The Washington herald., 1908-05-31

Special Correspondence of The Washington Herald
London, May 2l-The Franco British
Exhibition, now In full swing, is certainly
a magnificent scene, or rather succession
Ot scenes. the equal of which has never
been seen In the British capital.
The first impression of the visitor to the
great Franco British Exhibition is one of
aunazement at the size and magnifcence
Of the buildings, their beauty. variety
and extent To gauge the area OF the
ground It is necessary TO pass from court
10 court. avenue TO avenue. and building
TO building until the visitor fully realizes
the fact that the exhibition covers an
area Of 14o acres and is bigger than any
exhibition ever seen before On British
soil.
The splendidly simple planning OF the
great show enables the visitor TO grasp
the general idea without confusion Of
mind Entering at Uxbridge road. he viii
pass through eight great halls. each 20
feet wide and 400 feet long. and will then
discover that be has not yet entered the
principal grounds. or even seen the ex-
teIiors Of the great buildings which have
given TO the exhibition the name of the
City Of White Palaces.
These palaces are twenty in number
ranging from the great double-w winged ma
chinery palace. with its eight acres Of
aoor space. TO the delightful pavilion Of
the City of Paris, itself an exhibition to
which all London would flock II IT stood
in a busy thoroughfare. In addition 20
these are smaller buildings by the score.
some erected by the French colonies
others by concessionaires who viii man
Ufacture and sell all manner Of useful
articles, from glassware to newspapers
and ginger bee- to cigarettes.
Passing from an inspection of these,
the visitor WI find three complete nj
lagos, each with it's complement of 200 to
500 men. women. and children. Finally
he will come to the stadium and discover
the greatest sports grounds In the world.
q large oval surrounded by tier upon
tier Of seats, with a Cinder path and a
cycle track three laps 10 the mile; seats
for 5000 persons and standing room Cor
nearly 10000 more.
10000 Tons of Steel.
In the construction OF this great city
the builders used in less than a twelve
month 1900 tons of steel. 500 tons day
OF Thames ballast, 1900 tons OF plaster,
and $4,000 square yards Of hreproof slabs
AS he tramps frem building 10 building
along tho three miles OF main roads and
the thirty miles Of garden paths and
smaller avenues. or rests upon one Of the
10000 chairs and 1000 garden seats, the
visitor will gain q further impression of
the immense labor which has gone to the
making OF the exhibition. He will un-
derstand the reason for the issue of 1909
workmen's passes during every day Of
the last busy month
Should the idea of fire enter HIS mind
he will be comforted by the thought of
sixty fire hydrants in the buildings and
forty in the grounds, each with head OF
200 feet of wafer; OF four chemical fire
engines. 200 hand-extinguishers and 200
aerators. He should know, also. that
every piece OF wood and every yard OF
muslin and bunting IN the 400 steel and
concrete buildings has been freproofed
BY order Of the London county council
and the Insurance companies. Accidents
will be met by a cali for ambulances
from four St John ambulance stations.
Water Will enter largely into the scheme
Of the exhibition. The lagOons and ca
nails. mile and half in length. Will re-
quire 100000 gallons TO food them 10 a
depth Of three feet IN order that a feet
of ten electric launches and twenty swan
boats may carry visitors through the
Court Of Honor and the Elite Gardens.
The gorgeous rainbow cascade. which will
run ten hours a day into the lagoon OF
the Court of Honor will require a supply
Of 10000 gallons every hour, or 2,50O0OO a
day.
JevveIry Worth Millions.
When night falls the electric display
will be contributed by 1000 arc lamps and
$4,000 incandescent globes, with 1000 high
pressure gas lamps for the outskirts. To
light the falling water OF the rainbow
cascade eight O.OOO-candle-power lamps
will be used. Several exhibitors (Austra-
la. for example. with its large building)
will draw their light and. power from spe-
cial plants. The reflection Of the exhibi-
ton on the summer sky. when the search
lights are throwing fantastic shadows on
the clouds through the pierced towers of
the buildings, should be seen by the
country for thirty miles round.
What has II cost? 1t has been esti-
mated by one Of the organizers that the
exhibition authorities have spent on
buildings and grounds at least $1,000, 600;
that the colonies have spent 81. .525 900. and
concessionaires S2.250.0OO. These huge
amounts take no count Of the cost or
value Of exhibits. The value Of the pic
lures shown by England and France can
not be estimated. The value OF Jewelry
and objets dart sent from France to the
various sections is estimated at $25 900. .00C
10 $30O0O000 and the French ceramic eX-
hibit includes one collection alone valued
at S1.20O000.
Who will pay for IL all? II the weather
is propitious, Imre Kiralfy estimates an
attendance at l shilling head Of at least
9O,o0Ooo0 persons. Each OF these may be
expected to pay something more toward
the cost by the purchase OF food and
drink. by payment at the entrance gates
Of the stadium and the many exciting
and amusing ''sideshOws"
One of the most interesting features OF
the exhibition. and one which Americans
are sure 10 appreciate, is the Irish vii
lage. This contains the house in which
President McKinley's ancestors We're
born, the stones having been brought
Fvr.rvn l.n