Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-11-07
CITIZENS RAISE OVER HALF A
MILLION FOR A FAIR.
SUBSCRIBED IN A DAY
And More Is Given Than Is Asked
Exposition Calculated to Exploit
the Resources of Alaska, and the
Lands Along the Pacifie.--Timber
Covers Hills of Country.

| 0GdIlHt, NOV. I.-IulS Is pTOuu
town. The citizens, 100000 of
them, have raised by voluntary sub
scription $65O,OOO for a fair which is
to be held here in 1909, the Alaska
Yukon-Pacific exposition. This money
represents SO for every man, woman
and child in Seattle.
Up to the time that the money was
raised the idea was about all there
was to the fair. A corporation had
been organized, but it had no money.
1t was decided that all the money the
city needed to raise (half a million
dollars) should he raised in one day.
On October the soliciting commit
tees Set out. At noon every whistle
in town blew for twenty minutes, and
people packed the elevators of the
Alaska building to get to the exposi-
ton offices on the fifteenth floor
with their subscriptions. Altogether,
it was a strenuous day, but when the
sun set it was found that it had been
| NC City Aau d
quarter more than was asked. The
fair started with s650,OO0 in the
treasury instead of 100000. The
fair is to be big, clean and whole
some. Preparation for it will cost
s10,0OO.0O0.
! 1t is to tell people about Alaska
whose trade has done much to make
Seattle a city CT 100000 people.
Seattle has handled since the Klon-
dixie rush $1O,0OO,00O worth of
Alaska gold. And Uncle Sam paid
for Alaska only s7.20O,O0O! Besides
the gold, there are wonderfully rich
deposits of coal and copper in
Alaska, together with petroleum,
asbestos, lead, graphite, silver.
uranium, tin, marble, gypsum and
zinc. Recently it has been found
that grasses and the harder grains
grow well, even beyond the arctic
circle. All this will be shown at
Seattle in 1909.
Across the Pacific lie Asia and
Oceanica, the two equaling in area
three times that of the United States,
and having population probably ten
times as great. This billion people
are to become customers of Uncle
Sam. Americans buy rice and
curios and few other things in the
east but not enough. The fair will
aim to bring together eastern and
western buyers and sellers through
the medium of exhibits of the wares
of each.
Several European countries will
take advantage of the opportunity to
display the riches of their depend
encies in the Pacific. These include
Great Britain, France, Germany and
the Netherlands. Besides New Yea
land and Australia will have sep
arate displays, and China, japan and
Asiatic Russia are to be represented.
On the American side, Canada, Next
CO and Central and South America
will be included in the exhibitors.
State participation is to be general.
The federal government is to outshine
previous efforts by collecting a great
GuuCdlAOudA C4DAUlllOh. hS DAAh5
ing together of the people at national
fairs has always been recognized as
one of the finest influences possible
and but little opposition to an appro-
priation of 100000 is expected. In
the exhibit which Uncle Sam is ex-
pected to make, special attention
will be given to the displays from the
Philippines and the northern pos
sessions.
One of the first steps taken by the
management was the selection OF
site The location picked, the
grounds of the University of Wash
ington, is ideal. There are 355
acres in the plot that will be used.
The land slopes gently from an ele-
walton of $50 feet to the shore OF
Lake washington, the largest fresh
water body in the northwest. A
natural amphitheater forms an at
| tractive feature of the site.
The grounds have been laid out
with rare skill by John c Olmsted'
landscape architect, and gardeners,
already are at work tearing out the
! underbrush.
Two hundred billion feet of timber
cover the hills of the country tribu-
tary to Seattle. and thousands OF
farmers market their grain here. The
ships that come to the port from the
sea by way of the long arm of Puget
Sound on which Seattle Is located
carry away every year $50,000,OO0
worth of merchandise and bring IN
nearly as much.
Seattle spirit is building a shiT
canal to Lake Washington that vii
cost millions. and Seattle spirit VII
nush the 1900 fair project to Z
| iriumphant conclusion.