The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-08-27

WHFE0
nsss- The financial condition il such that
they are afraid TO go away. The banks
are against us- Senator Henderson vas
mere q DAY or 50 ago. He told me that one
o. the Grief enemies the fair haa xas the
banks said he: The banks donss want
the people TO 20 TO the fair. Thew are
aasa up 81. over The country, aud il hurts
mem 70 have their money taken OF TO
chicago by their deposstors. Tnev havs
been doing all they can with the railroads
% keep their rates OF fare up. aud they
discourage tue Worlds fair in e.erv way.
l oehsFe this 10 be true. /" Director General
DAVIS went on. "a great deal of money
comes here from every point in the United
ssases and 81 this time the loss Is being
Has the fair helped Chiragog"
Yes, replied Mr.. Davis. II, ha. prac-
ticaisy saved the Chicago banks. There
mas Oesn less trouble here than at any
osasr boint IN the country, and the Chi
caSo naiass have plenty OF money. The
merchants are doing big business, and
some Oh the larger trims are having more
custom Than thew can attend 20. / don't
sninx the hotels are making much
-. and there Is By no means
Ias exIorflon practiced that has been
charged The probability Is that septem-
Ds1 ana October viii see bigger crowds
saah ever. and the richer people will PROB
nasy come At that time. Now many Of
them are az the sea shore, and We could
see the falling of of this class as soon a.
me not weather began. IL is this class
taat pat-onixes the best hotels and that
spends the money which comes unto us
largely Through the concessions"
does the fair management make much
Hotn the concessions? v asked.
Yea replied Gen. Davis; ''our re-
sespts from the concessions We have
granted 70 the different shows in the Mid
WAY riaisance and to others dong busI-
pest IN the grounds now more than pay
the running expenses OF the fair. We get
q percentage Of the gross receipts of all
the shows and percentage OF the receipts
from nearly everything sold. These per-
centagcs range all the way from p
per cent. TO 10 per cent. and
every girl who chews gum in the
grounds gives 20 per cent. OF the amount
sne pays for the gum TO the Worlds fair.
In other words. the Tuiti Frutti chewing
gum company pays us 20 per cent. of its
receipts. OF the shows I'm the Midway.
think the Cairo street pays best. though
We get good round sum from all. rho
Dig Ferris wheel has paid US nothing as
yet. liz was not TO give percentage until IL
had received enough TO pay the expenses
OF putting il up. This has been about ac-
complished and We will get good income
nearly as well as was expected. The
roller chair man has not been doing as
much as he thought he would, and pop
corn. which was considered very good
concession at Philadelphia. is not worth
much here. There j. not great demand
for guides. and the Waukesha Water Com
pany, though 1t does big business. is not
turning out as much as was expected"
Are the foreigners satisfied with the
fairf"
Not very WE'LL" replied Director Gen.
erai Davis, "they do not like the conces-
sions. and they saythat the allowing them
TO peddle out things from the different
countries materially affects their business.
Many Of them have so decidedly objected
that We have changed the rule and al
lowed them 10 sell things in the vari-
Gus buildings. We expect them TO
pay percentage TO the fair.
They are not doing. however. the
business they expected 10 do. This Is
largely from the fact that the richer
class of our people are not here. The
crowd you sec on the grounds today Is not
made up of men who buy thousand-doliar
vases. line carriages or order beautiful
china and pictures. Ii the times let up We
will have some of these people In Ssptem-
Der, but not now. As To keeping the fair
open after November, IL would be an inn
possibility from the fact that the exhibitors
would not stay. fiat were not so from the
buildings"
WHO are making money out of the
fair2" | asked.
"The Chicago merchants. few of the
hotels. the railroads and some Of the con-
cessi)naires," was the reply. AS 10 any
one connected with the fair making money,
] do not know OF q cent that has been got
ten by the officers. As for me. as large as
my salary IS, | have spent more than it
s.,s 81 Ia ~
form in keeping mp with the position. |
think the same Is true OF the other OH
Gals"
After leaving Director General Davis
talked for SONS time with Maj. M. +.
Handy, who had charge OF the bureau of
publicity and promotion, and who has
been. as theatrical people would say. the
advance agent of the fair. One question
! asked him was in regard 20 the large free
list. There is. you know, q tuFnstiie for
passes connected with every gate az which
paid tickets are taken, and the number OF
passes given out amount to about 30 900
daily. Said Maj. Handy:
Thirty thousand is not large number
of free admissions for fair like this. Ii is
generally supposed that these are all given
to the press. The truth Is most of the pa ses
belong to the employees OF the fair. There
are $1,000 exhibitors here. Each has the
right To ticket for himself and his attend
ant. Then think OF the army of men con :
nccted with the concessions. of the clean
ers aud sweepers. and Of the peopie who
have 10 come in TO the fair 70 bring food
and other things. and you Will see that
this numoer Is very small. Ii is true that
q number of newspaper passes have been
given out. bat the newspapers have made
the fair, and IL seems to me that the push
ing OF the fair with the newspapers ought
10 be kept mp today as strongly as ever. l
think this iair ought 10 De run rs a great
show. and that IL the only way TO make it
pay"
'Es il going to paw" | asked.
I'VE will pay our debts" was Maj
Handy's reply. Had the times not been
SO hard We would have given big dlyi-
dend to our stockholders.
When will the next World : fair come %
"There wilt never he another big worlds
fair" replied Maj Handy. This has
capped the climax. Chicago has set the
pace too rapid Tor any other city or any
other nation TO compete with IL Think
OF il. The fair has cost 100000. The
thought af such an attempt would send
the cold ehllls down the back OF any nation
in Europe New York could never have
done what Chicago has done. and | doubt
whether Chicago will ever do a. much
again.
Mai Handy comes from Philadelphia.
When | knew him some years ago | vas
associated with him ia tue New York
iteFld bureau in Washington City, and
found that has views on most sub
ieets were conservative. Ike all men
Who have bcen connected for any time
with Chleaeo, however. be has now be-
come convinced that u IS the center OF
the EARTH. and when | preached the idea
that the Words far might. on the Whole.
be rather an injury than good 10 the city.
he secuted the Iasinuatiou and said - I he