Turn again from the queen city of the ocean to the queen city of the lakes, where the day that followed the naval parade was also one of military and civic display. On this, the second day before the opening of the Fair, three out of the many arrivals in Chicago were the signal for such greetings of welcome as her citizens never fall to accord to those whom they delight to honor. These were the duke of Veragua, the president of the United States, and the liberty bell.
In the later morning hours the lineal descendant of the great discoverer, attended by his suite, with his wife, his son and heir, Cristobal Colon y Aguilera, and others of his family and kin, was received at the railway station by the Exposition authorities and conducted with due ceremony to the quarters prepared for his entertainment.
A few minutes after noon President Cleveland and party were met by
a committee of welcome, and with the more demonstrative welcome of an assemblage
gathered to do honor not only to the chief executive of the nation, but
to the citizen and the man. So cordial was his greeting that from the steps
of his carriage to the steps of his hotel he perforce remained with head
uncovered, in response to the salutations of the multitude.
With no less enthusiasm was received the
liberty bell (98KB JPG image), which, since from the tower of Liberty
hall were proclaimed its notes of freedom, had only twice before been removed-to
escape destruction
at the hands of the British and for display at the New Orleans Centenary
Exposition. After a circuitous and triumphal journey through Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, this much revered relic of revolutionary days
was drawn in procession by thirteen coal-black horses to its temporary
home in the rotunda of the Pennsylvania building.
The Monday following was the 1st of May, the date appointed for the opening of the World’s Columbian Exposition. The ceremonies were of the simplest, and may here be described with a brevity of phrase befitting the occasion. Before noon quarter of a million of people were gathered within the grounds, most of them around the Administration building, in front of which the exercises were to be held. Among the first of the invited guests to take their places on the grand stand were the foreign representatives, all in uniform resplendent with gold and lace, among which contrasted prominently with the rest the black silk robes with white trimmings in which the Coreans were attired. A little later came the vice-president, and after him a number of British officers and Fair officials. Presently the tuning of instruments by the orchestra intimated the approach of the presidential party, the applause which greeted their arrival being extended with no less enthusiasm to the descendant of Columbus, with his family and train, to whom place were assigned on the right of the nation’s representative. At a signal from the orchestra leader, Thomas, came the music of the Columbian march, the crash of its overture merging into a majestic hymn, and the hymn into an anthem, swelling at the close into the thunder tones of fortissimo.
Prayer followed by Doctor Milburn, and as his eyeless sockets were
turned heavenward in supplication all stood with uncovered heads. Next
was read by Miss Jessie Couthoui, attired somewhat in the fashion of ancient
Castile, and with headdress of Spanish lace entwined with the colors of
Aragon, a poem entltled "The Prophecy," composed for the occasion,
and followed by Wagner's overture to Rienzi. Two speeches only were delivered,
the director-general reviewing the history of the Fair, and, as he concluded,
inviting the president to set in motion the machinery of the Exposition,
with motive and lighting power sufficient for all this vast display of
industrial processes. Stepping to the front of the platform, as soon as
the acclaim which greeted his presence would permit, the president delivered
an address (148K JPG image) of which not the least commendable feature was it’s brevity.
He concluded with the following words: "Let us hold fast to the meaning
which underlies this ceremony, and let us not lose the impressiveness of
this moment. As by a touch the machinery that gives life to this vast Exposition
is now set in motion, so at the same instant let our hopes and aspirations
awaken forces which in all time to come shall influence the welfare, the
dignity, and the freedom of mankind." As the final words were spoken,
his hand rested for a moment over the spot where, amid the drapery of the
national colors lay a golden key and a small ivory knob. Then with a gentle
pressure on the button, all the ponderous machinery of the Fair was set
in motion as at the touch of a magician's wand. The fountains and sculptured
groups of the central court shot forth their spray of silver; side by side
with the colors of the United States was unfurled the banner of the Spanish
admiralty, and the strains of the national anthem, rising at times above
roar of acclaim and salute announced to the world the opening of its Columbian
Exposition.
Of the general features of the Exposition, of its manifold attractions and its few shortcomings, of its grounds and buildings, its artists and artificers, with the story of its evolution, its construction, and management, enough has been said in these the introductory chapters of my work. Be it now my task to describe, so far as pen and picture may, each of its departments and subdivisions, its groups and classes, together with the homes in which they are housed. This I shall endeavor to present without prolixity of detail, without elaboration of technical and tedious description, and in the briefest of phrase that consists with the magnitude of my theme.
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