New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-04-24

At noon next Saturday President Roosevelt
by pressing a button in the White House, is to
Gtart the ma ehinery of the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition. Ceremonies incident to the opening
OF the fair Will take place at the base Of a
splendid monument where in sculpture Robert
X. Livingston, James Monroe and Barbc-Mar-
bois Napoleon's minister, viii also be present
The exposition VIII remain open to the world
until December |.
In many ways the exposition at St Louis will
be the greatest in the worlds history. If set
down on Manhattan Island it would cover one
tenth its area. Within its fences there are 1 30
acres, an inclosure nearly twice the size Of the
chicago fair ground. which had G33 acres, and
more than three times that of the Paris EXPO
sition, whose comprised SO acres. The
Pan-Amercan, 1T Buffalo. contained 300 acres.
About onc-tenth the area of the st. Louis fair
will be under roof, thus affording 12S acres OF
exhibit space. Chicago had eEhty-two acres
covered.
The price paid by the United States for the
Louis ana domain out OF which fourteen states
and Territories have been carved. was
sl5OO000o. or less than one-half the cost Of the
exposition held in celebration 1Ol years after
ward. The total expense Of creating the fair is
estimated at So 227 $50. Of which the city Of st
Louis appropriated $JOptUoD; St Louis citizens
100000 and Congress. SJoooopn, with the
additional sum Of 81 As 900 appropriated 10y the
federal government for special exhibits out of
the forty-fve States all except two-Vcrmont
and Delaware-h1yc made appropriations aggre-
eating SGO679 N6 Foreign governments have
appropriated S6,oO0O0o. The amount appro-
Iriated by States and Territories for the Chi
cage fair was $53O9j3
Ii is estimated that a man walking continually
between the opening hour Of a. m. and p. IN,
the closing hour. viii take three weeks 10 see
the whole of the st. Louis Fair. on the grounds
there three hundred buildings altogether.
FOR the reason that agriculture has been ue
chief contributor 10 the wealth Of the region
purchased from France. this Industry is repre-
scented in the largest structure The exterior
walls OF the Agricultural Building measure little
les than a mile around. and 10 has four miles of
si~les within. In area it IS nine times as large
as Madison Square Garden The corn exhibit
alone cost $4,000, and that OF cotton covers
enc third Of an acre. with height of sixty feet,
transportation, which has done so much to
buld up the West, is installed in the next
largest building. which irclosos an area Of more
than a half million square feet.
The main picture Of the fair comprises ten
great palaces arranged in the shape of fan,
with the avenues as the ribs. Where the ave
nues converge the chief architectural ornament
OF the fair is situated TO it has been given
the name Of the Hall # Festivals. High above
the other buildings on the crest If hill. with
dome two hundred feet high, it affords the
spectator on its top hrd's-eye panorama Of
The entire exposition. Down this hill tumble
three cascades, which are the largest ever made
by man. and which pour 10000 gallons Of water
q minute. The exhibits in the chief buildings
are covered from view at p. m. but the
grounds and the shows on the Pike are open
until IL o'clock each evening
All the great nations of the world arc repre-
nRked at the fair by exhibition palaces, With