The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1901-05-08
ARTHUR ROPES. General EDITOR.
When to See the Buffalo Fair.

AL advices are to the effect that no
one should attempt to go to Buffalo to
see the Pan-American Exposition be-
fore the last week in June. The fair
was informally opened May l, but at
present sis a wilderness of clay and
mud, and beautiful, but for the most
part empty buildings" The formal
opening day is fixed for June 20. BY
that time the preliminary work, the
beautifying and decorating, will be
completed, the spectacular features will
be installed, the exhibits will be in po-
sition, the fair will be in a toleraoly
we'll arranged condition for company
and the Pan-American management
will unquestionably be glad to see all
Americans from all the Americas.
But there will be no need of haste.
The crowd lie one of the great exhibits
and that will not be in evidence much
before midsummer. The fair will be
open till November. The summer will
be the favorable time to go. Buffalo is
not hot town. Built by the lake, the
heat is tempered by the cooling inhu-
ences of Erie's waters. Buffalo is at
present city of great expectations. A
large number of new hotels have been
built and every resident is preparing to
rent rooms or take boarders. The Ep-
worth League people, it is reported,
are ready to provide quarters for 49,
600 visitors day in private houses at
the rate of 81 a day. Respecting the
Pan-Amercan Exposition the Brook
lyn Eagle says:
More important than not seeing the
Pan-American Exposition too early is
that nobody should fail to see it at
some time. Nobody should make plans
for the summer which leave out this
exposition. The loss of it would be as
great as, although very different from,
that resulting from missing the Column
bian Fair at Chicago. Chicago had
some things which this show will lack,
but this fair has something which
Chicago did not have, and it marks as
distinct an advance in exposition ar
ch.tecture and management as did the
famous White City. Its Pan-Amer-
icanism begins with it's architecture
and its coloring. For the first time the
architecture which the Spaniards bor-
rowed from the Moors has been drawn
upon for exposition purposes.
The rich, warm coloring appropriate
to all the tropic Americas has been
used with tropic profusion guided by
artistic discretion. The exposition will
do more to turn our attention to the
resources of the south of us and in our
colonies, resources both artistic and
commercial, than any other one inau-
ence. For the first time the fact will
be borne in upon the popular conscious
ness that there is an America outside
of the United States. We have neg
lected our neighbors between the
oceans quite too long, but for the cul-
tivation of closer relations with them
some such far reaching impulse as this
fair will supply was necessary. No
one who desires to be well informed
can afford to miss that impulse in our
national thought for the coming decade
at its fountain head, and that source
will be the Pan-American fair.
AS Buffalo is 30 much nearer to the
East than Chicago was, 1.-THE expense of
seeing this fair will be materially re-
duced from that of 1913. This and the
prevailing prosperity is sure to send to
the exposition thousands who were de-
barred from visiting the Columbian
Fair. But no one should plan to "do"
this fair in two days. Two days may
be better than nothing, but this is not
going to be small show. The least
time in which anything like justice can
be done to it is a week, and fortnight
will be better. The latter term will al
low time enough to enjoy both the fair
and the Midway. This latter feature
will combine amusement and instruc-
ton to an extent seldom realized.
Midway men have learned a good deal
since Chicago, and for much of its Pan
American spirit the present exposition
will be indebted to them. They have
gathered the peoples of South America,
Mexico, the Philippines and our own
Indians by scores. 1t is not
too early to say, with all possible en-
phasis, that the Buffalo fair is q good
thing, big thing and helpful thing.
1t is fair of Americans, by Americans,
and for Americans, and no American
should shut himself out from its oppor-
tunities.