The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-05-24
TT is ALL GREAT.
The Worlds Fair Built on a
Model of Vastness.
SolsE SURPRISING COMPARISONS.

Great Piers. Great Railways, Great Hotels,
Great Expectations of Great Crowds in
Chicago-Optic.1 Dcluslon Caused by
the Bigness Of Things in the Monster
Exposition.
WORLDS FAIR, May g Especial. =
Every one who comes so see the Column
bien exposition is at once impressed by the
vast scale OF which everything in connec-
ton with the fair has been planned OF con-
structed. This is almost as noticeable
without the grounds as within. Even il
the central pert Of the city one observes
immense hotels that obviously have been
opened for Worlds fair trade. At the
lake front park ara still more striking evil
dences of the exposition boom and of the
fact that the Chicagoans have made ali
their plans in anticipation of an euor-
nous influx OF visitors. In the harbor is
a big feet Of steamships waiting to carry
passengers te jackson park, eight miles
away. Some of tie vessels are new. as the
monster whaleback passenger steamer
which has just arrived from Duluth, and
which is said to be able to carry 5000 per-
sons. As yet not many people use the
steamers, for the weather Is not very
warm here and every one is in a hurry to
get to the fair. But later in the summer.
when the mercury rises and the city be-
comes disagreeably hot, thousands upon
thousands viii be glad to avail themselves
of the opportunity to refresh body and
soul during an hours ride on the cool lake.
For the cconE1odation of these crowds
enormous piers and landings have been
constructed. On one of the piers is an
immense pavilion, in which IS restau-
rant, besides many other attractions de-
signed to take the n;mble nickels, dimes
and quarters from the pockets OF the null
titude. Near By are other piers and land
ings, and the steamers constantly going
and coming with their passengers and
their bands Of music make scene of great
animation
Here, too, is the terminus Of the Illinois
Central Worlds fair railway. An elabo-
rate system OF platforms and turnstiles
has been provided, and almost every min
ute of the day the special express trains
are arriving from or departing for the ex-
position. To take care of the Worlds fair
travel this road must have spent two mill
ions of dollars. It bought hundred loco
motives and nearly a Thousand cars Be
sides, it elevated several miles of track in
the vicinity of the exposition grounds.
These preparations On 30 vast a scale have
produced an admirable result. The special
trains start ont every two or three min
utes, ten cars in a train and each train
carrying, when all the seats are occupied,
$50 persons. There are eight parallel
tracks, one line Of double rails being used
for these Worlds fair expresses, which
make no stops and do the journey in fif-
teen minutes, another serving the subur-
ban trains, OF which there are sl2 in day
Increased this summer from 1897, the third
carrying the through passenger and excur-
sion trains, and the fourth the freight
traffic
On the way to the fair visitors behold a
scene of much interest. In the lake, the
steamers plying to and fro. At the..water's
edge the trains wLizzing past each other
every minute or two. Not far from the
shore the cable roads and the trains on the
elevated road may be seen, and now and
then one gets glimpse Of the big coaches
with their four horses swinging along the
boulevards. AL tho way out may be seen
hotel after hstei, many OF them enormous
structures covering half or the whole OF
p block and with from six to twelve stories
These increase ip number as the region of
the fair is reached, and extend for a mile
or two bach iros the lake. After stran-
ger has gased upon acreafter acre of these
big buildings, and noted the innumerable
smaller structures and private houses
which have been converted temporarily
into inns, he rightly concludes that Chi
eago has gone into this Worlds fair bust