The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-11-27
ALLEGED CRITICISM.
The Republic Bureau.
JAG Times ElC 8


New York. Nov. 2s-The Washington cor
RESPONDENT of the Mail and Express tele-
graphs:
The success of the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition at ST. Louis in 1891 is in peril.
Its danger is caused by the inertness. in
capacity and general lack of good manage
ment exercised by the st. Louis World s
Fair corporation which IS responsible ior
the executive conduct of the Exposition
THAT is the statement made TO your cor
respondent by one of the members OF the
United States Commission. appointed by
President Mckinley, under authority of the
act of Congress providing for the BXposi-
ton There are nine OF these United States
Commissioners Their duties are purely
supervisory. All executive authority is
vested in the ST. Louis corporation.
.The United States Commissioner whose
words are quoted above would not permit.
at this time, the use OF his name. But he Is
collating some facts which will prove of
startling interest to the public as to the
rate of progress or rather the lack of prog
ress, of the preliminary work for the Expo
sition. As soon as this statement is pre-
pared its publication win receive the formal
sanction of himself and his official asso-
ciates.
But this Commissioner consented to-day
to cite some facts which, as he views them.
will be sufficiently alarming to the advo-
Gates of what it was hoped to make the
greatest and most successful of interna-
tional expositions.
at is of slowness and the lack OF hustle
in securing the completion of the full sub
scription that the United States Commits
sioner who Is here quoted makes his first
complaint. He declares that the Exposition
corporation has been strangely lacking in
energy. in securing subscriptions from
States. Not a single New England State
has contributed, although the corporation
sent an expensive committee there to urge
action upon the several Governors The
contribution of New York is only $4,000.
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana have con-
tributed nothing.
But. according to the United States Com
missioner serious fault is to be found
with the slowness OF the Exposition cor
poration in securing foreign exhibits.
There are ninety directors of the Expo
sition corporation. That number, in the
opinion of the United States Commissioner
is seventy-fve too many. Then, this Board
of Directors does not include proper repre-
| sentation of different parts of the country
1lfStedu VI pt!llS ualiOUdl. IL Is
wholly local in its membership. The alleged
result is that these directors are narrow in
their views and policy; that they have no
adequate conception of the magnitude of
their undertaking; that they treat the Ex-
position as II 1t were merely State or
country fair; that they fail to enlist the in
| terest of large manufacturing and CONNER
cial enterprises in States of the Union, out
| side of Missouri; that they are subject to
| the local political influences of ST Louis,
and that they are squandering money in
| providng places for multitude of hangers
| on and in awarding contracts through IA
voritism. ----- ----z. -
| According to the United States Commits
| sioner, little activity has been stirred in
! behalf of the Exposition among members
of the United States diplomatic and con-
| sular corps. This is because of the listless-
! ness of the St. Louis Exposition corpora
| ton. Some circulars have been sent out.
| but circulars are usually treated in per-
i functory fashion e,
at is true that the St. Louis Exposition
| corporation has sent John Barrett as its
| agent to the Orient. But one man, how
| ever active or energetic, can do little IN
| covering so vast a territory.
"T can see but one hope now remaining -
! concluded this commissioner "of making
| the ST. Louis Exposition really an exposi-
| ton, instead of a mere collection of build
| ings, where architectural beauty, however
| great, must be ephemeral That is to make
an urgent appeal to the men who control
| great transportation and banking interests
men like ]. Pierpont Morgan, A. ]. Cas-
sat, the vanderbilts and Goulds, and scores
| of others, who influence the policy of rail-
roads, steamship companies, banks and
| great mercantile and commercial ente-.
| prises.
IF these men could be convinced that ac-
| tive interest in the St. Louis Exposition
| would add materially to the revenues of
! their corporations from freight and pas
| senger traffic in the dull season that usually
attends presidential year, they might be
induced to instruct all their agents and
branch offices in all parts of the world to
| persuade their business connections to par
| ticipate.
| cism expressed the highest admiration for
| President Francis of the st. Louis corpora
| ton, but said that Mr.. Francis was over
4 whelmed with a mass OF detail work tEat
| a proper executive management would as
| sign to responsible subordnates."
CridIer and Ives Arrive Mt Rome.
Rome, Nov. 26.-St. Louis Fair Commits
sioners T. w. Cridler and II. C. Ives have
| arrived here. They say they have found a
growing interest in Italy in the Exposition
! and particularly among artists.
TWO MISSIONS TO PROVIDE