The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-05-31
THE WORLDS FAIR.
An Englishman of Experience Surprised
at the Progress Already Made.
Especial Correspondence.l

An Englishman of Experience Surprised
at the Progress Already Made.
Especial Correspondence
CHICAGO, May IA venerable English
man was one of the visitors at the Worlds
fair headquarters a few days ago. Inter
national expositions are something of a
hobby with him. he took an active par:
in the work out of which grew the Crystal
palace of 1851; he has represented his
country in one capacity or another at all
the international exhibitions held on the
continent of Europe during the last three
decades, and he crossed the Atlantic to
spend month amid the glories of the Cen
tennial of 1876. The visitor was given a
pretty thorough insight into the methods
of administration that have been adopted
By the national commission and the board
of directors, and was also made pretty
thoroughly acquainted with what had
been done and what it is proposed to do.
Then he made tour of the departments,
and when this was finished he turned
from listener into talker, and expressed
himself concerning what he had heard and
seen in eulogistic terms.
At no previous exposition in his life
time, he said, had the preliminaries been
SO we'll organized and arranged, nor had
any previous board, or series of boards,
ever been called upon to grapple with an
international show Of such magnitude as
appeared to him to be contemplated. Most
especially was he struck with the work of
the department Of promotion and public
ity. Although they had the prince con-
sort at their head, he said, people who
brought the first London exhibition to a
successful issue had little or no aid from
the press In those days, in fact, the idea
of working the press" was unknown, and,
outside Of an occasional bulletin issued by
the executive committee, people remote
from London, and, for that matter, outside
of the immediate location of the palace at
Sydenham, knew very little concerning
what was being done. All the negotia-
tions concerning exhibits and displays
were conducted by correspondence with
the parties interested.
1t was revelation to him to see room
after room on the fourth floor of the Rand
McNally building occupied by trained
newspaper men, all busily engaged in pre-
pairing articles in half dozen languages,
and TO learn that the big sacks OF mail
matter that were being carried out con
tanned material that would soon be read by
hundreds of thousands of people, not only
in this country, but in far off Australia, in
China and Japan, France, Germany and
Austria, and not excepting his own coun-
try
That the women should also undertake
so active a share of the work was also to
him a surprise, for forty years ago their
cooperation was not even asked, nor would
it have been accepted even had it been vol
unteered. In those days women were not
supposed to know anything concerning
public affairs or public enterprises, and if
they did know anything they were expect
ed to maintain a discreet and respectful
silence. In fact it is said that the late
Lord Palmerston vetoed suggestion re-
garding some of the designs for the Crystal
palace because the prince consort admit
ted that it emanated from the fertile brain
of the queen, and the gruff old political
leader, loyal to the throne rs he was, would
not tolerate a suggestion that came from
woman, even though that woman was the
queen herself
There were many other things that sur
prised the white haired, spectacled visitor
'
and ne was afforded some general idea of
the extent and magnitude of the buildings
that are contem plated, his mouth opened
wide and his eyes bHlged out. From a
leather wallet that was brown with age he
produced faded newspaper picture, in that
style of art that prevailed
back N the fifties, of the Crystal palace,
but it looked only like a side show when
compared 10 the structure that will be
erected under the auspices of the national
and even this will be but one
of many. More surprises awaited him in
the treasurers Office, where bulky account
books were brought down off the shelves.
and he was shown page after page OF
names not of millionaires or capitalists,
or even of solid business men, but of daily
wage workers who had contributed their
mites toward the capital stock in order TO
display their patriotism. There were no
"wage earning" subscribers in the days
of 81.
These were only few Of the things that
he saw or was told, but he will take hack
10 the English metropolis a marvellous
tale of Chicago enterprise and American
determination
And there will he more surprises, not
only for our friends in England, but for
our well wishers all over the European con-
tinent who have tried to grappie with
Worlds fairs Ct their own. Between this |
and 1898, and in May OF that year, will come /
the browning surprise of all
Henry II. Hunt.