The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-23
Wonders of St. Louis Fair



 [ 22 persons each; the barges. 70 persons each; and the picturesque gondolas, with singing and playing gondoliers, will carry from 8 to 20 persons each. The lat ter will be rented by the hour. All boats will be equipped with awnings. Besides these boats there wil be operated a fleet of water craft of all nations, including the house boat of China, the Balos of India, the out-rigger of the South Sea islands, the surf boat of Hawaii, the canoe and dug out of the American In- dian and the Catamaran of Australia. Novelty boats designed to represent pea cocks, swans, sea serpents and other real and fabled beings will also be operated. Special boats decorated and equipped with music and singing gondolers, will be maintained for private boating par ties which will be a society feature of the exposition.
 The buildings of the Louisiana Pur- chase exposition have been tested by the wind and not found wanting. Wednes- day afternoon, August 5, a storm of cy- clonic nature and hurricane velocity swept over the site and when the air cleared 1t was seen that the towers, nina rets, cupolos. coonnades, all the beauu- ful work that goes to complete the new great city had escaped unharmed. Here and there a piece of staff had been brol1- en, but the damage to the completed structures was far less than that to res- idences in the heart to the city
 Yet there was loss on the site both of life, limb and property-serious loss-the story of which has been sent forth by the telegraph. But it occurred where braces and beams had not been fastened and where temporary work furnished play things for the elements. A portion of the light scaffolding on the agriculture palace was carried away and several of the trusses that had just been placed in position were thrown down, but even here where the wind had full sweep, nothing that had been made fast gave away.
 The storm broke at 2:45 o'clock coming first out of the northwest but immedi- ately there ere two wind currents sweeping the site, as was evidenced by the flags on the towers of the adminis- tration building, which stood out in diff ferent directions. As, there are no in struments for making meteorological ob- servation at the fair grounds, the exact velocity of the wind could not be meas ured but persons who have had experi- ence say that the gale moved at from seventy to eighty miles an hour. It was at it's worst immediately in front of the administration building and in the semi darkness a body of rain seemed to be ried along horizontally over the open land west of Skinker road.
 Grave fears were expressed while the storm was at it's height. that destruc- tion would be everywhere manifest when the clouds should clear. but sun light showed the picture complete as it had been save for the loss of the scaf- folding mentioned.
 The sculpture for the decoration of the buildings and grounds of the Louisiana Purchase exposition is first modelled in the studies of the different sculptors commissioned to do the respective works and is then enlarged or built up" in large workshop at Hoboken and at the worlds flair grounds in St. Louis. The work of enlarging requires the ser vices of large force of men and makes a busy industry. Many of these so em- ployed are students and young sculptors who thus obtain livelihood while study ing art and at the same time have an op- portunlty to make progress in knowledge of the art of sculpture and skill in mod cling.
 The preparation of the decorative sculp- ture for so vast an exposition as the worlds fair at St. Louis Is a monument al task It engages the attention of over 80 sculptors, besides the large num- Der of men--about 90-employed in the enlargement work This activity goes on under the direction of the well-known sculptor, Karl Bitter. who Is assisted in the discharge of his important task by an advisory committee on sculpture, composed of Daniel C. French. J. Q. A. Ward and Augustus St. Gaudens. This mitted by various sculptors and passes upon the enlargements made for decor ation of the grounds of the fair. The committee reports that the work is ad- vancing rapidly and satisfactorily. The designs themselves compare most favor ably with those made for previous expo sitons and the enlargement of the sculp- ture is done with more skill than ever be- fore.
 Fourteen great carloads of sculpture have already at this early day been shipped to St. Louis from the workshop at Weehawken and the fifteenth will soon be on the way. The recent shipments contained sculpture by Isidore Konti, Charles Albert Lopez, A. Reul, A. AL fano, F. W Ruckstuhl. A. A. Wein- mann, Miss Melva Wilson, Sterling Cal der, George Edwin Bissell, Philip Mar tini, A. Teller. J. s. Hartley. A. Royal,