The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-05-03
the GREAT EXPOSITION.
Continued from page i,

ness. AT last the climax came. The pres.
ident's address was ended and he was seen
TO bend toward the tiny instrument that
was to work such gigantic wonders.
NO pen could describe nor imagination
compass the demonstration that followed
when president Cleveland pressed the key
OF the gold and ivory instrument that
turned on the electric current and vital
lzed the machinery and made the whole
| VAST exposition as Il thing of life The
wheels OF the great Allis engine in Ma
chinery hall commenced to revolvc, the
orchestra poaled forth the strains of 'sIIal-
leluJah," and as the electric fountains In
the lagoon threw their torrents toward the
sky, the thunder Of artillery came from
the vessels in the lake, and the audience
burst into laundering shout that fairly
shook the building. Overhead the flags at
the tops OF the poles in front of the plat
form fell apart and revealed two gilded
models OF the ships in which Columbus
nrst sailed to American shores. 1t was
| wonderful scene of transformation never
to be forgotten by those who witnessed it.
| Then the band played America" and the
exercises were at an end The Columbian
exposition was opened to the world.
After the Opening.
The inner wants of the distinguished
| guests then demanded the consideration of
the committee Of arrangements, and With
President Cleveland at their head, arm in
arm with President Palmer, they were es-
| corted to the third floor of the Admins
tration building. Here covers had been
| lad for 40 guests, comprising the presiden-
tial, vice presidential and the ducal parties,
| Generals Schofield and Miles, Admiral
! Gherardi, Governor Altgeld and Mayor
| Harrison, the officers of the committee and
| exposition, Mrs Potter Palmer and the
| members Of the council of administration.
The party sat at a round table, the presi-
dent having Mrs Palmer at his right and
the Duchess of Ncragua ut his left. The
luncheon, which was Il simple one, was
| served by Al walters, one for each state.
| The table was set with specially imported
china and cut glass, and silver service
| designed for the occasion after an old
| English pattern. At the conclusion of the
luncheon President Cleveland was escorted
to the foreign section OF Manufacturers
| hall, where he received the commissioners
from foreign countries.
What the People Did.
The holiday was on and the people pro-
ceeded to the full enjoyment of it. The
| urban and suburban citizens and their
cousins from the remote backwoods were
| goodnaturedly mixed up with the foreign
, ers. Representatives of all nations ell
| the great white city. Swnrthy Turks
from the shores of the Bosphorous walked
side by side with their traditional enemies
the fierce Cossacks of the Don; sooty MI
bians jostled yellow I4ascars subjects of
the shah hobnobbed with denizens of the
land of the white elephant; the Esquimos
children of the frozen north-sauntered
through the long reach of roadway, gazing
curiously Mt the Japanese, whose home is
mas fln
| tions.
OF course Great Britain and continental
| Europe were the most strongly represent
Ell. There WAS a glitter of foreign uni
forms and gold and lace i'll every corner,
and every third man wore decoration
There were Germans, Frenchmen, Rus
slams, Austrians. Spain, which claims the
chief glory of the Columbian era in right
of Ferdinand and Isabella, who sent the
| great admiral forth on his quest, divided
the honors with Italy, who claims his
birthplace.
Buffalo Bill Attracted Attention.
There were some queerly assorted groups.
| In one party were n merchant from Bag
| dad with his two turbaned attendants a
squad of English soldiers, three Armenian
! gymnasts from the Midway plaisance, sew
| cral malodorous and chattering Cingalese
| ami Mr.. William +. Cody better known as
Buffalo Bill, who, by the way, attracted
rs much attention as any pasha with three
| tails or other foreign notable on the
! grounds.
| In another place party of Arab donkey
drivers divided the honors with three
lilndoo snake charmers from Upper India
! i'll the eyes of Il family from Missouri CON
sistin@ of father, mother and five children.
| The elevated road carried similar ncon-
gruous groups, and the cable cars rcsound-
cd all day with the tongues of all nations.
Above the heads of the throng floated
the flags of all nations. The union Jack
OF old England swung side by side with
the tricolor of France; the red and yellow
of Spain was everywhere, and the Austrian
eagles flew on the breeze along with those
Of Russia. China.'s Yellow dragon pen
nant, the sun flag of Uruguay, the Geneva
cross of the Swiss REPUBLIC, the star and
crescent Of the sublime porte, the lion of
Persia, the island BANNER of Hawaii, soon.
perhaps, to disappear forever, all these
were there; and floating above them all
the standard of the great republic, the
stars and stripes, snapped in the breeze Il
symbol of liberty and asylum to the op-
pressed of the whole earth.
Everywhere ut Once.
1t was great day for the rising genera
ton. 1t seemed almost incredible that so
many children could be got together even
in Chicago, and the independent spirit OF
| young America was manifested in the fact
that most of the youngsters seemed to be
| unaccOmpanied by their parents or older
persons. They swarmed through the big
| buildings, got themselves tangled up in all
sorts of unexpected places and made the
| lives of the Columbian guards miserable
from daylight to dark. They took the big
battleship by storm; they sacked the CON
at1.f I al - Al