[69] - The general management of the Fair was vested in the following organizations: First, the National Commission, whose powers were delegated to eight of its members, constituting, with a similar number selected from the local directory, the Board of Reference and control. Second, the Chicago corporation styled the World�s Columbian Exposition, organized under the laws of the state of Illinois, eight members of which formed a joint committee with the Board of Reference and Control. By this corporation were raised nearly all the funds, apart from the somewhat meager appropriations of the national government, and by its committees were superintended the various departments of the work. Third, the Council of Administration, consisting of four members, two chosen from either section of the committee, and to which was later intrusted the main control, though for a time subject to the executive committees appointed by the national and local organizations. Fourth, the Board of Lady Managers, to which was assigned the supervision, not only of the Woman�s building and its contents, but of whatever exhibits there were elsewhere of woman�s work. Finally, a few weeks after the opening of the Fair, the executive control was vested in the director-general, seconded by the director of works, and under the instructions of the Council.

In the regulations prescribed for sessions of the board of directors were embodied many excellent features. First of all, order and decorum must be preserved; questions must be distinctly put; when rising from his seat, whether to speak or to deliver any documents to the board, a director must address himself, and that with due respect, to the president, must not proceed until recognized by that official, and then confine himself strictly to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities. Any member transgressing the rules of the board would be immediately called to order, must at once resume he seat, and rendered himself liable to the censure of the board. No director would be permitted to speak more than twice on the same question, except by permission of the board. When the president was putting a question or addressing the board, no one should be permitted to leave or walk across the room; nor during the delivery of a member�s address should other members engage in conversation or pass between him and the chair. In these and other regulations of the directory are many suggestions which our state and national legislatures would do well to lay to heart.

[70] - No less commendable were the provisions contained in the by-laws of the World�s Columbian Exposition, the control of which corporation was vested in the board of directors. All officers of the company were to be elected yearly and by ballot at the first session of the board after the annual meeting of stockholders. To no member of the board, apart from its officers, was compensation to be granted in any form. Payments should be made only by checks, countersigned by the auditor, and upon vouchers certified by the chief of the department to which the item belonged, authorized by the board, examined and signed by the auditor, and approved by the president or vice-president. Apart from the outlay incurred by the bureau of construction, all payments for work or material exceeding $2,000 must be sanctioned by the appropriate committee, and sealed proposals invited by advertisement in the manner usual in such cases. At all meetings of the board of directors the order of business should be: first, roll call; second, readings of the minutes of the previous meeting; third, the consideration of matter officially communicated to the board; fourth, the reports of its officers; fifth, reports of special committees; sixth, the reports of standing committees; seventh, unfinished or postponed business; eighth, new business. Finally, in this connection, comes the most sensible regulation of all, that �No member of the board shall occupy the floor in debate more than five minutes, excpet by unanimous consent.�

Among those who became identified with the management may be mentioned Lyman J. Gage, the former president of the local directory, one of the most prominent of Chicago�s financiers. Of the director-general, George R. Davis, whose administration has been endorsed by the National Commission, and Harlow N. Higinbotham, twice elected president of the local board, with John T. Dickinson as secretary of the former, have all played well their several parts, and largely through their executive ability were overcome the many obstacles that beset the formative period of the Exposition. To Thomas B. Bryan, formerly one of the vice-presidents of that board, and other of its members, as well as of the National Commission, no less credit is due. By Charles C. Bonney, as the head of the World�s Congress Auxiliaries, presently to be described, correspondence was opened with the leaders of thought the world over; by G. Brown Goode of the Smithsonian Institution, was made a preliminary classification of the principal exhibits, and by F. A. Putnam, of the same institution, was organized the department of Ethnology; to Theodore Thomas was instructed the direction of the orchestral, and to W. L. Tomlins of the choral branches of the musical department. To the chiefs of other divisions further allusion will be made elsewhere in this work; but here must specially be mentioned Mrs. Potter Palmer, who with her able secretary, Mrs. Susan Gale Cooke, has planned and controlled the complicated machinery of the Women�s department.

The Board of Lady Managers is a feature of the administration. While at the Centennial and other expositions the management received valuable assistance from committees of women, creating at the former a special woman�s department, this is the first occasion in the annals of our great world�s fairs where women have taken a prominent part in the control. Authorized, as we have seen, by act of Congress, and vested by the National Commission with such powers as to render its members coordinate officers with those of either, the board has exercised a dual function; first, in promoting the special interests of women, and second, in enlisting a world-wide sympathy with the movement which it was intended to inaugurate. As stated by the managers themselves, its main purposes were to secure a complete presentation in the principal Exposition buildings of the best results then being accomplished by women in every branch of industry, science, and art; to secure data as to women�s exhibits in the various departments, so as to afford a comprehensive idea of the proportion of the world�s work performed by the sex, together with its variety, quality, and commercial value; to receive applications for exhibiting space from women and from manufactures representing woman�s work, and to see that proper locations were assigned to such exhibits; to appoint the proportion of jurors to which the board was entitled in all the departments to which women were contributors, and to forward by all possible means the interests of women at the Exposition.

When the Board of Lady Managers was first organized for active work, under the presidency of Mrs. Potter Palmer, it was found that the plan adopted at the Centennial Exposition of placing the contributions of women in a woman�s department, sequestered from the general exhibits, would not answer for the occasion. But those who would furnish the most creditable of these contributions it was insisted that they should so be places as to challenge competition with the best of classified products, apart from distinction of sex. Premiums should be assigned only for the best in each class of articles, giving to [72] them additional value and perchance a world-wide repute; but in a competition solely of women�s work, awards would be made of inferior products � inferior, that is, from a general competition point of view, thus detracting from the value of prizes for the more finished grades. Moreover, a large percentage of the world�s industrial products, especially in the line of manufactures, results from the joint labor of men and women, so that none can distinguish the work accomplished by either. To exhibit merely what woman alone has accomplished would, as the managers states, �Result in so meagre and unjust a representation of their usefulness as to do them great discredit.� Nevertheless in the Woman�s building are to be found some of the most interesting features of the Fair, some of the noblest inspirations of woman�s genius. Of these I shall have occasion to speak in connection with the principal exhibits.

As to the ulterior objects of the Board, it was, as they remarked, �One of the cherished ideals to remove the present erroneous and injurious impression that women are doing little skilled labor, or little steady and valuable work, and that they consequently are not to be taken seriously into consideration when dealing with industrial problems; that they will never learn to do anything thoroughly well, and that therefore the small compensation given them is a just and proper equivalent for their services, because they have no abstract commercial value. An effort would be made to demonstrate that their labor is a fixed and permanent element, and an important factor in the industrial world and must be carefully studied in its relation to the general whole. Upon a strong presentation of the facts it was hoped that a healthy public sentiment might be created which would condemn the disproportionate wages paid men and women for equal services. The board particularly wished to call attention to the necessity of providing technical training to fit women to occupy superior positions, and to elevate them above the plane of drudgery which they still occupy in many industries. Special interest would be felt in all technical schools in which designing, pattern-making, and applied art were taught, as well as those which looked to better and more economical methods in housekeeping, cooking, sanitation, and all that tends to increase the comfort and attractiveness of even the simplest homes.�

With these ends in view the cooperation was invited of women and associations of women in every quarter of the world, especially those engaged in rare and interesting kinds of work. Foreign committees, acting in conjunction with the Board, were requested to make applications for space, such as would insure a proper representation of all the branches of industry to which the women of their country contributed. Excellent suggestions were forwarded by official circular to lady managers in the various states as to the organization of state boards, with their sphere and mode of action, especially as to the raising of funds. Commissions of women acting in unison with the Chicago board were asked to recommend for exhibition articles of unusual excellence produced by female hands; but no inferior specimens would be admitted from sentimental or other motives. To women�s organizations throughout the Unites States, �for the promotion of charitable, philanthropic, intellectual, sanitary, hygienic, industrial, or social and moral reform movements� circulars were addressed soliciting information to be used in a catalogue of such organizations. Together with data collected from every country in the world, this information was to be published in encyclopedic form, including, as the managers promised, the fullest record of woman�s work, and of the good accomplished by women, that had ever been presented to the public, the volumes to be distributed gratuitously or at a nominal price in the Woman�s building. All these and a thousand other matters received the careful and intelligent consideration of the Board of Lady Managers. As to enterprise, forethought, and executive ability their administration compared favorably with that of any department in the Exposition.

As to the reception accorded in foreign lands to the invitation of the Board of Lady Managers, it may first of all be stated that never before in the history of the world�s international expositions has so much interest been taken in a display of woman�s work. In many European countries committees were organized, including some of the most able and distinguished women; societies were formed to promote the interests of women in various branches of industry, and circulars were widely distributed explaining the purposes of the Board. Not alone from Europe came the foreign participants in this department, but from Mexico, Japan and elsewhere were forwarded applications for space, the empress of the latter country supplying from her own purse the means for an elaborate display.

The president of the English committee was Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, third daughter of the queen, and among the members the duchess of Salisbury, the countess of Aberdeen, the baroness Burdett-Coutts, and Lady Churchill. Germany was represented by Princess Friederich Carl, of Prussia; France by Madame Carnot; Russia by her empress; Italy, Belgium, and Holland by their respective queens, and thus to royal and other [73] personages throughout the world spread the current enthusiasm. By the English committee application was made and granted for sufficient space in the Woman�s building to permit a complete representation of the hospital department of the Royal British Nurse�s Association. By the baroness Burdett-Coutts, as its president, was personally superintended the arrangement of the philanthropic section of the English women�s display. In Prussia the best specimens of woman�s work, with statistics of woman�s progress were most carefully collected. From Berlin came word that all women�s associations for charity, industry, and art would be represented in the German commission. All these and a score of other instances attested the world-wide interest aroused by the Board of Lady Managers.

Nor did the Board forget to provide for the less fortunate of their sex who visited the Fair by thousands � the workwomen of the United States, many of whom, after contributing their skilled labor to some of the most interesting of the exhibits, possessed but the scantiest of means for a trip to the great Exposition. For this purpose was organized the Woman�s Dormitory Association, with a capital of $150,000, in shares of $10 each, such shares to be received in payment for accommodations to be furnished in buildings adjacent to the grounds. Thus, at a cost of some forty cents a day, the holders of single shares were provided with comfortable rooms under matronly care. When vacancies occurred this privilege was extended to women who were not among the stockholders, but at slightly higher rates.

For the care of children, special provision in the form of a children�s home was made by the Board of Lady Managers, who took on themselves this necessary branch of the Exposition, since by the board of directors no plans were formulated, and no funds provided for the purpose. A site was granted adjacent to the Woman�s building, on condition that money for a suitable edifice was secured within sixty days. This was raised, though with considerable difficulty, largely among mothers and educators in all portions of the United States, and in part among the children themselves, every child or children�s club that subscribed even a single dollar receiving as a souvenir of the Fair a printed certificate stamped with the gold seal of the board. For the benefit of this most worthy enterprise a bazaar, of itself a miniature fair, was held in December, 1892, at the Chicago residence of Mrs. Potter Palmer, and thus thousands of dollars were added to the fund. Of the buildings and its contents, which formed in truth a most interesting exhibit, a description will be given in connection with that of the Woman�s department. Suffice it here to say that the main purpose home was to provide for children the best of care and attention, while permitting their mothers or guardians to enjoy at will all the attractions of the place. But here was no repetition of such piteous spectacles as occurred in Paris during the Exposition of 1889, when more than three thousand infants were abandoned to the tender mercies of the creche. At Chicago the creche was merely an adjunct of the home, where children not less than one year old might be left under charge of trained and skillful nurses, with ample provision for all their wants. For the little ones were furnished amusements suited to their age, and for their mothers brief lectures [74] and simple practical illustrations of the best methods of educating and looking to the physical welfare of our future men and women.

In connection with the management may here be mentioned the World�s Congress Auxiliary, and adjunct duly authorized by the government and the Exposition authorities. Its purpose was to hold, during the term of the Fair, a series of conventions attended by the foremost men and women in every department of progress. As a supplement to the material display it was intended, as stated in the preliminary announcement, that �The wonderful achievements of the new age, in science, literature, education, government, jurisprudence, morals, charity, religion, and other departments of human activity, should also be conspicuously displayed as the most effective means of increasing the fraternity, progress, prosperity, and peace of mankind,� In a word, it was proposed to lay before the world the most important results attained in the several departments of civilized life, voiced by the ablest living representatives whose attendance could be procured. And what is more, it was decided to publish the proceedings of the several conventions as a lasting memorial of the Exposition. It was a somewhat ambitious programme, but one that received the endorsement and cooperation of some of the foremost men and women in every sphere of human thought.

By the directory, in conjunction with the Art Institute of Chicago, a memorial Art palace was erected, as I have said, on the shore of the lake, for the permanent occupation of the Institute, but first to be used by the Congress Auxiliary, with an auditorium for the larger conventions and smaller apartments for the divisions, committees, and councils. Not least among the objects to be obtained was the establishment of friendly relations among the intellectual leaders of the world, men for the most part known to each other only through the interchange of correspondence or of publications. It was also hoped to further the main objects of the Fair by aiding to form a brotherhood of the nations, and by banding the civilized peoples of the earth for the furtherance of the nobler aims of society.

As to the scope and character of the conferences, the following extract from their general programme, issued in October, 1892, will serve as an indication: �The government of the United States, recognizing the World�s Congress Auxiliary as the proper agency to conduct a series of international congresses in connection with the World�s Columbian Exposition of 1893, has directed the diplomatic and consular officers of the United States in all countries to request that a convenient number of the most eminent representatives of the various departments of human progress be selected as delegates to attend the respective congresses by or under the direction of the government to which they are respectively accredited, in addition to those who will come as the representatives of the leading institutions and societies of different countries; and to extend the assurance that the largest practicable participation of foreign peoples and governments in the whole series of the congresses is especially desired; and that such cooperation on the part of other governments, will, it is confidently believed, tend in the highest degree to promote, strengthen, and extend those fraternal relations and mutual benefits which may now justly be regarded as the supreme object of international intercourse, and as involving a higher civilization and a broader human progress.�

By the central organization of the congresses themselves similar but more cordial invitations, couched in less pretentious phrase, were addressed to societies and individuals, the former being requested to appoint not only delegates but committees of cooperation, and by all other means within their power contribute to the success of the conferences. For, as they states, and that in no vein of self-conceit, �However great may be the honor and advantage which any nation will derive from a participation in the magnificent material exhibit already assured, it is not too much to say that a higher glory and more lasting benefits may be secured by sending its eminent men and women to take part in the world�s congresses of 1893.�

The congresses were divided into two main classes of series, termed general [75] and special, the former presenting for consideration, somewhat after the fashion of popular lectures, and in suitable shape for extensive publication, topics in connection with the progress and problems of ancient and modern civilization. By the special conferences was to be considered a large variety of subjects, mentioned elsewhere in this chapter, among the more interesting being those in connection with scientific and religious associations, including the department of Sunday rest, by which the question was to be treated not only in its religious aspect, but in its physiological, economical, social, and ethical relations.

Certain it is that if thorough organization is an element of success, that element is not found lacking in the World�s Congress Auxiliary. In its seventeen departments there are no less than a hundred divisions, in all of which conventions are to be held, each division with its committee of arrangements, and each committee with its advisory council, the members of which are selected from every quarter of the world, and from those accepted as authorities on the subject to be presented for consideration. There is also a woman�s branch, consisting of committees of women, who will meet in conference with those of the other sex whenever it may be deemed expedient.

The following are among subjects to be brought before the various departments: On the 15th of May, 1893, the first congress would open with an exposition of woman�s progress, embracing all the spheres in which women have achieved success, and to include a general congress of representative women gathered from all civilized countries. Later would be held congresses in connection with the public press, and with medicine and surgery. For June the chosen themes were temperance, moral and social reform, and commerce and finance; for July, music, literature and education; for August, engineering, art and architecture, government, science and philosophy, and a general department of subjects specially assigned. The September congresses would be devoted to the labor question and to religious topics, including missions and church societies; those of October to matters concerning public health, Sunday rest, and agriculture.

The scope of the several departments was sufficiently comprehensive, including in each subject a number of subdivisions and kindred branches, either suggested or assigned. Taking, for instance, the department of literature, whose congresses were to open on the 10th of July, we find among its general divisions history, philology, authors, libraries, folk-lore, and copyright, while by one of the committees was to be considered �the practicability of a common language for use in the commercial relations of the civilized world.� By the president of the Auxiliary the following were suggested among others as appropriate themes for consideration. The influence of literature, the unities of language and literature; the condition and future of historical literature; the methods of historic research; the collection, arrangement, and management of libraries; the common interests of authors, and the protection of literary property.

Not the least interesting feature in the department of literature is the folklore congress, organized by an advisory council selected from the most eminent men in folklore science. Letters were addressed to folklore societies, inviting their cooperation, and to individuals appeals were made, asking their participation in a project to which had already been promised the support of some of the foremost literary and scientific men. The subjects were arranged in the following chapters: I. Myths and traditional beliefs. II. Oral literature and folk music. III. Customs, institutions, and ritual. IV. Artistic, emblematic, and economic folk-lore. Each chapter was divided into sections, and among the subjects included in the first were the origin of myths, the philosophy and faculty of myth-making, the survival of myths in history, nature myths, hero myths, and animal myths. Under the second heading were presented the relation of Indian, Negro, Mexican, and other native American legends to European legends; dialects, popular slang and argot, with their effect on language; folk rhyme and rhymed literature; the historical value of popular songs; and the bibliography of folklore. In the third division were contained a history of customs and institutions; the effect of particular customs on national character; Indian ceremonies; Voudou rites; totemism, castes, clan organization, and tribal relations. In the fourth chapter, the subjects of which were illustrated by ethnographic and archaeological collections, were divinities and cults; fetishes and amulets; emblems of command and servitude, of peace and war; and among those relating to superstitions and beliefs were witch-pins and instruments of torture, with iconographic representations of popular fanaticism.

Thus it will be seen that the folklore congress by no means accepted as the scope of that science the definition of Dean French, who describes it as �The tales, legends, or superstitions long current among the people.� In the list of subjects here presented is only a small portion of those suggested in the preliminary announcement of the congress, and yet in that announcement it was stated that the hundred or more questions [76] there submitted formed but the barest outline of the work. In other departments the programme was no less comprehensive. Take for instance that of government; as the general divisions we have jurisprudence and law reform; political and economic reform; city government; executive administration; intellectual property, and arbitration and peace. In the second of these were included political economy and economic science; social science; the single tax and other theories; public revenues; coinage; weights and measures; postal service; civil service reform; and the suffrage in republic, kingdoms, and empires.

In the section devoted to education all its leading branches were embraced, from a university training to that of a kindergarten, with manual and art training , commercial and legal training, domestic and economic training, physical culture, and the instruction of the deaf and blind. At the close of several congresses was to be held the World�s General Education Congress, at which all the departments of education would be suitably represented. In connection with the department of religion was to be convened, for the first time in the history of the world, an ecumenical council, at which would be present many of the leading representatives of the world�s historic faiths. �If,� say the committee in its first report, �not only Catholics and Protestants, Jews and representatives of the Greek church, but Buddhists, Brahmins, Confucians, Parsees, and Mohammedans shall sit together in frank and friendly conference over the great things of our common spiritual and moral life, this one fact will impart to the Columbian Exposition a great celebrity and importance.�

The meetings of all the congresses were to be open to the public, for whose accommodation there would be two main audience rooms, and a score at least of smaller ones, each of the former, where were to be discussed subjects of more general interest, being so arranged as to afford seats for about 3,000 persons. But discussion, in the broader sense of the term, would constitute no part of the programme formulated by this series of congresses; for, as their president remarked, �Unprepared discussion or miscellaneous debate would obviously be inconsistent with a plan of which the chief object is to procure the maturest thought of the world on all the great questions of the age, in a form best adapted to universal publication.�

How it was possible to do even scant justice to the endless multiplicity of subjects proposed by the various departments, and that without jar or repetition, is the problem that will first of all present itself to the reader; for there is hardly a branch of human knowledge, whether in science, art, or literature, in industrial pursuits, in commerce or finance, in government, in education, in religion or philosophy, that is not here represented. From the most abstruse of scientific, philosophical, and political questions, to topics in relation to temperance and vegetarian societies, nothing is omitted in the scope of these world-embracing conferences, whose specific purpose, as briefly stated by themselves, is �to review the progress of mankind, and state the living problems now awaiting solution.� But as with the Fair administration, so with the congresses, the members of both included not only men of culture but of wide experience and proved ability, men who possessed no only the faculty of planning, but the rarer faculty of organizing and carrying into effect.

Of one thing the visitor could rest assured on entering the chambers of these conferences, and that is that he would not be bored. The themes were most carefully selected and arranged with a view to avoid iteration and prolixity, and at the same time to secure strength and as far as possible fullness of treatment. All lectures and discourses were strictly limited as to time; for, as stated in the general programme, �It would obviously be better, in a given hour, to have two or three compact papers from as many different leaders, than to give the time at command to one of them for a long discourse embracing several subjects.� For the main object of the conferences, which were to [77] state results and consider the more important and interesting of social, political, and industrial problems, lengthy addresses would be out of place. They rather resembled, in this respect, those delivered at the Sunset Club of Chicago, whose postprandial discussions or talks, as they are termed, on subjects previously announced, are limited to twenty minutes for the leader and eight minutes for each of those who follow.

The time remaining after each address was to be, at the discretion of the officer presiding, placed at the disposal of the most eminent among the participants at the several conferences. Buts, as the programme explained, �The summaries of progress to be presented, and the problems of the age to be stated in the World�s Congresses of 1893, would be not submitted to the vote of those who might happen to be present, but would be offered for subsequent deliberate examination by the enlightened minds of all countries; for unrestricted discussion in the forum, the pulpit, and the public press, and finally for the impartial judgment of that exalted public opinion which expresses the consensus of such minds.�

In truth it was a worthy enterprise in which they were engaged, and their invitations and announcements were cordially received in every quarter of the world. Just as the visitor to the Columbian Exposition sees there the highest forms of development in the arts and sciences, the manufactures and industries of the world, so at its congresses he listens to descriptions of the progress and results achieved in every department of civilized life, voiced by some of the foremost exponents in every sphere of human activity, investigation, and research. As to the proceedings of the various congresses, I shall have occasion to speak in a later section of this work.

By each department of the Exposition special regulations were framed, of which mention will be made in its place. Among the general rules prescribed by George R. Davis, the chief executive officer, with the sanction of the Board of Control, the following are worthy of note: The reception of exhibits would commence on the 1st of November, 1892, and would cease on the 10th of April, 1893, the limit of time for their admission being extended only some three weeks before the opening of the Fair, to t he thirtieth of the latter month. Exhibitors would not be charged for space, but must defray the expense of transportation, handling, arrangement and removal. A limited amount of power would be furnished free of cost, any excess to be supplied at Exposition prices. Permits would be given to exhibitors, specifying the location and space allotted to each, such permits to be non-transferable; all exhibits to be limited to the articles specified in the application, and if intended to compete for awards it must be so stated. No dangerous or offensive articles, among which latter were included patent medicines, nostrums, and other empirical preparations, would be admitted. Exhibitors� cards and circulars, intended for distribution, must be kept within their space, the right being reserved to discontinue this privilege whenever it became annoying to visitors. The commissioners would not be responsible for damage or destruction of exhibits, though [78] taking all reasonable precautions for their safety. No articles could be sold for removal before the close of the Fair, except by special concession or privilege granted by the committee on ways and means; but after the closing day, October 30, 1893, all exhibits should be removed as soon as possible, goods remaining on hand at the opening of the following year to be at the disposal of the management.

As to state buildings, the regulations required that they should be tasteful in design, in harmony with their surroundings, and that their plans should be subject to the approval of the director-general and the chief of construction. Two or more states or territories might share a single building, and, under the control of the state board, but subject to the general rules prescribed for the Exposition; all such buildings were to be used as headquarters, and for the convenience and entertainment of visitors from the section of country which they represented. All exhibits intended to compete for prizes should be placed in the main buildings and grouped according to the official classification, except such as in the opinion of the director-general could only be displayed to advantage in the grounds.

Of foreign commissioners it was required, among other provisions, that before the 1st of November 1892 they should forward to the director-general plans displaying the method of distributing the space assigned to them, with lists of exhibitors and other necessary information. Exhibits landed at original ports of entry would be allowed to go forward to the grounds under the supervision of customs officers without examination and duty free, except for articles intended for sale in the United States. If exhibits were intended to compete for medals or diplomas, it must be so stated by the exhibitors. The arrangement of all exhibits and decorations must conform with the general plan of the directorate. Foreign commissions, or such agents as they might designate, would be held responsible for the reception and removal of goods; and should no authorized person be present to receive them, they would at once be placed in storage at the risk and expense of whomsoever it might concern.

The arrangement made by the several departments for the accommodation and protection of exhibitors left nothing to be desired. For a year or more the Traffic department, of which Elbert E. Jaycox was appointed manager, was in communication, directly or indirectly, with at least one thousand railroad companies, and with the hundreds of steamship companies whose vessels ply on American waters, with a view to secure the most favorable rates for transportation and travel. After much tedious negotiation, though in a measure simplified by the traffic associations through which business was conducted with the principal railroad systems, a general arrangement was made for the return of the exhibits free of cost on condition that full rates were paid for their carriage to Chicago, and that meanwhile their ownership remained unchanged. With many of the minor roads, from which no large business in this direction could be expected, more favorable terms were made. By South American railway and steamship companies, liberal reductions were granted in their freight and passenger schedules. With transoceanic steamship lines, and with coast , lake, and other transportation companies, a general rate was established of $2.50 a ton, all of them showing a disposition to meet the wishes of the management.

By some of the railroad systems of the United States a reduction was made of from a fifth to a third on their regular passenger fares, with return tickets available for two or more months from the 1st of May; but in this respect the railroad corporations were less liberal than in their rates on transportation, some of them making only slight concessions, and others none at all. By several of these companies it was urged that there was no good reason why railroad charges should be reduced, while there would be no reduction, but rather an advance in those of hotels and boarding houses, especially as under their usual tariff they would have all the traffic they could handle. On the other hand, to put the matter on no higher grounds, it is certain that a moderate concession would have been more than compensated by increase in the volume of travel, not only to and from Chicago, but between other points of attraction. As to inability to handle this traffic, the fact that many months before the opening of the Exposition a single firm was manufacturing cars at the rate of seventy-five a day, does not point in that direction. At the London exhibition of 1851 passengers were carried to and from north of England cities, a distance of 500 to 600 miles, at the rate of a quarter of a cent a mile, even that rate yielding, it was said, a not inconsiderable profit. As a result, although Asiatic cholera prevailed at the time, the attendance was larger than at the Paris Exposition held four years later, almost as large as the London Exposition of 1861, both of them far superior in spectacular and artistic display, and though open for the smallest number of days, was, from a financial point of view, the most successful of all the great world�s fairs.

As to the charges of the transportation department itself, for the reception and handling of exhibits on the Exposition grounds, a rate was announced in January 1893 of six cents fro 100 pounds, with a minimum of fifty cents for single packages, and an extra rate for exhibits exceeding fifteen tons in weight, arrangements for the reception of the latter to be made in advance with the managers. Similar charges must be paid on the removal of exhibits, but in neither case did such charges apply to those of states and territories or of foreign powers whose exhibits would be in charge of officials appointed by themselves. Finally, no duty would be exacted on foreign exhibits, except for those that might be sold within the limits of the United States, in which case they would be subject to the regular custom dues.

Of the facilities for reaching the city of the Fair, and for making the tour of the city, brief mention has already been made; and assuredly there could be no cause of complaint in this connection. At the [79] Paris Exposition of 1889 the daily attendance was on an average more than 137,000, and on the closing day reached what was then the unprecedented total of 400,000 visitors. But Chicago proposed to handle, if necessary, a passenger traffic of 100,000 an hour; nor was this an idle boast when we consider her railroad and street-car system, together with the lake steamers utilized for the purposes of the Fair.

In other departments, whether pertaining to the Exposition proper or to the thousand ramifications connected therewith, there has been such thorough organization and such close attention to detail that, as it would seem, only one of three contingencies could stand in the way of success. These were an outbreak of Asiatic cholera, a railroad strike, and a conflagration. On the first it is not my purpose further to remark; but as to the last it may be stated that all possible precautions were taken. In the autumn of 1892 a committee of insurance men was appointed to make a careful inspection of the fire department, and this is what they reported; There was first of all a strong and reliable corps of firemen, drilled up to the highest standard of efficiency, equipped with the best appliances, well distributed throughout the grounds, and with a force on duty by day and night. There were fire buckets by the thousand; there were Babcock extinguishers without number; chemical engines by the score, with hose lines reaching to the top of the tallest structure, and with a water supply of more than 64,000,000 gallons a day; there was a fire-boat in the grand canal, with powerful pumps and half a mile of hose, ready for instant service. Finally there was an excellent system of electric signals, with fire alarm boxes at all necessary points, and with men always ready and able to work them. With such precautions it is no wonder that the amount of insurance carried on the buildings during the construction period did not exceed two or three millions; but this was largely increased when the temples of industry were completed and filled with their precious contents.

For the safety of the public, both as to person and property, due precautions were also taken. For special duty at the Fair there was a large and well disciplined force of police, and to act in conjunction with them and with the fire department was organized the Columbian guard, mustering during the Fair from 2,000 to 2,500 men, under command of Colonel Edmund Rice, a Gettysburg veteran of the 19th Massachusetts volunteers. The Guard was divided into companies conveniently distributed through the grounds, two on patron duty, one at each of the gates, one or more at each of the various buildings, one for secret service or detective duty, and with a strong service always held in hand for emergencies. In the use of appliances for suppressing fires they were so thoroughly drilled and so on the alert that only once between June and December of 1892, on an October day, when the dome of the Machinery Hall was threatened with destruction, were the services of the regular fire department required. Meanwhile they extinguished countless incipient fires, such as were almost inevitable where as many as 12,000 men were employed at a time, and in so doing more than once saved the city of the Fair from a Chicago conflagration.

To the guards is intrusted the safe keeping of everything on the grounds whether in the shape of buildings, exhibits, or other public or personal property, and as they were guardians of the place during the construction period, when accidents were of frequent occurrence, so to their care and protection is committed the army of visitors during the term of the Fair. In case of need patrol wagons can be had at a moment�s notice; thieves and disorderly characters are promptly given into custody, and in the even of more serious trouble a strong force can be at once dispatched from headquarters, with which there is instant communication from every quarter of the grounds. If required thus to act, the men are expected to restore order merely by force of numbers, no weapon being carried except a small sword, and that more for ornament than [80] use. For their appearance, discipline, intelligence, and zeal, the Columbian guards are among the interesting features, and never perhaps was organized for such a purpose a more efficient body of men. All were subjected to a critical test before being appointed, and were required to furnish proof of good character, ability, and habits. They must be at least five feet eight inches in height, of good physique, and not less than twenty-one nor more than thirty-five years of age. Many of them had served in the ranks of the army, and not a few in the navy; there are ex-army and ex-police officers, men from every state in the Union and from a score of foreign nations, college graduates and linguists who converse in a dozen different tongues, all selected as the best among many thousand applicants, all of them competent, thoroughly equipped, and kept ever on the alert by a constant system of drill and inspection.

For the headquarters of the police, the Columbian guards, and the Fire department, together with those of the chief of construction, an edifice called the Service building was erected near the Festival hall and the Horticultural building. Here also is the hospital in charge of Dr. John E. Owens, its medical director, and with the most complete of modern appointments. Here were treated, during the construction period, from 200 to 300 patients, most of them suffering from the effects of injuries caused not from lack of precautions, but by the fact that the men were not accustomed to work on structures of such vast proportions. By the Woman�s building is another so-called model hospital, a term by no means inappropriate, for both as to service and equipments, everything of the best has been provided, with physicians and trained nurses, and wiht arrangements so perfect that this is of itself in the nature of an exhibit. In a room devoted to the purpose are couches and hospital beds for such cases of sudden indisposition or accident as do not require serious treatment. Hither come or are conveyed those afflicted with sudden faintness or hysteria, and here the aged or inform may find a resting place at any hour of the day.

A feature of the Fair is the five acres of dining and refreshment rooms, for such is the floor space set apart for these important adjuncts. There are twenty-seven restaurants and cafes, with one hundred and fifteen dining-rooms, with tables set forth from kitchens as complete as those of a hotel, with seats for 8,000 persons, and with more than 1,000 waiters and cooks. They are well distributed throughout the grounds, the best being that of the Administration building, near the common terminus of the several railroad lines by which the place is approached. There are many smaller restaurants, for the most part in [81] connection with state or foreign buildings; there are lunch counters, each having some specialty, and in the Dairy building is a luncheon room where articles of food prepared from the choices products of the dairy are set before the visitors. In a word the pilgrim to the great show can find within its gates such diet as suits his palate and purse. By those to whom concessions are granted for such purposes, a percentage of the receipts, usually a quarter, was made payable to the management, thus furnishing a considerable source of revenue.

In this connection a word may be said as to newspaper and other unfounded reports of extortion to which visitors would be subjected at the Fair. Doubtless there was many a scheme for fleecing the unwary; but he who permitted himself to be fleeced had only himself to blame. By the Bureau of public comfort under charge of W. Marsh Carson, a systematic canvass was made of the city with a view to provide at moderate rates the best possible accommodation for the expected army of sightseers. As the result rooms were secured for many thousands of persons in some of the best residence sections of the city at an average daily rate of $1.35 for each person, such rooms to be at the disposal of those who engage them directly at the bureau. This rate did not, of course, apply to first class hotels or to the more expensive buildings erected in the neighborhood of Jackson Park. On the other hand accommodations could be had in less fashionable suburbs at lower prices, and by visitors who preferred the seclusion and economy of private rooms there was no difficulty in finding quarters to suit their taste.

The financial affairs of the Exposition are conducted by some of the ablest of Chicago�s business men, and with consummate ability. When first the project of a world�s fair began to take shape, the outlay was estimated at $5,000,000, or much below that of Philadelphia of 1876 and the Paris Exposition of 1889. But, in keeping with their world-wide reputation for enterprise, the people of Chicago would brook no unseemly stint or false economy. Before the buildings were completed it was known that the affair would cost nearly twice as much as any exhibition which had been held in the history of the world. Its grounds were to occupy nearly four times as many acres, and its area under roof was to be twice as great as at any former exhibition, while at no other was there so large a proportion of foreign participants.

Before the passage in April 1890 of the act of congress authorizing the enterprise funds were procured, as we have seen, to the amount of $10,000,000, of which one-half was voted in bonds by the city council of Chicago, and the other half, later increased by nearly another million, through subscriptions to the capital stock. By the sale of debenture bonds was realized $4,000,000; by the United States was appropriated under the provisions of the act, $1,500,000 for its own building and exhibit, together with incidental expenses and labor, and without including such [82] premiums, $2,500,000 in the shape of 5,000,000 souvenir coins, from the sale of which it was expected that an equal amount would be secured in premiums, making in all a total of $19,000,000. The cost of construction and operation, including all expenses until the closing day, were estimated at $21,250,000, leaving a deficit of only $2,250,000, without taking into account any of the sources of income. As to the estimates of that income formed by the management, a comparison may later be made with the actual results.

In connection with the financial aspect, it may here be mentioned that, as the opening day drew nigh, reports were circulated that the enterprise was bankrupt. So far from being in such a strait, it was officially stated that in February 1893 the management had in bank a balance of $2,500,000, with more than another million in unsold bonds, and that at no time had the balance to its credit been less than $1,500,000. Nevertheless, to meet the expenditure still to be incurred, congress had been asked to advance as a loan $5,000,000, to be repaid from the income. Considering that Chicago had already advanced nearly $11,000,000, and that conservative estimates placed the receipts from all sources at about $4,000,000 above the total outlay, the application was by no means unreasonable. Moreover, it should be remembered that many millions had been expended, and that many more were yet to be expended by the people of our own and foreign lands, either as participants or visitors, and that the enterprise would largely increase the sale of American goods in existing markets, and open to them new markets in every quarter of the world.

By the states and territories of this republic, and by foreign nations, including local and individual subscriptions, it is probably that not less than $13,000,000 was added to the amount expended on the proposition, making a total outlay of some $32,000,000 before its opening day. Never before, even at the Paris Exposition of 1889, were foreign contributions so numerous and on so liberal a scale, more than fifty foreign nations and colonies being represented, and with appropriations ranging from $800,000 for that of Germany to $1,200, for the Danish West Indies.

Looking at it merely from a financial point of view, all the vast sums expended on its buildings and exhibits, on the transportation, custody, and safe return of its myriads of groups, with other incidental expenses, formed but a small percentage of the aggregate to be disbursed by the visitors themselves. By these visitors large amounts would be distributed among the hotels, boarding-houses, restaurants, stores, theatres, transportation and other companies, and individuals that catered to the needs, amusements, and caprices of this gathering of the nations. Among these were not included the many thousands whose homes were within easy reach of Chicago, and by whom would be greatly increased the amount of this expenditure and the volue of attendance.

Finally, it may be remembered that, in expending thrice the sums devoted to any previous exposition, the management knew perfectly well what they were about. They merely cast upon the waters bread that would return to them before many days with tenfold its former bulk; for should the monetary affairs of the enterprise result in financial loss, the benefits that would accrue indirectly, nor merely the number of dollars that would find their way into Chicago vaults, but the stimulus imparted to industries, the quickening of the pulse of commerce, the reputation acquired [83] for Chicago�s products and for the products of the great west in all the markets of the world, the concentration of interest, for however brief a period, on a city that fifty years ago was almost unknown beyond a radius of as many miles, here are some of the results that will remain and bear fruit for may a cycle after the last vestige of this great display has disappeared from the face of the earth.

Let us not judge merely from the utilitarian point of view, and most of all let us not judge solely in relation to the influence on foreign countries, but rather in relation to the influence on our own community. Says a well known writer, in considering what the Columbian Exposition would do for America: �Its national will be of far more vital importance than its international effect. What we chiefly wish to lay stress upon is its claim upon Americans as a very beautiful spectacle, and still more forcible, its claim upon Americans as a very instructive spectacle. It will delight their eyes as nothing else has done. It will teach them the nature and value of art as nothing else could do. And it will confirm and increase their faith in those democratic institutions which once more, in a new field, have proved themselves capable of a magnificent, an unrivaled achievement.�

As to awards and medals, it was decided, after much discussion, that they should be distributed among every class of exhibits. By congressional act of April 1890 it was provided that the national commission should, among other functions, �appoint all judges and examiners for the Exposition and award all premiums, if any.� At a later session of the national legislature $100,000 was appropriated for the casting of 50,000 bronze medals and for 50,000 diplomas, this but a small portion of the outlay to be incurred by the committee of awards. By many of the exhibitors protests were made against awards of any kind, some of them even threatening to withdraw their exhibits on the ground that they had everything to lose and nothing to gain by their goods being classed with those of inferior grade. This question determined, came the method of granting awards, whether by what were termed, in self-explanatory phrase, the single judge or the jury system, the latter the one adopted at former international exhibitions. The former provoked no little opposition, not only from exhibitors, but from the director-general and the chiefs of departments, whose tables were covered with written protests and offers to withdraw applications for exhibiting space. Especially were artists opposed to the single judge system, refusing to submit their work to the judgment of any single member of their profession. By the head of the Fine Arts department it was stated before the Board of Control that the adoption of this system would leave the galleries of the Art Palace almost bare of the choicest works of living artists. Finally it was determined to place all decisions in the hands of juries, competitors to state their intention to compete for prizes, a written report to be filed in each instance, stating why an award had been made or withheld, and with right of appeal to the executive committee, by whom a re-examination might be ordered. In the interests of American artists and of the Department of Fine Arts advisory committees and juries of selection were established in the principal art centres of Europe and the United States. Of the organization and functions of these committees mention will be made in connection with art exhibits.

As the question of opening the gates on Sundays was one which gave rise to much acrimonious discussion, it may here be stated that although they were opened, the work of employees was reduced to a minimum, and with none of the machinery or manufacturing and other processes in operation. Certain it is that nothing of a boisterous or demoralizing character is permitted on any day of the week, and least of all on the Sabbath. In answer to the countless petitions and protests that were forwarded to the management in this relation, it may be said that few employees are required to work on the Sabbath; that their task is for the most part merely nominal; that they are allowed some other week day of rest; that it requires no more attendants for a hundred thousand visitors to the Exposition than for a hundred thousand visitors at other and perhaps more questionable places of amusement; that the Fair is the most liberal of all educational agencies; finally that here can be read some of the noblest sermons preached since the great [84] Nazarene delivered from the Judean mount the most sublime discourse that ever fell from the lips of man or saint or angel.

Among the most attractive phases of the Exposition are the musical entertainments held in the Festival hall, a vast amphitheatre at the southern extremity of Jackson Park, with accommodation for an audience of 10,000 or more. Grand choruses were carefully drilled for the purpose, and here are heard some of the finest military bands in the world, those of France, Germany, England, and other foreign nations, together with the choicest in the United States, taking part in a series of popular concerts such as have seldom been heard before. At the north end of the peristyle which spans the entrance to the lagoon is the Music Hall intended for professionals and connoisseurs, where are frequent opportunities to listen to some of the foremost artists in the world, with programmes of the highest standard, such as rank with the most memorable performances in the history of vocal and instrumental art. Here is also the Recital Hall for smaller concerts, and distributed throughout the grounds are music stands for the accommodation of the various bands, among others present being that of the garde du corps of Emperor William.

As announced by Theodore Thomas, the musical director of the Exposition, it was proposed by the bureau of music to group all illustrations and performances around two central ideas; first, �to make a complete showing to the world of musical progress in this country in all grades and departments from the lowest to the highest; second, to bring before the people of the United States a full illustration of music in its highest forms, as exemplified by the most enlightened nations of the world.� By a commissioner despatched to Europe to invite the participation of distinguished composers, such favorable answers were received as permitted a succession of international concerts, where might be heard the best that each nation could produce. By the bureau itself invitations were forwarded to the principal choral societies throughout the country, where cooperation was requested, not only for their love of art, but for the opportunity thus to show to the world the artistic excellence already attained by our own musical organizations. Not the least interesting feature in this department are the bi-monthly concerts in the Woman�s building, at which only female amateurs of the foremost rank are allowed to take part.

World�s Fair Miscellany

The management of the World�s Fair was partially modelled after that of the Paris Exposition of 1889. To gather details as to the operation of the latter, Edward T. Jeffery, a member of the Board of Reference and Control, was sent to the French capital with several assistants, and returned with a valuable report.

Among the vice-presidents of the Board of Lady Managers is one of the leading journalists of the southern states, who also manages a large and profitable sugar plantation.

Although it is the policy of the management closely to restrict the sale of merchandise and even curiosities within the grounds, exhibits may be used as samples, from which orders may be filled elsewhere. While this will not be encouraged it cannot be prevented for it is a matter over which the authorities have no control.

Many exhibits were delayed by the non-payment of charges from Chicago to Jackson Park, the authorities refusing in all cases to advance such charges.

Early in March 1893 the jury on fine arts met in the building of the Art Institute to select from a large number of American pictures offered by intending exhibitors those worthy of exhibiting space. In New York, Philadelphia, and Boston there were local juries, to whom were submitted the works of artists in the states which those cities represented.

One of the most interesting features in the programme of the Congress Auxiliary is the Youth�s Congress, composed of a small number of the brightest and most promising students, chosen from all the principal nations of the world; those from foreign lands to be selected by their ministers of education; those from the United States by state superintendents of education; but none to be less than thirteen nor more than twenty years of age. At their sessions will be present some of the foremost teachers and writers of the age, and it is intended that the students themselves will take part in the discussions. As stated by the committee of organization, �It is purposed to draw together the worthiest and the most talented youth of all lands, the coming leaders of mankind, that they may be led to realize, as could not otherwise be possible, the meaning and the worth of the fellowship of nations and the brotherhood of man.�

Of Colonel Rice, commander of the Columbian guards, it should be said that on the field of Gettysburg none rendered better service than he and his men of the 19th Massachusetts volunteers. When the union lines were broken by Pickett�s column, this corps placed itself in the gap, and for a time withstood alone the enemy�s fire at a distance of fifteen paces, half the regiment being killed or wounded, and among the latter Colonel Rice, who fell in front of his regiment, with one foot on the body of a prostrate foe. Presently reenforcements arrived, and thus the day was saved. The Columbian guards may be recognized by their uniform of light blue, the tunic ornamented with rows of black braid, and the cap with crossed gun and sword after the fashion of Columbus� time. They are empowered to make arrests, offenders merely against the rules of the Exposition being expelled from the grounds, while those who transgress the laws of city or state are turned over to the police.

[85] To the police force of Chicago large and necessary additions were made for the occasion. By the chief of police it was stated in December 1892 that no city in the world had, in relation to size and local conditions, so small a body of police as Chicago. But if small in number they were efficient, as was shown during the several days of the dedication ceremonies, when crowds were handled with care and discretion, and criminals so carefully watched that few cases of robbery occurred.

Opposite the Fisheries Building, and on the other side of the water-way, is the live-saving station, a necessary adjunct, when it is considered that the lagoons and canals are crowded with hundreds of craft, many of them of the frailest description. To provide against serious accidents through the collision or capsizing of boats every precaution was taken, the station being in charge of the government and well manned and equipped.

Adjacent to the grounds is an encampment of the National guard, where are contingents from many of the states and territories. It was at one time proposed to hold a camp of instruction, at which 50,000 men would be present; but though an imposing feature, it was rejected on the grounds of expense, the difficulty of finding suitable and sufficient space for manoeuvring, and of instructing and handling such a force so as to make their manoeuvres effective.

With railway companies arrangements were made whereby excursion trains, by whatever road they might reach Chicago, would run to the grounds without transfer of passengers.

There are in Chicago nearly 1,400 hotels of every size and grade, with spare room sufficient for at least 150,000 extra quests; this in addition to innumerable boarding and private houses where quarters may be had. Of restaurants and cafes there are also about 1,000, whose capabilities are almost unlimited. For a single hotel project nearly $200,000 was collected in small subscriptions paid in advance as room rent, before even ground had been broken.

On the books of the bureau of public comfort is a list of several thousand rooms, with their prices, locations, and conveniences, any of which may be engaged by visitors either personally or by letter. After making their selection they receive a permit to occupy the chosen apartments, paying their rent to the bureau, which deals directly with the landlord. By the Chicago Inter Ocean a bureau was established and correspondence invited as to accommodations, exhibits, concessions and other matters pertaining to the Fair. Such correspondence was to be directed to the World�s Fair department of that journal, and would be answered without other charge than that of the stamps which must be inclosed for reply.

Early in 1893 many millions of tickets were ordered by the management, the first installment to be delivered on April 1st, and the remainder as needed. These tickets were required not only for sale to visitors, but by merchants for advertising purposes, and as souvenirs and curiosities.

It has been stated that $1,000,000 will be realized from the privileges of selling pop-corn, soda-water, and lemonade, more than half the proceeds of which go into the Exposition treasury. By a peanut vender, it is said, seventy percent of the gross returns was offered and refused, though with a guarantee that his total payments should not fall short of $140,000. To another applicant was granted the sole right of keeping wheeled chairs on the grounds, of which are provided no less than 2,400; horse vehicles are not admitted within the inclosure. To pay the cost of these chairs and of their attendants, and to meet his obligations to the management, it is stated that the receipts of this man must reach $1,000,000.

From the commencement of work on the grounds and buildings up to the middle of December 1892, John E. Owens, director of the medical bureau, reported 23 deaths, 2,092 cases requiring surgical treatment, and 1,703 needing medical treatment; but as to the surgical cases most of them were of slight injuries. Nevertheless the casualties were greater in proportion than those which have occurred on many an historic battlefield. The largest number of accidents occurred at the manufactures building, where nine men lost their lives, most of them by falling from great heights. No spectators had been injured except at the dedication services, and that so many of the workmen suffered was due, as I have said, to carelessness and inexperience, and not to any want of precaution.