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| THE COLUMBIAN GUARD - Our picture shows very
truthfully the details, and very nearly the color, of the uniform
worn by that small army of men which faithfully guarded the three
hundred millions of goods in Jackson Park during 1893. The number of
these soldiers at one time reached two thousand five hundred, and
during that period the smallest clerk had sentries at his door, to
ask for a card, or invite the caller to one of those feats of
patience that made the Fair a nightmare to business men whose
engagements called them thither. It was held in 1891, whether wisely
or not, that the city police would be inadequate to the extraordinary
situation, and, to fill the ranks of the new organization, college
students and militia men were sought or favored. The result, as
attained in May, 1893, was one highly satisfactory to property owners
and at first as highly unsatisfactory to the mere visiting public,
which looked on the military aspect of the park with almost universal
prejudice. The Columbian Guard was commanded by Col. Edmund Rice, of
the United States Army, under orders from architect Burnham, the
Director of Works, and practical executive of the local directors and
trustees, as contradistinguished from the titular National
Commission. In great crowds, the Columbian Guards, through lack of
the city policemen's bulk and experience, were of no avail, yet as
the summer wore on, and the good nature of the American people
triumphed, even the young martinets became genial, and at last
popular. |
