The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-11-13
GREAT EXPOSITION OVER.
The Blg Paris show Came to An End
Last Night.

Paris, November 1s.--The great ex-
position of 1900 closed today with the
evening illumination. There were few
visitors TO-DAY, tickets lacking purchasers
at a sou each.
The work Of removing the exhibits be.
gins at miinight.
No vcstige will be left Of the great ex-
position except the immense hos houses
on the north bank OF the Seine and the
art pslaces. The project Of the Seine
submitted to the municipal council today
n scheme to demolish all the buildings
on the champs de Mars and Trocadero.
The centre OF the grounds Will be main
tained In the form OF gardens, while the
wide border win be sold for building lots
for the erection of mansions and hotels.
The closing days Of the exposition have
been marked by wholesale bailiff seizures
of the properties of number Of conces-
sion holders, chiefly restaurant keepers
ana proprietors of side shows, who have
failed to meet their financial obligations.
The exposition authorities' contract
for the demolition OF the American pa
viiion provides for Its disappearance at
any early period and Commissioner
General Peck has arranged with the rail-
road company to provide for the rapid
transportation to Havre Of the national
exhibits for shipping on board the Unit.
cd States auxiliary cruiser Prairie, which
is expected to arrive there shortly.
All the fittings, ETC., OF American con-
struction will be sold at auction as soon
as possible. The American buildings
OF the machinery annex at Vincennes,
built owing to the generosity OF few
American exhibitors. has been sold with
its power plant to a Manchester firm.
All the members OF the United States
commission are working hard and hope
their labors will be terminated by De-
cember is, in order to enable them to
spend Christmas in America. Mr.. Peck
Is so confident OF being able to Go so. that
he has engaged passage for himself and
family on the A nerioan line steamer
st. Louis, which sails December 10.
The closing of the exposition was cele-
brated in the chamber OF deputies this
afternoon by the unanimous adoption
of a motion congratulating the orga-
nizsrs and coIlaborators on its success
The booming OF a cannon from the first
story of the Eiffei tower announced that
the exposition OF 1900 had ceased to exist.
1t ended in blaze Of iliuminatioaS the
final evening being celebrated by night
fete. kThe attendance, however, was
small, visitors being kent away by cold,
drizzling rainfall. Official statistics show
that the exposition was a gigantic sue
cess from the point of view OF attendance.
which was double that OF the exposition
OF 1889. when 20, l2l ,975 passed the gates.
When the gates of the exposition of 1900
closed, this evening, more than hfty mil
..Jn persons haa passed through. The
British and Belgians headed in the list
in 1889 in point of numbers, but this yesr
the Germans were first and the Belgians
second; with the British far bshind.
Americans also formed very noticeable
contingent. Indeed, they were immeas-
urably more numerous than at the previ-
ous exposition. The record paying day
this year brought out mora than GOO, 900
visitors, as compared with a maximum
Of 1856, 377 in 1899.