East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1905-05-29

Portland, Ore, May 29.-The Lewis
and Clark exposition will open next
Thursday morning at o'clock. At
noon the presidents signal, flashed
from Washington, viii set in motion
the chimes in the towers of the Unit
ed States government building, and
the pealed strains of america" will
declare to the world that the West
ern Worlds fair is formally opened.
The fair might have been opened
lnst week and been more nearly
ready than other fairs have usually
been on the opening days; and
when the gates are thrown open on
Thursday, there will be a sense of
completeness about the enterprise
which will gladden. the hearts of the
Oregonians who have stood by the
project with money and good cheer
and who have very great hopes for its
success.
The exposition takes its name from
two hardy explorers, Captains Meri-
wether Lewis and William Clark who,
with little band of followers, pierced
the wilderness 100 years ago and dis
covered. an overland route to the Pa
cific ocean, thereby adding by right
of discovery and exploration a terri
tory of 100000 square miles to the
holdings of the United States on the
American continent.
While smaller than the expositions
held at Chicago and st. Louis this
exposition is by great odds the big
gest thing ever attempted in the Pa
cific Northwest. Its worlds aspect is
I'secured by participation by many for
eign countries, while state participa-
tion is extensive, and the UniteIl
States government has a display and
buildings which represent an expendi-
ture of 100000. The fair has cost
s5.OOO.OO0 so far, and its exhibit pal
iaces contain displays worth five times
as much
The Trail is the expositioR's amuse-
ment street. The gaudy, picturesque
teheaters. and similar structures crowd
one another on each side of a wide
avenue.
The arrangement of the exhibit
buildings. close together yet not
crowded. is admirable, as it makes il
possible to see the fair without the
long weary miles of walking that will
te. remembered so vividly by the visit
ors to earlier expositions.
The main exhibits buildings cluster
al the crest of a gentle slope which
leads from the lake shore. Gravel
walks intersect grass plots which sep
arate the buildings, and on the hill
side the vivid green of the grass con-
trasts delightfully."- with the pink and
red and yellow of the flower beds
which lie like polka dots on the
bosom of the slope.
The tall towers OF the main govern
merTt building arerreflected pleasingly
in the placid lake, while in the near
distance lies the .silvery Willamette,
and 'half hundred miles farther
four snow-capped mountains-Hood
Rainier, st. Helens and Adams
pierce ;the sky. To the left-the
east-rhe foothills of the Cascades,
clothed lin shrubbery, with an occa-
sional tall fir tree, reach down to the
waters edge. In the western part OF
the grounds. there are experimental
the grounds proper from the foothills
and on the slope leading to the canyon
the natural woodland has been main
tanned, except that here and there a
tree has been .culled out in order to
let more beautiful tree flourish, and
again attractive shrubbery has been
planted in fitting places
This part of the site. which is called
Centennial park, is one of the most
attractive features of the fair, Offer
ing a glimpse of Oregon's natural
woodland glories. Gravel walks, with
steps of logs at every slight ascent,
cross and re-cross the shady recesses
of the park, and numerous rustic
benches offer rest to the weary.
OF the artificial features of the fair
the most noteworthy and wonderful
is the Forestry building, an immense
structure Of rough-hewn forest giants
which covers half city block, and is
in itself an eloquent exponent of one
of the chief wealth resources of the
land which Lewis and. Clark made
part of Uncle Sans domain.
Within the spacious exhibits build
nss the displays are in general such
as have been seen at earlier fairs. A
policy of segregation adopted some
time ago provides that all exhibits
from oriental nations shall be housed
in one building, and all European eX-
hibits I'm another. Japan has more
than half of the space in the Oriental
building. A continuation of the seq
regation policy gives states the privi-
lege of showing their displays in their
own buildings instead of scattering
them among the different exhibits
palaces, and in every case where a
state has erected a building this has
been done. Every Western state is
generously represented.
The exposition will be open until
october IS, every day. The gates will
be opened at noon on Sundays.