The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-10-20
WASHINGTON STRUCTURE At
LEWIS AND CLARK FAIR TO
BE DISPOSED OF.
Building Was Admitted to Be the
Handsomest at the Recent
Portland Fair.

If YOU are looking for bargain IN
realty" write to Elmer E. Johnston
Washington's executive commissioner
to the Lewis and Clark Exposition
The Washington commission has told
Mr.. Johnston to sell the Washington
State building and to sell it quickly;
there can be no great delay about the
sale. The building was admitted 10
be the handsomest at the recent ex-
position. 1t cost the state of Washing
ton about $35, 900 and it was cheap al
the price. Mr.. Johnston does not say
so but the chances are If you waved
a thousand dollar note across his face
he would grab it and say, Take the
building" That's just one thirty-f fifth
of the original cost.
At meeting of the Washington
commission at Portland more than
month ago Commissioner Johnston
was authorized to receive bids for the
purchase of the building. The COM
mission figured that it would have no
difficulty in getting rid of the hand
some structure at a fair price. But
people out west don't seem to be buy
ing exposition buildings. Two OF
three of them have been disposed Of.
but the majority are still for sale.
WORKING Companies Not Buying.
At the big expositions held in the
east. so-called wrecking companies
have always been on hand and pur-
chased the buildings for sum that
Melted the owners a fair return on
their Investment. Representatives of
one or two of these companies came
to Portland some time ago, but, after
sizing up the situation, concluded that
it would not be a good investment to
purchase the buildings of the Lewis
and CLARK exposition. The reason Tor
this they said was that there was not
the market in the west for the lum-
Der in these buildings that there is IN
the east. People in the lumber country
will not buy lumber that has been IN
use in an exposition building when
thew can purchase the new stuff for
almost the same figure.
And so the Washington commission
finds that it has something of white
elephant on it's hands. The commits
sion, however feels satisfied that
within the next few weeks some one
will surely come along with thou
sand or two and pay it for the build
ing.
mas been made and already is meeting
with great favor that Seattle and
Alaska shall buy it, take it down,
move it to Seattle, put it together
and that it shall be a star building of
the Alaska exposition. The sugges-
ton may at first strike one as having
come from a person just out of pop
by sleep. but there is wisdom in it just
the same, the wise ones say.
Building Well Constructed.
The building is constructed of first
class lumber, and could not be erected
by private contract for less than it
cost the Washington commission. 1t
is so constructed that it could be torn
down without doing any particular
damage to the lumber and finishings.
Just how much it would cost to move
it to Seattle is not known but even if
the Cost was $4,000 or $4,000, Seattle
and Alaska would still be in pocket
financially.
A building suited in every way to the
needs of such a fair as the Alaska ex-
position that could be torn down, trans
ported to Seattle and put together, at
a total cost of $1,000 or $4,000 is re-
garded by the shrewd ones as bar
gain in reality"