Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-04-16
HELP FOR THE FAIR
a Government Loan Not Pop.
ular at Chicago.
LOCAL MANAGERS IN THE DUMPS,

Because Congressman Are Shy of a Ma
tional Report of the
Washington Committee A Loan or
Nothing from Uncle Sam, Who Wants
Mortgage. Too-what Higinbotham
Thinks of the MRtter-Progress at the
Fair Site Noted.
CHICAGO, April 16.-The local directors
of the Worlds fair are not Just exactly
pleased with the course of affairs at
Washington. A week ago they sent a
committee to the national capital to talk
to the statesmen about help for the fair
cash help. The committee has made
proposition to give the national govern
ment second mortgage on the gate re-
ceipts for q loan of $4,000 900. The afore-
said receipts are estimated at $40, 0O0, 900 at
least, and a 100000 slice is held as A first
mortgage. This would make Uncle Sam
pretty safe, but the proposition was made,
so it is claimed, without authority from
the directors and they are not pleased
Think They Have Done Their Best.
Directors Frederick s. Winston and John
j. p. Odell returned from Washington
yesterday, confident that congress would
grant the loan, and that they had done the
best thing for the fair in abandoning the
idea OF getting an appropriation and work
ing instead for the loan. Mr.. w nston
SAID: I'VE had been in Washington but a
few hours before we learned that the az
preparation bill could never be passed To
tell the plain truth, it didn't have any
SHOW at all. From members Of congress
whom we know are friendly to the fair,
men who are anxious to help us in any
way they can, we learned that the appro-
priation bill would surely fail
They Wanted a Precedent.
Where is the precedent for such an APP
propriationrr The question WAS put O
US dozen times before we had been in
Washington two hours Mr.. Baker was
the special target for such questions. AS
soon rs We became convinced, from con-
tact with congressman known to be MS
ious to help the fair, that the bill could
never pass in the shape it had beeh sent TO
tbe feMRttee, we changed front. We
asked for loan Ilstsad of for an appro-
priaauop Of q, 10000.
Where's the Precedent for a Loan?
Immediately we made that change the
skies were clear. Members of congress
who had opposed the first bill assured us
of support. The opposition was disarHed.
Even pembsrs WHO were hostile to the
exposition could hot refuse to vote FOR
sYch 9 measure. Congressman McGann,
OF this city, told Inc That Ne bad acted
wisely, Both the appropriations and the
Worlds fair committee seemed to be
thoroughly satisfied with the turn affairs
had taken, and we came away from Wash
ington feeling confident that we bad done
the best thing possible for the taiE"
Higinbotham Gives II is Views
Vice President Higinbotham says EN-
phatically thst he does not believe = loan
OF 100000 will be accepted. He said:i aiA1
believe We cannot afford to accept the
money under the conditions laid down by
the bill. 1t would look IS though TIE
government really had no interest in the
exposition and was merely lending It's as
sistance, il such it could be called, on a
purely financial basis. Ny idea would
have been to stand by the appropriation
bill until it failed, if fail it did, and then
go for the loan. Chicago as city has
certainly done her part for the fair The
government has done practically nothing :"