The morning call., 1893-05-17
THE CHICAGO FAIR.

Matters are approaching crisis at the
Worlds Fair. Last Saturday the en-
ployes were not paid as usual, and the ex-
cuse was made that the payrolls were not
made out. 1t now transpres that it is not
the payrolls which are wanting but the
money. 1t seems that the management is
now dependent on its daily receipts for the
means to pay its way. 1t was reckoned
that the gate money would not only cover
working expenses, but would furnish a
fund for dividends on the cost of the en-
terprise. 1t is now stated that the daily
outgo is nearly four times as great as the
daily income. Bankruptcy stares the fair
in the face and CONSERVATION prevails.
Observers are lost in coDjectures how
this wholly unexpected catastrophe befeI.
1t is certainly extraordinary that fund so
large as was at the disposal of the man.
ayers should have been already exhausted.
1t did, of course. cost large sum TO cover
$40 acres of land with buildings which are
almost unparalleled in magnifcence, bnt
S33. 100000 is q large sum, a very large
sum, and will pay for good deal Of brick,
mortar and lumber.
a careful perusal of the letters which
are being written from Chicago leads TO
the conclusion that the show has been
crlppleda by the slipshod character of the
administration. There appears to have
been 30 head anywhere. Contractors have
fulfilled their contracts or not as they
pleased. Items of expense which were set
down as likely to absorb thousands have
eaten up tens OF thousands; others for
which tens OF thousands were appropriated
have cost hundreds Of thousands. Officials in
charge have felt that they had a big money
chestto dip into they have apparently used
their means lavishly without thought Of the
future. We, Of California, see how il is
ourselves. Against the advice of many
conserva tive minds the Legislature appro-
priated S3O0,000 in aid of our State ex-
hibit To This counties added sums which
are reekOned as amounting TO as much
more, or even 100000. Yet the California
building is a primeval wilderness. the prog
ress made on it since the fair opened be-
ing hardly perceptible. The holes in the
roof have been calked, but the general ap-
pearance OF the building is that of an edi-
fee through which a cyclone has passed
Exhibitors are walking through the de-
vastatiOn as Marius walked through the
ruins of Carthage, sad and deSOlate.
1t is never too late TO mend, and five and
a half of the six months of the show still
remain to be utilized. Some day, surely.
order will emerge from chaos. and some
thing else besides the great Coriss engine
will be on exhibition. Long before Sep
tember. at any rate, the exhibits should
all be in place, and the visitor will behold
a display OF the products of human skill
and ingenuity which the world has never
witnessed Those who are wise will let a
few weeks pass without adding to the
prevailing confusion by their presence.
There is no reason why the term originally
set for the duration of the show should
not be extended. The law under whic
the fair was organized Is not as immutable
as the laws of The Medes and Persians.
There are things at Chicago which people
will never forgive themselves If they neglect
the opportunity of seeing. In the side
shows. for admission to which a fee is
charged, every human race is exhibited,
with its proper local color. They consti-
tute an object lesson in geography which
is unique. In the small space of a square
mile the visitor can behold SAMPLES Of
every variety Of human being, clothed as
he is at home, with his tools, his weapons,
his shelter ard his food around him. The
spectator travels around the world, in
specting each obscure corner ana untrod-
den bypath. He gains in a few hours a
knowledge which travellers have consumed
years in acquiring. That alone would be
worth going to Chicago to see.
Whether the fair will pay as the Centen-
nial and the Paris Exposition did is a mat
ter which concerns the projectors and not
the public. Ii great loss results it will
teach a lesson which may be useful when
the time comes for another Worlds Fair
on American soil.