Albuquerque citizen., 1907-12-06
Is
A RECORD
FAILURE
Total Debt of Exposition viii
Amount TO $780,
600.


tigation into the affairs of the late
jamestown exposition show it to
have been the biggest failure in the
history OF eXpositions of the world.
Its debts fern total Of $2,500,0OO.
The story can be told in two words
-mismanagcment and carelessness.
The work was delayed, the officials
were not in harmony because of
petty jealousies. and the publicity
department was bungled. When the
exposition opened. April 26. it was
only about One-third complete. The
government pier. which was adver-
tised as one of the chief attractions,
was not dedicated until September
10, and many other features were
not it readiness until the doom of
the exposition had been sealed.
The attendance was miserable; the
people would not come There were
only a few days during the fair
when the attendance was more than
$4,000. The state of North Carolina
carried off the palm with an attend
1nce Of $4,000 upon the day set
apart for that commonwealth. Even
Georgia brought more people than
did the Old Dominion, whose early
history the fair commemorated. The
daily average of attendance was be-
tween 5000 and 5000
Opening Day "a Failure.
Inc OIlclalS OF the 1alr complain
that it was knocked" to death.
Others declare that the management
deferves the criticism. 1t is certain
that the opening day left many men
VINO could have been of service to
the enterprise in a disgruntled frame
of mind. Many prominent visitors
were ignored and had to shift for
themselves, naturally taking the in
cident as a snub. The newspaper
men. visiting and local. were unani-
nous in the feeling that they had
been handed a lemon"
Even in the face of disaster, many
of the officials want the fair reopen
ed next spring. The movement to
this end has some strong adherents,
but the possibility of a continuance
| of the tercentennial Is remote. The
| various state commissioners oppose
| the project
There is no assurance that the
| government will permit its exhibits
to remain here all winter Many of
the private exhibitors proclaim that
| they have had enough.
Table of Indebtedness.
The following table contains the
essential facts in the financial status
of the exposition:
| Government loan to expo
sition ......'..'. .*l,oOo'oou
and aid ......,...... 1000. 600
Railroads loan ...... 100000
! Norfolk and Portsmouth
Banker loan .......... $4,000
Total debt remaining. $500, 900
Cost of government piers. 0,000
Estimated value of prop
erty ........... 5000. 900
The great government piers. ex-
| tending 25O0 feet into Hampton
Roads and joined by the longest sim
/ oil cnan oq onnnratn In pOSt
| the federal government 100000 and
were opened to the public for only
! two months. To what use they can
be put in the future is vexed prob
lem. There is a possibility that the
| government may purchase the site,
valued at $5,000,000, deducting the
| 100000 which the exposition COM
of $1,000,000, for the purpose of es-
! tablishing a training station for sail
ors and marines there. 1t Is point
ed out by those in favor of this plan
that the location is an ideal one for
such an institution.
Exorbitant Rates Charged.
Wretched transportation facilities
with exorbitant fares, was another
condition which is believed to have
helped to keep the public from
patronizing the fair. The trolley
lines leading TO the grounds aroused
| much complaint. The hotels, res
taurants and lodging houses rar
their prices skyward at the opening
of the exposition, and the first arriv-
ais, embittered by unreasonable
charges. returned home to war;
their friends against making the trip
The managing mechanism wa:
cumbersome i'm the extreme, and tho
board of governors was rent witt
chickering's When failure stared the
enterprise in the face j. NJ. Barr
former president Of the Seaboard Ali
line, was made director general
| without salary. He appointed II. w
Kohlsaat his special representative
TO meet visiting dignitaries, where
upon President Harry St. George
/ Tucker( who had been doing th'
honors, handed in his resignation
Then Mr.. Barr took offense and also
withdrew. Alvah II. Martin, coun
ty clerk and an influential politician
was his successor, but no improve
ment attended his administration and
the fair continued TO go down hill.
The financial backing of the fall
was largely local. The bankers ant
capitalists of Norfolk have beer
harder hit than ever before in the
| cityS history.