The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-12-22
-FOUR MONTHS.

FOUR MONTHS.
In the Worlds Fair proper the work has been
well timed Architects, builders and mathematician
demonstrate paper that more than 80 per cent of
the structural work is done y trip to the grounds.
which is more convincing will show the great prof
ect in the last stages of completion.
And the work of the ''Show managers" TO a
popular term, progresses equally well. Enough cx-
hibits have been arranged for and are now available
TO fill up the greatest show on EARTH They are be-
ginning to arrive even now. \ thousand active bu-
reaus are whipping the display into shape. Com
missioners in every part of earth are supervising
the work of collecting and preparing the material.
The worlds showmans instinct has manifested it
self prodigiously. Without exception the nations
have been enlisted and almost without exception
are active and keen for the parts they to play.
AS regards publicity or advertisement" no I'M
dertaking in the worlds history has enjoyed more
or better. St Louis may be fancied rs the throne
center of great system of intelligence which has
spread over the globe. sending its commands as the
brain imparts messages to the nervous system; aud
sending them constantly. 1t is probably true that
through this system every individual possessing the
ability capacity to come has been inspired with
the desire to come.
Two things may be positively assumed That the
Exposition will be ready on time and that the peo-
pie are coming.
In about a hundred and thirty-five days there will
be brilliant scenes in this vicinity The breviry OF
the space between now and May First is rather I'M
pressive There is much to be done against that day
in the way Of incidental preparations. Having prac
tically checked off, the principal item, which is the
Fair itself, local attention must concentrate upon
finishing the thousand and works which have to
do with housing, feeding, transporting and generally
caring for the vast streams and floods of visiting
humanity. great number of the enterprises of this
class do at this time stand finished Many of them
are well on their way to completion A few are be-
midland, and some have even yet to be begun.
One hundred and thirty-fve days are scarcely
more than the space Of dream Before we know 1t
May First will be upon And yet one hundred
and thirty-fve days are sufficient for vast accom-
plishment, if hurry is the watchword and there is
concentration of energy.
Delay Of one day later than the day when the
gates swing wide will entail serious consequences;
more than that, will be equivalent to an admission
which for the sake of the town, its past and espe-
cially its future, should shrink from making:
confession OF unf1tness community.
Figuratively, st. Louiss lamps must be trimmed
and burning when the great day rolls round-which
means that hotels lodging-ho cafes and res
taurants must be ample; transportations increased
facilities must be in perfect operation, the whole
upon scale accommodated to what will be proba-
bly, the heaviest requirements laid upon like
transportation-yet it may be remarked parentheti-
caly that the adjustment Of this facility within the
time remaining is or should be infinitely less diff
cult than the completion of some other preparatory
works; the perfection of systems and methods for
the handling" Of humanity in bulk so to speak, the
treatment Of crowds scientifically; the extension of
the ordinary accommodations for human comfort;
the thousand and one small semipubc facilities in
cident to city lfe that each visitor may perform
the varied transactions of the day without unusual
effort: the approximation Of private enterprises to
abnormal situation; perfection of the little
venences, the Eainutiae of comfort-a these things
must be facts in the situation In ST Louis as shall
exist upon the first day Of next May.
These facts will he eloquent of vital import In es
tablishing what shall be St Louis's 'nterna tiona"
reputation. And, as concerns the repue in which
shall be held universally, these facts extraneous will
have far greater significance than the Fair itself.
With the world housed fed, carried and generally
entertained in the most approved comfort ST. Louis
will step into place with the great metropolitan and
cosmopolitan centers of the world The alternative is
painful-one which st. Louis cannot and will not
contemplate. Certainly not while one hundred and
thirty five days remain for glorious accomplishment
These remaining days assume an Importance
greater than any period within the Exposition era
they are the days that will tell the tale. Given
thought intelligent direction, concentration Of en-
ergy and plenty of the Twentieth Century speed
which has characterized the undertaking hitherto,
and st. Louis need have no fear of the total to be
cast up on the First of May.
~He-