The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-10-04
THE FAIRS WHITE ELEPHANT.
What Is 10 BE Done with the Build
ings When the Pair Is Over:

In lump figures SIS, 600 went into the
construction of the worlds fair buildings
and the preparation Of the grounds for
the exposition. The point that now in
terests the stockholders, and incidentally
che whole city and country is how much
can be realized from that Sl9.OO0,OOO worth
of time and material.
1t is safe To assume that the time is
dead waste. 1t is safe to say also that
a large-a frightfully large-proportion of
the material will have to go by the board.
In the rosy days of promotion it was
figured that 100000 could be realized
from the sale of the buildings and the
materials. Since then there has been a
slump in the expectations, and today it
is toss up whether there will be enough
salvage to pay for the tearing down of
the buildings, the removal of the ma
terials and the restoration of the park
10 the condition i'm which it was before
il was turned over 10 the Exposition COM
pany.
The South park commissioners fear
that the fair corporation will forfeit its
$780, 900 bond and abandon the buildings
rather than attempt to tear them down
and restore the grounds TO their original
condition.
John c. Flemming. Chicago representa-
tive of the Carnegie companies, which
furnished about twO-thirds of the iron
entering into the buildings, SAYS that
"a very large part Of the iron at Jackson
park will have to go into the scrap pile"
That means that it will have to be sold
for old iron and at price which may
not pay half on a quarter OF the price
making IL available even for that dispO-
sition. There are 1000 tons of iron in
the manufacturers building, costing
about $40 a ton to put in place, or nearly
5000, 900 in all.
There are nearly thirty thousand tons
in the several buildings, representing
cost of over 81 SOC, 900.
Illustrative Of the cost of taking down
iron work, it may be stated that the
architect of Steele Mackaye'S skeleton
Spectacular estimates that it will cost
SO 600 and every dollar that can be real
ICED from the sale of the material to pull
down and remove that unsightly monu-
ment of yet other blissful promotion mo-
ments.
The owners Of the Ferris wheel expect
to pay $3.50 to responsible contractors
to take down, transport and set up that
wonderful piece of work on another site.
Emil Phillipson says 1t will cost $lOO, 600
over and above the salvage TO tear down
and remove the manufacturers building.
Diligent inquiry among wrecking firms
and contractors failed to uncover any
that would confess having any intention
Of bidding on the destruction Of the
White City. or that would admit they
knew of anybody who had a definite
purpose in that direction.
No matter who has the work to do,
there is going to be great trouble and eX-
pense In dispOsing Of the waste and rub
bish. Where to put it will he a tough
problem to solve. 1t cannot be dumped
haphazard into the lake, as much of it
would be washed back upon the shore
bv the action Of the water. The authOri-
ties would not allow that disposition TO
be made Of il. There will be between
ten thousand and twelve thousand car
loads of waste material to be hauled
away from Jackson park, according TO
the calculation of a prominent contractor
that is to say, between one million, five
hundred thousand and two million cubic
yards of rubbish. There will be some
thousands of cac-loads of staff alone to
be carted away.
There is no hole or swamp to NIL up
within TRANSFERABLE distance Of Jack
son park A sugges ton has been offered
that the waste mate rial be used for the
creation Of an artificial mountain at the
southeast corner of the park. In the
loose form it will be in when carried
from the grounds the waste material
will make a pile 1000 feet square and
between fifteen and twell,y feet high.
The surface area Of such creation
would be about twenty-three acres.
1t was said while the buildings We're
being erected that he iron framework Of
several of them would be soh TO rail
road companies to be used as stations.
All the roads running into Chicago have
fine stations and there seems to- be no
chance to dispose of the iron framGl7 here.
The question the officials want an
swered is. What shall be done with the
buildings and the rubbish ?-Chicago Cor.
n. Y. Times.