The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1900-06-21
PARIS LETTER,
nm our Regular Correspondent.

PARIS, FRANCE, june 4, 1900.
Will you go with me to the Exposi-
ton today2 There are several ways
of reaching it--by street car, omnibus,
by boat on the Seine or by cab. We
will take the last, for cabs are every.
where in Paris and the fare will be
only 40 cents with tip of 2 and one
half cents to the coachman. SO we
mount a cab and say to the driver in
American French ga la exposition
norte de Trocadero.n 1t is well to
tell him what porte or gate you wish
to enter for there are thirty-slX differ
ent ones, and by going to the one
nearest the points you wish to visit
YOU may avoid long walk. Entering
the grounds by the Trocadero gate,
two-thirds of the exposition is spread
at our feet in the Champs de Mars
and from our emlnence, but single
object, the Incompatible Eiffel Tower
appears to oveitop us. 1t is a bewild-
erlng enhancing spectacle; of most
harmonious coloring, brand new, up
to date, nothing historic or legendary
about it. And all these dreams, de
lights and fantasies OF architecture, OF
all climes and lands must be swept
away in few months when this most
stupendous of expositions rings down
the curtain. But no time for moralZ-
ing, let's get into 1t.
These first structures to our right
and left are side.sho midway plais-
ance fakes. They are not worth our
time or the france we will have to pay
to see each one of them, but the
crowd attracted by the tum tum OF
demi-barbarlc music was born to be
humbugged. French and Partisan
crowds are no exception to this law of
our race. We enter. In a small
Galk room (Cor those identical fakes
have not half the space they had at
Chicago as ground rent is higher sits
your harem, anybody's harem. The
room is just dark enough to conceal
the untldiness and tawdrlness of the
drapery and jewelry of the six or seven
odalisques alleged to come from Con
stantnople or Cairo, but who never
saw the Orient. There are thirty or
forty more shows of this type. They
should not be permitted to cucumber
an exposition, but it is by licensing
these to gull the gullible that exposi-
tlons pay their way.
We will now see quickly the out
side OF the exposition and measure its
great extent by getting on the elevated
moving platform. This moves con.
tinuousy in one direction, making the
entire inside circuit of the exposition
at the speed of a rapid walk, but by
walking rapidly upon it we can double
our speed, and we can stop on an in
closed side platform at any point and
examine more carefully any desired
exterior of the exposition buildings
But if we desire to go inside any
building we rlust leave the rolling
platform and cannot resume our place
upon 1t without paying an addltiona
fare. This exposition does not cover
as many acres as did our late Chicago
exposition but It is much more com
pact and incomparably finer and rich
er than anything that has ever beer
accomplished, and as | heard an ex
pert IN expositlons say, "hner thar
anything that will ever again be ac
comphshed.' His prediction is daring
but not improbable for this huge en-
terpr,se promises to be a financia
failure, and as such, a warning to al
future exploiters in worlds fairs
France, or rather Paris has IN thi'
enterprise attempted too much. There
has never before been in SO small ;
space an aggregation of SO much value
Never before such a microcosm O
human achievment.
Where do we stand in this grea
cometltive show? We excel in few
things, we are excelled in many, bu
our appearance on this French felC
is no measure of our real strength. l
1t were, some very small countries lik
Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland
to say nothing of Austria, Spain ant
Italy, would be adjudged our super
iors. And doubtless this is the opinion
that many rural and some urba
Frenchmen will form, as will man
visitors from other countries. Their
is great lack of information in tn
world, and the average foreigner know
as little about the United States a
we Go about New Zealand. Tn
stars and stripes are seen mere an
there in the different buildings indica
ting an American exhibit. thin
DEAFNESS CANNOT BE CURED b