The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1905-06-17
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

Ob. LOUIS, June JO.-IJ - diIHOoI d.
mnch of a job to get rid Of big exposi-
ton as it is to create one, and it is even
more fun to watch the Wreckers tearing
down a building than it is to see the
builders put one up. Destruction /;
more entertaining than creation in many
lines of activity, particularly to those
who destroy as, for instance, Admiral
Togo.
There is a melancholy aspect to the
question, a pathetic and a profound
sense of regret, to see magnificent build
ings torn to pieces; ST., 700. 600 worth OF
architectural triumphs razed from the
face Of the earth. OF course the ST.
Louis people had to get Chicago men to
do 1.-THE Chicago Wrecking Company
the same that pulled down the govern
ment building at Chicago some years
ago and removed what the fire left OF
the "White City,. They also destroyed
the buildings Of the Omaha and Buffalo
exposItiOns. 1t took them eighteen
months to clear away the rnins from
Jackson Park and nine months each to
demolish the Buffalo and the Omaha eX-
position. Here they have two years in
which to do the Job, beginning with the
latter part of March, when the exposi-
ton officials moved out, and the wreck
ers moved in their force of 200 expert
enced men. They have a complete fire
department and police organization and
are very strict about smoking around
the grounds, because they lost several
Thousand dollars at Chicago by the
burning Of the manufactures and other
buildings, which, they say, were set on
fire by the strikers.
People are allowed to go about the
grounds, however, and there are a great
MANY visitors, Many of them come
from curiosity; many more are buyers
in search Of bargains, and they are sent
to the transportation building, where is
the biggest junkshop you ever saw-a
regular department store in which the
wreckers have gathered and classified
the articles which have been taken from
the interior of the buildings and other
small portable merchandise, all Of which
is for sale at trifling prices. The cata-
lorun of these articles contains 120
pages, with the different classes OF arti-
cles arranged alphabetically. The first
article on the list is an aerial fire truck,
the next fire alarm boxes, and the third
the ambulances that ran to the emer-
gency hospital, while the last items are
woven wire mattresses, wrenche8 and
wrought iron pipe.
Between these extremes is every port
able article that belonged to the exposl-
ton company, taken from all the build
ings purchased by the wreckers, and the
prices at which they are sold are ridicu-
lous.
The wrecking company paid $l5o,o0o
for everything within the grounds, in
cluding the fence-excepting few OF
the foreign and State buildings. They
paid 5000 for the Ohio building, which
cost S175, 900, and $3.50 for the Penn
sylvania building, which cost S300,OO0,
including all the furniture, carpets and
other equipments. They paid 5000 for
the German building, which cost over
100000, and were much disappointed
when they discovered that all OF the
beautiful decorations on the walls and
ceilings were painted on canYas and had
been sent back to Germany, But there
is said to be more than $500 worth OF
copper on the roof and dome, so that
the contractors will probably come out
even. They bought most Of the other
State buildings, also, for nominal prices.
A few were sold to private contractors.
The French building was given away to
some educational institution and has
already been removed from the grounds.
The British building was presented to
Washington University and will remain
where it stands. The Brazil building
is still the most conspicuous object IN
that part of the grounds, but Will soon
be torn down. The Japanese building
was sold to a Buffalo park association
and has been carried away. The pic
turesque Chinese building was pre-
sented by the commissioners Of that en-
pire to President Francis OF the exposi-
tion company, by command of the en-
press dowager. as a token Of gratitude
for the courtesies he had shown Prince
Pu -Lun. The friends Of Governor
Francis and the St. Louis newspaper
have had a great deal of fun with hin
on this account-frst, because the gif
comes from a very flirtatious old lady
and, secondly, because Mr.. Francis doe
not know what on earth to do with tht
white elephant she has bestowed upol
him. He has had the building CAREFUL.
taken down and the pieces slowed ava,
somewhere, at a cost of several thous
and dollars, for he does not know wha
to do with 1t. He will probably presen
it to the park commissioners, or some
body else, as soon as he can decently d
SO. The Tyrolean Alps building stays
The owners, who got the concession a
the beginning of the fair, are ST. Loui
people. They have fixed it up and VI
run it as a summer garden this seasoi
on the same plan as during the fair.