Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1888-07-06
THE NEXT WORLDS FAIR
Progress of the Preparations for the
Coming international Expo
Sition in Paris.
France is Making a Great Effort TO
Draw the World to Her Capital.

Among the multitude of exhibitions
which are now being opened in various
corners of Europe. says the London
TIMES, there seems some likelihood of the
preparations which are being made for
the holding of the great show next wear in
Paris escaping notice. II is true that il is
still year off, but year is none too
much for the completion of the prepare
uons for an enterprise of this Importance
indeed, were 1t not that very great prog
ress has already been made in the con
structlon OF the buildings, the remaining
year would be far too short for what has
to be done However, the progress made
is considerable.
Already the great Eiffel tower is a CON
splcuous object from most parts of Paris.
At present 1t is about as ugly a construc-
ton as can be lmaged, looking, as it does,
like the scaffolding for some future cree
ton; but doubtless as 1t goes on it will
lose some OF lis ungraceful appearance,
though 1t can never be beautiful. How
ever, as piece of skillful engineering
the tower will certainly possess a great
deal of interest, though it seems pity
that so much ingenuity and constructive
skill should not have been applied to
more useful purpose. When completed
IL
has now reached a third of this height.
The principal building of the exhibi
ton will cover, or nearly cover, the
Champ de Mars, the tower being situated
at the north end, short distance back
from the bank of the Seine. At the op-
poslte, or southern end, the great ma
chlnery halt will stretch right across the
available space. 1t will be 800 feet long,
40 feet wide, and a $50 high. 1t will
therefore be by far the largest building
ever devoted to the exhibition OF col
lection of machinery, and it may indeed
doubtful Its whether colossal proportions
not tend to dwarf the machinery will
| itself.
The method of construction endowed
IN this huge building is of considerable
novelty and possesses much engineering
interest. The entire building may be de-
scrlbed as consisting of series of paral-
lei arches. Each arch engineers will for
give the technical inaccuracy of the de
| sGrlption; they will find a more correct
version in the number of Engineering
| newspaper for the 11th inst.) consists of
| two halves whish are iointed or sock eted
| together at the top or crown of the arch,
| while at the ground each half rests on a
| socket or sort of enormous hinge. The
| whole structure thus rests on the ground
| by Its own weight alone and possesses
| considerable amount of elasticity anG
| freedom of movement.
Next above the Inachinery hall. and like
| it, extending right across the breadth of
the Champ de Mars, comes the building
| in which will be contained the misce!Ian-
| eous industrial exhibits. This has two
| great wings extending on its northern
| side, and inclosing between them the
| lower portion Of the gardens of the ex-
| hlbltlon. The main building is intended
| for the French exhibits, while the wings
will contain those of foreign nations.
| Great Brltain's place is in the eastern
wing, close to what will probably prove the
| chief entrance to the exhibition The
| line of the wings is continued on by the
| fine art galleries on one side and the
| Palais des Arts Liberaux on the other.
! These buildings surround the gardens,
which are close in at the upper END by the
| Eiffel tower. Passing on beyond this we
| cCme to the bridge crossing the Seine,
| and on tie other side we find the gardens
! and palace of the Trocadero, which will,
as in 1878, be included in the exhibition
| OF the building mentioned the Galerie
des Produits Industriels Divers may be
said to be for the most part finished as
far as the construction goes, the flooring
and decoration still remaining to be
done. A small part only of the machin-
cry gallery Is up, just enough to give an
idea of the method of construction.
Considerable progress has been made with
the fine-art gallery and with that of the
| liberal arts.
| The other main division of the exhibit
ton will be in the Esplando des Invalides,
Here it is intended there should large
number of smaller detached buildings
| Here will BE the French government ex-
hibits, ALGERIAN collections, an Arab
village, and various other exhibits of an
interesting an popular character. The
| buildings have in some cases been begun,
but tho progress here is less marked than
in the Chamd de Mars. The two main
| portions of the exhibition are linked to-
gether by long range of galleries run
ming along the southern bank of the river.
| These are intended for agricultural and
food products. A considerable length f
| these galleries is now standing, and the
construction proceeds rapidly, so that it
will pot be long before the whole length
of the quai is covered in. The end of
| tie galleries nearest Paris-that is, the
end by the Esplanade des Invalides-has
been allotted to this country.