Year: 1873

PHILADELPHIA, August 0, 1873.


The Executive Committee OF the American Cen
tennial Exposition held their meetings yesterday
and to-day with closed doors, aud hence no one
whether private individual or really a member or
some local committee, has had any means OF ascer-
tanning the questions discussed in that Board, or
OF finding out at what definite conclusions
the honorable gentlemen have arrived. Hence
all statements which have already been announced
regarding any measure adopted by this committee
may be considered as nLadvised and premature,
and in this same light should be set aside any
statement which may be made for several days yet
to come. A great many rumors have been set
anoat that this plan chat plan had beea iavora-
bly, regarded by


THE COMMITTEE UPON ARCHITECTURE


ana that several members OF the Board have pub
licy expressed positive admiration for the pa
vilion' and certain other designs; but such 10 NOT
at all the truth, at least lar the Orginators
OF these rumors could in any way prove, for tue
committee has thus far made no statement
whatever, and hence these rumors touching
any plans which have already found their way TO
the metropolitan press have been entirely un.
authorized, and may very properly be looked upon
as puny attempts to prejudice the committee in
the direction OF specified designs, which either
may or may not possess sufficient merit
to include them among the nrst ten. AL
that your correspondent or, the cOrre-
spondent Of any other journal knows ls that the
committee have met ana had long and interest
ing session. and that they meet agaia at ten IN the
morning. This is all Wnat was the character of
the questions involved, or how many Of the ten
prize designs have even now been selected, no one
can tell.


The committee must as matter ofcOuFse, act
with mature dellberatlOn, and with most dlScrimi-
mating Judgment There are lorty-iour plans, and
IN many OF them can be found very commendaole saan
Each one % the ten
Is that it becomes the duty OF the
Board out OF simple justice to the architects, to
render their decision carefully, that 1t may not
show auy partality to tnoce ARTISTS whose names
have by some means become known, anu that It
has been already publicly announced by many who
were able and competent to make IT, .op


1t will, indeed, be ditncuit matter to select ten
from the large number already In the hands OF the
Board, whose excellence will entitie al of them to
the prize stated above. because, while there are
ten in which few excellent ideas are embodied,
there are not ten whose external and internal
pa'1s BUT may be iootsS upon as the general one
mJtee award the prize to i've or SIX designs in
stead Of ten. TO begin at No. and continue the
indeed thankless task, and one which
shall not even attempt. When the prize
be time enough to present few architectural
details, as well as the comparative excellence
Of the few designs submitted; sincerely believe;
the Austrian building will render all plans
modelled alter it to meet with positive aislavor,
and that the circular or


THE HORSESHOE DESIGN


has already proved itself to be so excellent that II
must, in the construction OF the Centennial build
| ing win the day. In my letter thus far have
simply tried to show the nationality this affair and
the hands Of the people at large. have evaded
giving any description OF local enthusiasm, but now
! believe that by bringing this Juror In behalf Of
ana
every inch OF ground In the Quaker city,
similar excitement might easily be created
could only be rendered universal sucn
exhibition as would be developed from it, would
forever remain alone In history as the grandesJ
and most signal achievement OF all time. II Is Gen.
tennia all over here. Everything is Centennial.
the Pennsylvania Railroad is great sign outside
the Paramount Park, announcing that directly un'
Is stupendous and can be read at distance OF
half a mile. Coming through the city we see a
hundred other Centennial Ice cream saloons, along
stores, Centennial bowling alleys Centennial bar.
ber shops, Centennial billiard saloons and Centen.
NAL lodging houses. Almost every store at night
displays transparency, and upon 1t we always
read, IN one form or another, Centen-
nidcant figures 177S-ls7s or else we read
PROCLAIM LIBERTY,"


or some other phrase, any one OF which In an in.
stant calls to mind that grand ana glorious day,
which, while seeming so lar remote, is really
approaching us with rapid strides on let 1t
prosperity and union The elaborate manner
In which this idea is sometimes expressed -
really wonderful There Is a clothing store upon
Market street, the proprietor OF which. II mis- name
is not national is most assuredly not personally to
this store bore very curious picture. IL repre-
sented "Cunarder'' battlng with monstrous
gerous sea- while upon the deck was O large
number OF boxes and bales bearing the name
they s We're er the largest @ importers the County
All at once the picture was painted out. "Ahl'
cried some, 1.-THE owners are going 70 % make new
glorious American steamer Pennsyyanla VIII
ind place." But IT. the n,.vnn owners d ana no no
good an understanding OF the future 70
do this, and So, instead, the outside
occupied its present site in seventeen hundred and
something, along with another quaint Old concern
about which cluster Revolutionary recollections,
and which OF course point to nothing else than
the here all-absorbng theme-Centennial If you
enter a clothing house you must nave come VI
A CENTENNIAL COAT. ot


II you enter a hatter's you can't go out until You
shoes you must have them made over patent
Centennial last. II you want to smoke before
and If you arise in the morning with sour
stomach you are told that you need Centennial
punch, which you drink over q Centennial
Centennial tube. The bootblacks who throng
around you In the street all vehemently insist that
the Centennial backing Will produce the best
snlne and that all other backing is OF no account
The police will adopt Centennial uniform, stock
company are considering the Droprlety OF
putting up a Centennial hotel, and that
great daily paper soon 10 be started
here, whose stock OF $250,000 is said 10
he already soid can of course have no other name
than 1.-THE Centennial | am not exaggerattDg
these things; they are true, and Just an hour ago
finished eating piece of Centennial pie At Cape
May II is the same Centennial bath houses bar
rooms, walks, drives, bouquets bonnets, parasols,
phae tons, even nirtations-the name is applied 10
love affair not likely to culmnate until about the
time OF the Centennial Exhibition itself.


CENTENNIAL ENTHUSIASM. ..


so really 1t Is, and, as said above, II TINS en-.
thuslasm can emily sweep the country-indeed, IL
Is gradually extending its range-what glorious
era will come Meanwhile let us patiently walt
for this action of the committee, now so earnestly
at work for when ground is broken Tor the Duilu- Du
ing then IL Is that the people will see tnose
signs of life and energy which have thns