The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-06
Nearly Three Hundred Business Men
Will Discuss the Project at the
Columbia Club.
WILL BE ELABORATE AFFAIR
LAST YEARS HORSE SHOW DEMON
STRATED NEED OF BUILDING.
Popular stock Subscription Will
Probably BE Decided Upon-A
Kansas City Visitor.

The Coliseum will be built tonight. OF
course the structure will not be reared like
Aladdin's palace nor will mighty force of
men build il between sunset and sunrise
But it will be built just the same because
the slave of the lamp-money-wil appear
ready to do the bidding of it's master. The
master will be the coliseum organization
that will result from to-nights banquet.
The committees of the Merchants Asso-
citation and the Fall Festival Society,
headed by George w. Bliss and Hugh j.
MCGOWAN, prepared the feast and invited
the guests. Over three hundred invitations
were sent out and up to last night nearly
two hundred acceptances had been re-
ceived by Secretary Saulter, of the joint
committee. great many more are ex-
pected to-day and the number to be seated
at the table is expected to approximate
three hundred. The arrangements at the
Columbia Club where the banquet is to be
assembled in the main dining room and the
tables will be arranged in the shape of an
anchor. Partly hidden by foliage plants an
will be decorated with flowers and the
room brilliantly illuminated.
George W. Bliss will be POSTMASTER. One
of the guests from out of the city will be
Edward Clendening, of Kansas City, who
will reach the city to-day for visit of
several days with Mr.. MCGOWAN. Mr..
Clendening was one of the earliest ad-
vocates of the Kansas City Convention
Hall, which is in all senses what the pro-
posed Coliseum here is to be, was one of
it smost active promoters and is
director in the company which owns it. He
has been secretary of the Kansas City
Commercial Club for fifteen years and is
regarded as a valuable adviser i'm the Col
iseum project. He was invited here by Mr..
MCGOWAN and will doubtless be one of the
principal speakers. The POSTMASTER will
call upon many TO give expression to their
views.
Before the speechmaking begins there will
be another subject to be discussed. 1t is a
dinner of nine courses for which the menu
is as follows:
Blue Points. Manhattan Cocktail.
Toasted Bent Crackers.
Chicken Gumbo, Southern Style.
Sliced Graham Bread buttered.
Celery. Olives. Sailed Nuts
Haute Sauterne.
White River Pickerel-a la Meuniere.
Colonial BISCUIT.
Champagne.
Filet Mignon la Stanley.
Coliseum Ice Hollandaise.
| Potatoes Fordante.
Coliseum Punch.
German Asparagus la vinaigrette
Orange Ice Cream. Assorted Cakes.
| Camembert Cheese
Cigars. Cafe Noir. Brandy.
| CLIMAX OF PRELIMINARY WORK.
The coliseum banquet will be the climax
| of the preliminary work. 1t is expected
1 hot ;3c
outcome and that the funds will soon be
made available for the purchase of land
| and the commencement of the building.
/ The necessity for such building has been
demonstrated constantly In the last few
years. When Hugh ]. MCGOWAN came here
he was one of the most enthusiastic agita-
tors for it. Mr.. McGowan's enthusiasm
and energy are contagious, and, while the
business public had already recognized the
need of such a building, Mr.. MCGOWAN
spirit of enthusiasm kept the subject alive.
The thought of coliseum was central in
the minds of the fall festival guarantors,
| and Mr.. Bliss, who was president of the
| Fall Festival Society, announced last fall
that the success of the festival and horse
| show meant the immediate establishment
| of coliseum. The festival and horse show
paradoxical though it seems, was success
in the direction of coliseum, although it.
| suffered last year and in two previous
| years showed clearly that, with a suitable
building, such shows could not be failures
| 1t was shown that large sum spent in q
| coliseum would be money well spent.
After the brilliant arena of the horse
show was closed forever the public mind
| was made up coliseum was necessity
and many liberal offers were made to q
stock subscription list. Mr.. MCGOWAN of.
fered to subscribe one-tenth of the
| amount necessary, and other men OF
| Ru1
| Mr.. MCGOWAN, Mr.. Bliss, Mr. WATSON, Mr.
Reach and many others who expressed
| their views, thought the whole community
should be taken into partnership. so thai
| interest would be universal in its success
A dollars worth of stock is as preciou.
sometimes as thousands, and because Of
this it has been planned to make the stool
subscription popular.
The uses of coliseum are multitudinous
1t may be used for large or small conven
tions. Its maximum capacity is larg,
enough for the largest, yet ii may be 81
constructed that the smallest convention
may utilize it. For mammoth convention
the seats are arranged on declining con
crete floor that gives a clear view to tn,
stage. This floor may contains tens o
thousands. About it great gallerie
holding thousands of spectators Such
a few nights later the whole appearance
transformed for the purposes of a grea
ball; TO SO transform it polished polls floor.
and the decline from the rear to the stag
is obliterated. The flexible character of
coliseum is its success. If Mr.. McGowal
had his vision realized the Indianapoli
coliseum would contain a gigantic pipe or
! gan, where sacred concerts could be givel
on Sundays for the poor. The schools an
colleges would there assemble for cosin
exercises, music festivals would be held
great bands would give performances a
popular prices, the greatest national con
ventions-commercial. religious, political
scientific-would be held 1t would be tn
scene of circuses. of horse and other anima
| shows, commercial and geological exhibits
1t would be the climax of great spectacula
parades such as the Mardi Gras at New Or
leans, the Yelled Prophets at st. Louis an
others that annually bring in thousands o
visitors for days.
The necessity Of the coliseum has bee
augmented by the development of inter
urban transportation, now only in it's In
fancy. The terminal station for the inter
urban roads. the technical institute that
assured, the gigantic strides of the city /
2 its commercial and moral development a
preach this necessity and this preaching
l so directed from and to all quarters tina
the banquet tonight promises to be but
of bringing al faVOra hla 81