The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-09-28


ing Then the searchlights play
against the heavens, hunting for
the stars. Then the great statute
of the public looms up more COM
mandingly than ever and seems fit
to rule world. The white columns
of the peristyle seem chiseled out of
the night. The electricity building
is resplendent at it's best, very
enchanted palace. There is in the
Midway Plaisance the finest wild
animal show in the world. 1t
illustrates mans complete mastery
over animals of ferocious nature.
1t is wonderful triumph,
but less 50 than mans subjugation
of electric force. Here is enough
energy to destroy Chicago. At will
the lightning itself is made to crash
into this great building and without
damage, so great is mans control
over it. At the south portal stands
Benjamin Franklin with his kite
a far, far cry from the glories
within.
There has been criticisms of the
creative ard administrative lntelli-
gence of the White City. Perhaps
some one who has time on his
hands might find that this pen is
not without guilt. The end crowns
the work and vindicates it.. If
these human beings have blundcred
in any part of their work their mis-
takes are blotted out in their indis-
cribable achievement. On the
ground no hostile criticisms are
heard of the City of Marvels. Ev,
erybodv speaks the language of
admiration, everybody feels that
this work is not to be translated
into any human tongue. The
White City speaks its own language;
we understand but cannot put 1T
into vernacular. Nor is it alone
the creation of all this beauty and
all this grandeur that couples ad-
miration. The government of the
city of nearly thirty thousand souls,
whose population is swollen now
every day except Sunday, to nearly
a quarter of a million, seems close
to perfection. At any rate it is a
model administration. Nothing
jars with anything else. Men and
women come and 60 with feeling
of security. The striking uniform
of the guards dispels the strong
hand of authority always uplifted,
rarely falling upon anybody. The
thing seems to run itself, so perfect
and noiseless is the machinery of
administration. You know it is
there and you are glad it is, but
| there seems to be no use for it.
Somebody's forethought is every
where. Nothing has been over
looked of an infnitude of detail.
The government of this White City
is one of its most wonderful exhib-
it's.
In the woman's building we see
IN part where woman stands in this
country. We see it better in the
crowds on the grounds. She comes
in squads, in couples, alone. In
the old Vienna village in the Mid
way Plaisance | met typical Amer
lean woman. The Austrian band
was playing beautiful air. This
woman had no programme. saw
mad one and did not hesitate to ask
where programmes might be had.
AS my companion had one | handed
her mine, which she had the good
sense to accept. Then we fell to
talking, first about the music and
then about the fair. She had come
to the grounds with another woman.
They reached a point where her
companion wished to go one way
and she another. 1t was her last
day aud she wished to visit old
Vienna. She told me that this had
been their practice in seeing the
fair. They would meet again to 60
to their lodgings together. She
was about thirty years old, intelli-
gent, modest, womanly, made no
apology for being unattended and
illustrated the independence which
every American woman has if she
chooses to assert it. The unatten-
dcd American woman Reverywhere
on the far grounds. She goes her
way and nobody thinks of offering
her aifront. If the "masher" is
here so are the guards. The Amer
lean woman "goes it alone" and
receives the respectful treatment
she commands. That is to say,
she is let alone.
The visitor to the fair must won
der why the people of fashion are
not attracted to it. Apparently
there are none there. Visitors are
well but plainly dressed. More
than half of them are carving the
bus ket or pasteboard box that holds
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