The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-07-01
CAN HANDLE THE CROWD
st. Louis Street Car Company Makes
Visit to Fair Pleasant.
No Long Waits For Trolley and No
Crowding Experienced.
]. c. Thro Gives Impression of Big
Show in Missouri Town.
He Does Not Think Much Of Mime.
sofas State Building.
From Wednesdays Daily.

last Saturday having spent two weeks at
the city and the fair, was very much i'm
pressed by the skill with which st. Louis
handles the immense throng of visitors,
that are constantly streaming to and
from the city, and along its thorough
fares, and in and out of the gates of the
fair.
The electric street railway system,
bringing people to the fair grounds from
all parts of the city is wonderful. For
est park, in which the fair is located, has
eleven different entrances, and at every
entrance there is one or more street car
lines. Nearly every car line terminates
at some entrance of the park, in loop,
around which the cars go just before
starting back for the city again. Each
loop takes in space greater than an
ordinary city block, and is covered by a
great shed in case of rain. Under this
shed sometimes ten or twelve cars of the
same line will gather and will rapidly
fill with people.
One afternoon, while the Thro family
were on the grounds, rainstorm came
up, and the immense throng iof visitors
streamed through the gates and hur-
ried to the cars. The managers of the
car systems had been equal to the occas-
ion. Long lines of street. cars were
waiting under the sheds and other cars
were rapidly coming to succeed these.
In an incredibly short space of time the
multitude were carried from the park
back to their various destinations in the
city.
For FIVE cents one may ride from any
part of st. Louis to the fair. There is a
well defined system of transfers by which
a passenger may go from one line to an
other without paying additional fare.
Mr.. Thro was himself born and rails
ed in st. Louis, though he has not resid-
ed there during the past twenty six
years. Since he lived there, the growth
of the city has been marvellous. About
the time he left, the city had popula-
ton of something over three hundred
thousand. Now St. Louis claims to have
eight hundred thousand. The city has
spread over a vast stretch of territory
through which he used to hunt when a
young man. He remembers when he
shot game where the fair stands today
Now the city extends all around this
park.
Business men of St. Louis declare that
they will profit by the experience of Chi
cago. That city had a great set back
after its fair. eleven years ago. The
throngs of people that poured into Chi
cago made people, who had money to
invest, quite reckless. Cheap tenements
were thrown up and other equally fool
ish expenditures made on stupendous
scale. Of course the reaction came after
the fair was over. The tenements could
not be rented. Investors could not get
their money back. The reaction fell like
wet blanket on the business of Chi
cago St. Louis money is not being so
lavishly poured out, as if the vast pat
ronage that the city now enjoys were
going to continue forever. To be sure
every effort is being made, and with
great success too, to provide for all who
come to the city, yet these provisions
are of temporary nature, and do not
involve the great OUTLAWS of money, such
as were made at Chicago. After the fair
is over, old habits will be resumed, and
all will go on as before.
The preparation of the exhibits is now
more to be DONE The exposition is on
a stupendous scale. Every new beholder,
as he approaches the grounds, and OBJ
tains general view of the same, is awe
struck at the endless magnifcence that
lies before him. Chicago's fair was no.
thing to compare with this one. The
Louisiana Purchase Exposition surpasses
any event of the kind that the world ever
saw.
Perhaps as interesting as any of the
buildings that Mr.. Thro visited was that
of New York city, standing near the
main entrance to the grounds, little to
the left. Within this structure all the
public works of Americas metropolis
are on display in miniature. One may
see how the streets are cleaned and the
refuse disposed of. All the garbage, and
all sorts of cleanings, are taken to the
great crematory standing on an island a
little distance out at sea, and consumed.
From the rubbish the city actually de-
rives a revenue. The ashes are sold out
in the country as fertilizer. A certain
kind of oil if derived from the garbage
and sold to be purified and placed on
sale in the retail market. There is no
tin can or broken pieces of glass or
or old piece of iron or lead,
that is not utilized and made source of
revenue.
All of the various machines, which
make New York the cleanest city in the
world, are displayed in this building in
and actually working. Wall
maps, charts and books explain this and
that detail. Moreover there is a man
ready to answer any and all questions.
Another very interesting public work
If New York that is here displayed in
miniature is the subterranean railway,
street car line that runs underground.