Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-11-16
1898 NOVEMBER. 1893
Su. Mo. Tu. We. Tn. Fir. Sa.
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cHIcAGols TRIUMPH.
uer Courage, Faith and Self Reliance Made
tho Fair m Success.

uer Courage, Faith and Self Reliance Made |
tho Fair n Success.
The closing Of the gates upon ashow such |
as the world never saw before, and proba- |
bly, will never see again In the rolling ages,
makes proper a few remarks, retrospective
and otherwise, concerning the great Chi
cago fair.
The Worlds Columbian exposition It Is
in the documents, but the great Chicago
fair 1t is for history and for the admiration
of mankind. Chicago did it. She did it
alone, with some help from the federal gov
ernment, and the honor is all Chicago's.
On scale never before contemplated by
the audacity of the human imagination
this western town conceived and carried
her enterprise through to splendid success
absolute success artistically and ceremo-
niously, relative success financially. She
went in on cheek. She came out in glory.
The qualities displayed by Chicago and
her representatives in the earlier stages Of
the undertaking were of that sort which
the way of the world admires or condemns
according to the outcome. She started in
for q local boom. There was a suspicion of
the hotel counter, the boarding house, the
street railway and the real estate office in
her professions and pledges. Her negotia-
tions with the government were distin-
guished by unblushing assurance. She
boldly promised everything. She. would
have given bonds to bring down the moon
and Alpha Lyre and set them up in Jack
son park If that had been necessary to en-
able her to get the fair. She got it, and
The Sun is now glad she did.
There is point where unblushing assur-
ance becomes sublime confidence, where
irresponsible recklessness dignifies itself
into indomitable resolution. Just where
in the chronology of fair promotion Chi
cago reached and passed that point it is not
profitable to inquire. Certain it is that her
management of the enterprise underwent
the transition. 1t ceased to be cheeky and
became sublime. 1t ceased to be irrespon-
sible and became unconquerable. The
petty schemes of the mercenaries dropped
out of sight. The little tricks and chican-
cries of the beginning were forgotten in the
gradual development and manifestation of
the true spirit of Chicago, amazing the
world by its power, its reach, its resources,
its devoted civic loyalty, its intelligence,
its masterfulness and its success.
The cloth had been cut too large, accord
ing to all of the lessons of experience. Chi
cago did not repattern, but proceeded to
grow to it. The chances were a thousand
to one against victory. With cheerful OPP
timism and magnificent nerve Chicago kept
right on and succeeded
1t is likewise proper to record here the
fact that the prime factor in the illustrious
success of the Chicago enterprise was a
quality rating higher in the scale of civil
lization's forces than mere business energy
or the willingness to spend money without
limit. Somewhere among the magnates OF
the exposition's management and backing
there was from the start a profound appre
citation of the truth that to be truly great
the fair must be not merely big, but beau
tiful
Beautiful beyond all precedent they
made it; not merely according to the aes
thetic standards of Chicago, or of the west
or of the United States but judged by the
worlds measure of the grandest art. Sucf
creation as that by the lakeside, soon nov
to be demolished, is not the result Of acci
dent, good luck, enthusiasm or haphaZarC
design, and while all the credit goes to Chi
cago the chief credit should go to the indi
vidual or individuals in Chicago who ha(
the wit to perceive from the first the archi
tectural ideal that was finally realized, th
intelligence to select the makers best quail
fed to realize 1t. and the enlightened liber
ality to insist that the genius enlisted il
the creation of the White City should b
supported by dollars without stint.
Chicago has fitly celebrated the Colum
bian achievement by paralleling it. Sh
has done what Christopher Columbus di'
400 years ago. In spirit like to his in tn
magnifcence of its courage, steadfastnes
and unwavering faith and self reliance. sh
embarked on borrowed capital and sale
right out into the unknown. Wisdom
doubted. and sound judgment called he
back, and the winds howled around hel
but she sailed on unterrifed, through goo
weather and bad. steering straight for he
mark, and she kept on, like Columbus, til
she got there.
Hats off and up in the air for Chicago
our little sister, the Columbian city!-Ne'
York Sun.