--- selection of the site and struggles for power ---
It was not without many difficulties that matters were pushed forward to the point where ground could be broken, and the actual work begun of preparing for the great event. Foremost of all came the question of site, for which there were several competing locations, the supporters of each urging their claims with such persistence that for months the local board was overwhelmed with propositions. The first considered was the portion of the lake front between Madison street and Park row; but to prepare it for the required purposes would involve serious expense and delay. Moreover, should the Fair be held at that point, much inconvenience would be caused by the overcrowding of streets. Next was proposed Jackson park; but this also would entail heavy outlay for filling and for the formation of lagoons. The northern part was already occupied as a public pleasure ground, and the remaining part was considered somewhat too remote from the business portion of the city. The third of the proffered sites was a section of Garfield park, with lands adjacent, much nearer to the business quarter; the fourth was a choice location of six hundred acres fronting on the lake, in the northern part of Lake View; a fifth was Washington park, a cultivated tract not far distant from the water front. All of these were rejected, and for reasons that will elsewhere be stated, the choice fell on Jackson park,(JPG image 132K) for the use of the unimproved portion of which an ordinance was passed by the park commissioners, with sanction of the state legislature.
No sooner was the site determined than the National Commission made its appearance, demanding certain changes and modifications to which the local directory was compelled to agree. Then came a dispute as to jurisdiction, the directors insisting on the control, so far at least as home exhibits were concerned, since through their efforts nearly all the funds had been secured, while the Commission claimed supremacy in accordance with the provisions of the congressional act, also on the ground that recognition would not otherwise be accorded by foreign powers. Had not the question threatened serious consequences, it would merely have been regarded as a ludicrous episode in the history of the Fair. The controversy originated in a disputed interpretation of the section in the act which provides that "the Commission shall generally have charge of all intercourse with the exhibitors and the representatives of foreign nations." By those who wished to curtail the powers of the Commission it was claimed that this restricted their authority to foreign exhibitors, leaving the local board in charge of all matters pertain domestic exhibits. If, it was urged, congress had intended to confer on the national body complete jurisdiction, then a comma would have been placed after the word "exhibitors," the remainder of the sentence being in the nature of an addendum, extending its control to foreign representatives. With such persistence was the contest waged as to threaten the vital interests of the Fair, and thus for a time did the fate of the World’s Columbian Exposition depend upon a punctuation mark.
Finally matters were adjusted by joint committees selected from the two parties, at whose suggestion was created a Board of Reference and Control, consisting of the president, vice-chairman, and six other members of the National Commission, to form with a similar committee, chosen from the local directory, a committee of conference, to whom all matters in dispute should be referred, and from whose decision there should be no appeal. Thus harmony was for a time restored, soon, however, to be disturbed by a special congressional committee, appointed to investigate the management of the Exposition, and to submit a plan for future administration. Its report presented to the house in January, 1891, was adverse to the National Commission, declaring that many of the functions and powers assumed were outside the purposes of the act, recommending its virtual abolition, and stating that the control of affairs should rest with the local directory, by whose members the funds had been raised. But apart from the friction and antagonism which it aroused, together with the strictures of press and public, no harm was wrought by this report, and on its recommendations, no further action was taken by congress.
When the National Commission was organized, the executive committee, consisting of thirty members, was found to be too unwieldy an organization for prompt and decisive action. Here was an additional reason for transferring its power to the Board of Reference and Control. Even the latter was too cumbersome for practical purposes, with sessions held at long intervals, and other embarrassing difficulties arising from the want of a vigorous executive force, such as would solve without delay the ever-recurring problems calling for instant action. Hence it was determined to organize the management anew, in the shape of a smaller body that should hold continuous sessions, and whose jurisdiction should be absolute in all matters pertaining to the general administration of the Fair. Such action was indeed rendered necessary through the conflicting interests and prerogatives of the several parties in control, and through the near approach of the opening day, with a vast accumulation of business still remaining on hand.
The new organization, styled the Council of Administration, consisted of four members, selected from both branches of the management, H. N. Higinbotham, and Charles H. Schwab representing the directory, and George V. Massey and J. W. St Clair the National Commission. On Mr. Higinbotham, president of the local board, was also conferred the presidency of the council.
While created nominally with absolute control, its proceedings were in measure subject to the approval of the Board of Control. It was also assisted by the committees of finance and of ways and means, the former attending to such matters as its name implied, and the latter to affairs relating to privileges and concessions from which revenues could be derived. (The term privileges relates to the sale of goods manufactured for the purposes of illustrating the process exhibited. Concessions refer to the disposal of goods and to special attractions from which the sole object is to secure a profit.) One effect of this measure was to abolish most of the committees of the directory; another was a saving of expense; and the third that the affairs of the Exposition were for the first time conducted with harmony, simplicity, and dispatch.
While the director-general was empowered to treat with all exhibitors, there was also created for this purpose a department of Foreign Affairs, with authority to open direct communication between the Exposition authorities and the representatives of foreign nations. The chiefs of other departments, by whom were granted allotments of space to American exhibitors, were likewise empowered to correspond directly with foreign commissioners, should their applications be referred to them by the director-general of the department of Foreign Affairs. Individual exhibitors would, after the opening day of the of the Fair, receive their instructions from the chief in whose department their exhibits were made, and through him, from the director-general. But as to the management of the Fair, a more detailed description will be given in another section his work. Let us return for a moment to the proceeding of congress as to Exposition affairs, for in the welfare of that enterprise the national legislature manifested a fatherly interest, though as to the matter of appropriations appearing somewhat in the role of step-father. In February, 1892, a resolution was adopted by the house that, whereas further appropriations were asked, in addition to those already made, the "committee on appropriations is hereby ordered to inquire and report to the house whether those obligated and undertaking and now engaged to do so, have justly and properly compiled with the requirements of the act of congress approved April 25, 1890, and whether all expeditures of whatever character for said Exposition have been judiciously made."
Whatever may have their errors of administration, certain it is that "those obligated" did not fail to render a complete and itemized statement of all expenditures, from the outlay of millions on grounds and buildings, to the wages of a temporary janitor, the cost of a door mat, and the price of a dozen cuspidores. By William 'I'. Baker, president of the Board of Directors, it was stated that the total receipts from all sources, to the 1st of March, 1892, were $5,106,181, with resources available from the balance of stock subscriptions and of the appropriations of the city of Chicago amounting to $5,713,051. The entire expenditure to that date was $3,860,935, and the indebtedness or liabilities under the various contracts, $4,692, 724. Nothing had been received in the way of loans or donations from private individuals; nor was there any incumbrance, direct or implied, on the property or receipts of the Exposition, which was free from debt, except for the amounts due to contractors as the work progressed. By the chief of construction it was estimated that, apart from outstanding contracts, $7,726,760 would be required for the completion of the work on buildings and grounds, and for the maintenance of departments and operating expenses until the opening of the Fair about $700,000, making a total outlay, including the expenses and liabilities already incurred, of nearly $17,000,000. As will presently appear, these estimates fell somewhat short of the actual expenditure; but with the single exception of the Paris Exposition of 1889, this was the case with all the great world's fairs.
In its report, dated the 20th of May, 1892, the committee made only a few suggestions as to superior management and economy. The chosen site it stated, was ample in extent, embracing more than double the area occupied by the Centennial Exposition. The landscape effects would be singularly beautiful; the blending, of art with nature in excellent taste and perfect harmony, the interlacing of land and water forming a novel and attractive feature. The architectural display would present a striking and imposing aspect, while the spacious verdure-clad grounds, dotted with shrubbery and with forest growth, would complete the elements of a matchless panorama. The facilities for travel and transportation, both by land and water, would be equal to any demand that could be made upon them, and in a word, both as to design and execution, the Fair would be a worthy tribute to the ingenuity and enterprise of the wonderful city of the west. "In its scope and magnificence," the report concluded, "this Exposition stands alone. There is nothing like it in all history. It easily surpasses all kindred enterprises, and will amply illustrate the marvellous genius of the American people in the great domains of agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and invention, which constitute the foundation upon which rests the structure of our national glory and prosperity."
As the result of the investigation, instead of a loan of
$5,000,000 applied for by the management, congress voted half that
sum as a gift, in the form of 5,000,000 souvenir coins with
commemorative inscriptions, the remaining half to be realized,
as was anticipated, from premiums on their sale. Even that amount
was contributed with reluctance, after much discussion, and only it
would seem, as an inducement to close the Fair on Sunday.
To this condition, obnoxious as it was to a large portion of the
community, injurious to the financial interests of the Exposition,
and especially distasteful to the millions residing in Chicago and its
neighborhood, who could attend the Fair on no other day, a strong
opposition was made, but it was not until long afterward that the
matter was determined in court. The parsimony of the national
legislature in its contributions to the Chicago Fair and also to the
Centennial Fair, for which a loan of $1,500,000 was the only
appropriation, is somewhat in contrast with the policy of foreign
governments, by nearly all of which their exhibitions of industry,
science, and art have been liberally supported, and many of them
entirely supported with the people's funds.
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