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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 1905)
THE MORNIN& OJffiGONIA2, IfONPAY, JANUARY 2, 1905. SO great is the interest which the Lewis and Clark Centennial Ex position has attained since it "was projected .three years ago that its plan and scope have been considerably broadened to accord with the require ments of the states and nations which will exhibit At this stage of consummation it is not fully realized by our own people how the Fair has grown and continues to grow. Several months ago it ap peared to the management that it would be a problem how to find room for all of the exhibits that were of fered, and that is one of the perplexi ties with which the management is Archway on Corner Tower, Agricul ture Building. dealing at this period. Due reserva tion has been made for Pacific Coast exhibitors and the best of working dis plays, and every endeavor will be made to satisfy as many exhibitors as pos sible. This condition is not regarded as due solely to the fact of the Centennial fol lowing in the wake of another world's fair; rather is it because the world of trade is keenly alive to the advantages of this Exposition. For this great awakening of interest we have to thank President Roosevelt most In this, as in other affairs re lating to the West, he has shown him self a friend of the "West, with an in timate knowledge of and keen sympa thy with Its needs and ambitions. His interference won ultimate victory for the efforts of the Oregon Congressional DATES IN HISTORY OF LEWIS AND CLARK EXPOSITION. Proposed by Oregon Historical Society. Dec 15, 1900 Indorsed by Oregon Legislature .Feb. 2L 1S01 Corporation formed with $300,000 capital Oct. 12. 1B01 Stock oversubscribed by 540,000 .Nov. 25, 1901 Stock increased to $300,000 : Feb. 14. 1902 Site selected .". .Sept. 6. 1902 Oregon Legislature appropriates $450,000 Jan. 30, 1903 Work begun on grounds .Feb. , 1903 State Commission organised .May 29 1903 Congress appropriates $475,000 -April 13, 1904 First contracts for buildings let MTch 29. 1304 Contract for Government buildings let Oct. IS, 1904 Contract for American Inn let. Oct. 2C, 1904 First sod turned for buildings May 3, 1904 First building completed ...Nov. 9, 1904 Total stock subscriptions $418,137 Date of opening ; jrUne 1. 1905 Date of closing Oct. 15, 1905 delegation, aided by the delegation of Portland citizens, who labored so faith fully for a Government display on a magnificent scale. This action allows the Exposition of 1905 to rank as a Na tional Exposition, the first west of the Rocky Mountains, enjoying the recog nition of world powers and reckoned international in importance. The participation of the Nation thus secured, the task of enlisting the partici pation and attention of other nations was :::.-"s?;,W,'" H. W. GOODK, PRESIDENT greatly lightened, and foreign participa tion has been secured to a satisfactory degree. Seeing that the Pacific Ocean is to be the scene of the greatest develop ment of commerce, the Oriental nations have made such demands for space that the building which was formerly denomi nated Foreign Exhibits building has had to be given over entirely to them. All the leading nations of Europe will have displays which will occupy one whole building which was designed for liberal arts. These two facts show emphatical ly the' interest which this Exposition has attracted. There is much cause for con gratulation over the manner in which the plans and purposes of the West Coast fair have caught the universal fancy. Not less than 18 states will participate, and at least 12 will erect separate ex hibit buildings. It has been found, neces sary to provide an additional building for liberal arts and varied industries. Some exhibitors in this class may. erect a building of their own. It Is already apparent that, had the Exposition originally been planned and financed upon a scale twice as large, ev ery foot of space would have "been taken with exhibits of decided merit. With abundance of material to choose from, the management has aimed to secure quality, not quantity. Working displays of the processes of manufacture, a com plete exhibit of every kind of livestock, alairy display, products of the soil, riv er, mine, forest and sea. The limitations for -exhibits having been reached and foreign exploitation having been completed, many details remain to be followed up to round out the Fair. The best and most lucrative features are be ing engaged for the amusement street, aptly termed "The Trail." Here will be seen many novelties, amusing and in structivea Filipino village and theater, a Chinese village and colonies of other Orientals, which will provide a pictur esque feature. No Lack of Amusements. There will be athletic tourneys .of field and track; military and civic encamp ments; special days galore; thirty Na tional conventions in the Auditorium; airship contests; water carnivals on the lake; illuminated outdoor spectacles on a grand scale of an historical and allegor ical nature; an encampment of 100 Phil ippine scouts; a fleet of. and maneuvers by. war vessels in the river at the foot of the Exposition grounds in full view from the park; music by famous bands of the country, giving two concerts dally; a parliament of civic and religious Insti tutes; demonstrations of modern systems of irrigation, and many other things. It has been the aim of the management in exploiting the Exposition to attract visitors not only for the Exposition itself but to the whole Oregon country which Lewis and Clark explored and to the en tire Northwest Coast. By so doing it has enlisted not only the hearty co-operation of the railroads, but has awakened a keen desire in the East to see this dis tant Wonderland. Scenlcally .the Expo sition is incomparable. Estimates of the attendance at the Fair are now double what they were six months ago, and re- cent events indicate 'that there will be a tremendous Western travel to this coun try next season. Finally, a spontaneous feeling of good will is expressed by the public, which augurs well for the largest success of the enterprise. The support of the press has been generous, loyal, patriotic We have every reason to confidently expect that this Exposition will be followed by such a leap forward in the development of the Pacific Northwest as to mark an epoch oca 5i V 4 AND CIKECT OR-GENEXAL. OFFICERS OPliEvlSiWCLARK'EJIt -CCRJWOTGN- in its history and repay those who havo devoted to It their best labors. H. W. GOODE. President and Director-General. ATTENDANCE ONE MILLION. This Is Lowest Estimate of Number of Paid Admissions to Fair. ESTIMATES of the number of paid admissions to the Exposition range from 1,000,000, which would be an average of 7300 a day for the whole period, to 1,370,000, which would be an average of 10,000 per day. Any estimate is very largely guesswork, but it may be conservatively put down that the paid attendance will not fall below a total of 1,000,000. It Is figured that Portland will furnish 500,000, and the country within 500 miles of the city 300,000 more. Tcls accounts for 800,000. The remainder to make up the grand total will have to come from outside the 500-mile limit. The present outlook is that the percentage of attendance coming from a long distance will bo larger at the Centennial than at any Exposition ever held In the United States. Possibly 200.000 or 250,000 peo ple will come from the East to the Pa cific Coast in 1S05, and the majority of them will visit Portland and the Ex position. At the same time, a great many people will come from the East who will not take in the Exposition. Conditions in the home field and in the East arc favorable to a large at tendance. The homo field, that is, the admission territory .of the Exposition, may be described as comprising Ore gon, Washington, Idaho. Montana, Wyoming. California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and British Columbia. It has an area of about 1,200,000 square miles and a population of about 4,250,000. This large section of country has been very prosperous for seven or eight years in succession, and the people have been profitably employed. Crops of all kinds were large in 1904, prices paid to pro ducers were good, and money Is plenti ful. The annual income per family is larger by from $100 to $200 in the ter ritory tributary to Portland than it is anywhere else in the United States. Generally speaking, all classes of our people have money, and he local situa tion could not possibly be more favor able. In the East, the Interest in the Pa cific "country, is-more .extensive And ln- Lewis and Clark AT PORTLAND, OREGON Will Be Open Continuously From June. 1, 1905, to October 15, 1905 One Hundred and Thirty-Seven Days Ik 11, m maz2fii it tenslvo than It has been at any time since the California gold excitement half a century ago. This Interest Is a cordial and substantial one, not aris ing from mere curiosity, and every per son who comes from the East next year will directly or indirectly be a benefit EXPENDITURES ON LEWIS AND CLARK FAIR BY STATE OF OREGON AND LEWIS AND CLARK CORPORATION PRIOR TO OPENING. By corporation Construction and prepara- ' tlon of site., . $314,342 Management prior to open ing 153.SS3 Total $473,631 By State Commission Buildings and furniture of Oregon building $305,000 Management prior to open ing 10.000 County exhibits 25.000 State exhibits 35,000 Total $376,000 Cost of Operation. By corporation $260,000 By State Commission 20,000 Total $250,000 Summary. Preparation and construction By corporation $473,631 By Commission 376,000$ 49.631 Operation 250,000 Total expenses $1,129,631 to this entire region. If he settles here, so much gained; if he does not. he will be a walking advertisement for the country. It is not too much to say that Portland, In financing the Exposi tion and in procuring the participation, of the United States and foreign na tions, has done more than any other city to dissipate certain vague- notions prevailing in some parts of the United Stales respecting the WesL and partic ularly the notion that the West is still in the frontier stage of its civilization. But for the fact that people are looking this way, either for pleasure, or busi ness, and that the low railroad rate of fers the inducement to travel, the at tendance from the East would be nlL There is no doubt that the East has had all the expositions it will want for many a day. In our publicity work In the East we endeavor to make known what the West has to offer to the tourist anJ lition homeseckcr, what there Is to see and how to see it. The Idea is put forth that the West will be on exhibition at Port land in 1905. That this takes, and that it is the proper policy to pursue. Is evidenced by the fact that over 90 per cent of the inquiries received at Exposition headquarters are for infor mation about the country. HENRY E. REED. Secretary and Director of Exploitation. PREPARATION OP GROUND. Great Work of Transforming Wild Land Into Exposition Site. W HEN the visitor roams among the great palaces, parks, gar dens and fountains of the Exposition, he will not be "able to conceive the con dition of the site little more than two years before." A rugged, wooded hill side sloped down to a lake with low, swampy shores, which are overflowed in the Spring, and the lake was almost dried up In the .low-water season. In the hollow of the foot of the heights vcre some Chinese vegetable gardens. A few dwellings occupied clearings in the higher parts of the ground. The first thing to be done was to adopt a general plan for laying out the grounds in such way as to preserve the natural beauties. of the landscape and, at the same time, provide for the buildings and artificial landscape beau ties. This plan was prepared by J. C Olmsted, of Brookllne. Mass., and all who see the finished work will ac knowledge the artistic beauty of his design. It has been carried out under the direction of Oskar Huber, director of works. Then came the grading of the site to make level spaces for the great buildings, even slopes for the roads and park, and to bring up the ground near the lake shore above, the level where it would, be overflowed by the floods. This done, roads and footpaths had to bo' graded, macadamised and covered with decomposed granite and a bulkhead had to be built rjong the lake shore. The forest trets, which wore left In Centennial Park, bad to be pruned, new trees planted, and grass sown to make thoso green lawns which will rdfresh the eye next Summer Flower beds had to be laid out, and thousands of rose bushes and other flowers planted. All this was done and at the same time much construction was carried on, which required much labor and heavy expense, but of which the public see3 only the results. Two distinct water supply systems were installed, one to carry the famed Bull Run water through all the buildings for drinking and cooking, the other to carry the river water through the grounds for fire protection, irrigation and the sew ers. For this purpose three miles of pipe were laid undergrouri to connect one system with the city's Bull Run mains and to carry the river water from pumps on the lako shore through a distinct network of mains. The pumps, operated by 'electric power, force tho ater to the top of a triple wAter-tower, which was at the same time erected on the highest point in the grounds.. Thence it flows under a presure of 110 pounds to the square inch to 24 hydrants, well distributed about the buildings and park for use either in extinguishing fire or irrigat ing the grounds. About three miles of tile sewers were laid to coyer the .wole area. Underground conduits ware built along the roads and wires laid In them to carry the electric cur rents for both power and light to every par& of the Exposition. Telephone, tel egraph and fire alarm wires were also laid in these conduits, for every build ing Is equipped with these modern necessaries. At the same time work was under way on the Improvement of the lake, to remove all Its less sightly features. A bulkhead was built along the shore and the bed was dredged where it was too shallow. A large centrifugal pump was installed rn the dIkS which separ ates lake and river, and will be used In Summer to maintain the level of the lake, whllo a movable dam will serve to keep the flood water out of the lake on the one ha;id and to preserve the lake at a stable depth on the other hand. The ground was also fenced and hops were planted to cover the boards with their garlands of rich green. The experimental ground was laid out and planted, the Sunken Gardens were pre pared, stairways were built down the terraces and a boathouse was erected on the -shore at their foot. All this work involved an expenditure of over $150,000 by the Lewis and Clark Corporation before tho first sod was turned for the erection of the buildings by the State Commission, and a total of $314,342 will have been ex pended by the corporation in construe tion and substantial improvements be fore the Exposition Is opened. An Intramural railway is among the Improvements yet to be carried out, but this will be done by a concession aire. ARRANGEMENTS OP PAIR. How the Grounds Are Laid Out and the Buildings Placed. ON a stretch of grounds, of which the natural formation lends itself to the purposes of the landscape artist with the least possible change, the Expos! NOT SO WET Several Leading Cities in United States Have More Rain Than Portland. Average annual precipitation in typical American cities for ten years, 1894 to 1903, inclusive: Inches Pacific Coast Portland, Or ......... 39.8 New England Boston 40.8 Middle Atlantic States New York City . , 43 .4 Lake States Chicago 29.8 Central Valley s St. Louis, Mo i 34 . 6 Prairies North Platte, Neb '. 16.2 Rocky Mountains Helena, Mcnt . : 13.0 Intermountain Belt Salt Lake Cityl . -. 15 . 0 South Atlantic States Atlanta : 46.4 Gulf States New Orleans.....; .49.7 tion extends from the foot of Willam ette Heights half way to the Willam ette River, and from Upshur street on the south half way across Guild's Lake on the north. It includes the peninsula which juts into the lake from the nar row strip of land which divides lake from river. It comprises 402 acres, of which 220 are land and the remainder are covered with the water of the lake. In a deep hollow and on Its immedi ate slopes at the foot of Willamette AUDITORIUM. Heights, extending in a triangle almost to -the shore of the lake. -is the Agricul tural and Horticultural Experiment Ground of 16 acres. - Sloping down to it from the east and. with a steeper pitch towards the lake is Centennial Park, occupying about 4ft acres. .Between it and the experimental ground. Astor I drive runs down from tjpshur street to join the St. Helens road; .which skirts the west shore of the lake. Passing eastward from the highest point in the park, brings one to the head of Lewis and Clark boulevard, the broad main thoroughfare of the Fair, which stretches .from east to west along the main front of the principal buildings. The latter are ranged to tha north of the boulevard, on 'Which many of their main entrances open, -and are built in a north and south direction. At the head of the boulevard is the water-tower, which will be almost hidden Bracket and Cornice of Agricultural Building. by Virginia creeper by the time the Fair opens. Opposite this structure is the Fores try, then in order come the Oriental, European and Agriculture buildings. Be tween the Forestry and Oriental Is Jeffer son court and west of the Forestry Wyo mins avenue leads, north to 1oln Orpeon avenue at right angles.' The latter street has the apse of the Oriental fronting on its south and the Massachusetts: and Fraternal buildings on its north, Monroe court' passes along the" f cat front of the "rtnf "jb tn 'connect with Oregon. aVenue. From - the east entrance of the Foreign tExhibIt3 a short 'road leads down between "two terraced, gardens to the main entrance of the European. Linn plaza leads at an easy grade up from Lewis and Clark boulevard along the west side of the latter building to Join Lakevlew terrace. Between the European and Agri culture buildings are the Sunken Gar dens, divided midway by a broad plaza, in the center of which is the Sacajawea AFTER ALL. fountain. The Sunken Gardens extend from Lewis and Clark boulevard on the south to Lakevlew terrace on the north, which stretches along the whole north front of the European, the Sunken Garden and the Agriculture building. Tho east entrance of the Agriculture building fronts on Benton court, beyond which is the Machinery, Electricity and Transportation building on the extreme eastern edge of the ground. The Mines building Is on the left and the Auditorium i ..'lv - '- ' .... -'jp, -