The record-union., 1899-08-21
ORIGINAL IDEAS.
WHAT A CALL FOR THEM
BROUGHT FORTH.
Proposed Features for "Sod Day
at the Pan-American
Exposition.
Especial Correspondence


to Secretary Fleming for the ceremonial
which will attend "Sod Day." or the
auspicious day on which the ground
will be broken for the Pan-American
Exposition in 1901.
It has developed since the publication
| of that request that the Niagara
frontier possesses willing, If not an
entirely original constituency, for the
men in gray who carry Uncle sam
mail have been worked nearly to death
and Secretary Fleming has aged per-
| ceptibly.
Original suggestions" was what the
newspaper asked for. A full half cord
have been submitted. Some are orlg-
| inal indeed; some are indeed not. Some
are funny, and some are SO absolutely
ridiculous that the writer's must nave
been demented when penning the sug-
gestions, which in a literary flood are
engulfng the suffering Secretary
Here's an idea that is original and
that will get great advertising" wrote
| one man, who must be a man of wealth
| and of caste, for he shows but slight
| consideration for the honest laborers
| or the "maWSeS'' in his suggestions.
Have a hill built on the exposition
site,' read the epistle. Have 1t hol-
low, but covered with boards and grass
and dirt and some trees and shrubs
until it looks just like a mountain. In
that hill have 100 teams and LOCO men
concealed When the day arrives there
will be thousands on the ground. There
must be a stand erected and on it Pres
ident Mckinley and the members Oh
| his Cabinet, and Governor Roosevelt
and staff and hundreds Of diplomats
and statesmen and men from all lands
| can stand There should be bands
playing on the grounds. AS the Presl-
dent Of the United States is to raise
the first sod he holds in his hand a
solid silver spade Everything has
been done; the speeches have been
made, and the President touches his
| spade to the ground. Unknown to all
| but a few, the sod which he is to take
up has been previously removed anu
underneath an electrical wire has been
put down, and over it the sod has been
replaced. As the silver spade IN the
| hands of the President touches this
wire there is a crash like thunder, and
| the great mountain a short distance
| away falls and as frightened thou
sands turn to look at it they will see
scrambnng out of dust and debris l,0OO
men and 100 teams, racing for the
site where the first sod has been picked
up and digging like wild men. and the
teams will be hauling away the dirt.
TT would be one of the most wonder
full sights ever seen, and everybody
present would talk about it, and the
/ ~ a4y~ry H.
vertise it far and wide"
Tt is the opinion of those who were
allowed by the Secretary to see this
suggestion, which was sent in all seri-
business, that the writer neglected go
| ing into details. He didn't cover the
ground completely. in that he neg
| lected to say that it would be wise TO
have corps of surgeons with ambu-
lances on the spot; also, that it would
be economy to get bids for burying
| laborers in squads instead Of one at a
time.
| Another suggestion was sent by a
man who is evidently a believer IN
utilitarianism, for he believed that on
that auspicious day results should be
received in the most startling manner
possible.
Every man in the city of Buffalo is
personally interested in the success OF
| the Pan-American, he wrote, "and
say that on Sod Day they should ALL
| show it. I say that on that day we
have a great parade; have all the civil
and all the military bodies in line; all
the school children: distinguished men
from abroad In fact, have 1900 or
! 1000 men, women and children out
that day. And in line have 10000 Buff
falo men, each of whom carries over
his shoulder a brand new spade. When
the grounds are reached let President
Mckinley make a speech and lift the
| first sod, and then let every one OF
the $4,000 men lift sod Think of 1t.
It would save the pay of hundreds or
laborers, for $4,000 spades could do a
heap of work in few minutes"
There is a we'll defined suspicion that
the sender of the letter is dealer IN
agricultural implements.
And there are other suggestions in
plenty. One man asked if it would not
be advisable to have concealed in
trenches on the grounds four mann
moth balloons which at a proper signal
should float into the air. the four be-
ing connected by aluminium cables
which would sustain an American flag
measuring 300 feet in length; all be-
ing made from red. white and blue elec-
trict light bulbs; the balloons to be
held to earth by cables. though at lib
erty to float high in the air with the
great electrical emblem of liberty at
tached.
|
Have electrical shovels throwing
thes earth into electrical wagons wrote
a young woman, and the sole and single
letter from a business man said Make
Dewey Do 1t"
Which suggestion is not bad, but the
management has as yet been unable
to place itself into communication with
the great Admiral. and therefore is un-
i able to say whether he would wish tc
become q sod cutter.
-
There were many writer's who asked
that electrical shovels be used; that the
cutting of the sod set loose machinery
which would ring bells and blow
whistles and set cannons booming in
every city, town and hamlet for hum
dreds of miles around. and nearly all
who wrote seemed unwilling to allow
anybody but President Mckinley or
Admiral Dewey to do the first manual
labor in connection with the great fair.
One man suggested that one of the
features would be the pressing of a
button by her royal highness Queen
Victoria, which button would release a
current of electricity which would cross