The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1905-07-08
OFFICIALS ARE GRATlfIED
During Initial Month 4,a,7s Persons
Passed Through Tusastilea General
/, Summary and Statistics Show Splen,
did Standing Of Fair.

1
and satisfying Of all facts In connection
with the Lewis and Clark exposition /,
the attendance. During June. the opei
ing month. the admissions were tls..iI'
by oEiicial count This breaks the re.
cord for exposition attendance in Amer
lica. for the FIRST month, not excepting
any exposition that has been held
when the population OF the territory
contiguous TO the fair is taken into con
sideration. The record is not merely
broken, but is smashed TO smithereens,
the Portland attendance telns from leo
70 eco per cent better than that OF any
predecessors.
The exposition at Omaha, which com
rares with the Portland enterprise in
general size. was located In territory
having population OF about $4,000, 900
people within the 5o0-mile radius. Tha;
radius extended north. east. south and
west The 50o-mile radius from Port
land is sliced off on one side by the
Pacific ocean, which is only hundred
miles distant; within what Is left Of the
radius there are only about 100000 In
habitants and yet Omaha had bu,
2Ss,35l admissions during the first
month, as compared with Portland
Al5,l7s. Within omaha's radius were
Chicago, st. Louis. Kansas City. Des
Moines and other very pcpulols CEN
ters. Portland has only such cities az
Seattle and Tacoma, ON Puget sound.
San Francisco is more than 700 miles
away. Portland itself contains about
10000 people.
This record was made during the
month that was unusually rainy, and
the rainy days cut down the attend
ance. Had June been as sunny and
glorious as the normal June in Port
land, there is no doubt that the re-
markable figures of half a million ad-
missions would have been reached. But
with the official figures at 4ls,lTs, the
people Of Portland and the officials Of
the fair are agreeably surprised and
highly gratified. II has been stated by
one experienced expositionist, who has
been connected with several previous
exposithons that 10000 admissions dur
ing June would nave been as many as
could have been expected, considering
the experience Of other big fairs
Several reasons contribute TO this re-
attendance. One Is the fact
that the exposition was practically
in complete state when IL opened
June !. Another is that the bewildsr-
ing beauty Of the grounds is an ire
sistable lure. But perhaps the most
important fact Is that this Is the very
frst exposition which the people OF the |
Pacific slope have been privileged to |
behold, and they are taking II in" TO |
their hearts content. The nearest big |
exposition heretofore was that at oma-
na, 1900 miles away. Comparatively
lew residents of the states west Of the |
Rocky mountains have visited any OF |
he other worlds fairs. The Portland |
'how IL something new under the sun
o them and they show their appreci-
ltion by paying the gate money.
Thousands Of people from the mid
lie west and the east have visited the
air and the local hotel bookings indi-
ate that the stream Of visitors from
'oints to the eastward will be much
arger during July. continuing to In
rease until the close Of the fair, Oct
ober Is. California, though its north
rn line IL a theater Of 400 miles from
he attendance. During the first three
weeks nearly 1000 Californians register
d at the California state building, and
his sepresents but small proportion
( the California people who have been
D the exposition.
July opened with an attendance OF
e.sSs on the first, an increase OF sew
raj thousand above the daily attend
nee for June This indicates that
uly's attendance will far surpass that
( June. Everything is now in full
wing, with half a dozen bands furn-
hing music each day and evening,
he sky-scraping mountain peaks visi-
le to east and north from nearly any
oint in the grounds As yet there has
OF been a day Of uncomfortable
arm weather.
Great national conventions follow
ach other thick and fast at Portland
nd every days program shows some
ling of special interest.