Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-10-26
THE,BIG FAIR.
WoKLD's Fam GROUND.
CHICAGO, 0croBKR l6, 1888.
tFrom our Special oorrespondent.l

Il
will have a surplus Of at least 1900, 900 in
the hand, and probably much more. This
represents almost 40 per cent of that part Of
capital stock of the exposition furnished BY
the popular subscriptions Of citizens. How
much Of the $4,000, 900 or more, il any, will
be distributed among the stockholders, is q
question that Is now being discussed BY the
officials. The feeling Is general that with
anything like economical management
81, ,000, 900 can be paid back to the stockhold-
err. Treasurer Seeberger is in favor Of set
ting that sum aside on the morning of Nov,
and compelling those in charge to wind up
the affairs of the exposition on what remains
in the form of cash assets and salvage.
II that policy prevails stockholders will get
back little more thac 100000, or about 10
per cent Of the amount they subscribed
The remaipderwould 60 to the city of Chi
cago, which under the terms of the issue OF
$4,000, 600 in bonds in aid of the exposition,
comes in on the same footing as original sub
scribers to the Worlds Fair fund.
Several important questions are naturally
Presented in connection with this proposed
payment Of the 10000 stockholders in the ex-
position. One is the probable sum that will
be received from salvage and The other ia the
revenue from gate receipts after Dot. 81.
Both are now receiving some attention from
the managers.
There is little doubt that the exposition
will not be torn down by the men who built
IT, In fact, an early disbandment of Mr..
Burnham's extensive department is by no
means improbable. With the exception of
several superintendents who may make
themselves valuable in disposng of salvage,
the entire organization is likely to be swept
away, and the contract for tearing the build
ipu down given to wrecklng firms who will
buy the building as they stand, removes ev.
erything of value and leave the rubbish in
Jack con park to be disposed of by the torch.
President Higinbotham favors that plan and
economist gives weight to anything he says
indorses it.
The probable revenue from gate receipts
after Nov. has not been estimated. That
the fair will be open for few days af-
ter fashion, has never been denied, nor has
il been questioned for a moment that the
work OF destruction would commence at
once. Visitors will be allowed to come In
after Nov. just as they were before the
opening on May /, but they will not see the
exposition in perfect state. They will see
thousands of busy workman taking down
pictures, packing statuary, removing rare
pottery from show cases and tearing down
psvilions that few days before were iammed
with displays. They will see the fair as it
was late in April, not as it appeared on Chi
cago day.
spite of ITSELF" said President HiRin-
botham. "We could not bring it to a close
il we wanted to, without offending thous-
ands of visitors who have not seen enough
of it, but the gates will be formally closed
on Oct. 81"
While no estimate is made Of the gate re-
ceipts after Nov. /, confidence is expressed
that of the $1,000,000 expended by the con-
struction department something can be
saved in the form of salvage il the plan of
disposing Of the buildings indicated by
Auditor Ackerman is adopted. Mr.. Acker-
man is not willing to admit that such vast
sum could be sunk in temporary buildings.
"In my opinion the proper way to proceed
ia to sell the empy buildings as they stand"
he said. II know shat Il contractor uptown
has estimated that it will cost us $4,000, 900
to restore the park to the condition in which
we found it, but beg to disagree with that
statement. Perhaps it would cost us that
sum if we maintained an extensive organi-
| zation of our own to remove the buildings
and dispose of the wreckage, but that is not
the economical way to do it. What we want
to do is to sell the buildings as they stand,
giving the buyers time to remove what they
want and leave the wreckage behind to be
burned. =,
! II ali convinced chat some of the build.
ings would yield small percentage of their
cost If sold in this way. All of them con-
tain material that could be used again by
contractors, but that is not the chief advan-
taga of the plan. By adopting that method
we would be able to disband very expen-
sive organization at once, one in my opin-
| ion that it is by no means necessary to keep
up after the close of the fair. I am well
aware that, if we undertake to MAINTAIN all
of these costly bureaus and departments,
the sum we get from salvage will melt away
very rapidly, and nothing will remain for
our stockholders. But if the other plan is
adopted great saving will be made and il
is not impossible that dividend could be
declared. I should not, however, advise any
payment to the stockholders until all the
affairs of our company had been settled. Il
might be we'll enough to put certain sun
aside and endeavor to reserve 1t for thost
who furnished the money to build the fair
but the funds should not be distributed IL
the beginning They should be reserved un
til we are ready to finally close our records.
Considering the phenomenal attendance
of the last few days, the immense revenues
from concessions in consequence of the BIZ
crowds, the sum that might be realized from
salvage if Auditor Ackerman's suggestion
were adopted and the gate receipts afte
Nov. i, the prospects for dividend to tn
stockholders are exceedingly fatterina
There is every reason to believe that the at
tendance during the closing days of Octobe
will be even larger than any of the official
have dared to predict. Director Genera
Davis made the estimate early in Septem
Der that the average daily attendace durin
October would be 100000. The guess wa
: considered wildly extravagant at the time
but his predictions have been more thai
justified, 1t would not be surprising now
} the daily attendance would be nearer 800,
600 than 100000 and the increased revenue
from concessions if that rate were maiu
tanned, above any estimates that have eve
been made, would be at least 100000.
Over 7l6,0O0 people paid to enter Jackso
4 park Monday-Chicago day. Tuesday an
Wednesday each had 308, 900 and Thursda
27S, 900.
J Never in history was such a crowd be
:, fore gatheredas as sembled at jackson par
Monday. Three-quarters of million {
} people in a space little more than mil
a square! What do you think of it?
Souvenir tickets to the number of 500
> 900 are being printed for Manhattan (Ne
4 York City, day, Oct 81. Preparations fc
!, one of the biggest days of the expositio
season are being pushed.
What Shakespeare Might Have Sale
To take or not to take that is the question.
, Whether tits better for q man TO suffer
Thepangs and tornement Of indigestion,
Or something take, and, In its takeing, Ell
= them. ,"
Shakespeare didn't say that, but yer
likely he would have said somethin
3 similar, If he were living in this 19t
century, when so many suffer untol
agonies from indigestion. Of cours