Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-08-18
FAMOUS REUNIONS.
Some That Have Been Held at
the Worlds Fair.
Congresses of Various Sorts Being
Held Every Day.
some Of the Leading curiesitiss at The Fair
and where Fsasd.

! oHo - WuSfV Se"o-
WORLDS FAIR, Aug. IL ISpecial.l -
The various reunions and class gatherings
Of one sort or another deserve much more
attention than they have yet received, but
! suppose the main reason why the papers
In the interested sections do not announce
those in the future is that many Of those
| in the past miscarried- Since the first of
this month, however, every such event
has come of as advertised and ROW the az
rangemeuts for those to come are SO COM
plete that nothing short of a cataelysm
can postpone or prevent.
Some OF the reunions have been remark
ably pleasant affairs, though very few
were present, and none more so than that
of the 'i3-ers, or Argonauts of California.
M course but few are now alive of the 50,
oo Americans who went to California
forty four years ago, and but few Of these
could get here, but their gathering in the
state building was sight to bring laugh
ter and tears. All form was laid aside.
| They shook hands, they hugged each
other, sometimes they roared with laugh
ter and sometimes they sighed deeply and
wiped their eyes. Pretty soon they broke
up into little groups, each representing
some noted camp and composed of its old
residents, and then they told stories Of
finding big nuggets and ''panning out"
big yields, of lynchings and fightings and
chasing of highwaymen, which male
Bret Harte's productions seem like Sun
day school book. At 2 p. III. began the
merely formal exercises such as singing
and speech-making.
| Various college classes have also ar
ranged for quiet reunions here, and most
of these were done with early in July as
commencement day rarely comes after the
Fourth. A week ago today the Knights
OF Pythias made the main avenue gay
with their display, and the next day
| Louisiana dedicated her building with
some pomp and official ceremony. On
| Monday, the 7th, Gilmore's band made its
first appearance. All this time the fa-
nous congresses of every sort are running,
either in the great hall down town or in
some fair building, and discussing all
poetical things from the alleged unwhole-
someness of pork to the various systems of
sewerage, and all scientific subjects con-
eeivable, with law, religion and woman's
dress for themes on the side. These are
bur few of the specialties, and those in
the future will no doubt increase in in
| terest.
1t has been suggested that the landlords
of South Chicago hold grand reunion a
few years hence, after they get well, and
| may add that it might appropriately
open with the first Of Aeneas' address to
Dido, "Infandum jubes, regina, renoyare
tloloremn 1t will indeed be ''to renew a
inonstrous grief" for here are the figures
TO date: Capacity of the White Cityto "n-
tertain without crowding, 10000 people;
normal daily requirement, $50 600; average
to date, away below 10000 Chicago de-
clares with profane emphasis that one
| third of these are residents of the city ~ d
another third live so near that they ride
in mornings and out home evenings. This
| Is an exaggeration, of course, but it is GER
tain that the daily demand for rooms is
not now more than +0,U00 above the SUM
mcr average and that really elegant rooms
can he had at IS cents or 81 n day. If .t
were laughing matter we might en-
reading those magnificent assurances p v
| lished so widely last year; how committees
would meet women excursionists at trains
and see that they got rooms, how unpro-
tected girls were to be looked out for, how
! Joint stock hotels would secure rooms for
ladies in advance. and how 20,000 private
houses would take .o4gers if necessary.
Well, those houses are still private, and as
to the girls who are alone and lonely
we'll. If may Judge from what / see down
town, it is the men who need protective
committees
| Speaking of reunions, it appears to be
taken for granted that the next great
American exposition will be in St. Louis
| in 1908, centennial of the purchase of
| Louisiana. St Louis men jocularly add
that as we all love Jefferson while we
barely respect Columbus, that exposition
will be far more joyous, popular and so
eially successful one than this, as it well
may be and not astonish the world either.
of future events the biggest one near at
hand is British day on the 10Th. Every
day new fe,. lures are promised, and the
whole British empire is to be represented
in colors, from the lily white ladies of
| Dublin to the wild Australian, and from
the Highland Scotchman to the inky
| Zulu. | think the management should
| have advertised these future dates more
extensively and so have sought to help
them out Incidentally / may add that
George Francis Train, Paul du Chaillu
and the Maharajah of Kapurthala are de-
lighted with the fair.
Much has been written of the beauties
and glories of the exposition and little
comparatively of the curiosities. Yet
take notice that the latter draw and hold
the crowds. There is in them little OF
what the cultured call art, and some Of
them speak Of the work as mere trickery
but it show skill and it is interesting.
Great in this line is Lots Wife," a verit-
able pillar of salt in the Mines building, in
which the Old Testament story, tradition
and actual business have been combined
in a somewhat humorous manner. The
conversation going on about il proves thai
many people still believe the salt figgrt
near the Dead sea to he standing yet
And they DO say one lady remarked in
my hearing, that if you break oil Oh q
her fingers, it will grow out again f!ler
and winter than before"
L ne ttIb p1pLt tNtIdBEt III lIt G4tttta ~"
building combines art. science, beauty aad
curious in way that is truly delightful.
1t connects with the Chicago system and
Is pronounced by experts the finest ex
change in the world. As to beauty | an
SIRE the telephonists there were not Sc
,ected by the board of lady managers as
thay interest most gentleman visitors
even more than the machinery. The ex
hibitor occasionally reels off an explaua
ton which IS said by the scientific TO b,
very lncid, but for my use he might as
we'll sing Dutch psalm. What | don'i
know about electricity would make q
heor 20 surprise Edison. Other great
eurie-ities there are the big hand which
y.ies in electric lines, the wonderfH
4 Pillar which is illuminated at night II
niapy eclers and the still more wonderful
tower and its four grsnt arms where tbs
red. white and blue follow each ether il
rolling waves, while one may look dowr
through grating and see the lightning
flashing back and forward across the ina
chinery room.
In the rotunda of the Administrati i0r
building there is always a crowd arouEf
the facsimile of the United States treas
uFy building at Washington. The inscrip
ton declares that it is constructed Of Go
, lunbian Half Dollars, Minted for the E.x
.