Middletown transcript., 1893-05-13
IT WAS F0U|RDAFS
AFTER THE PRESIDENT TOUCHED
THE BUTTON
THAT ALL THE MACHINERY
At the worlds Fair Was Put In Mo-
tion-o Only One Engine started The
Concessionaire and His Outrageous
Charges for Everything You Must
Pay to Sit Down.

Charges for Everything You Must
Pay to Sit Down.
| W. D. BoYcE's CORRESPONDENCE BUREAU,
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, sWoRLD's
FAIR GROUNDS. May 10, 1888.
1t seems that the Presidents thumb did
not set the machinery in motion, after all
The shafting in machinery hall was not
ready and President Cleveland's button
! only started one of the engines. It was
not until four days after the supposed OPEN
| ing that the shafting was in place suf-
| fciently to enable the machinery to be
started in moderate way and even yet the
work is far from being complete. As ex-
hibits were unfinished in every other build
ing there was no reason why machinery hall
should have been supposed to be ready.
BUTT will go down into history that when
the president touched the button the ma
chinery started on its six months trip. A
hundred years from now, when the cen.
| tennial OF this exposition is held, the facts
in the case will make no more difference
| than it does to us now to know the actual
| facts concerning the career of Columbus.
1t is not at all probable that we have his
history accurate for history making was
very imperfect 400 years ago, but so long
as We do notknow the difference, and errors
can never be corrected, the story is jus. as
good one way as another.
Hence let it be recorded for the next
generation that Cleveland's thumb did the
business.
GETTING READY.
There are thousands of men at work,
now that the opening excitement is over,
getting the exposition in order. Two or
three weeks more of such work as has
taken place since the opening willsee things
fairly in shape sufficiently so to permit of
an intelligent description. It is evident
that the public does not intend to come at
present and the month of May is bound to be
disappointing. The turnstiles only show
about fifteen thousand daily visitors thus
far. A good many fear that the disappoint-
ment in attendance will continue after the
Exposition is in full readiness if the
business situation of the country does not
improve.
THE coHcEssIoNAIRE.
There are sufficient number of visitors
already to register loud protests against
some of the Expenses" The toilet closet
concession to Sanitation company, where
you are taxed five cents for admission. gave
rise to much grumbling. The company
having the concession was to put as many
free as pay closets in each building. but
they have not done so In the Fine Arts
and Fisheries buildings they could not find
room for any free closets, but you may be
sure that there was room for the ones where
a niekle makes the turn-stiles go around.
Signs are consicuous directing the visitor to
pay toilet rooms. but you need search
warrant to find the free ones. The Santa
ton company was to take care of both free
and pay stations but as matter of fact
they only care for the latter, purposeIy
making t. he free ones repulsiye.
This concession was an idea borrowed
from the Paris exposition but in doing SO
the price was doubled. French customs
tof this description at least) are not
destined to be popular in this country, but
as matter of personal comfort you had
better keep stray nickel in your pocket
after you get in the grounds.
IT COSTS TO EAT.
There is also a loud outcry against
restaurant charges at the park and unless
there is an improvement, you will want to
get your breakfast and dinner on the out
side and bring your lunch in your inside
pocket. City restaurants have not
advanced prices but at the Exposition the
the concessionaires have evidently been
coached by reading the lite of Robert Kidd
pirate. The imported English bar-maids
at White Horse Inn barely allow the
visitor to escape with his life. Everything
on his person will be required to settle the
bill if he orders drink.
A French restauranter evidently snpposes
we are all Ward McAllisters and handle
our food with our fingers, as he charges ten
cents extra for knife, fork and plate.
The plate is cold at that. but the people
who pay the ten cents are hot enough to
equalize things when they discover the
charge. But the price of pie-twenty-five
cents CUTS the last half. The Column
bian guard demands an advance in wages
or reduction in the price of pie. Mean
time the newspapers advise the people to
bring their luncheons and sit on the steps
of the restaurants to scatter the crumbs
when they eat.
But after all do not blame the eonces-
sionaire as much as the fair managers. He
had to pay high price to come into the
game and one-fourth of his gross receipts
go to the fair besides. He must be q robber
so that he can permit the fair to rob him.
Nice game. is it not?
CHAIR FOR RENT.
A cancessionaire will rent Won a little
folding chair for ten cents a day. To
make the chair concession more valuable
you are not allowed to bring a chair of
any description through the gate. Even
cripples who come in rolling chairs of their
own are turned back, unless they change
their own for one furnished by
concessionaise., One large exhibitor mes
with Just that experience to-day.
But public sentiment is most powerful
regulator. The fair managers are winciae
under the criticisms and declare that they
will stop extortions or cancel concessions.
They can stop it very easily by relaxing
their own grip on the concessionaire
sufficiently to allow him to be reasonably
honest. ] predict that the present scale Of
rates for necessities within the park
grounds. will not be of long d,,rafio., = -