Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-19
MANAGING A CROWD.
How the Thrcng at the Chicago Fair
is Directed.
MANY PLAIN SPEAKING PLAChRDS.
How the Great Rush Can Be
Avoided.
HINTS FOR THE UNINITIATED.

crowd.
how to get it out and how to make it behave
itself while il is ,here-.his is one of the great
est. if not the greatest difficulties that The man
agement of the worlds fair has had to contend
with from tie very beginning 1t is all question
of arrangements, for n crowd of human beings /
is like a flock of sheep. and do nothing for .
itself. whereas it will step into any corner or /
passageway that is presented in front OF it.
The crowd at the worlds fair is manipulated /
by passageways. signs ard men who lead it the |
way it should go. Tine signs many of them {
in several languages.
This way to elevated trains iG translated
into German and French. and other signs some
times include Swedish translation. The hand,
pointing in certain direction, and the sign
Entrance Exit" as the case may be, is
found everywhere But it has been found that
signs not sufficient guides to large
crowd Most people can read them, but others
cannot or do not. and these the ones that
invariably try to go in where they ought to go
out. and who, seeing stream of people going
in certain direction Mt once start III an oppo-
site direction 1t is iii this way that blockades
are occasioned. and whenever blockade takes
place in a crowd of thousands of people there
is danger of a stampede a panic. with con-
sequent danger to life and limb That this is
well known 70 the police and others accustomed
to handling large crowds can be easily seen
from the fact that they ALWAYS use their best
endeavors to keep crowd in motion.
1t is absolutely necessary that il keep in mo-
ton at the worlds fair especially. for if it did
not there would be great damage to the valua-
bic exhibits. In some of the sections there are
wares exposed worth hundreds of thousands of
| dollars They are not always under glass, and,
| indeed. could not be effectively displayed II
| they were. nor are they rallied off. bat one
d. group of visitors after another comes in all day
long and looks at these valuable and fragile
| articles and they suffer no damage. The reason
| is simply that the crowd is well managed. 1t
must not linger too long; there are everywhere
signs saying. please do not touch. and in
some sections these signs read. please do not
| touch This means you. which is an effective
| way of suggesting ID the visitor that he makes a
| m take il he supposes himself to be an oXccp-
tioral individual who can safely handle articles
that other people can only look at.
Another reason why the crowds in the build
ings are not unwIeidv is that they are SO well
distributed. and this is a thing accomplished by
their own curiosity largely. While are
looking at thing others are looking at
another, and their CURIOSITY hurries them on
rapidly. They dwell upon nothing long be-
cause they hope soon to see something better.
There are Disadvantages in this fact. because
the people who practice II go away with an in
distinct idea of many things. instead of having
distinct idea of a few. but it has the advantage
| of preventing congestion, which might other
wise prove dangerous.
In getting into the fair grounds an important
factor in preventing blockades is the numerous
entrances and ticket Offices There gates
at The end of every street that leads to the park.
and here there ticket Offices and turns tile
entrances to the number of half dozen or
more. These entrances bear signs which desig
nate them as pay gates, or pass gates, or work
mems gates. or chiidrens gates. respectively.
and no one is permitted to go through gate
other than the one to which his ticket pass
applies. 1t must not be supposed that the
wOrkmen's gate and the pass gate are lightly
pstronized. for it frequently happens that for
every two persons who so through the pay
gates one goes through the Pass gate. Forty
per cent OF the people in the grounds come i'll
on passes. The majority of them are exhibitors.
| or they have some connection with exhibits,
but good many are the fortunate possessor5
/ of complimentary tickets. They are still a
source of profit to the fair, however. as they
eat and buy, and thus put their money into the
treasury of the management.
The truth is that the entrance gates 81
numerous that they are seldom crowded. and
\ 1875 900 people can pass through them, as they
did on German day, without causing very long
waiting or very much crushing. As each per
son passes through the gates turIstile click.
and he is registered The ticket taker mus; &C.
count for the registering Of entrances and the
number of tickets received. In getting The
crowd out there is less trouble even than in
gettingit in. Alongside of the entrances are
exits, which also have turnstiies. and they
only turn one way, and that is the way that lets
you out, there is no chance for anybody who
starts to go out to change his mind and turn
back. Having go. out Won cannot come back
unless Won purchase another ticket or have
check. and checks are given only to those whc
hold passes.
OF course there are great crowds about tn
cars in the evening when the greater proper
ton of the people leave the fair, and there i
more OF less pushing. but thus far even in tn
largest Of these assemblnges, there has been m
crushing. When a crowd becomes really un
. weldy good many OF the people accept til
I ! situation gracefully and 20 for some means O
, conveyance which is less crowded. The rea
danger would be apt to occur in getting on AM
! off the trains. but the system used involves tn
: closing of the gates Of the cars as soon as the
: are full, and people who are not on board Can
not crowd in.
The greatest massi.g of the crowd in thu
| grounds takes place at ght when the center @
/, attraction is at one particular spot. This is til
] Court of Honor, where the grand iluminatio,
takes place and where the fireworks are sent of
| and the plaza, which offers the best view of al
r This becomes IA solid mass OF humanity. 1t j,
r however. a perfectly good natured crowd. anC
il has thus far. not been an unmanageable one
" but it can readily be conceived that there migh
( be some danger to one i'll the thick of it
1 / there should be fire OF some accldent shoul
e befal.
Ii visitor to the worlds fair wishes to be i
as small n crowd rs possible he is advised to &
out to the grounds early in the morning. III
< buildings are all open ut 8 O'Clock except tn
n art gallery. which does not open till Q, and tn
1 crowd does not come in large numbers until tn
5 afternoon. 1t is probably at is thichest at
- o clock and after it begins to fall off rapidly
I, IL a person leaves the city before o. clock
avoids the greatest rush of the crowd in IL
/. cars, and If he returns early he Will find plent
r. OF ROOM OF course lac cannot see all the sigh
quite as well as he might if he wen: when Il
: crowd is thickest. In the Midway PIaIsarc
i for instance. the performances NJ the warrior
e. shows are generally given at about o clocl
and If an exhibit il of such nature that
cannot be shown all day the afternoon hou
are preferred for the display.
Before finishing with his subject of Grove
at the .air it must be remarked that neryo'
People who afraid to so on account OF Il
crowds make a grievous mistake. They forG
that while 100000 people is II very great nun
Der it ceases to be formidable when 1t Is tll
trIbutcd over an area OF hundreds of acres, an
they also forget that there is plenty Of room Il
n Iersou to sc; away from the crowd and st
see the fair G. II.
unsrS- inf vi Tcyy, ~