St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-22
Agriculturists Kick Against
the Site Selected for the
Worlds Fair.
They Want Not Less Than
Four Hundred Acres to
Themselves.
There Will Be Music in the
Legislature Of Illinois
To-Day.
If the Farmers Requests Are
Denied They Simply Won't
Play.

SPRINGFIELD, ILL.,, July 21.-One of
the surprises of the special session of
the Illinois legislature which is to as
semble tomorrow will be the aggressive
part that is to be played by the Illinois
state board of agriculture in the forth
coming worlds fair legislation. 1t has
b cen known all along that the Illinois
board OF agriculture is bitterly opposed
to the location of the fair on the lake
front, the reason.being that they alleged
that that site, however, much it may be
improved and filled in. will be entirely
inadequate to the accommodation of the
agricultural exhibits that such an oc-
ca1aon as the worlds fair exposition
VIII call forth. When the Chicago
directors were con sidering this sub
jeee, delegation of the state
board OF agriculture appeared before
them and presented certain documents
praying that the world S fair site be such
a one as would afford the amplest acOm-
mediation for agricultural exhibits, and
insisting that the lake front would be en-
tirley inadequate to the purposes con-
templated. Since the worlds fair site
has been approved by the national COM
mission subsequent
Differences of Opinion
have arisen in Chicago which render
the approval possibly subject to recon-
Sideration, and the state board of agri-
culture has made and appointed a COM
mittee to present to the general assem-
bly, tat its special session the views of
the agricultralists Of the country on the
worlds fair site. This committee con-
sists of the following members of the
Illinois state board. George s.
Haskell, president of the board;
John Virgen, j. Quincy Pierce. Lafay-
cite Funk, David Gore and E. G. Lewis.
These gentlemen are expected in the
city tomorrow morning, and will lose
no time in presenting the views of the
state board to the assembled legislators.
Secretary Garrard, of the state board of
agriculture, was seen to-day and asked
to define the position which that body
would take on the worlds fair question.
''Our board" said he, ''haS considered
this question fully, and arrived at the
opinion that under no circumstances
can the Lake Front site be made ade-
quate to the purposes of the exposition.
When we say purposes of the eXpOsi-
ton we take it for granted that
I it Twill be at once acknOwl-
edged that one of the grand
purposes of all American eXpOSi-
ton is the exhibition of the agricult-
ural products of this great agricultural
country of the world. The wealth of
Ourehaton lies chiefly in its agriculture,
and9the most attractive part of the
worlds fair to foreigners will be the ag-
ricultural exhibits of the various states
/ of the Union. We insist, and every
state board of agriculture of the various
states of the Union will insist witlsuS,
that the agricultural exhibits
Must Not BE Harrassed
( in such manner as to impair success
/ full exposition. Under no circumstances,
the reach of the world fair directors,
can the lake front site be made adequate
to the demands of this great combined
agricultural exhibition. We do not de-
. sire to be placed in the position
of attempting for a moment
to dictate to the worlds fair
directors where they shall select site
for this exposition, but we do insist
and we have right to insist, as repre-
sentatives of the agricultural interests
of the country, that the site shall be one
that will supply every demand for space.
The greatest demands for space in this
exposition will come from the state
boards of agriculture, that will have
vested in them by action of the legis
lature the agricultural exhibits of their
various states. Four hundred acres of
land would not be an excess for the
agricultural exhibits of the worlds fair;
two acres will be the minimum which
Union. Why, California alone asks for
forty acres for it's agriculture, fruit
and vintage exhibit, and it
will probably not be satisfied
with less than Is or 20 acres. The state
of Illinois will want forty acres, if the
demands of the state board are to be OBJ
served. Other states of the Union will
ask for from to 10 or Is acres. their de-
mands depending entirely upon the
agricultural Importance of the respect
i've states. All told. we cannot get
along with less than 200 acres. 1t is abb
solutely impossible to give us this 200
acres if the lake front is selected as a
site. We will not be
Satisfied With a Site
which places the agricultural exhibit
mile away from the other principal
features of the fair. We want united
site and not divided one. We have
conferred fully with the state boards
of many of the other states of the
Union, and In the representations
which we will make to the Illinois
general assembly we claim to represent
the agricultural interests of the whole
United States. We don't say that Jack
son Park shall be selected, yet we think
that is the only site in contemplation
which will afford adequate accommoda-
tions; but we do say and insist that if
the worlds fair exposition of 1898 is to
be success, it must afford ample ac-
commodation for the exhibition of that
agrarian industry which is represented
by three fifths of the population of this
great republic of sixty millions. The
state board of agriculture realizes that
it is touching delicate subject when it
lnterferes with the selection of the
worlds fair site; but that our motives
may not be misunderstood, we state
that it is Indifferent to us
where this site may be, so long
as it affords the accommodations which
we demand in the name of the agricult-
liralists of the United States. Every
board of agriculture of the other states
is, looking to the state board of agricult-
ure of Illinois to take care of this sub
ject and in the demands which we will
make upon the legislature we are the
representatives, not only of the Illinois
board, but of the state boards of agri-
culture of the United States" "What
Will your state board do, however, in
case your recommendations are disre-
garded and the lake front is selected as
the site?" sit is my opinion that in
case the
sef Lake Front Is Selected
ash site the Illinois state board of agri-
culture will drop the subject entirely
and not make any exhibit. That will
be their action. certainly, if left to their
own judgment. In the event, however,
of the legislature next winter making
all appropriation in this matter and in