Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-18
IN BEST BIB AND TUCKER Atlanta Is Ready to Receive Her
 Guests. SHE'S SMOTHERED IN FLAGS With the Advance Guard Is Great Corps of
 Newspaper Men.
AN ENORMOUS CROWD AT THE OPENING
Many Place the Figures at 75 ,oo0-Some- thing About the Speeches-A Beauti- ful Floral Tribute to Henry Gra-
 dy-Perfect Arrangements.

Atlanta, Sept. 1.-The Gate City is smothered with flags and bunting and alive with the crowds attendant upon the opening of the great exposition. The ad- vance crowd of 150OO to 20,00O people who came in today did not make the city un- comfortably full, but great crush is ex- pected tomorrow, when larger crowd will come in on the morning trains. The city is full of newspaper men from all parts of the world. Among the number are Mir James Creelman, the war corre- spondents of the New York World; City Editor sherman of the Chicago Tribune, with a staff of five; several members of the lnter-Ocean staff; representatives from the Times Herald of Chicago; rep resentatives of the New York Herald and correspondents from scores of papers in other cities of this and other countries. The early gathering of these representa- tves of the press indicates the amount Of interest being taken in the fair.
 Half a dozen governors will attend the opening with their staffs, and the com misSioners of a number of states are on the ground. Representatives from sev- eral foreign countries are here, and the French government has sent it's consul general from New Orleans to make an
 
 At the exposition grounds is a scene of tremendous activity. Chief of Construc- tion Wilkins is working day and night and Supervising Architect Gilbert and Mir. James R. Wylie, chairman If the grounds and buildings committee, are living on the ground The progress of work within the past week has been al- most increditable. The bare and uns:ght ly avenues and walks have been covered with a paving of limestone and crushed blue stone which harmonizes with the green of the grass and evergreens The high columns and statues erected within the past few days give the grounds classic appearance. greatly heightened by the architecture of the fine arts build ing, beautiful specimen of the Italian renaissance. which crowns the highest of the terraces overlooking the whole park
 The crowds during the past week at the grounds have so interfered with the work on exhibits that for the past two days admissions have been stopped ex- cept to those holding passes, and money was refused at the gates from thousands of people who were eager to get in. The indications are that the attendance at the exposition exercises tomorrow will be far above expectations. Heretofore the management have placed the figure at the conservative estimate of from 25,- 900 to 10000 admissions. Todays esti- mates are rising and newspaper men out SlQe pldCe the 1Sufc mucn DlSnof, many as high as E, ,000.
 By noon tomorrow it is expected that at least 40, 900 visitors will be in the city, and that as many more Atlanta people will go out It is not expected that 10 per cent of the crowd will be able to get in the auditorium, and it may b that the exercises will have to be adjourned to the open air in order that the people may at least see if not hear the speakers
 The work of installing the exhibits has progressed so rapidly that the show to- morrow will be far beyond the expecta- tions of a week ago The exercises will consist of a military pageant and parade to the grounds, two miles and half from the center of the city, with She usual long line of carriages, and the gov ernors of states riding on horseback with the members of their staffs The mem bers of state committees will be in car riages, together with the directors of the exposition.
 The procession will start from the city about l o'clock and will reach the expo sition grounds about 3, when speaking will begin. Judge Emory Spear has pre- pared an elaborate oration and President Collier strong speech of about twenty minutes. One of the notable speeches of the day. it is said by those who have seen the manuscript is the address to be de- livered by Booker T. Washington. the representative of the negro race on the programme and the champion of indus trial education among the negroes. Ills speech will be on conservative llnc urping his people to make friends Of the white race and to train themselves in technical education as the best means of gaining property and acquiring inde- pendence. . sion hv Mir. Frank l.. Stanton of the Con stitution will be read by MT Albert How eu Jr. one of the most prominent attor- news at the Atlanta bar
 Amons the many attractive features or the decoration of the city Will De trlpuie of flowers to the memory of Henry w. Gralv The Grady monument will be wreatbed with flowers, touching tripute from the Grady monument committee.
 All indications are that Saturday Will be another big day in the history or the exposition The transportation iaciil- tias of the railroads from Louisville to tSnoxville and Chattanooga are being taxed to the utmost by the crowds that arc coming down, and 1t is expected that 20 O00 or 10000 veterans will come from Chickamauga Saturday. which IS blue and gray day at the exposition where they will be joined by thousahos ol Confederate veterans.
 All the departments Of the exposition are working with tremendous energy and barring some confusion attendant unon moving from the city offices to the offices in the administratlon tl;ni, nu''o'hg at
 The public comfort department is {, working smoothly. Its agents meet all |. trains one hour of the city with lists of hotels. boarding houses and rooms for rent to place the visitor and check bis baggage. so that on arriving at the union depot he has only to take car or buss for his given number
 This removes almost all of the confu- sion and emba rra ssment usually attend ing the arrival in the city in the midst of enormous crowds. The bicycle messen- gers employed by the department or pup i. i}c comfort canvass the city daily getting reports from every available room, the time occupied and the time vacated. In a word the city is being run by the public