Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1904-08-26
SIGHTS AT THE WORLDS FAIR.

1t is indeed a very great pleasure tC
make trip to ST. Louis and visit the
great Worlds Fair, but indeed a very
different thing to make a written re.
port that might interest the masses
Of our readers. To give you an inter
esting detail report of some of the
large buildings and their contents
would necessitate series of several
articles that cannot now do but
shall endeavor to acquaint you with
some of the most striking and inter.
esting things there to be seen. 1t
will be only synopsis.
Upon our arrival there, Friday, Aug.
18th, the first stop the great Wabash
train of ten coaches, loaded down with
people, made, was at their Worlds
Fair station, which was built espe-
cially for the Fair. 1t is within 200
feet of the main entrance. Then your
eyes behold the large, beautiful build
ings comprising the great Worlds
Fair, or Louisiana Purchase Exposi-
tion. The great towers on the build
ings, with many statues and other
monuments of beauty, at once ap-
peal to the stranger, and are awe-in-
spring. About six miles from THIS
depot the train carried us to the I'm
ion station, the largest in America
From there to cur ST. Louis domicile
We were taken. only one and half
blocks from depot. The next morn
ing we took the street car in front Of
our door, which in As minutes landed
us at the State gate entrance.
The first building on the inside was
the Inside Inn, the only hotel on the
inside. 1t will accommodate about
5000 guests. The next you come to
is plateau of state buildings, of
which grand old Iowa was a very
prominent part. Among the plateau
she commands perhaps the most beau
tiful location. There we made cur
headquarters. The managers of the
Iowa building made us feel really at
home. We knew the most of them
Our lunch basket, grips and other
things were checked there, and good
ice water, all free of charge Mr..
Freeman Conway, the secrtary, is a
nice man to meet. Mr.. C. A. Perry,
a Des Moines man, ex-constable, is
an employe. Mr.. Henry Gross, bro
Their to Harry, our Des Moines city
treasurer, Mr.. Crane and Mr.. Morris
Mills (coloredD are all from our city.
Then MIR. Palmer of Mt. Pleasant and
Mrs. .............. of St. Louis are
some of those that you will surely
meet en- entering the Iowa building
OF course, Iowa is not the prettist
TIL Missouri state building
leads them all-rightly she should.
Then come New York and ePnnsyl-
vania, Kentucky, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio,
etc.
This Louisiana Purchase Exposition
is the largest and most universal ex-
position ever given by mankind and
perhaps the largest ever will be given
fer many years, for it takes such an
enormous expense, money and labor,
and as yet it is not paying and may be
failure from financial point.
To prove my above statement that
his is the largest fair ever given,
Will briefly compare this with the 9TH
sr Worlds Fairs. The Worlds Column
olan Exposition at Chicago covered
1913 acres of ground, 80 acres of main
exhibit floor space; the Paris Exposi-
ion of 1900 covered 1876 acres, with
30 acres of floor exhibits; the Pan
American at Buffalo covered 300 acres
With Is acres floor exhibits; the Cen
ennial at Philadelphia, 236; the
rrans-Mississippi at Omaha covered
so acres, with acres of floor ex-
libits: while the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition at st. Louis covers 1910 |
lcres, and has 1913 acres of exhibit
loor space, with 500 buildings. Near
Y every state and territory in the I'm
on has a building, and nearly all the !
oreign countries has a pavilion.
For one to get, better idea of the |
normous cost of this fair, l will saw
rpresents an outlay of nearly $780, |
100000, of which 40 states and terri |
cries raised about $7,0O0,OOO alone. |
There are several buildings covering |
4 and Is acres of ground. Thus YOU i
zee that single building in St. Louis
overs more space than the entire |
Aan-American Exposition at Bualo.
'ome of the large buildings are the
'alace of transportation. covering Is
cres of ground, containing four miles
# railway track. The government |
covers IA acres of ground,
t is one of the most instructive and
interesting to visit There one can see
he development of our army, navy
'ur public schools, inventive genius |
md mail or postal system. The mines
md metallurgy building is very fine
md the fine arts building, too.