Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1893-06-12
SUNDAY OPENING At THE FAIR.


SUNDAY OPENING At THE FAIR.
We were in Chicago on the first
Sunday that the Fair grounds were
opened to visitors and learned some
thing of the success OF the attempt
to fill the grounds with Sunday v1si-
tors. The day was fine and it was
! confidently asserted that there was to
| be such an attendance as would con-
vince the world that Chicago, at
| least, was in favor of having the
grounds accessible to the great Chica-
go population. All the secular papers
favored the opening; most Of them
encouraged, by long and frequent edi-
torals, the people to turn out on the
first Sunday, at least, and show by at
tendance and good behavior that
there was great desire to have open
gates. Several of those interested in
Sunday opening made public appeals
under their own names asking the
public to come out. The steam boat
lines, the railroads and every party
who expected to make a great day of
it was in readiness for tremendous
rush. We really supposed that there
would be a great commotion and
large inflow of people, but everything
in our part of the city was as quiet as
could be desired in any Christian
community; few people from the no.
tel and surrounding hotels were at
the Fair; there was no extra run
ming of trains or electric cars.
On Monday morning when the pa
pers came out it was learned that the
attendance on Sunday proved to be
but a few thousand more than the
Saturdays attendance-there was
really no rush. On the following
Tuesday, Decoration day, there was
nearly three times as many as on
Sunday. In making a computation
we discovered that only one in from
fifteen to eighteen of those in conven
lent distance of the Fair visited it on
Sunday. This showed several things:
That the people of Chicago are not
clamoring for Sunday opening, and
Uu6U OIlly t ROI COlU VI UhOHA
will attend when the gates are open;
it showed that in a city population in
which S3 in every hundred are foreign
born, where every sort of religious
belief exists, and great per cent
never visit churches, and where
every wicked and dangerous ism
abounds there is, somehow, enough
regard for the Sabbath and the keep
ing of the commands of God, SO that
the people in large numbers care not
to desecrate the day.
1t turned out that many exhibitors
would not uncover Or open their goods
and pavilions and that a large num-
Der of the States closed their State
buildings. The machinery was not run
ming and many things Of interest could
notbe seen. We notice. that the atten-
dance last Sunday-the second at
tempt-was even a greater failure
than the first. The attendance was
smaller and many of the exhibits
were shut off from view. The exhib
it's of the whole British Empire, in
Canada, Australia and other Posses
sions were locked up. The United
States Government building, build
ing that contains the best single eX-
hibit, was closed, as were several
State buildings not closed the Sunday
previous.
Meanwhile the U. S. government
has served an Injunction on the man
ayers of the Fair and the matter has
been brought before the Supreme
Court with, we expect, a prospect
that the Court will sustain the pro-
ceedings and shut the gates by law.
Should the attempt to close the gates
by law fail there will be an indigna
ton among the people all over the
land that will amount to little less
than boycott of the Fair. No moral
question in the last years has SO stir
red the country as this one, and if the
Fair managers insist in keeping an
open Sunday, thousands of people will
never visit the Fair.
LATER: The court to whom the mat
ter of the injunction against opening
the gates of the fair on Sunday was
brought, decides that the U. S. gov
ernment has a right to senjO1n the
managers from opening the gates.
The decision will be appealed from,
but it goes to show that the rights IN
the case are with the government.