The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-06-11
Finishing Touches Being Put on Con-
vention Hall and the City Be-
ginning to Decorate.
QUARTERS FOR DELEGATES
WHERE THE REPRESENTATIVES, OF
STATES WILL BE LOCATED.
Seating Arrangements of the Hall
Contests to BE COnsid-
cred This Week.

lican convention city of 1900 has everything
in readiness practically, for the quadren-
NAL gathering of the Republicans of the
United States ten days in advance or the
date fixed for the opening session. All the
hard work and all the anxious moments at
tending the preparations for the coming OF
the Republican hosts are over. and the
city is beginning to dress up TO receive It's
guests. The magnificent convention hall.
on the west bank of the Schuylkill river, Is
complete in every detail and awaits only
the hour of noon, June IS. The preparations
for the coming gathering were carried on
by two large committees One had charge
OF the arrangements for the serious work OF
the convention, while the other committee
was assigned the task of properly enter
tanning the visiting Republicans. While the
first committee is resting on its oars, the
other body of workers will have no rest un-
til after it shall have sent home the visi-
tors.
Desirable hotel accommodations for the
next two weeks will be extremely hard to
find as all the larger hostelries and the ex-
elusive apartment houses have been booked
to their capacity. Quite number of State
delegations have rented houses entirely for
all of next week.
The storm center of the convention be-
tween the sessions will be the Hotel Wal
ton, at Broad and Locust streets. At that
hotel the national committee will have its
headquarters, occupying the entire fifth
floor The meetings of the national commit
tee, beginning next Wednesday. will be
held in one of the banquet rooms on the
fba fof he 10
we'll adapted for the purpose, being large
enough to accommodate the full committee.
witnesses and representatives of contesting
delegations. The Walton will be the stamp
ing ground of the Maine. Ctnnecticutt. New
York, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and
Missouri delegates. The vice presidential
booms of the sons of these States will also
find Judgment at the Walton.
Chairman Hanna and Secretary Dick
will occupy suites of rooms at the Bellevue.
a block from the Walton. along with Sena-
tor Lodge, of Massachusetts,, and other
leading Republicans.
INDIANIANS AT THE LAFAYETTE.
At the Lafayette Hotel will be quartered
the delegations from Alaska. Indiana,
Idaho. Minnesota, New Jersey. Rhode Is
land. South Dakota and Virginia. while the
Continental Hotel will house the Alabama,
Florida, Illinois. Iowa, Kentucky. Mary
land. North Dakota. Texas and Wyoming
contingents. The Stenton will care for the
Colorado. Delaware. Massachusetts, New
Mexico delegations. West Virginia and Ne
vada have engaged rooms at the Stratford.
and Tennessee. California and louisiana
will hold forth at the Bingham House
Other State delegations will be quartered
at various smaller hotels and boarding
houses. The Pennsylvania delegation head
quarters will be located in the house oc-
cuped by the Pennsylvania State central
committee. near the Walton.
The convention hall is located in West
Philadelphia, close to the University of
Pennsylvania group of buildings. and is
one and one-half miles from the national
committee headquarters and the hotel dis
trict. Transportation to and from the hall
is ample, the facilities in this respect hav-
ing been thoroughly tested time and time
again last fall during the national export
exposition, on which grounds the great
hall is located and to whom it belongs. The
auditorium has been pronounced by Repub-
lican national leaders and newspaper cor
respondents who have attended many ma
tional conventions to be the most
magnificent in appearance and the
most complete in detail of any struc-
ture built in this country for SINH
lar purposes. The acoustic properties
of the hall in its enlarged condition have
not yet heen practically tested. but experts
are of the opinion that they are as perfect
as can be expected Of an auditorium of
such size.
The seating capacity of the place Is close
to $1,000. The main floor is provided with
thirty-four entrances. The main entrance
is at the north. and the stage is at the
southern end, eight feet above the main
floor. The press stand for 500 working
newspaper men is directly I'm front of the
stage, and is four feet above the main
floor. In front of the press stand is the
space for the delegates, which is exactly
in the center of the hall. Back of the dele
gates are the alternates' seats On all
four sides of the hall running from the
main floor well up to the roof are banked
low after row Of seats. There is only one
gallery, which runs the entire width of the
hall at the rear. The band will be located
in the center of the gallery. Back of the
stage and away from the noise Of the crowd
are located numerous committee rooms.
200 WIRES IN THE HALL
The telegraphic facilities are ample. the
Western Union and Postal Telegraph COM
panies and the Associated Press having
spacious rooms close TO the stage and
which are reached by tunnels under the
seats. There are nearly two hundred wires
| running into the hall.
The exterior view of the hall is beauti-
full For months the city's forestry and
landscape gardeners have been at work
Identifying the grounds surrounding the
hall The main entrance to the building
stands back 600 feet from the gate of the
fence which surrounds the grounds. The
| epproach to the hall, known locally as the
Esplanade, is well covered with fine shrub-
berry and young trees.
The building will be turned over to the
national committee this week. The COM
mittee of citizens having charge of the
the convention. One hundred thousand OF
this amount was for the national commit
tee and the remaining $4,000 is for the
expenses of altering the hall. Mayor Ash
bridge is the chairman of the committee
Out of sixteen thousand seats in the hall
Philadelphia will get four thousand. The
mayor Will turn the tickets over to Sc
cret committee of five persons TO be di-
vided pro rata among the subscribers OF
will be given by this committee to Phil
adelphian who did not subscribe.
No committee has had a harder task
than that assigned to the press commit
tee, which practically finished its labors
| the past week. Ii had five hundred seats
| in the press section at its disposal which
under the agreement with the national
committee, were TO be awarded ito news
paper men actually doing work for the
than two thousands applications were re-
Cefuad nd the work ~ cf1fffpD f6fo Iouv