The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1904-10-06
Another Letter From an OREGON
Lady Now Doing the Great
Worlds Fair.
COULD HANDLE TOTEM POLES
But Most Things Are TO BE Seen
and Not Touched Missouri.
ians Mast BE Shown..How
Japs Furnish q House.

| A<4hAsN VIVA VIZ WCaS Hliu "
find something that was not marked
please do not handle" and that was
the reason we gaxed long and loving
ly at the Alaskan totem poles. Some
Exhibitor could make great hit at
this exhibition by labelling something
he had to exhibit please handle this.
The strain Is telling on John. He
likes to handle things. The privilege
of feeling things Is as grateful to him
as lot of fresh mud TO bevy OF
children, But even the big locomotives
and heavy railway iron over In the
transportation building are labeled
please don't handle" In part of
the building we saw very comforta-
BILE looking bench with a nice back
10 1t, but 1t bore the words, This
bench is not to sit down on; 1t is for
the display of steel rails" The big
model OF the Pennsylvania railway sta
ton to be built in New York was Ia
beled Don't handle" John vows he
will pick up and carry Off the first
thing that doesent wear don't ham
die, even II It is one OF the Indian
squaws on the pike.
The totem pole, II seems, Is the
Alaskan's family tree" It is a record
Of the doings of his ancestors. II a
great, great grandfather died. got
married or was hung new notch was
cut in the totem pole or new figure
carved. These, which surround the
native houses on either side Of the
Alaska building are the first ever
brought to this country and were only
obtained through the influence Of Gov
ernor Brady. They are highly priced,
some Of them having been carved by
the aboriginees many years ago. Af-
ter looking at these ancestral monu-
ments we took trip all through Alas
ka, up the great Yukon river, the sec
ond largest river In the world, to Daw-
son and the Klondike region. We
took journey on dog sleds, climbed a
great glacier and went up the White,
We did all this and more with a
young man and a biograph while
seated In comfortable chairs in a sort
of theater in the Alaska building. The
biograph, which shows a series of
beautifully illuminated and life-like
pictures, is extensively used in the ex-
position. We come upon young men
lecturers everywhere who use the bio
graph to illustrate and demonstrate
processes in great manufacturing in
dustries. Preaching to the worlds
fair visitors in pictures Is in happy ac-
cord with the spirit and purpose of
the exposition, which is to show how
things are done. No other kind Of an
exposition would go in the state of
Missouri anyway. The Missourian
asks questions. And after you have
him he will ask the same !
question over again. When the guide
In one Of the cars of the Ferris wheel |
says, Now If you will look over to
your left you will see Jerusalem and
the Philippine village in the distance"
every Missourian in the car will look
to the right and ask, where did you
say Jerusalem was?" On every hand
we hear the trite remark, I'm from
Missouri; you'll have to show me-"
l have just solved question which
has been bothering me ever since a
Japanese woman lectured before our
club on Japanese art. She told Of the
extreme simplicity Of the Japanese
home and it's furnishings, how averse
they were to numbering up their
homes with useless furniture and bric-
a-bac. / wondered why people so
artistic and so skillful at making
things would be satisfied with a screen
and footstool with a blue cup and
saucer on it and few toothpicks as
the only furnishings Of room. The
reason is plain. / priced a screen In
the Japanese section of the varied in
dustries building and found 1t would
take $3.50 to induce them to part with
it. A vase was marked $3.50. After
the frugal Jap has bought screen and
a vase he has reached the limit of his
purse. His home is furnished. He
needs no chairs and tables 80 long
as he has the screen and vase.
T. A. d.