Amador ledger., 1904-07-08
A TRIP TO THE
WORLDS FAIR
At the Fair.


contine myself to general topics. Many
erroneous ideas prevail as to the con-
ditions here which ought to be ex.
ploded. Before coming heard much
about the heat of ST. Louis, and the In.
convenience therefrom in June and
July. Newspapers have publicly pro.
claimed St. Louis the hottest large city
on earth in July. That may be so, as
| am not prepared to say what July
may bring forth. Judging from the
last week of June, it may be set down
as slander. Eighty six is the highest
temperature recorded since we arrived
There is peculiarly in the heat, ow.
ing to the humidity in the atmosphere;
at the same time cool, refreshing
breeze is always present to temper the
suns rays. Visitors from cold coun.
tries might feel the heat, but certainly
those from Central California will suf-
fer little therefrOm.
Another thing may be mentioned
here: there is no lack of rooming ac-
commodations. The fair has brought
an enormous influx of people; but the
accommodations have more than kept
pace with the demand. The city could
take care of twice the number of tran
sients than are now within its limits.
Naturally, rents have advanced, and
rooming charges have advanced like
wise. The spirit of gouging is not
missing, and unless the visitor is eau
tious lie is apt to fall a victim. Charges
of So per day upwards for each person
for room alone is common, aud often
the accommodations are of the poorest
| character. | have reached the conclu
sion that those houses sending out cir
culars to induce persons to secure
rooms in advance, and offering reduced
rates if so secured, are mostly frauds.
The "cheaper rate is held out
simply to entrap the unwary. By look
ing around the visitor soon finds that he
might have gotten better accommoda-
tions for less money elsewhere. Stran-
gers will do we'll to steer clear of these
tie-up concerns under whatever guise
they are operated. The better plan is
to secure a temporary place the first
night, and employ the first hours in
the city in looking around for suitable
quarters. 1t will not take long to do
this, unless the taste be of the extreme
fastidious order. We are domiciled in
the residence part of the city on Del
mar boulevard with a private family,
at 81 per day each, which is reasonable
under the circumstances.
On the fair grounds everything in
the eating and drinking line is high
The grab-all spirit is there in all it's
glory. There are exceptions, but tney
are few and far between. A drink Of
water costs cents; meal cannot be
had for less than rs cents or 81; straw.
berries and cream 80 cents-fully
double the cost OF edibes outside the
grounds. Why this extortionate sched-
| ule is tolerated is not clear. Certainly
it initiates against the restaurants on
the fair grounds-aud they are thick as
leaves in autumn. Many visitors de-
cline to be held up in this way, and
pack their lunches with them. They
would not do so if reasonable prices
prevailed. AS a rule people expect to
pay an extra price for things, but they
draw the line on extortion. Two young
fellows from Pennsylvania came to
spend week at the fair. At the expi-
ration of two days they packed up and
left. When asked the reason, they
said they would like to have stayed,
but they were Soaked" and ''stuck, +"
as they expressed it, all along the line.
aud were thereby compelled to curtail
their visit. Maybe the concessionaires
have paid so much for the privilege of
doing business within the fair grounds
that they have to charge skyward
prices. If so the policy was mistaken
one as far rs applied to eating and
drinking necessaries. To us it seems
that the management might have reg
ulated these charges at least.
AS to the exposition itself, it is grand
beyond all precedent. That which i'm
presses the visitor on taking tour of
the worlds fair is its immensty
Everything is on scale of greatness
never before attempted. The buildings
are of immense size, and scattered over
1910 acres. One has to do heap oil
walking to get even feeble idea of this
wonderful exhibition. The next i'm.
preston is the beauty of the buildings,
considering they are merely temporary
structures. The agricultural building
the largest on the grounds-covers
q acres. To walk through all its
aisles, one would have to travel seven
miles. 1t is needless to say that it i;
impossible to get more than a hasty
view of even small portion of the ex
hibits from stay of two weeks. Tc
do the fair fully would require months
II is beyond human endurance to see il
all, or even the major part of it. 1t i:
a marvellous collection of the works OF
nature and of man, dwarfing all pre-
vious efforts in the same line. 1t shows
the development in all branches o.
human activity, from the crude prod
ucts of primitive times to the amazing
achievements of the present.