The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-05-23
THEGREAT FRENCH FAIR
How the Money for the Huge On,
dertaking VIII Be Raised.
Twenty Million Dollars Is the Amour.
Estimated to Be Necessary for
the Mammoth Exposi-
sse- tlon of 1900.

.ss- tlon of 1909.
In spite of THE opposition of the prov
inces and certain amount of protest
from Paris on the score of the defsce.
ment of the Champs EIysees, III,
French exposition of 1000 will certainl !
be held The government of the repub-
lie will contribute 5000, goo, which has
already been voted, and the city OF
Paris is not likely TO give less than S..
100000 But. IS the exposition is TO cost
S20.o0o,o0O, another SIP ,Ooo, coo viii still
have to be provided. 1t is not the Gus
tom in France TO wait for the returns o.
gate money TO make up the deficiency
remaining after payment of the subven,
tons The exposition of 1859 was paid
Tor, and there was money in hand for
the cost of administration, before the
gates were opened. This was done BY
very ingenious scheme Of issuing
bonds for Is francs each, each of which
bore 25 coupons which were receivable
as admission tickets. The extreme pc.
Rod OF payment for the bonds was 7s
years, but, beginning with the expo
sltlon year, there were TO be 81 draw
ings OF the numbers of the bonds to be
paid on, and the first two or three mum.
bers drawn were to be entitled TO lot.
terry prizes. The holder of each bond
thus acquired a lottery ticket, 25 I'D.
mission tickets and the certainty of get.
ting his money back, without interest,
within time which might be anywhere
between few months and rs years.
The scheme was brilliant success
and had this, among other unexpected
results, of giving the public the benefit
OF considerable reduction in the price
of admission. The amount paid to the
exposition by the syndicate of banker.
who took the bonds, after providing
sinking fund, for their gradual redernp
ton, was s., 300 900, which, added TO tn,
receipts from concessions and priv
ileges, the returns from the sale of ole
materials and the amount contributed
by the state and the city of Paris
brought the total revenues of the expo.
sition up to very nearly $40, 900, 900. As
the exposition cost less than So SOC. 600
there was q surplus of about 81, 500 .oOl
to be divided in the ratio OF their con.
tributions between the state and the
city of Paris. The problem of 1900 is
a more difficult one. 1t is not question
Of getting $4,000, 900, but of raising
twice that amount, on the pledge of en-.
trance tickets. Profiting by the ex.
ample of Chicago, which collected near.
1y ten times as much from concessions
and privileges as Paris did in 1889, il
is probable that the managers of the
show of 1900 will extract a great deaI
more than $500, oO0-the amount re
ported by their predecessors - from
that source. But, even if it were 81.
o0o, 900, there would still remain So.
100000 TO be raised mainly on admis-
sions. 1t will be found good deal easier
to double the size and cost of the eN.
position than TO double the number OF
its visitors.
The indirect gains of the enterprise
are less open to question. The prov
inces argue from experience that II
will draw great deal of money from
them, even as the states of the centra
west found the Columbian exposition
severe drain on their current cash
But the exposition of 1889 brought Che
government an increase Of s., 00O, coo IL
receipts from customs and other taxes
while in the increase of octroi duties
the city of Paris received l.sOo, 900. In
the half year in which the exposition
was open the six great railroads lead.
ing into Paris had An increase of pas
senger traffic amounting to $4,000, 900
due solely to the attraction of the show
OF the 10000 exhibitors it was est.
mated that each spent on his exhibit
an average of 5000, making a total OF
SIG, 100000, mostly spent in France,
Then there was. during the whole 49,
days Of the exposition, an average ad.
dition of 200 persons TO the popula-
ton of the city Of Paris. II each OF
these spent, on an average, for board,
lodging and cab hire, SO day, there
was. taking no account of the cost Of
their amusements and the purchases
they made, total of S216. 900, 900, which
would not otherwise have been ex-
pended in the French capital. 1t Is
hardly to be wondered at that the argJ- |
ments in favor of the exposition have |
proved stronger than those against it |
-Roston Herald.