The St. Johns herald., 1901-05-04

OO HE beginning of a new century will witness the launching of an
 enterprise fitted in an eminent de-
 gree to usher in a new and great era.
 The achievements of the past hundreu
 years have been magnificent. The harcn
 of progress has been swift and the UT
 umphs of civilization manifold. 1ne age
 of enlightenment is here. Mankind has
 progressed in the culture of the nher sue
 of existence and has turned 10 us uses
 the mysterious forces of the elements Ill
 a manner undreamed of but It" ue
 cades ago. Yet it must not be forgotten
 that many. sciences are still in their ln-
 fancy, that there are many "oiluS 9e'
 to be conquered by the daring anu ln-
 ventive pioneers of human progress Ill
 the forthcoming century, and trelhenuous
 problems of a social and polltlcal charac-
 ter to be solved. The pulse of manklnd
 will be quickened by the great exposition of all the Americas soon to be held. The Pan-American Exposition, which is to open at Buffalo on May 1, will stimulate industrial progress throughout tlis coun- try No more appropriate place than the Niagara frontier could have been select ed, for it is at this spot that the cataract of Niagara. has been harnessed and sci ence and industry have combined to con- centrate all the energies and activities characteristic of the time.
 Buffalo takes a righteous pride in the progress she has made in the building of the Rainbow City, which now beautifes her northern boundary. Perhaps nothing is destined to create a more profound sensation than the color scheme of the Pan-American. It was daring thing to attempt to array the extensive buildings of the exposition in colors many and posi- tive.
 The only precedent for such an under taking was furnished by the Midwinter Fair of San Francisco, where harmoni ous tints, skillfully applied to the staff finish and artistically disposed, gave to the buildings the exquisite tones of an cient marbles or of delicately tinted stone, differing from each other by almost gradations, so that the grouped edifces presented something of | an Opaline appearance in the sunlight | Buffalo is going much further, and, justi- flying herself by the spirit of the Spanish | architecture, is applying the brilliant pigments which the old Moors | loved, so that the majestic colonnades and fancy pillars look like carved ivory, and | are seen against backgrounds | of rich positive shades, yellows, pinks | and reds, many of them of exceeding | brightness. There are bands of green and | yellow and rose about the round donles, are upheld by substantial brackets of | rosewood hue, and everywhere there is a glow of color. At night this color effect will be enhanced and intensified by the marvellous illuminations, which will sur pass anything ever before seen in the world. The great advance made in meth Ods of electric lighting during the past decade renders it possible to effect an il- Iumination at the Pan-American more than anything heretofore con ceived by human imagination, but the fierce, dazzling glare of the arc light will be almost entirely banished from the the agreeable glow of incandes- cent lamps taking its place, outlining the towers, pavilions, caves and other expos ed points of the principal buildings sur rounded by the court of fountains. Upon and about the electric tower, 391 feet in height, the lights will be brilliant and glorious, while the basin in front of the