Morgan County democrat. (Versailles, Mo.) 1900-1906, 1904-01-22
SEEN THROUGH
WESTERN EYES
Editor Bonfils Of the Denver Post
Eloquent Over Worlds Fair.
CHICAGO AND PARIS NOT IN IT
Amused at the Grnndcur, the Size
and the Progress of the Enter
prise, and Regrets Its short
Lease Of Life.

st. Louis, Jan. 19.-"St. Louis owes
It to the universe TO keep the Worlds
fair open a year II were TO decide 1t
| would keep the fair open two years.
Thus spoke Fred Bonfils, editor and
proprietor OF the Denver (Col) Post,
at the Planters Sunday night.
you could, J believe. put the Column
bian exposition inside OF it, n then
the people would mistake the Chicago
show for one Of the side exhibits. The
Paris exposition is so far behind it in
every way shat a comparison il q
waste Of time and word.
lie Was Amazed.
II state honsatly tina, | was amazed
at the grandeur, the size and the prog.
ress of the Worlds fair enterprise. II
needs more exploiting. The men who
are in charge If the publicity depart
ment can't write too long or too often
about this show. In ,hc New Years
edition Of my paper we gavc the
Worlds fair Il D3gC. We thought we
were doing ST. Louis a kindness. | am
ashamed IF myself. licnccforth the
Worlds fair GETS all the pace that We
can possibly afford.
a Timely suggestion.
81 think that at this time it would
be wise IN tho part Of The fair man
agement to bring the Q spaper men
of the country to st. LOUIS, hat they
might inspect the grounds and build
ings and see for themselves the tre'
mendOus proportions of the enterprise.
The idea that outside res spaper men
have of The fair Is the one that was
created at the time of the dedication
Al that time no fair idea Of The expo
sitiOn could be conceived. Now is the
time to show the editors what Is doing
Il think, also, that the management
81 the fair ought to stay as far away as
possible from those lines of publicity
which remind one Of the Chicago fair.
For instance. the photographs of the
exhibits palaces show a similarity in
architecture to the buildings of the
Chicago exposition When one visits
the grounds he sees that the St. Louis
buildings are vastly greater in Size and
more picturesque in appearance than
the Columbian exposition buildings.
The Western Idea.
Tho people in the west have An
idea that the ST. Louis enterprise is "A
copy Of the Columbian exposition. !
confess that | thought so until this
Afternoon. | would repeat that Meth
ar in fkI,a,, NOR tho d.. ,ig ,snnGitinn
Is for Il moment to be compared to the
Louisiana Purchase exposition.
~"Undoub'cdly the fair is going TO be
It's own best advertisement. It will
open the eyes Of the world, thi8 cXpOsi-
tiOn that you are going to have here.
Some people may realize when it Is too
late that they should see this great ed
vocational exposition. Thousands will
want 10 do so. ! am thinking now of
the middle class Of our ciuzcns--the
class who must save in advance if they
would see the exposition.
should Run Two Years.
THAT Is my reason for maintaining
that the exposition should be pre-
served for at least two years. | venture
the assertion that If the 81. Louis fair
were preserved n opened to h pub
lie in 1905, 10 per cent. of those who
go this year would go again, while
thousands who were unable to attend
the first year would nOck to The expo.
sition.
1T is a great pity that such a mag
nifcent effort as the people of st. Louis
are making should have only seven
months in which to bear It's fruit"