Iowa Day at Expo. Breaks the Record

 

IOWA DAY AT EXPO. BREAKS THE RECORD

Ten Thousand Enter the Gates the First Hour, and the Street Cars Are Severely Taxed All the Forenoon by the Crowds.

Eloquent Speeches at the White City—Addresses of Governor Shaw, President Wattles and Congressman Cousins.

Time, who from an exhaustless urn pours round the world the never ending flood of men seemed yesterday to have placed the mouth of his pitcher directly over and upon the exposition grounds. They were never so suddenly and completely inundated with living streams of people as they were yesterday morning.

10,000 entered in the first hour after the gates were opened, and by noon the indication was that Iowa day would see the largest attendance so far at the big show. Doubt was ex-pressed that enough people were left in Iowa to do the chores.

Every railroad coming into Council Bluffs and Omaha had long morning trains and in several sections, packed full. Just as soon as the first detachment of visitors got to this side of the river they made an impression, and the street cars began to groan. The execursionists kept coming and the people of Council Bluffs had the notion, well carried out, that they would be on hand too. The influx from the Iowa side was by every known means of locomotion, railroad, street car, the Terminal line, and carriage. The Omaha Street Railway company had I not allowed itself to be fooled about the size of the crowd and had every car it owns on the tracks at an early hour. The greater part, of course, were put on the three lines running to the exposition. They had business right away and plenty of it, but the crowd up to 11 o'clock was just a little too big for them, notwithstanding the fact that they can carry to the grounds every hour 15,000. If there was on any car as it came along a space large enough for a human foot, that space was taken. The people just stood or corners at the intersection points and waited to be hauled northward. That they had sometimes to wait long was quickly noticed by the expressmen and there was a hurrying and skurrying to fit the wagons up into carryalls and then they came rattling to the congested points to get their loads.

3,000 AT ONE GATE FIRST HOUR.

And the ticket-sellers found out what a big crowd is. At the Twenty-fourth street entrance the people were backed up from toe ticket windows clear to the street. It was much the same way at the Sherman avenue entrance and at the Horticulture building entrance. The latter was the nearest way to the Iowa state building, and naturally fully one-half going out on the Sherman avenue line got off there. In the first hour 3,000 persons had passed in at this one entrance.

It presently appeared that it was the Fourth of July over again, and even better than that. Gatekeepers began talking about an attendance of 20,000. Then it went up to 40,000, and soon to 60,000.

By 10 o'clock the big reception room of the Iowa building was jammed so that one coulld hardly get through. A like fate speedily overtook the Government building, and directly the Pine Arts and other main court buildings and the Midway' began to feel it.

In fact, the grounds were covered with people. The Midway usually does not get well waked up until about noon. But was different this morning. It had, to get to business earlier. The various employes and the dancing girls who go it till midnight had to rub their sleepy eyes, don their garb and go at it, again.

IOWA BUILDING DECORATED.

At the Iowa building Secretary Chase and, the commissioners were busy. Guards at the deers handed out to every corner a button badge with the state building and tasty lettering on it. E. E. McElhinney, leader; Julia Jahnson, Fannie Crockett. Ida Jones, Ole Jahnson. Jennie Pool, Lynn Horner, Jessie Moorman, Emma Brooks, Bessie Ellsworth, Lura Hauser, Gilbert Jahnson. Belle Pool. Clara Williamson and Anna Jahnson. The girls, are arrayed in a smart uniform of blue and soon made themselves great favorites. As one listened to the pretty music, the fullness of the sounds made him feel that masculine lungs must be behind the horns.

An interesting feature of the building was the check room. It was piled high in about five minutes, although it is a large room. From the Iowa building the stream would overflow to the other state buildings, where every registry clerk was as busy as he could be, and to the Pottawattamie county wigwam. This was a delight to Superintendent Graham. He had been expecting it and had prepared for it. And those who went in here found a very handsome display. Several tons of grapes, as fresh and full as ever were seen, were attractively displayed by the Southwestern Iowa Grape Growers' association. One design was a cornucopia, much noticed and admired.

All of the Iowa commissioners are here save President Mallory and Mr. Erwin.

Thirty thousand of the button badges had been prepared. Souvenir programs were distributed at the same time. The program is a little pamphlet, a model of neatness and elegance. It has a full page half tone of Governor Shaw, and page cuts also of the state building, the exhibit in the Agriculture building and of the wigwam.

The building had been beautifully decorated. Broad festoons of the material [unclear]lors had been poured over the front [unclear].