Omaha daily bee., 1899-07-14
cRArTERs OF GREATER AMERICA.
Fine work of Director General Met
caIfe and HE Able Assistants.

caIfe and HE Able Assistants.
The public is al last learning who the
grafters Of the Greater America Exposition
are az well as why the enterprise has been
handicapped before and since it's opening.
Ii has been grated almost to death. but an
heroic remedy has been applied, and as a
result the exposition will not only survive,
but will in the near future prove a success.
1.-The real director general of the exposi-
tion was discovered yesterday at the meeting
of the Board Of Directors" said a member
OF that board Thar important parsonage
was found to be Richard Metcalfe Of the
world-Herald His able assistants have
been Kitchen, Hayden and Smyth, now num-
bered among the grand army OF has beens.'
Director General Metcalfe has engineered
the whole shooting match in the interests
Of the free silverites, and principal among
whom is Kitchen, who has lost nothing. you
can rest assured, in the little game Of graft.
MetcRlfes experience enabled him to be-
come an admirable director general of the
grating contingent. He hasn't overlooked
a white chip. ! was not in the least sur
prised to learn that he had secured the ap-
pointment of the editor of the Omaha Weekly
World Herald to a good paying exposition
place. He also had his sister placed on the
pay roll in place Of Miss Butterfeld who
untPlPTuOulOuSlN
lagher from the matronship of one of the
buildings TO make room for this relative OF
the World Herald.
ut was high time that the exposition
should be reorEanized." said member of
the executive committee Of the Transmits
sissippi Exposition: had not this step been
taken the enterprise was doomed to com
plete collapse in the near future. The men
who we're running it we're altogether too
narrow -gauged, and had never had any
thing TO do with public affairs OF this char
acter.
Just think OF Il, Jim Kitchen who op-
posed the Transmiss ssippi Exposition until
ne saw it was going 10 he a success, was
enabled to make more than $50 900 out of
the crowds who came to Omaha to attend
the show. This money put him on his feet.
With il he paid off his mortgage and saved
himself from foreclosure proceedings. Now,
this same Jim Kitchen is so small and mean
that he refused to issue Greater America
Exposition passes to the members of the
Transmississipp executive committee-the
men who for two years contributed their
time and money and labor TO make the
Transmississippi Exposition success,
thereby incidentally helping Kitchen out Of
the hole. WHAT 40 you think Of that
Isn't Jim Kitchen very ungrateful man?
And isn't ingratitude the basest of crimes?
Then again: Look a. the Haydens. These
enterprising merchants are credited with
selling over 81 900 900 worth of goods during
the exposition season, and are reputed 10
have made over 500, 900. When the expo
sition was over Mr.. William Hayden pre-
sented a damage claim on account of
side show, the Streets of Cairo, and al
though he was able to get so-called judg
ment under contempt proceedings before
Judge Scott, the fact is that he might have
been compelled to spend ten years in the
got dollar. The executive committee of the
old board, however with the greatest liber-
altiy, allowed Hayden Sl4 900 on this claim
nevertheless the Haydens evidently don't
appreciate that favor. Hayden, too, was op
posed 10 issuing passes TO the members of
the committee that placed s14 600 in his cash
register. How is that for gratitude?
AS 10 myself. ] do not care and ] do not
think my colleagues care, a snap of the
finger about it, but ii shows the picayunish
policy that has been pursued in an enter
prise that requires some liberality and couT-
teEy in its management TO make it the Sue
cess IL should be. II was at least due TO us
10 have been invited 10 the opening espe-
cially in view OF the fact that when we
turned this property over 10 the Greater
America We had refused an offer of 50 800
more from the Chicago Wrecking company
than we could get from the present expo
sition company, which was thus enabled to
go ahead with its show. Men capable of
such ingratitude are not fit TO manage great
public entprDriEps like pYDnEifinnE