Brookings register. (Brookings, S.D.) 1890-1894, 1893-05-12
The Fair Opened.

President Cleveland in the presence of
mighty cOncourse, pressed the
! electric button that set the machinery
OF the Worlds Fair i'm motion and
officially opened the Columbian EX-
position to the nation of the world.
At the same moment Il thousand flags
of all nations were flung to the breeze:
steam launches whistled: great cannon
doomed: two fountains shot up Il nun
drcd and fifty feet into the air, and
the multitude rent the air with cheer
on cheer: while to crown all the sun
broke thro the clouds, dispelled the
gloom OF the morning and smiled APP
prOval on the scene. This opened the
greatest exposition ever projected by
man.
1t IS estimated that between five
and six hundred thousand people
bravcd the cold and rain and mud to
witness the opening Of the Fair. That
is large city in itself and 1T gives a
fair idea of the size of the "White
City" to know that such a gathering
did not crowd it except in one or two
places where special exercises were
going ON. What seems wonderful is
that such city could have sprung up
| in SO short time. It's magnificent
structures decked with sculpture SO
abundant that its presence is almost
unnoticcd from its prOfuseneSs: the
| NeriStylc, the Colonnades, the fOun-
tains and the statues make it seem the
work of decades if not of centuries.
| Mr.. Cleveland arrived in Chicago
Saturday at noon. Sabbath morning
he attended DR.. McPherson's, the 2nd
| Presbyterian church. After service
Judge Gresham's daughter greeted
him and asked him if he would come
to her home that evening to the
christening Of her baby. Mr.. Clcve-
land said Certainly, with pleasure"
The Duke of Vragna the center OF
attention from all society circles at
tended high mass in Catholic
cathedral.
Paderewikl has finally prevailed and
| the Directors of the exposition have
allowed him to have Steinway piano
to play on and now his sweet music
may be heard by ali who attend the
exposition.
Friday night that sacred relic dear
| to every American heart, the old liber-
| ty bell, arrived in Chicago. 1t was
brought in special train from
Philadelphia. The train stopped at
|
| everywhere met by enthusiastic crowds
| that cheered themselves hOarSe and
ShOwcred the Bell with flowers. They
were all forbidden to touch 1t except
at Indianapolis, where the children
from the Hospital for the blind were
permitted to feel of it and kiss it..
At Chicago on account of the weather
and arriving at night, it was not met
with much show of enthusiasm but a
little later an old cOlorcd man appear
cd on the scene and approached the
Guard saying he wanted to hug the
bell. The Guard replied | have orders,
Uncle, not to let any one touch the
| Bell: but | am not going tOQuench the
only patriotism in the city and you
| may hug that Bell till you are tired,
| if it goes against all the orders in the
| United States.
| Many people think the Fair can only
he visited by the rich or those with
special means: that the price of living
will be raised so eXtravagantly that
| folks of limited means cannot afford
| it. There is kind of foundation for
it. For many people are in and about
the Fair simply to make money and to
do SO by taking advantage of peoples
necessities. But by care and forthO't
these eXtOrtiOnate rates many be
avoided. In the north side Of the city
good rooms in private homes may be
secured for five or six dollars week.
1t is accessible anywhere in less than
an hour and the car fare is ten to tif-
ten cents a single trip. Besides the
trip takes one into the central and
best portions of Chicago. If any
reader desires further information
about this let him write to the Home
Entertainment Bureau, 4O5 Dayton
St.: or, the Ed. will give you the
correspondents address, who Will
answer any inquiry If you enclose
stamp.
Many of the exhibits are in an un-
| finished condition, and to describe
them it would be necessary to draw
on the imagination largely. So we
will this week give our readers short
desCrlptiOn of that mechanical
monstrosity, the Ferris Wheel. 1t
takes it's name from G. w. G. Ferris of
Pittsburg. It's cost will aggregate four
hundred thousand dollars. 1t is made
almost entirely of iron and steel and
will weigh about four thousand, five
hundred tons. When the wheel turns
more than half this weight is in mo-
tiOn. The wheels will consist of two
similar gigantic bicycle wheels two
hundred and siXty-tive feet in
diameter, and suspended between
their rims are thirty-twO cars similar
to Pullman cars with capacity of
sixty persons each. The cars are
of wood and steel finely upholstered
in plush, and weigh nineteen tons
each. 1t is evident then that when
the wheel is filed nearly two thousand