Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-12-29
Stop, Look and Listen!


The National Sesquicentennial Com
mission should hire competent managing
director for its proposed Freedom Fair
give him the staff he needs and let him
get to work. Or it should drop the Free
dom Fair idea as a pipedream-and
forget it.
otherwise. Freedom Fair will be flop
| or worse It's failure will reflect on the
distinguished membership Of the Sesqui-
centennial Commissioned which the
President of the United States is chair
man ex-off1cio-and will invite deserved
I-told-you-so ridicule from Congress.
James T. Berrymans cartoon today tells
the story in picture form.
Congress reluctantly and belatedly ap-
propriated 100000 for the observance
of Washington's 15Oth anniversary as the
seat of Government. One of the argu-
ments used to persuade Congress to
appropriate the money was that it would
be paid back-that it represented, in
reality, sort of underwriting fund ad-
vanced by the Federal Government.
The revenue to repay this advance was
to come from Freedom Fair. Freedom
Fair was to be a sort of national exposi-
ton. Temporary buildings would be
constructed and space rented, concessions
sold and from the proceeds the cost of
construction would be met with a neat
profit left over 1t was as simple as A B c.
The rental of 100000 square feet of exhi-
bition space at $50 per square foot would
produce s12,00000O. This revenue would
exceed construction costs by $3,OOO,OpO.
There was even optimistic talk that as
much as 100000 square feet could be
rented, if it were possible to provide it.
The fair was supposed to open about
June l. That leaves about six months
for the construction work alone 1t leaves
lot more than that for somebody to
do in the meantime. But who Is this
somebody?
Members of the commission include the
President, the president pro tenn OF the
Senate, the Speaker of the House, other
distinguished members of Congress, Com
missioner Young and four citizens. Carter
T. Barron is the vice chairman Edward
Boykin Is the salaried director Mr.. Bar
ron Is now recuperating from illness
possibly induced, in part, by his one-man
job of experimenting preliminary plan
ming and working for the original appro-
priation. Mr.. Boykin is primarily a
historian, not businessman. The volun-
tary members of the commission have
found that they have been asked to
approve steps already taken, without
preliminary discussion with them. Like
other commissions of the sort, the mem
1%arc rxivy %ha iva f|,au
from their regular work. There is nobody
on the commission, or retained by 1t,
who has the time and. the ability to
supervise the details of $4,000, 900 con-
struction job capable Of producing
$12000,0O0 in revenue. Furthermore, the
the capital fund of $4,000, 900 does not exist
except in the minds of the promoters.
Several appropriations have been made
for other features of the proposed sesqui-
centennial that promise to be productive
but not Of revenue. An amphitheater in
Rock Creek Park has been provided for.
There are going to be historical and other
art exhibits at the Corcoran and National
Galleries that will doubtless attract many
thousands of interested Americans. Money
has been allotted for the Fine Arts and
the National Capital Park and Planning
Commissions for popular illustration Of
Washingtons development of the past,
with the distinct possibility that out of
this work there might come renewed
interest in the Washington plan of the
future-a continuation of the old Mcmillan
Plan of 1901, which was in part the out
growth of Washington's centennial OBJ
servance in 1900.
But these ventures are separate and
distinct from the Freedom Fair proposal.
Under the proper guidance of some out
standing man, able to devote all his time
to 1t, it still might be possible to make
something of Freedom Fair But as the
commission is now constituted, it is non
sense even to be talking of Freedom Fair
as projected. Vague hints Of irregulari-
ties In alleged secret deals over possible
contracts and fees and letters of intent
should be enough, in themselves to point
to the danger of coming events-unless
they are scrupulously supervised by compe-
tent and experienced businessmen, devot-
ing their full time to it,
If the commission is going to have q
Freedom Fair, it should hire a man to
put 1t across. # not, the sooner it washes
its hands of it the better it will be.
E,,If of Alnekn Turvevs