay
the amounts due, and tho Exposition,
he thinks, will be perfectly able l."
carry itself without aid from the gov
ernment. He also stated that he was
preparing statement of the oxpcndi-
lures and report of the progress OF
the Exposition, which would be trans
mitted promptly to the President aud
the chairman of the appropriation
committees Of the House and Senate,
from which the country would see
that the utmost prudence had charac-
terized all disbursements, and results
had been achieved in every way credit
able to the management aud to the
country,
Comments having arisen in respect
to cancellation Of the contract with
Curriers' band to-day, the Director
General explained that the manages
ment had secured the services Of two
bands as desired, expecting the Expo
siIion to be open until 10 o'clock at
night.
Curriers' band was engaged to play
at day and night concerts The
weather has been such that only day
service was required.
1t will be ten or fifteen days before
night concerts will be given. In the
meantime having ample music for day
concerts, the management embraced
an opportunity to cancel Mr., Curriers'
engagement by mutual consent upon
paying for the services of that band "a
date.