Omaha daily bee., 1898-08-01

arc opposed to our holding the Philip |
pines and assuming the task OF govern
ing those people. 1t may be desirable /
t. have naval and coaling Station .
In the islands, hut beyond this It would 4
not be wise policy for this country |
to 20.
EXPLANATIONS THAT DO NOT EXPLAIN. /
When the glaring abuse of the free
pass privilege was brought to the at |
tention of the executive committee of
the exposition every. member agreed |
that something must be done to check /.
UP the passes and stop the leaks at the
gates In the early part of July it was
unanimously voted that Il pass inspector
be at once appointed and the manager
OF the Ways and Means department
was directed to employ competent
man and set him to work.
Two weeks passed away without any
action because. as explained by the
manager Il suitable man could not b.
found. Meantime from 1000 to 5000
people were being registered at the pa $
gates every day and no prctenSe even
made of checking them up. \ week ago
when the manager of the Ways and
Means department was about to leave
the city on tour of recreation, he was
reminded that no pass inspector had, yet
been appointed The same excuse that
had been given before, namely that no
capable person could be found, was re-
iternted. with the request that if one Of
his associates on the executive commit
tee could find the right man in his alb
scnce he should be employed.
Acting upon this request the executive
committee appointed I. w. Blackburn
to the position. but in Difference to the
absent manager the pass inspector con
tented himself with making Il curSory
Investigation of the conditions before
accepting the unsolicited offer. On the
return of Manager Lindsey Mr.. Black
burn wrote him Il letter outlining the cX-
iSting pass abuses and suggesting the
needed reforms. That cooked his goose
so far as employment under Mr.. Lind
| sey was concerned.
Under preteXt that So day was too
much to eXpcnd on pass inspector TO
| to stop leak of $500 day. the action
rendering the appointment to Mr.. Black
| burn was reScinded. Strange to say,
while for two weeks before Mr.. Black
| burns appointment no competent pcrs II
could be found for the place, two men
We're promptly discovered in succession
| on, do, nft IA l., n bn Il
been rescinded. And now after new
and supposedly satisfactory inspector
has been employed at $40 Il month. the
directory is assured by Manager Lind
sey that there is nothing wrong at all
in the free pass system and that thl
figures on the daily admissions bulletin
afford satisfactory explanation to CON
tradct the exposure of pass frauds made
by The Bee.
If this explanation is satisfactory
then there is no excuse for wasting 81,
II month on pass inspection. But th'
explanation does not explain and can
not explain the fragrant abuses and fus
and loose methods pointed out by Mr.
Blackburn, even if, as we are assured
the wonderful ticket system is modelled
after Nashville, where the exposition Was
notoriously robbed of over $4,000 of il!
gate receipts.
1t is asserted, for example, that whel
5000 free admissions are registered a
the pass gates they are readily accounte,
, for by the fact that employees of the ex
position, exhibitors and conceSsionaire
pass in and out two and three times eacl
day If this We're true, how could an.
one explain the increase in free admis
sionS from less than $500 on the open
= ing day to over 5000 on the thirtiet
day of June? How could it explain tina
only 1,341 free admissions We're regis
y tered ON June ., with all the emDloye
coming and going, as against 6,S05 FIRE
admissions on June %?
If the explanation were correct tn
II list of employees must have trebled sine
the opening, when in fact it has bee
- reduced. The total number of cmployo
entitled to admission does not eXcec
1,5OO and a large part of these do nC
j. leave the grounds more than once {
y twice a week. Where do all the othC
q thousands come from?
It While under this vaunted system III
IS body knows how many passes are on
n the daily exhibit is within itself an il
n dictment of the slip-shod and reckle.
5, methods prevailing in the Bureau of A
st missions. 1t is safe to say that full
Is 1000 people on the average have dai
s. worked their way into the exposition b
y cause of the lack of proper safeguard
p and If one-half of these people wou
lie have paid the exposition is a loser
IS $3.50 Il day, or $4,000 since the expo
N tiOn opened.
p 1t will take several explanations
'e satisfy the stockholders that the pa
ld system as now conducted Is all right.