The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1909-12-15
FRISCO AND San
DIEGO In FIGHT
OVER GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY OF
EXPOSITION.
Each City Wishes Honor of Celcbrat.
ing Opening of the Panama
Canal.
BREECHES ARTICLES OF WAR

Washington, Dec. Is. Omitted
Press. "A drawn battle between
San Francisco and San Diego, Cal,
is one of the biggest things in con-
gressional shows on the boards for
this winter.
The arena Is at present in neutral
ground somewhere between the COM
mittees On expositions and foreign
affairs, but it appears now that be-
fore the issue is decided the forces of
the two cities may have to meet
somewhere on the Mojaye desert and
tight it out.
The question is whether there shall
be an international exposition in
1915 at San Francisco or at San
Diego. The proposition thus to eele-
brate the opening of the Panama
canal started out on the Pacific coast
last summer when the gate receipts
at the Seattle exposition began to pile
lup In such a gratifying quantity.
There Is still some dispute as TO
which city first preached the idea, but
both are represented here in numbers
trying to get federal recognition.
Representative Smith, who halls from
the San Diego district, and Represen-
tative Kahn, of San Francisco, are
going to be the star performers.
Smith is known as the "getter" OF
the California delegation. He has
gone about securing the exposition in
la typically Smith way-a process of
stealing up a back alley into the
dooryard before one knows he's
Iaround, and then walking away with
the goods. His bill is a simple little
thing. Ii is merely a resolution au-
thorizing the president to invite the
nations OF the Pacific to an interna-
tional exposition at San Diego in
1915, when the executive is satisfied
that the citizens OF San Diego have
raised a million dollars. IL doesn't
ask for any money from Uncle Sam.
Smith doesn't intend to do that-yet.
Quite a harmless looking little meas
ure, but if Smith can get 1t through
II will amount to federal recognition
of the claims of San Diego. "And
then, some fine afternoon, we will get
our fingers into the treasury" Smith
confides to his friends.
The proposed fair is to be called,
under the Smith bill, the Panama
California exposition. Smith got
President Taft's promise that the
canal would be finished by 1915 be-
fore he prt in his bill.
San Francisco's claims TO the right
to celebrate the completion of the
big ditch are being urged by Julius
Kahn. With shaggy gray locks and a
flowing Winchester tie, Kahn looks
like an actor. AS a matter OF fact,
he used 20 be one before he broke
into the statesman business, and he
still talks like one.
Kahn went at IL this way. His
bill calls for celebration OF the
opening of the Panama canal and
also the four hundredth anniversary
lof the discovery of the Pacific ocean
by Vasco Nunez Balboa, by holding
an international exhibition of arts,
industries, manufactures and the pro-
ducts of soil, mine, forest and sea-"
Good scheme that Balboa idea, The
San Diego people are still crashing
their teeth because Kahn beat them
to il. tA..
Julius Kahn calls his show the
Panama-Pacific exposition. He wants
the paltry sum of five millions from
Uncle Sam, but not before his new
exposition company has raised a like
amount. The bill is about five fee
long and provides everything from
the appointment OF a commission to
regulations for the feeding OF the
troops that will be there and the ap-
pointment of board of "lady man
ayers" Kahn even has ii figured out
to legalize the importation OF the ex-
hibits and the establishment OF a
bank on the exposition grounds. His
bill Is so complete that you could
close your eyes after reading 1t and
see the throngs streaming in at the
gate.
AZ sort OF sop 10 san Diego,
Kahn provides that the combined
fleets of the world shall attend and
that the president shall invite them
to assemble in San Diego harbor.
Other members of the California
delegation are not at present lining
up with either city, and most of the
members of congress say they can't
for a minute consent to grant an
exposition to a Pacific coast city I'M
less the coast is agreed upon which
city it wants.