People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 October 1893 — THE LAST DAYS. [ARTICLE]

THE LAST DAYS.

: How th* Clo«* of the Fair I> to B« Ob•orved—Over *0,000,000 Admissions. Chicago, Oct 26.—The World’s Columbian exposition will go ont of existence in a blaze of glory. The programme for closing day has been reported to the joint committee on ceremonies, and with a few additional suggestions was adopted. The ceremony will begin at sunrise and conclude at (night with a grand pyrotechnical the like of which has never before been undertaken. During the hours intervening an elaborate programme worthy of the occasion will be executed and the day will go down in history as Columbus day. At sunrise the national salute will be fired on the lake front, awakening the city on the last day of the fair. Again at noon the same guns will boom a greeting, and at sunset for the third time the salute will be fired. The next event on the programme will be the lauding of the great discoverer, Christopher Columbus. Standing on the bow of the Santa Maria he will hail the new land, Where he will make the landing is not yet decided upon, but it will be where the greatest number of people can see. This spectacular event will be followed by the departure of the caravels for Spain, a period of years being supposed to elapse between the two events. While this sight is being witnessed by thousands of persons on the lake front preparations for the daylight fireworks will be in progress near by. The display will be seen between 12 and 1 o’clock, but the details have not been learned. It will be something new and will be one of the attractions of the day.

At 2:30 o’clock, however, the event of the day will take place when the men who made the exposition will close it. The ceremony will take place in Festival hall. The time will be so arranged that the exercises will be over before sunset so that all may assemble on the plazas and other place® where a viewof the grounds can be had at the moment the national salute is fired. At that moment the flags that float over the world’s fair will be lowered, for the last time, all at once, as on opening day they were thrown loose to the breeze at a signal given by President Cleveland. At 7:80 o’clock the electric lights will illuminate the grounds, the fountains will play and an effort will be made to have the illumination on the last night more wonderful than the regular displays. An hour after the grand court has been illuminated the wooded island, clothed in its autumnal gown.awill be a blaze of glory. Fairy lamps, electric lights and every possible contrivance for the beautifying of the grounds by fire will be called into service. At the same tirqe the pyrotechnical displays will begin on the lake front, in the grand court and in other parts of the grounds. All hope of extending the period of the exposition beyond October 31 vanished after Tuesday night’s meeting of the executive committee. For three hours its members discussed every phase of the question and ended by adopting a report submitted by Director of Works Burnham and the director general which notes the expiration of most of• the contracts necessary toward prolonging the exposition after the gates close October 31. Visitors will be admitted to the grounds between the hours of 8 a. m. and 6 p. m., the buildings closing at 4 p. m. It is left to the director general to designate what buildings may be entered by visitors. All the night shows are cut off. The electric lights with the exception of those in the Administration and Woman’s buildings will be discontinued. The fountains will cease to play and there will be nothing left of interest except the exterior ,of the buildings and the sight of track laying and removal of exhibits. The price of admission, it is understood, will remain as at present , The demolition committed submitted an extended report, which was adopted, and the South park commissioners are asked to extend the time of removal of the buildings one year from that designated in the South park ordinance. The directors want until May, 1895, to clear off the buildings in the north end of the park and until May, 1896, to remove those in the south end and the Midway Plaisance. Chicago, Oct. 26.—The 20,000,000 mark of paid admissions to the world’s fair was passed on Tuesday. The admissions for the day were 243,463, making the grand total since May 1, 20,195,271. The end is not yet, for the people are still coming in large numbers. There are six more days of the fair and they will be all big days, too. Superintendent Tucker, who has demonstrated that he is pretty good at guessing, is hopeful that these days will add enough to the total of paid admissions to make it 22,000,000 when the flags are furled next Monday evening and the World’s Columbian exposition’s benediction is formally pronounced by the powers that be.