Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1893-08-05
Worlds Fair.
Special WOMB Correspondence.

the people one sees at the fair.
On myfrst days visit was struck by
the faces of the crowd. They were the
most intelligent, good natured, happiest
looking people 1 had ever seen-takine
the crowd as whole. Everybody seem
ed pleased and entertained.
It is a notorious fact that zone can see
all kinds of people at the circus" but it
is the best class Of people who attend
the fair. People looking at the same ex-
hibit frequently talk together and ex-
change notes, opinions and ideas OF ex-
hibits as though they were old acquaint-
ances.
The American snubocracy one reads
about sometimes, are not yet at the fair.
Sensible, respectable people form the
majority. This in contradiction to some
letters that have been recently sent
abroad where gentleman claimed that
all the people, himself alone accepted,
were of the lowest class and that about
every other man he met was drunk.
In all of my stay at the fair l have
not seen one man whom | thought was
under the influence of liquor, and have
asked many people and have received
the same answer; 81 have not seen one
drunken man on the grounds.
You read some reports and you imag-
inc that you will be in perfect rabble.
You will be surprised q will confess to
the same, for | thought that would not
dare to carry my watch in sight and
would hardly be able to carry money
enough for expeHses). Yes, you will be
surprised at the order and decorum of
such a vast crowd Of people. You are
lust as safe as though you were at
church. / know of one little 15-year-old
girl who goes to the fair unattended and
with her note book is making thor
ough description of every thing of inter-
est. | think could guess where the
gentleman before mentioned, and all
who write such reports about the fair
spend their time think they sleep in
the day time and make their investiga-
tons at night, stopping short, however,
of the fair grounds. have not one bit
of doubt that one can find all the wick
edness of London in Chicago, but you
can not find it inside of the fair grounds
from seven in the morning till seven in
the evening.
How about the Fourth? The Fourth
''Oh that is different again." only part
of what | have said applies to the
Fourth. The crowd was utterly unman-
ageable, but that was not the fault of
the crowd, but the officers just gave it
up. They found that the crowd would
not become rabble any way because
the people had no such disposition so
the vast throng moved and stopped at
its own pleasure. And when it came |
time to return home they fairly took |
possession of turnstiles, platforms and |
trains 1t was sight to be remember
ed when at almost midnight trains
would leave depots with not one foot of |
standing room inside nor on the plat
forms or steps, and the tops of the
coaches, even the tender of the engines
were covered with men and boys, and
policemen in many instances were
obliged to clear the tracks that people |
might not be run over when the trains
started. Yet this crowd was not disord-
erly. But one shudders to think of |
what would have been the inevitable re-
suit of fire, storm or an accident or
the falling of one of those large build
ings But the crowd wisely confined it
self to the ground. But if you had been
wedged in this crowd, wedged in where
you could not move one foot from your
original standing place, and held for one
hour in sight of your depot, yet unable
to catch a train till midnight, and in
many cases until o'clock in the morn
ing, you would wisely conclude as we
did that it was the one grand Fourth of
a life time, and one is amply sufficient.
But then the fireworks were so grandly
beautiful. No one who has not seen
Paine in his wonderful pyrotechnics can
imagine the splendor of the display. And
one lady who had seen him in New York
remarked that "Paine had outdone him
self magnifcently.
Governor Altgeld may have a small
following of anarchists, but it was no
communistiC or un-American crowd that
cheered ''Old Glory" as it hung sus-
pended over the lake that night-one of
the most magnificent of the pieces of the
evening. The beauty of these works was
enhanced by the satisfaction one felt in
being able to see them and enjoy them
thoroughly before they faded. Then the
powerful searchlights added to the sue
cess of it all. But the grand closing
scene, the set piece which you have
probably read about, was most fitting
elimination OF celebration unequaled
in the world.
A wreathed picture of George Wash
ington, with the familiar legend, First
in War, First in Peace, First in the
Hearts of his Countrymen," with the
stars and stripes blazed forth for time
in electrical splendor, while the crowd
once more lost itself in enthusiastic
patriotism,
There are always few people, of
course, who do not know how to behave
in crowd, or elsewhere, but happily
they are not legion. A guard near us in
the discharge of his duties was going to
make a number of boys get down from a
lamp post. The post was rather frail
and all who were near it were in danger
of being hurt if the post should fall to
say nothing of the panic such an acct
dent would cause. The guard ordered
the boys down, but man in the crowd
called to the boys to remain, that the
guard could not take them down. Many
who were interested begged the man to
keep still, because the guard was only
doing his duty. individuals took sides
and it was only when the guard came
up with drawn sword that the loud
mouthed counselor of disorder was