Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-25
ALERT At JAMESTOWN
Everybody Wide Awake for the
Opening Day.
FOREIGN WARSHIPS THERE
Thousands of Workmen Putting on
Final Touches.
PREPARE FOR THE PRESIDENT
Some Of the Buildings Will Not Be
Ready Before About May Is
Crowds Arriving.
REPARE FOR THE PRESIDENT

NORFOLK, Va, April 25.-The day be-
fore the opening of the jamestown tercen-
tennal exposition on Hampton roads finds
the management of the big enterprise
straining every energy to put the grounds
and buildings in presentable shape for the
inaugural ceremonies. Several thousand la
borers were engaged today in clearing the
streets WHICH are to be traversed tomorrow
by the President and his party, and by the
military organizations which will partici
pate in the land parade. Notwithstanding
the rush of work being carried forward to-
day the exposition will be far from COM
plete. Temporary railroad tracks, debris of
all sorts and unfinished sidewalks are the
rule throughout the grounds, while almost
every building is marred by an Enclosure of
scaffolding. Many of the buildings will not
be open tomorrow, the management having
determined that progress can only be made
by excluding the public during the time the
workmen are still engaged in their labors.
The feature of the opening day. which
nothing but bad weather can mar In the
slightest degree, will be the naval pageant
in Hampton roads. President Roosevelt on
board the yacht Mayfiower, will review the
ships of the nations now at anchorage, and
the spectacle will be witnessed by thou
sands from the shores of the exposition
grounds. Pleasure craft and excursion
steamers by the score will frame the an
choraSe grounds of the fleet and the water
show is expected to surpass anything ever
seen in this country.
Squadrons at Anchor
The management, as announced officially
last night, expects to have the exposition
completed by May - in all essential details,
and this optimistic prediction is quite gen.
orally concurred in by the citizens of Nor
folk. The suggestion has been made that
the grounds might be closed during the
interim, but the directors decided against
this course unanimously The foreign ships,
which all along have been looked forward
to as forming one of the notable aspects of
the jamestown fair will be in the roads for
several weeks and will prove an interesting
attraction to the thousands of visitors now
en- route to Norfolk.
Warships in the Roads.
The British and Austrian squadrons that
are to participate In the naval features in
cfdent to the opening of the jamestown ex-
position tomorrow arrived in Hampton
roads today and joined the American, Ger
man and Argentine representatives which
already had arrived. Statutes were ex-
changed and the British and Austrian ships
took up the anchorage in the roads which
had been assigned them by the naval board
The Austrian cruisers are the Sankt George
and Aspern, and the British fleet is COM
posed of the cruisers Good Hone Argyll,
hampshire and RoXburgh.
Pennsylvania Commission.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa, April 25.-The
Pennsylvania commission to the jamestown
exposition, which includes many prominent
men of the state, left here al 10 a. M today
for jamestown in a special train Gov
Stuart was unable to accompany the party
because of a pressure of business, and is
represented by Lieut.. Gov. Robert s. MUIR
ply.
The commission will attend the opening
ceremonies on Friday and will officiate at
the dedication of the Pennsylvania build
ing on Saturday at noon.
The building, an exact reproduction of In
dependence Hall, which will be fitted I'D ap-
with colonial furnishings and
contain collection of historic relics will
be officially turned over to the exposition
authorities by Lieut.. Gov. Murphy, who will
make the speech at the dedication ceremo-
MES.
Though the Liberty bell is not going to
jamestown with the commissioners they
hope that city councils will comply with
their request and allow the bell to be taken
to the exposition later.
Lieut. Gov. Chanler and the New York
commission to the jamestown exposition,
accompanied by Adj. Gen. Henry of New
York. crnbers of Gov. Hughes staff and
others arrived today by special train and
will participate tonight in the first official
furClon inciden+ to the opening of The
jamestown Cx, osition, which will take The
form of a 1ec'I ton to be rendered by the
governor CT Virginia and Mrs. Swanson, In
cident to the dedication of the Virginia
state building.