The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1905-10-05

A I the outset let me say that the
~ difficulties met in handling {
n this question in manner
which will interest you, are
tar greater than imagined. It is very
difficult to handle such theme, except
by comparison. Did know that you
visited the Worlds Fair, the Interstate
at Omaha, or the Pan
at Buffalo, or had a pan
Drama to unfold before you, could
describe far more easily what is with
out doubt the greatest exposition the
world up to the present has ever seen.
These great fairs, both of Europe
and America, may well be likened to
milestones along the path of progress,
marking in fair and impartial man
ner the tentative effort which civiliza-
tion is making to elevate itself above
the quagmire of ignorance and savage
ry. Each measures the progress of
mankind up to the close of the epoch
which it's institution marks; and by ex-
amining them in sequence, one gains a
fair idea of the worlds progress from
epoch to epoch. AS said a moment
ago, this was without doubt the great
est fair the world has yet seen, costing
in the aggregate more than forty mil
lion dollars, covering one thousand
two hundred and forty acres of ground
and comprising fifteen hundred and
seventy-six separate and distinct build
ings, one of which, the Transportation
Building, in which l was chiefly in
terested, covered sixteen acres, while
the Agricultural Building covered
more than twenty acres.
st. Louis lacked the beautiful lake
front which Chicago possesses fronting
Jackson Park, but the site, neverthe-
less, was very beautiful, being about
evenly divided between hill and plain
and possessing small but beautiful
lake and densely-wOoded tract of
about twenty acres. In the timber
were placed the mining, deep well and
hydraulic exhibits, and the setting was
effective in the extreme. Entering the
gates you at once find yourself on the
plaza, the avenues of which swept in
grand and majestic curves toward the
lagoon, the sunken gardens, festival hall
and the terrace of states.
At night, when illuminated, the
grand basin or lagoon, the cascades
and festival hall made scene of such
weird, grand and awe-inspiring beauty
that one fairly pauses for language
with which to describe the wonderful
scenes. Imagine, if you can, these
great cascades converging at one COM
mon point, illuminated by electric
globes of all the prismatic colors which
were constantly changing, eliminating
in the grand basin covered with illu-
minated boats and gondolas of fantas-
tic design; the basin bordered by the
mammoth white and silent buildings
they too Illuminated with thousands OF
lights, and you will gain some small
idea of the beauties of the scene.
The first thing found 1 needed was
a guide book, and after possessing my.
self of this indispensable article,
looked around for restaurant, and
soon found myself in the Union Cafe
watchfully cared for by a buxom
Bavarian lass. Finishing my lunch ]
started for the United States Building
at the left of the sunken garden and
the lagoon. This building contained
the government exhibits, that of the
Postofice Department being especially
comprehensive. The various manneri
in which the mails are transported
were shown by wax figures of men il
typical dress or uniform, while tn,
museum of the Dead Letter Offic'
would occupy ones attention for days
The naval exhibit contained models o
all the famous battleships and cruiser
which the navy has possessed since 1t
inception. It was surprising to not
the attention which the model of tn
Maine attracted. Housed in glss
case, bordered in black, it was slway
surrounded by silent and, reverentia
group OF people. . !.
The Agricultural Department he