Trans-Mississippi International Exposition, Omaha, June to November, 1898
- Subtitle: Art, Manufacturing, Mechanics, Commerce, Science, Music: Illustrating the Progress of the West.
- Date: 1898
- Publisher: s.n.
- Publication Place: S.l.
- TEI XML: transmiss.book.tmie.1898.xml
TRANS-MISSISSIPPI INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION
OMAHA JUNE TO NOVEMBER 1898
ILLUSTRATING THE PROGRESS OF THE WEST.
ART
MANUFACTURING
MECHANICS
COMMERCE
SCIENCE
MUSIC
Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition.
JUNE TO NOVEMBER, 1898.
OFFICERS.
GURDON W. WATTLES...President
ALVIN SAUNDERS Resident...Vice-Pres't
HERMAN KOUNTZE...Treasurer
JOHN A. WAKEFIELD...Secretary
CARROLL S. MONTGOMERY...General Counsel
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
ZACHARY T. LINDSEY...Chairman and Manager Department Ways and Means
EDWARD ROSEWATER...Manager Department Publicity and Promotion
FREEMAN P. KIRKENDALL...Manager Department Buildings and Grounds
EDWARD E. BRUCE...Manager Department Exhibits
ABRAM L. REED...Manager Department Concessions and Privileges
WILLIAM N. BABCOCK...Manager Department Transportation
T. S. CLARKSON, General Manager.
WALKER & KIMBALL, Architects-in-Chief.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT COMMISSION.
Department of Agriculture...J. H. Brigham, President of Commission
Treasury Department...C. E. Kemper
Department of the Interior...F. W. Clarke
State Department...W. H. Michael
Smithsonian Institution and National Museum...F. W. True
Department of Justice...Frank Strong
Post Office Department...J. B. Brownlow
War Department...Capt. Henry C. Ward
Navy Department...Lieut. Commander E. M. Stedman
Fish Commission...Wm. de C. Ravenel
Life Saving Station...Capt. H. M. Knowles
W. V. Cox, Secretary, Omaha.
PRESIDENTS OF STATE COMMISSIONS.
Arizona...T. J. Barkeley...Phoenix
Arkansas...W. G. Vincenheller...Little Rock
California...M. H. DeYourig...San Francisco
Colorado...Gov. Alva H. Adams...Denver
Florida...Geo. W. Wilson...Jacksonville
Georgia...W. J. Northen...Atlanta
Idaho...W. P. Shawhan...Payette
Illinois...Clark E. Carr...Galesburg
Indiana...Frank B. Von Behren...Evansville
Iowa...S. H. Mallory...Chariton
Kansas...Geo. W. Glick...Atchison
Kentucky...C. N. McElroy...Bowling Green
Louisiana...C. Harrison Parker...New Orleans
Maryland...Thomas J. Shryock...Baltimore
Minnesota...J. L. Gibbs...Geneva
Missouri...John A. Knott...Hannibal
Montana...W. H. Sutherlin...Helena
Nebraska...William Neville...North Platte
Nevada...H. B. Maxson...Reno
New Jersey...Robert Mitchell Floyd...Jersey City
New Mexico...L. B. Prince...Santa Fe
New York...Chauncey M. Depew...New York City
North Carolina...Hon. J. L. C. Harris...Raleigh
North Dakota...C.A. Lounsberry...Fargo
Ohio...H. E.Valentine...Bucyrus
Oklahoma...J. C. Post...Kingfisher
Oregon...W. S. Mason...Portland
South Dakota...A. McKinney...Lead City
Tennessee...Theodore Cooley...Nashville
Texas...S. J. T. Johnson...Dallas
Utah...L. W. Shurtliff...Ogden
Washington...Geo. W. Thompson...Tacoma
West Virginia...B.W.Peterson...Wheeling
Wisconsin...John C. Koch...Milwaukee
Wyoming...Joseph M. Carey...Evanston
The Trans-Mississippi Exposition.
[From Harper's Weekly, Copyright 1898 by Harper & Brothers.]
STAND here this rare first day of June, beneath this cloudless sky of the West, and look far down this noble court, with its great buildings, massive and magnificent, classic in their architecture and rich in ornament, their snowy facades mirrored in the long lagoon that stretches away two thousand and more feet to the fountain playing before the splendid public building erected by the general government in recognition of the progress and the power of the great West. It is indeed a fair sight.
Just a moment ago the President of the United States touched a tiny electric button in the capital city of the nation, and now the machinery of a great exposition is in play, responsive to his finger. Turning from the toil of war to the noble pursuits of peace, he has set in motion the energies of one of the most important expositions of any day.
The red-suited members of the Marine Band from Washington have played sonorously, the chorus of singers have sung, and the speakers have spoken, and the vast audience has rendered its response of applause the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, has begun. Just as one expects to find in a new Western town tokens at every turn of the spirit of Western enterprise, so one quite naturally expects to find evidences, of sectional indeed, of national thrift and enterprise in this exposition now under way in this hustling, rushing, bustling Western city of Omaha. Enterprise and sincerity seem to me to dominate in this really quite remarkable fair. If the people of this region had done nothing more than afford this fine token of sincerity in fulfilling promises, it would have been worth the pains and the millions that have gone into it. In carrying out the plans of this exposition, those in charge have had two important advantages immense area for grounds and cordial assistance. Nearly or quite two million five hundred thousand dollars have been expended in preparing this exposition.
Nearly as many acres of ground as Paris will have for her
exposition in 1900 200 acres, to be precise bordering the edge of
a bluff, with the lazy, mud-stained Missouri in the distance, have
given fine opportunity for the development of the exterior scheme
of the exposition. The grounds where the more important buildings
stand are in the form of a great quadrangle over two thousand feet
in length, and perhaps five hundred and fifty in width. In the
central portion of this lies a lagoon. Bordering it are fme stretches
of turf, with much promise of bloom when the natter summer comes,
and at their edge rise beautiful buildings, snowy white, large,
artistic, architecturally exquisite. Strong men in architecture from
various American cities have united to produce about the sides of
this long lagoon the most imposing and attractive series of buildings
ever erected for similar purposes in America, save for the buildings
which distinguished the Columbian Fair above all other expositions
of the century.
The quadrangle lies east and west, and at the eastern end, lying at right angles, are the State buildings, structures highly creditable to the dozen or more Western commonwealths which are represented. Beyond the State buildings that inevitable feature of the modern exposition, the Midway, displays its manifold attractions.
Perhaps the candid Nebraskan would tell you in a moment of frank contriteness that the prime object of this exposition was to boom Omaha. And yet this is not an exposition of the common commercial type. It is something much higher, and keenly sympathetic with higher elements of life.
Had there been no White City at the lower end of Lake Michigan, this must easily have been the most striking and important public enterprise of the kind in the history of American fairs.
Beginning at the viaduct over one of the city streets crossing through the grounds, the buildings stretch away in white beauty along the lagoon. The buildings are large, imposing indeed, and so cleverly treated in their adornment of staff that they quite completely carry out the illusion of permanency. They are fitted out for the best possible display of the exhibits of home and foreign tokens of the world's progress. Over three hundred thousand square feet of space had been contracted for before the exposition opened. To your right as you look down the great quadrangle the snowy buildings extend until they fall into a fine perspective at the extreme western end cut by the Government Building, a vast structure five hundred feet in length. First the Electrical and Machinery Hall, then the Manufactures Building, the Administration Building, Building of Agriculture ; then the immense Government Building stretching across the whole western end of the court. At its right, continuing on around the court, comes the Fine Arts Building, of a noble type of architecture and admirably suited to its purpose, the tall arched entranceway, the arch of States, rising opposite the Administration Building, then the Building of the Liberal Arts, the Mines and Mining Building, and at the eastern end, at the viaduct, the Auditorium for holding public meetings.
Utility and art have been capitally combined in these buildings. They have the general appearance of permanency in cornice and wall and massive pillar to give them an air of noble strength, while at the same time they are so admirably arranged interiorly that the best opportunity is afforded of display, whether it be the newest wrinkle in electricity, or the widest scope of modern mining, or the best in art, or the richest in husbandry.
Connecting important buildings of the quadrangle are long
shady colonnades pillared and canopied in the all-pervasive staff, and
yet massive and lasting to the eye. The great extent of the grounds
would make walking from building to building decidedly unpleasant
in shine of sun or time of rain, were it not for these colonnades.
At either end of the great lagoon they spring into arched form,
adding a striking note of beauty to the general view.
Here and there about the grounds, so disposed as to interfere in no degree with the general architectural effect, are smaller buildings, some of them devoted to the interests of trade, and all of them delightfully novel and interesting.
But at no point has the prevailing good taste been allowed to lapse. Novelty has not been allowed to displace elegance, nor has any freakishness been given play. Dignity and harmony characterize the buildings and the arrangements of the grounds of the exposition. Over on the Midway ample scope has been afforded for such display as suggests the incongruous or the unreal, and even here there is apparently a steadfast purpose toward fidelity of representation.
Taken all in all, the general impression of this exposition must be decidedly satisfactory.
In a deeper sense, it would seem to be an exposition of much significance, illustrating, as it does, the commercial, the manufacturing, the agricultural, and the mining progress of a section of the country a vast resourceful empire in itself.
The opening-day of the exposition, June 1, brought many thousands of people from the regions roundabout, as well as a liberal proportion of Omaha's one hundred and fifty thousands of inhabitants. One would hardly believe it possible a musket was in the hands of the nation, to look out over the great court on the opening-day, and see the assembled thousands. Reduced rail rates have, and will have, no doubt, their influence in attracting people, aside from the genuine beauty of the exposition, while nearly one hundred national conventions medical, humanitarian, religious, ethical, commercial, and the like will add their thousands to the throngs. So, take it all in all, Omaha promises to have her hands full this summer. The exposition closes on the ist of November.
The exposition grounds are easily accessible by electric railway from the downtown part of the city.
Taking advantage of experiences in electrical effects produced at other expositions, the managers of this department have provided an admirable display, both in the ornamentation of the buildings with innumerable lights, and in producing novel and striking effects in the fountain immediately in front of the Government Building at the western end of the ground.
It would not be easy to estimate the value of such an
exposition as this in illustrating to the nation at large the immense
resources of the region which lies in the great Mississippi basin, and
contiguous to it. The railroad trains, which these weeks past have
been entering the grounds, and stopping now atone, now at another,
great building, to unload immense boxes of exhibits, have brought
their freightage from many States, and from a vast region of country.
These exhibits o f the mining, the manufacturmg p the agriculture
the forestry, the horticulture, the commerce, the business of this
vast region, from the Canadian line to the Gulf of Mexico, are not
mere advertising dodges. The States themselves, through appropriations, have provided the funds to show to the world the best of
the material resources of their commonwealths; and while art and
music and all phases of the aesthetic have not been neglected, it is
perhaps this fine panorama of the material West which is here
afforded, that most will interest. Cast in a different figure, this
Trans-Mississippi Exposition is an epitome of the wealth and not
only of the wealth, but of the progress of the great central region
of the nation.
One of the speakers at the opening of the exposition put the progress of the region in a nutshell when he made note of the fact that in the land where, only fifty years ago, the Indians wandered at will, there are now 22,000,000 people, with an aggregated wealth of twenty-two billions of dollars.
In the telegram which President McKinley sent to the exposition, after setting in motion its machinery, he paid a tribute, for which the success of this exposition will give warrant, when he said that nowhere have the unconquerable determination, the selfreliant strength, and "the sturdy manhood of American citizenship been more forcibly illustrated than in the achievements of the people of the region this exposition exploits.
The corner-stone of the exposition was laid on Arbor Day, 1897, so that the vast enterprise has been accomplished in a year's time. Many of the States of the region have contributed liberally to the exposition in the way of suitable buildings, while the general government appropriates $200,000 for its building, and in it has placed exhibits of great interest. The government has also taken official notice of the exposition in the issuance of a series of postage stamps, from one cent to $2, inclusive, commemorative of the event. Over three hundred million of these stamps were ordered for the first installment. The designs on the stamps are appropriate to the great West and its progress, illustrating phases of pioneer life.
W. S. HARWOOD.
ELECTRIC FOUNTAIN "NAUTILUS."
AN electric fountain in the west end of the lagoon stands directly before the noble building of the United States Government. The fountain is designated "Nautilus." Neptune is seated on high, viewing his realm with regal dignity. Before him riot his captive waters in holiday attire, assisted by the rainbow subjects of a rival sovereign. Innumerable sprays of vari-colored crystal fluid dart forth in rapid sequence, now bursting into flaming red, then quieting to subdued mother-of-pearl, and again offering a bouquet of. myriad shades to the water-god.
The lighting of the exposition grounds and buildings was
consigned to the charge of Mr. Luther Stieringer, a well-known
electrical expeft, who has been connected with the illuminations
feature of all the large expositions, and particular the World's Fair
where Mr. Stieringer was consulting electrical engineer. His
original conceptions at Chicago were the chief delight of the thousands of visitors.
The electrical illuminations in the Grand Court excel any former achievement, without a single exception. They form the crowning feature of the exposition.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT BUILDING.
THE United States Government Building partakes of the classic style, the Ionic order being used. It is arranged in three sections, that at the center having a frontage on the lake of 208 feet, and a height to top of balustrade over cornice of 58 feet, having a depth of 150 feet. The main entrance facing the center of the basin is reached by a broad flight of steps and through a colonnade. The entrance is flanked on either side by pavilions capped by richly decorated domes. The main building is surmounted by a colossal dome, which towers far above all other buildings. This dome is capped by an heroic figure representing "Liberty Enlightening the World," and at night this figure is lighted by electricity, the torch being 178 feet above the ground, Total length of the building 504 feet.
THE GOVERNMENT EXHIBIT.
The Government exhibit is most comprehensive, giving ocular
demonstration of all the functions of government through the various
Cabinet Departments, State, Treasury, War, Navy, Postoffice,
Interior, Justice and "Agriculture; through the Fish Commission, the
Smithsonian Institution and its kindred the National Museum and
the Zoological Park. The exhibits of the various departments are
most complete, interesting and instructive. The thoughtful student
of our form of government and its executive departments finds
here an epitome in picture, autograph, wax figure, and relic of the
growth, development and history of our nation. Portraits of the
Presidents, of the Secretaries of State, originals of presidential
proclamations from the days of Washington, the original rough draft
of the Declaration of Independence, letters from the rulers of the
globe to the United States Government, and rare documents from
the archives of the Department of State are gathered here in compact
form, for the instruction and entertainment of Americans. Indian
curios, illustrating the habits and customs of aborigines, from Alaska
to San Diego, and from ocean to ocean, together with evidences of
the industry of the Geological Survey; the progress of education^ as
noted by the Bureau of Education; and models from the Patent
Office, interest every visitor of the Interior Department exhibit.
Samples of currency, past and present, lighthouse models, and illustrations of the life-saving service are contributed by the Treasury
Department. The War Department has not neglected the exposition, and shows projectiles, weapons of warfare, ammunition,
signal corps utensils, and wax figures of uniformed soldiers from the
days of the Puritan, in 1620, to the present natty regular. The
models of the Maine and other great war vessels, supplemented by
samples of the ordnance of the Navy Department are the conspicuous
feature of the Navy exhibit. The Postoffice Department delights
philatelists, particularly, with its complete series of United States
stamps, and models showing the growth and development of the
postal service, from the pony express to the modern postoffice car.
Portraits of the Judges of the Supreme Court, past and present, and
rare documents from the Department of Justice, keep the lawyers
eagerly looking over the display of this branch of the government.
The Agricultural Department devotes its attention particularly to an
illustration of the practical workings of its bureaus and divisions.
Probably the rarest collection to the average visitor is that presented
by the Smithsonian Institution devoted to ethnology and anthropology,
though the specimens from the National Museum in the divisions of
biology and geology interest students of natural history. The Fish
Commission has arranged the most attractive showing, and here
crowds gather continually to watch the gambols of live fish from
both salt and fresh waters.
SOUVENIR COINS.
A highly interesting feature of the Treasury Department exhibit is a coin stamp in operation. Here visitors witness the stamping of the Exposition Souvenir Coins. The medallion was made after a composite head, the creation of an eminent artist, from the photographs of forty-four beautiful young women, native of the twenty-four Western States and Territories. It idealizes the highest type of Western young womanhood. On the obverse side appears an Indian in the act of spearing a buffalo. The two illustrations not only form a very attractive pocket-piece or watch ornament, but indicate forcibly the strides of Western civilization in the past fifty years. In addition to these, the government will also have a number of gold, bronze and silver medals struck off as awards to exhibitors, which will bear appropriate emblems and descriptions. A series will also be issued for each of the departments into which the exhibits are divided.
FOREIGN EXHIBITS.
By direction of President McKinley, the State Department extended special official invitations to the rulers of foreign nations, requesting them to participate in the exposition. The invitation was very generally accepted, and, while the foreign exhibits are by no means equal to those at the World's Fair, they exceed, in extent and character, those at the other expositions held in America, and the visitor will find the following foreign nations represented with special exhibits: Canada, France, Hawaii, the Central American Republics, the South American Republics, Austria, England, Belgium and Switzerland. On the Midway, Japan, China, and several other Oriental countries are strikingly in evidence.
ARCHITECTURE.
THE accompanying illustrations convey but a vague idea of the attractiveness of the splendid structures which the genius of architect and builder has devised and realized. The general effect is superb, and the visitor will regret but one thing as his vision sweeps through the Grand Court and he comprehends the magnitude and beauty of the buildings, their artistic grouping, and the exquisite harmony of color, column and cupola, and that regret is that the buildings, the statues, the grounds, the pavilions, the colonnades, the landscape effects, the electric combinations, the exposition itself, is to endure but five months.
The Grand Court, with lagoon, is the center, around which are arrayed the great buildings of the exposition. Entering from the south through the Arch of States, and standing upon one of the island bridges, the visitor sees at the west end of the Court the Government Building, surmounted by the noble American dome, topped by a massive statue of " Liberty Enlightening the World." To the right is the Agriculture Building, and to the left the Hall of Fine Arts, the two connected with the Government Building by handsome Pompeian promenades of columns. To the left of the Government Building, near the exposition fence, is the building erected to display the work of the Life Saving Service.
Turning to the north, the Administration Arch is directly in front. It is the counterbalancing feature to the Arch of States. Here are the executive offices of the exposition, the Service Building, Press Building and Fire and Police Building, being immediately north on the west side of Twentieth street.
Next east of the Administration Building is the Manufactures
Building, and immediately opposite is the Liberal Arts "Building.
Next eastward, on the north side of the Court, Is the great struc-
On the bluff tract, overlooking the Missouri valley, sur-
tamie wigwam, a
considerable section
of the Midway,
special buildings
and the mammoth
power plant of the
exposition.
Crossing back from the east Midway over the north viaduct, the visitor passes through another division of the Midway, and on the north tract, will find the Transportation and Agricultural Implement Building, covering five acres of ground and containing a complete exposition in itself of transportation appliances and implements of husbandry. Near by are the Apiary Building and the Dairy Building. On this tract, also, there are various outdoor exhibits illustrating irrigation, sugar beet growing, alfalfa farming and other processes. Here, too, covering the greater part of ten acres, is the greatest Indian exhibit ever attempted or likely ever to be attempted. This deserves a special description, and it will be found elsewhere in this pamphlet.
It should be remarked, also, that there are several other exhibits of unusual interest, such as a tobacco plantation, a cotton field and a tea garden. In the main buildings visitors will see the practical utility of many appliances which will convert raw material into finished product before their eyes. Every building has its novelties, and in all parts of the exposition exhibits more interesting to students than Midway amusements are open day after day for inspection without expense.
List of Exposition Buildings.
Government, Life Saving Supervising Architect, Washington.
Liberal Arts, Auditorium, Press Fisher & Lawrie, Omaha.
Fine Arts Eames & Young, St. Louis.
Mines and Mining S. S. Beman, Chicago.
Manufactures, International Hall J. J. Humphreys, Denver.
Agriculture Cass Gilbert, St. Paul, Minn.
Apiary John McDonald, Omaha.
Dairy F. A. Henninger, Omaha.
Horticulture Chas. F. Beindorff, Omaha.
Arch of States, Administration, Service, Hospital, Fire and Police, Transportation, Girls' and Boys', South Viaduct, Restaurants and Towers, North Viaduct, Kiosks, Band Stand, Colonnades, Electric Fountain, Arch of States Fountains, Lagoon Finish, Ticket Booths, etc. Walker & Kimball, Architects-in-Chief, BostonOmaha.
STATE BUILDINGS.
Nebraska .... Craddock & McDonald, Lincoln and Omaha.
Illinois and Annex .... Wilson & Marshall, Chicago.
Georgia .... Dunnavant & Thompson, Nashville and Omaha.
Iowa .... Josselyn & Taylor, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Wisconsin .... Ferry & Clas, Milwaukee, Wis.
Minnesota .... McLeod & Lamoreaux, Minneapolis, Minn.
New York .... Dunham Wheeler, New York.
Kansas .... John F. Stanton, Topeka, Kan.
Montana .... Leo Bonet, Omaha.
PHOTO BY RINEHART. COURT, FINE ARTS BUILDING.
HOW TO REACH THE GROUNDS.
OMAHA has an elaborate and efficient street car system. All its
lines are operated by electricity. South Omaha and Council
Bluffs are connected with Omaha directly by motor lines. Three
distinct motor lines reach the exposition grounds : cars via Sherman
avenue pass the Sherman avenue entrances; cars on the Twentyfourth street line pass the Twenty-fourth street entrances, and cars
on the Twentieth street line running via Twenty-fourth street reach
the grounds. In addition to these regular lines, on big days, and
whenever the travel demands it, cars make special direct trips from
Howard and Harney streets to the grounds. Cars leading toward
the exposition, but not running to it, transfer to the lines running
directly there. The Belt Line Railway, the Northwestern system
in Nebraska, and the Missouri Pacific Railway pass the grounds
going in and out of the city, and offer facilities for reaching and
leaving the exposition, independent of the street car system. Hacks,
carriages, carry-alls, and all sorts of vehicles carry passengers to
and from the grounds. Cars returning to the city will await visitors
at every exit from the exposition grounds. The street railway has
largely increased its facilities for the occasion, and cars run between
the city and the grounds on a one-minute schedule. The largest
crowds can therefore be accommodated without material delays.
THE INDIAN EXHIBIT.
CONGRESS has just set apart a special fund of
$40,000, to be expended in creating at Omaha
the rarest ethnological exhibition ever attempted in
this or any other land. Situated in the heart of the
American Union, within easy reach of all the remaining
great Indian reservations, it has bet-n possible here, at
comparatively slight expense, to gather upon the north
tract a show which would be possible nowhere else in
America. Sioux from the Dakotas, Omahas and Winnebagos from Nebraska, Sacs and Foxes from Iowa,
Chippewas from Minnesota, Kickapoos from Kansas,
Mandans from North Dakota, Crows, Blackfeet, Cheyennes and
Flatheads from Montana, Sheepeaters, Bannocks and Nez Perces
from Idaho, Yakimas from Washington, Utes from Colorado, Arrapahoes and Shoshones from Wyoming, Piutes from Nevada, Zunis,
Moquis, Navajos and Apaches from Arizona and New Mexico,
Diggers and Mojaves from California, Umatillas from Oregon, and
representatives from Indian Territory and Oklahoma of Creeks,
Chickasaws, Choctaws, Seminoles, Cherokees, Osages, Otoes,
Tonkawas, Kiowas, Comanches, Poncas, lowas, Quapaws, Delawares, Kaws, and other tribes and remnants of tribes congregated
in their wickiups, tents, tepees, wigwams and cabins, pursuing their
usual avocations and illustrating their dances, religious rites and
savage customs, make up a show unlike anything ever before
adopted as a drawing card for an exposition. Delegations from
every tribe in the Union will be on the grounds at one time or
another during the exposition. Each type will be exhibited in appropriate costume with weapons, utensils, industrial appliances,
ceremonial objects, burial structures and handiwork. Their
games, their solemn festivals, their peculiar customs and
their natural surroundings will be reproduced. In connection with
these illustrations of savage life, of aboriginal habits and customs, and
the paraphernalia of the plains, mountains, lakes and forests, their
homes, exhibits of their industrial advancement, their school work
and other incidents of their slow but sure movement toward civilization and enlightenment, will be prominent. The Indian Department
at Washington has placed at the disposal of the exposition its
facilities, office force and field employes for making up this notable
exhibit. The Indian Congress is undoubtedly the strongest, most
original and most interesting feature of the exposition. It is the
last opportunity of seeing the American Indian as a savage, for the
government work now in progress will lift the savage Indian
into American citizenship before this generation passes into history,
and the onward march of American civilization and American industry
will wipe off the maps of the United States the Indian reservation
and wipe off the face of the earth the reservation Indian.
The Indian Congress is a permanent feature of the Exposition.
THE AMUSEMENT SECTION.
AT no exposition has there been a greater variety or greater number of genuinely interesting attractions on the Midway. This feature of the great show occupies a portion of the bluff tract and a portion of the north tract. The two sections are connected by the north viaduct and each has its unique features, picturesque foreigners and novelties. A Chinese village, a Moorish village, a German village, a Flemish village and an English County Fair, are among the larger of this form of entertainment. On the west Midway are the streets of all nations, with a Greek theatre, Turkish bazaars, Assyrian swordsmen and wrestlers, camels, donkeys and the incidental attractions which make all these so attractive to American visitors. On the
On the east Midway are the Devil's Dance, Temple of Palmistry, the Moorish Maze, Illusion Palace, and a dozen other large and small entertainments well counterbalancing the attractions on the other side of the viaduct, the two combined Midways offering inducements to fun-seekers which can consume days and evenings most agreeably.
On both Midways and, in fact, in all parts of the grounds, are restaurants, lunch stands, refreshment halls and places .where the weary may rest, the fun-loving may laugh, and even the serious may be engaged at all hours from 8 A. M. till 11 P. M. The rules strictly prohibit the sale of intoxicants stronger than beer and wine, and all the places of resort are under the constant surveillance of guards, police and detectives. The Midway is instructive, amusing, refreshing and wholesome. The coarse features complained of at other expositions have been rigidly eliminated.
THE GREAT EXHIBITS.
WHILE every building contains much of interest, and no single great building can be systematically inspected in less than a day, some of the exhibits deserve more than passing mention. These are the Government, already described at length, the Agricultural, the Mineral, the Manufactures, the Liberal Arts, the Fine Arts, the Electricity, and the Transportation and Agricultural Implements.
The Fine Arts exhibit contains 600 pictures, every one a gem, and the whole a gallery of art which must gratify the taste and engage the attention of every lover of art. Some of the best works of the old masters grace the walls of this building, and among modern painters a most judicious selection has been made. With an art catalogue and an eye for the beautiful, any man or woman can employ a week profitably in this building. No person should allot less than a day to this exhibit.
The Mines Building, located near the eastern end of the Grand
Court, is an imposing structure, and in it there are displayed exhibits
illustrating the mining industry in all its phases, giving a comprehensive idea of the wealth of the mineral resources of the West.
Each large State, as represented by the State Commissioner, shows
in its own exhibit the characteristic resources of that particular State
in precious stones. For example, in Utah, the beautiful topaz, of
shades peculiar to that State, are shown, and various other mineral
gems, including the last discovered, "variscite," a peculiar opaque
green mineral, which will probably become as valuable as the turquoise, but it has never been found outside of the border lines of
Utah. New Mexico exhibits her unequalled resources in turquoise.
The 214 cut stones shown from one company, in addition to forty
pieces of the rough turquoise in its enclosing rock, contain among
them some of the most remarkable specimens of turquoise that have
ever been known, one of which has been polished for inspection
here since the opening day of the exposition. Far more important,
though scarcely more interesting, are the exhibits of gold and silver
in the Mining Building. The collection has been restricted so as to
make every specimen show some particular educational feature.
The collection of gold nuggets from Alaska gives a peculiar study,
not only to the characteristic shapes of Klondike nuggets, but of the
peculiar color of the gold from that region, in comparison with nuggets from California, Colorado, and other parts of the country.
Other gold displays, in the various States, are intended thoroughly
to demonstrate what great gold producers several of the States in the
West are, or are likely to become ; and, also, to enable students interested in such lines to become familiar with the various important
gold-bearing rocks. Further, two States bring with them ton lots of
low-grade gold-bearing placer dirt, to be panned out before the eves,
The exterior decorations of the Agricultural Building are characteristic of the exhibits within. Classic statuary, representing the
seasons, garlands of fruits and flowers, bas relief figures of bull's
heads and barn-yard fowls, with inscriptions appropriate to agriculture, adorn the pediments, panels and spandrels of this magnificent structure. Corn being King in the prairie States, naturally it
is used largely in the decorations, yet cereals of every kind are employed to good effect. Marked skill is shown in the friendly rivalry
by the different States in the graceful arrangement of exhibits.
Liberty bells, canopies, spinning tops, candelabra, flags, statues,
cornucopias and hour glasses in parti-colored corn, wreaths, festoons,
scrolls and arabesques of wheat, barley, oats and rye, make the
interior rich in design. A table spread with Nebraska food products,
surrounded by a family dressed in the latest style of corn-husk
clothing and seeds, attracts a great deal of attention. A cannon,
with ammunition of glass balls filled with grain, speaks "For Cuba,"
while near by a corn-blade American flag floats gracefully. Minnesota's flour and Nebraska's sugar beets, and the product therefrom,
show what prairie sunshine will draw from earth's dark laboratory.
Texan birds and butterflies of brilliant coloring lighten the sombre
effect of dark-haired animals; fruits from Utah, New Mexico, and
other States of the Southwest, give evidence of a growing industry
in semi-arid regions. A miniature electric railway meanders around
the exhibit, placed by one of the great trunk lines, showing
agricultural resources. Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana show their
magnificent products of forest and field. Iowa outdoes herself, and
Nebraska's counties set the pace for all other exhibitors. Pictures
of Western farm-life make a charming frieze, and the flag drapery
is particularly effective. Oregon's forestry display is, perhaps, the
most unique of all. Imagine a sawed log sixty-two feet long, sections
of trees six feet in diameter, and others less in girth, but finer in
grain, are there. Woods and grains show that Oregon is rich in
resources. And so it goes throughout the great building. The
agricultural and forestry exhibits are comprehensive and complete.
The Horticultural Building contains an exceptionally interesting exhibit. It stands in the south end of the Bluff tract, looking content and serene in its own matchless beauty. Park-like grounds flank the structure, which is by far the most ornate and highly decorated building in the grounds. The view from the front is delightful; a fountain plays softly into a basin surrounded by shrubbery, and beds of shaded, velvet pansies lying on the grass plots fascinate the eye. Inside the main rotunda is roofed by an enormous double dome, each surrounded by a circle of Corinthian pillars, forming the
imposing and striking effect of an arch within an arch. From the
middle of the space below the dome there rises an immense pyramid
of shrubbery. Splendid palms, feathery ferns and the prickly cactus
carry this miniature mountain well up into the dome, the whole surmounted by a stately century plant of extraordinary size. This
rotunda is entirely filled with a lavish display of the horticulturists
art, forming a beautiful and representative exhibit.
The great building devoted to manufactures is crowded with exhibits in infinite variety, measuring the rapid growth of the manufacturing industries throughout the West. There are many live exhibits of exceptional merit and interest, which engage the closest attention of visitors.
In the Electricity Building, the marvelous development of electric science is illustrated in a most fascinating manner. It must be remembered that since the World's Fair electricians have marched forward with remarkable strides, and the Trans-Mississippi Exhibition is, therefore, the greatest ever attempted.
In the Transportation Building, covering five acres, every style of vehicle and every appliance of modern rapid transit is illustrated. Not only so, but the development of the transportation idea, from the crude locomotives of the early inventors to the monsters of the Baldwin Work's, can be studied from actual examples. In the same building the agricultural implement manufacturers have arranged an exhibit of their machines and appliances superior to anything hitherto undertaken.
The seemingly endless array of exhibits in the Liberal Arts Building speaks volumes for the progress made in handicraft of every description, while the educational exhibits, which have been installed in the galleries, afford striking evidence of the fact that Western people are not unmindful of the importance of a thorough system of training for the children of the Trans-Mississippi country.
PARTICIPATION BY STATES.
PORTICO—ILLINOIS BUILDING.
THIRTY-SIX States and Territories have been allotted space for exhibits, either in their own structures or in the main Exposition Buildings. Many of these have special buildings upon the bluff tract, and several of the States are represented not only by special exhibits within their own domicile, but also occupy space in the Mines, Agriculture and Manufactures Buildings, not to speak of distinctive displays of their citizens in the Liberal Arts Building.
Nebraska, the home of the
exposition, naturally leads off with
the largest appropriation of funds
Iowa was the first of the Trans-Mississippi States to make an appropriation, and the building of that State stands alongside that of Nebraska. Iowa has a State exhibit in addition to representation in the principal buildings, and the western metropolis of Iowa, Council Bluffs, has erected a wigwam wherein to house exhibits from Pottawattamie County, and to receive and entertain visitors. Iowa appropriated $3 5,000 for exposition purposes.
Illinois, next to Nebraska, appropriated the largest sum for the exposition, her contribution being $45,000. Of this $20,000
Minnesota, a lumbering State, houses her State exhibit in a Swiss cottage, constructed of Minnesota logs. But she does more, for her resources are represented in the Agriculture Buildings and in the Manufactures Building, and individual Minnesotans are among the foremost exhibitors in the Agricultural Implement Building.
PHOTO OF RINEHART. MINNESOTA BUILDING.
NEW YORK BUTLDING.
New York, in her own building, makes a showing for her- manufacturers which is creditable to the imperial Eastern commonwealth.
Wisconsin, outside the realm called the Trans-Mississippi region, emulating the example of Illinois, has a delightfully attractive home on the bluff tract.
Georgia, with the Cotton Centennial fresh in her mind, expended $10,000 of State money in her building, composed of Georgia pine, and it attracts general attention.
Montana has a cosy little building, and occupies 2,000 square feet in the Mines Building and 1,000 square feet each in the Agriculture and Liberal Arts Build-ings. Her legislature appropriated $15,000; Marcus Daly gave a similar amount, and other enterprising citizens added considerable sums.
The Kansas Building is ornate and suitable, and the exhibits from this State will command attention in nearly all the buildings.
Oregon makes attractive displays in the Mines and Agriculture Buildings. Her State Building is also well worth visiting, and is among the most noteworthy and interesting in the States' group.
The State exhibits, outside the State buildings, are as follows : Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, California, Colorado, South Dakota, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Georgia , Washington, Texas, Illinois, Idaho, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Indian Territory and others. No portions of the great exposition are
worthy more
thoughtful attention than the exhibits of the States and
their State buildings. Only by visiting them can the
observer form a
proper conception
of variety and extent of resources of
the commonwealths
which compose our
greater West.
Hotel Facilities.
THE hotels of Omaha, Council Bluffs, and South Omaha can readily house and feed 50,000 visitors. The lodging houses and private dwellings open to guests, together with the numerous restaurants, lunch-stands and boarding houses, afford accommodations for another 100,000. Rates range from $5 per week for room and board to $4 per day. The houses offering entertainment near the grounds charge from 25 cents to $i per day for rooms, and meals can be had near by at from 15 to 75 cents each. A man and wife spending a week at the exposition will pay $i per day admission, $1.50 per day for room and meals; or say $25 for a week's sojourn. They can be even more economical if they choose. Many visitors are meeting all their expenses, including railroad fare, at a cost of $10 per person per week, and in some cases $7 per week. There need be no fear of a want of accommodations.
GEORGIA BUILDING.
KANSAS BUILDING.
MONTANA BUILDING.
PHOTO BY RINEHART. PRESS BUILDING.
The Press Building, which stands about a block north of the Administration Arch, is headquarters for visiting newspaper men and women. It is provided with work rooms, desks, typewriters, and every facility for working newspaper correspondents. On either side of the reception hall are telegraph offices, open day and night.
BOARD OF EDUCATION.
THE management and control of the congresses of philosophic and scientific societies, the educational features of the exposition as well as all branches of woman's work, has been assigned to the Board of Education, composed exclusively of women. The officers of the Board are as follows: President, Mrs. Winona Sawyer, Lincoln; Vice- Presidents, Mrs. Thos. L. Kimball, Omaha; Mrs. Kittie L. Dutton, Hastings; Mrs. Frank Johnson, Crete; Secretary, Mrs. Frances M. Ford, Omaha. The members of the board were chosen from prominent cities in Nebraska and Iowa, and the plan of its organization provides for an advisory council to consist of two women from each State outside of Nebraska. The board has charge of the exhibits of public schools, kindergartens, manual training and industrial schools, art schools, reform schools, and all schools of special instruction. The Boys' and Girls' Building, costing nearly $10,000, of beautiful design, was erected by the Board from funds contributed by school children of the Trans-Mississippi States. The woman's clubs of the West have taken up headquarters in the building.
OMAHA AS A RAILROAD CENTER.
FOURTEEN lines of railway converge at Omaha from all directions. Over eighty passenger trains arrive and depart each day, of which sixty are through trains.
The following is a list of the railroads entering Omaha:
Union Pacific.
Burlington & Missouri River Railroad.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul.
Chicago & Northwestern.
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha.
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific.
Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley.
Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf.
Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs.
Missouri Pacific.
Omaha Bridge & Terminal.
Sioux City & Pacific.
Wabash.
CITY HALL.
THE EXPOSITION CITY.
Omaha was founded in 1854. It is to-day one of the most important commercial distributing centers in the Central West.
U. S. census population 140,452.
Within the limits of Omaha there are 24J square miles.
There are 67 miles of well-lighted, well-paved streets; 600 miles of graded streets; 120 miles of sewers.
Original cost of public improvements, $10,026435; expenditures for 1897, over $400,000.
Omaha has 200 miles of water mains; pumping capacity 22,000,000 gallons daily.
Omaha's public buildings represent an investment of over $2, 500, 000.
Omaha is the third largest live stock market in America. Receipts for the year 1897 were: Cattle, 825,689; hogs, 1,594,038; sheep, 612,803; horses and mules, 6,632; total number of cars, 60,083.
Value of annual product of South Omaha packing houses, $75,000,000.
The smelting and refining works are the largest in the United States; annual output from $12,000,000 to $20,000,000.
Annual product of Omaha manufactories exceeds $80,000,000 in value.
There are 120 wholesale houses; aggregate capital, $10,000,000; total annual sales, $40,000,000.
Total clearings for 1897, as reported by the clearing house, $243,152,000.
Fourteen railways converge at Omaha; 80 passenger trains arrive and depart daily; five railways maintain headquarters at Omaha; the Burlington union depot now under construction will cost $400,000. There are 215 miles of telegraph wire; 1,000 of single telephone wire, 20,000 feet of cables, and 93 miles of pole lines; underground system of 48,000 feet of cables, 33,313 of trench, equal to 1,724 miles of single wire.
There are 95 miles of electric car lines, reaching all points of interest, Elmwood, Riverview, and Hanscom Parks, and the city of Council Bluffs. Omaha's public parks embrace 560 acres.
Total U. S. revenue collections for the six months ending December 31, 1897, $1,310,739.61.
Tax on distilled spirits in bond, $622,440.50.
Estimated custom duties collected at the port of Omaha during the last fiscal year, $736,117.15.
Eighty-six railway postal clerks report to the Omaha office.
Omaha is military headquarters of the Department of the Missouri; Ft. Crook, recently completed at a cost of $800,000, is garrisoned by eight companies; a large army supply depot is maintained in Omaha.
Omaha has fifty public and parochial schools, and eleven colleges; the public school buildings cost $1,500,000.
There are 120 church edifices and mission houses; aggregate Sunday attendance 30,000.
The public library contains 52,304 volumes. The art and curio col'ection, bequeathed by the late Byron Reed, is valued at $1,000,000.
Lininger art gallery is one of the most noted in the West.
The Coliseum has a seating capacity of 12,000. It is one of the largest convention halls in the United States.
DOUGLAS COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
