Arizona silver belt., 1901-03-07
ST. LOUIS WORLDS FAIR.
If Promises to Surpass the Chicago
 Exposition.


 of the kind ever held in this scountry, not even excepting the Chicago world $ fair of 1893 The St. Louis exposition will be in celebration of the centen- nial of the Louisiana Purchase, which added the great West to the United States.
 It is appreciated here that the St. Louis exposition will not be a local or even d sectional affair, but will be in the same class as the great Chicago exhibition of 1898. It will be even on a larger scale. While Chicago, after straining every nerve, raised Sl6, 452,- Sll on which to open the exposition, st. Louis without yet beginning to finance, but simply by the enthusiasm of it's people, starts out with at least Sl6,000,0 900 assured.
 One of the earliest of the forbearers of the St. Louis exposition is Charles W. Knapp, editor and proprietor of the St. Louis Republic, who began in 1883 the agitation for worlds lair, to be held in St. Louis, only to see the honor finally assigned to Chicago. He is a member of the delegation repre- Senting St. Louis which has been east for the past few weeks, and which has met with surprising success, especially in New York and Washington.
 l me pasAnflN ANnlDi mi the situation, said; Chicago had from stock subscriptions, city bonds, government aid by coinage of 5,0000O0 Columbian half-dOllarS, and by pledg- ing gate receipts for sl,i60500, about Sl7,OOOO0 This was by straining every available resource. St. Louis has not begun to tinancier, and she has sl6,- COG, ,00O to start with. Instead oi the large. unwieldly government cOmmlS- sion and board of lady maL agerS that Chicago had, which cost nearly s750,- 900 in salaries and expenses alone. and cost the exposition in waste and eX- penditure thousands and thousands of dollars and endless wrangling between the exposition company and the other body, St, Louis will have only nine government commissioners. Their salaries will be 5000 year, and this must cover their expenses.
 Also 5000 a year will be set aside for office expenditures, and the term of the commission will be limited to four years. There will be nc salared board of lady managers for the St Louis exposition.
 The site, plans, and specifications decided upon by the exposition com pany must be approved by the govern ment commissioners. It is hoped the commission will meet in St. Louis and approve these, so that the President, either on his trip to the coast this summer or his return. will be able to Christen the site.
 The whole municipality has enthu Siastically turned its attention to the physical aspects of the cIty in order to prepare it. to do credit to them and to the whole country. To this end non-partisan commission has been vol untarily organized the delegates being appointed by every commercial and social organization in the city. IL is called the commission for public vel fare Its work has been to frame such changes in the city's charter as are needed to enable the people of St. Louis to raise by special taxation and bonded debt from sl0,000,000 to s15,- OO0,0O0, to be expended in reconstruct ing streets, laying out bOulevards, ill., stalling a new sewer system. and in l establishing filtration plant in con i neCLiUn with the public water supply. | In fact, to bring the city up to the | standard of the most modern munich 1 palitieS in the United States.
 But this is not all. We are raising ! more millions of dollars to complete { our city hall and hospital and other important municipal buildings, so that l when the exposition opens St Louis i will be the best arranged, best organ ized, cleanest, safest, healthicst city. l with the best lighted streets and best | public facilities in the country.
 'MiSSOuri will spend Sl,O00.000 on d | State building, Illinois will spend | s300, ,000, and all States in the Lousi. | ana Purchase will do likewise. The ' indications are that the State exhibits will be liner than ever before cOntem- | plated. Foreign displays are expected to be unsurpassed.
 The world has been turned i upon the United States in the last few years in a way that is unexampled. This will all count in St. Louis favor.
 "As for attendance, the population of the country has increased nearly 25 per cent in ten years. The people are richer, the country is richer, and all are more prosperous than ever before, and will throw open her gates to the world and give all a hearty welcome,
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