Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1885-01-09
THE OPENING OF TIE WORLDS
FAIR ATNEW ORLEANS.

DENT.
The civilization Of the world dates
from the opening Of the Worlds Fair
IN London by Prince Albert. l know
you may catch your breath at this a
little. But stop and think bit, and
YOU will coneede that the earth has
blossomed in the ways Of art and
peace since that date as it never did
through all the centuries before. The
world owes much to that wise Prince.
said this--all this and more--to the
Princess Louise, last year. Of her faith
er. as / sat at her table in Quebec;
and now that she has gone away from
our country, and / am down here in
the land OF Summer.Winter and may
never see her any more, l venture to
repeat it; for it IS simple truth.
These fai are wondrous civi ners and
each one seems better. higger, and
cast on higher plane than the one
prec. ding ii
This side of the Republic, Whatever
it may have been in former days, or
may still CONSIDER itself, is not the Big
gest side of it, or the brightest side of
II; but II is the supniest, the warmest,
the kindliest, and in very many re.
spects the very best side of ii; and
from its very old civilization and Its
long experience IN the grand annual
Madi-Gras festival, We expected a
great Fair
Expectation stood on tiptoe days
before the opening. The city began
- fill w fast; the streets became jam
med. And the streets are broad here.
They will NOT bear much packing and
jamming, however, because the sewers
are on top of the ground in this city. as
are all the graves, the wells, the Gel
lars, and so on. 1t results that, with
deep and dirty sewer at every Cross
ing and at every street, there cannot
be much crowding with safety. Nor
can any one get unsteady on his feet
with any impuniiy. He will surely
land in this deep, dismal. and ever
present gutter if he forgets himself in
his cups. should say that the phrase
"in the gutter" came from this city and
situation
The evening before the opening Of
the Fair the streets and shops, and all
places possible for man to bestow him.
self, were like New York the evening
before Christmas. l went down
through the old French quarter, neal
The celebrated market. to call on Julia
Ward Howe, who had just arrived to
take charge of the Ladies Department
OF the great Fair, and found the streets
so terribly damned on my way that l
left them entirely and went over by
The broad wharfs on the bank of the
Mississippi River, and made my way
by that route. ] ought to mention
that, in the French and Spanish quar-
tiers, the wide streets referred to at the
opening of this sketch do not prevail.
You find them much like the streets in
old Moorish towns of Spain, or iii pro-
vincial France.
The rains crowded loud and heavy
upon the heels OF the great even,--the
greatest event ofthe South since the
War-snd it looked as if we were go.
ing to have wet opening. There
had been some complaint on the part
Of few bilious exhibitors about the
great Cincinnati root, which covers the
thirty three acre building, and l went
out to the grounds i'll one of the heav.
lest tropical rains you ever saw, to sat.
isfv myself if their complaints were
well founded or no. ] found one very
bad leak, and many small ones: but
they have all been repaired, and the
root is good one now. You see,
there are good many jealousies and
some bad blood engendered; always
unavoidable in sIch collosal enter.
prises. Some local firm wanted to fur.
nish the great roof, which, counting
the inclines, makes a surface of full
fifty acres, and it has not forgiven the
management for letting the very profit.
able contract to Northeiners. And SC
might 60 on over much of the work,
which has been wisely, and j believe
Justly, distributed all over the Repub
lie.
/ find even some who complain O
bringing a Massachusetts lady here tc
manage the ladies Of Louisiana. But
The wisoom OF it, to say nothing O
Julia Ward Howe's pc culiar fitness 70.
the great work, ought to be easily ap
parent. 1t is case Of Massachusetts
appointing George Washington o.
Virginia to the command of the Cont.
mental Army. Mrs. Howe is vastly
pleased with this fower-lap5, these
gardens, these thousands Of gardens
red and redclent OF roses in md winter
and is made most welcome by all.
The night before the opening-lasi
night-was a weird one In the great
exhibition building. think the lobby
Of the Grand Opssa House in Paris,
with all its Splendid show of electric
lights. was aever more brilliant thar
was this whole vast edifce with it.
thousands of carloads of beautiful ant
wonderful things spread out over these
thnty-three acres. But the bf.autifu
and wonderful things were all unde,
cover; all under ghostly white. sheets
Here stood a pyramid of whear in the
sheaf, the leaves peeping through in 3