Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-08-01

DESK MADE OF LIBBY PRISON WOOD.
ors are ell highly satisfied except in one
respect. The exposition is all that any
one could expect, and more than any one
can realize, but the attendance has been
miserably small. For various reasons
people have not come to the fair as it was
expected they would come and unless
there is a wonderful increase in the at
tendance during the remaining period the
managers of the big show will be troubled
to pay its debts.
HiSinbotham Not Discouraged.
President Higinbotbam said that in re-
spect to admissions the first half is by no
means the better half. 1 believe that the
attendance from now on will steadily in
crease. believe that the admissions this
week will exceed those of last. There
have now been about 100000 admissions
Certainly more than that many will b..
registed during the rest of the fair and the
total Attendance will more than double
those figures. The railroads are using us
now better than they have been doing and
the trains that are coming into town are
carrying more people than formerly" Re
plying to question as to money for stock
holders Mr.. Higinbotham said: Il am
afraid that any money that has been in
vested in that way is gone"
Arrival of Woman Pedestrian.
Mrs. Lucille Rodney has arrived at the
Worlds fair, and by SO doing won a wager
of 5000 Mrs. Rodney lives in Calves
ton, Tex, and has made herself the owner
of the amount named by walhin ing all the
way from her home. The terms of the
wager were that she was to start May l6,
carry thirty-eight pounds of baggage as
far as Dallas, to count railway ties all the
way from Galveston to Chicago, to make
$500 Ell route by selling her photographs,
and to arrive at the fair grounds on or be-
| fore Aug. l. All this the little woman has
accomplished and has covered the entire
| distance with about sixty hours to spare
Mrs. Rodney is a pretty, petite brunette
and talks in a manner that would lead
| one to think she had not accomplished a
! great feat.
Thacher Tackles the Papers.
The criticisms of the local press on the
| head of the awards bureau, Chairman
| Thacher, have aroused that gentleman to
retort in kind. AT IA meeting of the ma
tional commission he inveighed against
| the local papers for abusing him and for
originating all the charges that had been
circulated against the exposition. "No
matter what say it will go ont to the
| country misconstrued and dmisinterpreted -
| said Thacher "One would think to read
| the papers, that John Boyd Thacher had
not a friend in Cook county; that no one
cares for the committee on awards, and
! that the awards feature of the fair was
/ moribund and obnoxious All the bad
things and all the injurious things said
| OH ho fnir hny = Eo
| 1t all comes from what is known as com
| mon talk" And there is much truth in
! what Thacher said.
For Very Worthy Object.
| On account of the charitable nature of
the enterprise the exposition II anagement
! to a certain extent has interested itself
| in and approved the sale of a splendid
souvenir of the Worlds fair. The pro-
ceeds of the sale of the souvenir, which is
| in the shape of breaches and pins are to
be devoted to the erection of a Teachers
! Home'' in America, similar to that which
| has been in existence in England for many
years. The souvenir is a shield bearing
| the Columbus coat of arms, and is for sale
in all the buildings.
Death at the Great Show.
The New York state building is in
| mourn ing and the national ensign at half
mast for death has invaded the fair
grounds. 1t is not the first time that the
grim terror has been there but his victims
heretofore have been victims by accident
This time death appeared in the ordinary
way Executive Commissioner McNaugh.
ton, of New York, died of disease in the
state building. All the state commissions
and the national commissioners adopted
appropriate resolutions. The body was
sent to New York for interment.
Paid attendance at the fair yesterday
was only 70,s47,
THEY ARE MEN OF ACTION.