The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-02-06
INSTALLING THE EXHIBITS.
Many Worlds Fair Novelties Already
Placed in jackson Park.
Especial Correspondence

many w OTluS NOV6lOlcS <A1ECssuy
Placed in jackson Park.
Especial Correspondence
CHICAGO, JAN 26.-Some of the
Worlds fair buildings are already be-
ginning to receive their exhibits, and
what with the shrill footing and whis-
Ting of the locomotives, the crealxing of
the machinery, the straining of the floors
as these iron horses of commerce labori-
ously pull their heavy loads up the long
aisles, and the shouts and yells of a
small army of worlmen, the scenes and
sounds in sections of jackson park just
now seem very much like confusion con-
founded. 1t is a great task, that OF
properly installing the hundreds of thou
sands of exhibits that are to come from
near and far. from our own domain and
from the uttermost ends of the earth.
Something like IL, 900 carloads of ex-
hibits are to arrive within the next
ninety days, over 1870 day, and the
contents of every car, whether they be
fragile materials that can be handled by
child OF ponderous machinery that
vel call into requisition the services of
the big cranes that have been erected,
must be unloaded and placed in proper
position by the list day of May. This of
itself will be feat. There are railroad
people Of experience who say that it will
be impossible of accomplishment, and
who insist that month or so from now,
when exhibitors will begin to make up
for lost time and cars loaded up with
exposition freight to total of 300 or 400
a day, come knocking for admittance at
the gates, there will be blockade, and
everything will be at skies and sevens.
But the management, which SO far has
steered the exposition craft through
smooth waters, insists that there will be
nothing of the kind; that the wheels Of
the machinery, both human and me-
chanical, have been thoroughly creased,
and that everything will move as slick
and with as much dispatch as though
there were no roofs upon the buildings
and each exhibit was lowered from the
clouds to its proper place. And by the
same token the first day of the month
of flowers is to see everything in readi-
ness, in decency and in good order.
It is a pretty miscellaneous collection
with which to inaugurate the work of
the installation department, and the APP
pearance of it doesn't inspire the specta-
tor with any particular degree of en-
thusiasm. Possibly this is because con-
genial acknowledgement, music and
the dash and splash of the waters Of the
big fountains-are lacking. But posi-
bly, the same exhibits that look very
prosy just now will be found actually
enchanting when inspected through rose
colored glasses next summer. This col
lection of anatomical models from Brem-
en-, for instance, consigned for the time
being to an out of the way corner, may
prove strong attraction to hundreds
and thousands of lesser or greater lights
in the medical world. And here, bright
and early, is model of the Ceylon
court, which has occupied many months
in its long journey. That score or more
of cases over yonder are filled with an
Equities and works of art and came
from Rome. In some of them there are
MANY choice treasures, and that is why
a watchman is always standing guard in
the neighborhood.
Before and behind us, to right and
left, scattered around is woodwork
from Toronto, models from Paris, sun
dry monster cases from Sweden, hampers
of plants and evergreens from Japan
some of them, it is said, from garden
in which Edwin Arnold and those
Japanese maidens of whom he has
proved so valiant champion, have In
times gone by played blindman's buff.
Those funny looking things off to the
south are models of Chinese boats that
came direct from Hong-Kong. Along
side of them, as if to promote spirit of
fraternity, are two large haida canoes
from southwestern Alaska. New South
Wales gets the banner of honor as the
first foreign country to make very much
of show. Twelve carloads of this ex-
hibit were on the grounds before the
year was a week old. The majority
were intended for the mining building,
and are now in process of installation
under the personal supervision of the
commissioners from the colony.
Over in the Horticultural building are
three immense vases, each large enough
to hold four men of medium size. They
are rude in construction and made of
imperfectly burnt clay, but they will be
a great center of attraction a few months
hence, for the placard attached to them
will tell that their history began about
the time the Saviour was on earth. This
gilt figure, peeping out of nest of
straw, represents Hoo, the japanese
bird of paradise, and which the natives
regard as sacred bird, symbolic of hap
piness and eternal beatitude. Its wings
will soon be extended over the gateway
that leads to the Japanese exhibit Of
liberal arts. HENRY M. HUNT.