Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 December 1884 — OPENING THE EXHIBITION. [ARTICLE]

OPENING THE EXHIBITION.

One Electric Touch in the White House Thrills Hew Orleans with Delight. I The President Opens the World’s Fair by Telegraph, and Hakes a Fitting Address. Speeches in the Exposition Building, and Official Welcome—The Ponderous Wheels in Motion. [New Orleans special.] The day for the opening of the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition dawned clear and pleasant, and nothing was left undone to make the opening ceremonies brilliant and imposing. Never before have the streets of the city been crowded with people as to-day. Every incoming train is loaded down with visitors, and the beetle and tnrmoil as they hurry oft in search of accommodations reminds one of the scenes during the Centennial in Philadelphia. Already the hotels are full, and great difficulty Is experienced in obtaining good quarters. The city presents a gala appearance. The bnildings along the principal streets are profusely decorated. Flags, banners, bunting of all colors and decorative designs have b en tastefully arranged along the house fronts, while at many of the more prominent street corners triumphal arches hav -been erected. In the vicinity of the Exposition Bnildings the scene this morning was one of great activity. Men and boys were hurrying to and fro, while Inside the exhibitors or their representatives were busily engaged in superintending the finishing touches for the formal opening. As early as 8 o’clock the military and civic bodi. s who were to take part in the procession of the day began to form at the armories, and several detachments of the visiting militia paraded the streets headed by their bands, who played stirring airs as they marched to the places which they propose to make their headquarters during their stay. It is estimated by good judges that fully -60,000 strangers are in the city. Shortly after 10 o’clock the procession, composed of the officers of the Exposition, commissioners of foreign countries, the United States Government, and several States, and distinguished visitors and citizens, formed and began the march to the levee, where was moored the magnificent steamer Fred A. Blanks, draped in all the colors of the rainbow. The procession marched aboard the Blanks, which swung out into the stream and headed for the lower limits of the corporation so as to traverse the entire length of the city on the trip up the stream, giving those aboard a view of the entire shipping moored along the fifteen miles of river front. Beaching the lower end of the city the Blanks turned and sped up the stream, her course along the route being a signal for salutes from the war ships and ocean vessels and the screaming whistles of the steamboats. Every vessel was tastefully decorated with flags, and the crews on the decks and in the rigging cheered as the Blanks passed. The boat landed at the Exposition wharf at noon, and the party proceeded to the Music Hall, in the main building, where the opening ceremonies were held. When the procession reached the building the 11, 000 seats fir the hall were almost filled by persons who had started for the park before the procession moved, while thou-s-inds congregated in groups around the vast auditorium.

When the Exposition officers and commissioners had taken their places on the platform the orchestra struck up the “President’s March." The reception of Gov. 8, L. McEnery followed, and the orchestra Alayed national airs. The Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, of Brooklyn Tabernacle, then offered prayer, at the conclusion of which Governor McEnery began the opening address. The Governor referred to the magnitude of the Exposition and the benefit it would hbflfefc on the whole country, especially‘the Sooth, to whom international expositions had hitherto been unknown, and expressed the belief that the intercourse of people from the different sections of the country would bring the States closer together, socially and politically, than they had been for a third of a century. The Exposition poem of Mrs. ' Mary Ashley Townsend .(“Xariffa”) was then read, at the conclusion of which Mayor J. V. Guiliotte welcomed the visitors to the Crescent City, promising them courteous and fair treatment by her citizens. Director General Major Ev A. Burk then presented the Exposltiofi biiQdings to President Ed Richardson in a brief address.' Colonel Richardson in turn presented'tjje'traiidings to President Arthur by telegraimt A telegraphic response was received and read from the President officially announcing the opening of the Exposition. The machinery began to move slowly, followed by the whirr of two miles ot shafting. Governor McEnery then received the commissioners and distinguished visitors amid*a burst of national airs from the orchestra, and the proceedings came to a close. ;

While the building is not entirely completed, and while half the exhibits are,not yet arranged, still as much progress 'has already been made as at any international exposition on opening d>y. The management has usetj every endeavor to push the work asjfsst as possible, and the delay has been rather the fault of the exhibitors than of officials. Everything was in ■ readiness for the former, and they simpiy did' not take advantage of. it. Great delay, however, was caused by a blockade of railroads. Many hundred cars, of exhibits have not yet reached the grounds, the jam being especially heavy on the Illinois Central and Louisville and Nashville. These cars will be brought in rapidly, and by the time the holidays are over everv- ; thing will be in complete order. In the main i building one third of the space is as yet unoccupied, but exhibitors are putting up their plat- ! forms rapidly. Those displays complete represent every conceivable article of manufacture, 1 from a needle to the mammoth Harris-Corliss engine. All the displays are tasty, and many ■ ’ are elegant and rich. j- The space for foreign exhibits in this building is almost entirely vacant. This is caused by the , rigid enforcement of customs regulations. 1 Over a thousand tons qf goods of the loom are lying in bonded warehouses and aboaid ships, although the management used every endeavor to secure a of the customs rules, and the usual formalities attending the entry of imports, and, although they were seconded by customs officials here, and the Treasury Department at Washington seemed willing to make some concessions, only last night Collector Badger received an order from Secretary McCulloch to allow all articles intended for the exhlb t to be sent to the grounds immediately without being disturbed in any way. Bond swill be requiredjon small articles of great value, which will be given by the Exposition management. Under the order all .foreign exhibits will be immediately sent to the grounds in bonded barges and rapidly arranged in their departments. A large num her of arrivals from Europe will not reach here until the arrival of the steamer Great Eastern, which sails from London on Friday. These latter are expected to be in position early in January. By far the largest and most interesting of foreign exhibits will be that of Mexico, and their building has just been completed, caused by a delay in the iron work at Pittsburg. In the Government Building there seems to have been unreasonable delay on the part of the commissioners and owners. The United States exhibit is a magnificent one. but is not yet complete. The Smithsonian Institution and geological department are well advanced, and very little can be added to them. Almost every arrival of prehistoric times and the P' esent day is seen in the former's space, from the mammoth that occupies a large portion of the gallery to the smallest hsh. The Patent Office is represented by thousands of models, some of which are novel’ and Interesting. The State Department is const! ucting a largo glass globe, which will represent the world in miniature, both from inside and exterior. It will be transparent, and one standing within will have a bird's-eye view of the entire globe, its commerce, its population, etc. The Navy Department has a very creditable exhibit, though not as yet completed. Here are seen models of every class or vessels, and defensive and offensive armament. A large portion of this space is filed by articles brought back from the arctic regions by the Greelv relief party. These attracted more attention than any other single exhibit. Ami ng them were the suits worn by the men, sledges, sleeping bags, and canvas cases for provisions, with the sailboat of the party.

Some of the State exhibi r are complete, some in an embryo sta'e. and others not begun. In the second class is Illinois. Her display is being rapidly pr ssed, however, and will be complete in less than a wee c. Ohio is building a beautifully constructed skyblue bobbinet, interspersed with stars, an exceedingly fine effect being produced, the domes being a picture of the heavens >.s mirrored in a sheet of water. The States presenting the fluest displays are Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey: all of New England, except Connecticut; Indiana, Nebraska, California,and Dakota and Wyoming Territories. All of these present every product of their soils, mines, and waters. Most of the other States are far behind, notably New York an 1 Pennsylvania. Loui-t----ana and Mississippi, perhaps, show the moßt resources, and surprised the best-informed of their citizens.

The mineral display from the Western and Pacific coast States could not be finer or more complete. Every product of mines in the shape of ores and metals is shown. The finmt and most picturesque display in this building is that of the Chicago, Milwaukee <fc St. Paul Railroad. In a large Swiss chalet built of sheaves of grain, with ornaments of corn in the eaty, is every vegetable raised in the vast section of country through which the road passes. The art gallery was not completed in sufficient time to admit of the hanging of pictures, which, however, are at the grounds and will be put up in a week. The art collection is said to be exceedingly fine, containing gems of the best artists, and connoisseurs declare it will equal any ever exhibited. Horticultural Hall is a Garden of Eden. Every flower, seed, and plant of the tropics and temperate zones is seen. Even in its present stage nothing can compare with it ever before presented. Altogether, while the Exposition is not yet in as complete order as its management and its friends desired on opening day, it wiR fully repay a trip across the continent. One cannot see exhibits now presented in a day, or even in a week. The first day leaves the visitor’s mind in a whirl, and he passes over so mnch spaoe that he really does not know what h; has seen. Booths that would hold the attention for an hour, if standing alone, are passed unnoticed in a vain attempt to cover the mammoth buildings at a single visit. It was never expected that a stream of visitors would set In until after the holidays, and the attendance today was exceedingly gratifying. Fully 26,000 attended the ceremonies in the main build: ng, and many thousand more were scattered about the grounds. Several lines of cars and steamboats conveyed the crowd to and from the grounds, with much less crush than was anticipated, the waiting at no time becoming tedious. It is generally admitted, however, that the accommodations are not yet sufficient, and by the middle of January a double-track road, with large passenger coaches, wiH be ready for the public. Visitors to-day showed no disappointment at the incomplete state of the work, but, on the contrary, those who attended the opening of the Centennial expressed surmise at the progress made and the smoothness with which things were conducted. They say in two weeks the Exposition will be what the management has olaimed—the grandest international fair ever held. The greeting of Major Burke, the Director General, by the vast audience, was spontaneous, hearty and long continued. He had to pause ten minutes before the applause subsided, and it was a fitting tribute to the man who had worked eighteen hours a day for six months to make the affair a success, attending to every detail of work. Subordinates did nothing that had not his supervision, and to his efforts are due the present advanced condition of affairs.