Durango semi-weekly herald., 1904-05-02

of all nations elbowed one another to-
day. Tall and gaunt Patagonians
from the southernmost region of
America walked side by side with the
Exquin.a children OF the frozen
North. Subjects of the millado saun-
tered alu4g the roadway casting fur
tive glances at fierce Cossacks of the
Don; sooty Nubians josted yellow
Mongols. and picturesque Turks,
Moors and Soudanese added rich color
10 the picture. 1t was veritable con
gress of nations. OF course all Eu-
rope was represented. Foreigners of
dignified appearance and resplendent
in uniforms covered with gold lace
were encountered at every turn. There
We're Germans, Austrians, English
men. Swiss Italians and Spaniards
France. the original possessor of the
great Louisiana territory, WIS much
in evidence.
Above the heads of the throng float
ed the flags OF all nations. The Brit
ish Union Jack iluttered in the breeze
side by side with sun standard of ia.
pan, the tri-color of France was ev-
erywhere; and the Austrian eagles
ilew in the air, along with those of
Germany The white and blue of the
Fiji Islands, the crescent and sun OF
Arabia, the lion of Persia, Chinas yell
low dragon pennant. the snake and ca
gle of Mexico, all these were there;
and floating above them all the stand
ard of the great republic, the Stars
and Stripes. snapped in the breeze. a
symbol OF liberty and asylum to the
oppressed OF the whole earth.
The wisdom of the committee ON
ceremonies IN making the opening ex-
ercises as brief as possible was evi.
dent No one was in humor to lis
ten to long speeches or flowery dis
ertations. That sort OF thing was 81 |
enough at the dedication exercise
year ago, but today every one was ti.
Xious to begin the inspection of the
great exposition. and The crowds that
ebbed and flowed through the great
white palaces and along the broad
avenues was an earnest OF the multi
tudes yet to come when the pilgrim
age 10 the Mecca of civilization should
have been fairly begun. OF course,
everyone who could obtain entrance to
:he big auditorium listened with at
tentlon and respect to the orators of
the day. but there was an evident dis.
position TO begin sightseeing as soon
as possible
II Is true that the exhibits are not
yet complete IN all their details They
have not arrived 50 rapidly as was
expected. and the work OF classifica-
ton has heen somewhat DELAYED.
Still. with these drawbacks. the at
fractions may be said to surpass those
Of any "revlous .itlitiun in It's com
pleted state. Satisfactory as this con
dition of affairs IN. yet contrasted with
the display which will greet the visitor
a week or two hence, that of today Will
be remembered only as a prologue to
one of the most instructive and bewl-
dering spectaclcs in the history of the
world. II is safe to say. however.
that none of the visitors today was
dissatisfied with what he saw. From
end to end, throughout every part OF
The great tract OF 1910 acres. there
was a succession OF strange and novel
sights moving muldtudes and dis
play Of the resources and products of
civilization such as has never before
been collected in one place
All the arrangements for handling
the crowd were excellent. The gates
were at no time choked and the thrung
passed into the grounds with less trou.
BILE than Is often experienced at the
ater or other place of amusement.
The crowd Itself was goud-natured
one. Aside from the foreigners. who
after all formed but a small fraction
Of the great throng. the bulk of the
multitude was made mp Of St Louis
people This was 10 be expected. con
sidering the fact that most of the
prospective visitors from other states
had long ago made their arrangements
TO reach St Louis after the exposition
shall be fully under way st. Louis.
however, had evidently resolved to
take q day OIL IN honor of the event
md the attendance was highly graft
: nm ~ lHAbDAA AAlH tlLlfs anu 5ldlts
vero not by any means unrepresented,
ioweyer, Special trains brought into
he city thousands Of sightseers from
Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Indiana. Ken.
tucly. Arkansas and states even more
distant, and these visitors helped to
swell the throns that had gathered
from all parts Of the Mound City and
It's suburbs TO Join in the opening Of
the big show
Throughout the grounds were dis.
trlbuted the worlds fair police. JeTer-
son Guards as they are called They
were of yalue in directing the move
ments of the crowd when blockade
was threatened and their services
were occasionally called into requisi-
tion to clear the way for passing We.
hicle connected with the hospital serv-
Ice, the police department of the san
itary department of tRe exposition.
Accidents of serious character were
surprisingly few considering the mag
nitude OF the crowd. The Transports
tion facilities. while not yet completed
to their highest capacity. were fairly