THE EXPOSITION CITY.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 July 1915, Page 2

THE EXPOSITION CITY.

NEW ZEALAND'S EX1111!ITS. (By (i. 'P. Ann.-,!roil-;). ..'.:].'.j;il;-i, I hi' Yi'.riir.u nat.ionalit ie-; and 'l'onnv.eniatives which constitute the greatest e.vaosition that the States has 'held, New' Zealand has probablv he lc.a-t in the city of California.' bat uot.v'iti'asta.ntling that she lias made a great show, ami having gained marly : PiO awards has proved to the people lien' ttat she can not only f,row tin; stud, Imil that quality is'al.-o there. The 'poiitlon of ei'imnissioner has been no sinecure, as Mr. K. Clifton lifts found, mid ihe and .liU assistant (.Mr. M. O'.rfrioii) have been kept exceptionally busy «in.c coining hero. It was not the work which was outlined for them in Now Zealand, but the thousand and on-.' things which trapped up 'here, and the Yankee, way in which they were ex-pc.-led to he. dealt with. .Mr. .Clifton, however, has [proved himself equal to the etca'sion, and one hears him spoken of as having'handled all his affair* with the greatest tact, and he ha,s gained the respect and confidence of those commissioners of other countries with whom he lias been requested to net in eoniietio.n with awards outside of his own pavilion. Airs. Clifton has been of great assistance at the court, and her charming niiinncr has ingratiated her with all the callers who have ,pa.rfcu.kon of her ki'.id (hospitality. THE GREAT SHOW.

In a country'where everything is big, it is only to be expected that the aim of 'the promoters of the Panama Exposition was to eclipse everything that ever was. They have covered an area oi (i;!'i acres, costing ton 'million pounds fir fo-ma'tic'ii and building, while the 70.000 exhibit", are valued at over two ui'.'.jlon poiinda. They are .shown in eleven palaces, and to go through all the avenue, one would 'have to traverse fifty miles. It is ."itir.prW.ng the art which is to be scon if. one 'has the time to look for it, but it 'is rpen to doubt if it is appreciated, owing to the quantity and ti'.io space which it covers. Ttie 'industrial, produce and machinery palaces (as they are called) attract .most attention, <but people who 'have visited impositions in the States and other countries appear to exipoct miore in the way of inventions than what ha.s been .presented to them.

There are numcrou". side shows in what is eal'ed "the zone" area,, and many have already censed to show as a result of having to pay heavy rents. The most noteworthy of those having a good run is "The Pa:muna Canal." which covers five aeres, and is considered a great engineering feat, in wihi h two .million feet of lumber was used to construct the ciuial and huildi>ng. a.nd 217 tons rif cement. A good idea is given of the Panama railroad train, city of Colon, ftatun locks, Darien wireless station, and the city of Panama. In order to see tt'hm .miniature i-a.nal one is se'.ted in a. revolving auditorium, equipped with a duplex telephone receiver, througu 'which he gets a. continual lecture as the trip is made, and although there may be 1000 people seated at once, the .lecture 'heard corresponds with the object in front of the spectator, which is a novel combination of the telephone and sixty .phonographs. This is the first cession that a moving platform has been attached to the phonograph aval telephone, a.nd the next move -will be to have a train similarly attached.

HIGH TARIFF. When the exposition opened the hotels at once, put up their rates, and even a new'hpaiper raised the' price per copy. This had a wonderful effect upon the public after the first month, so much so that si,ores of places 'became almosr empty, and there Avaa a big drop in the exposition attendance. When the local owners of hotels and apartment houses i'oal:.vod what iwa.s the matter they came doivai to normal, and now a. room at an hotel with a private bath is to be had for a dollar a. day or four dollars a week. Of course at the -host hotels a rc<.m for a nighlt costs up to five or .ftiv. dollars. In apartment a-riil private houses 'l-ooniß mav be. had from t'lrre dollars a week, where a kitchenette is attached wdtih a gas sfcove, so that light meu'ls may tie prepared. Thus the cost of Jiving has been minimised, and visitors don't seem as if they are being fleeced all the time.

THE WAY OF THE MILLIONAIRE. "Money makes the mare go" is a well known phrase,, and it seems that those with the biggest cheques have had their own way in locating the exposition grounds. A numibcr of local people wanted the show in the Golden Gate Park, wihilc a few wanted it along the water-front. In order to have it in the latter jjkue a great deal of reclamation wo:k wits to be done, and a questionable area was a!.-o to ibe swept away. A few .millionaires held interests along tlic seii-frout, and 'by out other voices they bad their way, and their propci'Ces will be enhanced to the tune of about, a million pounds. Inconsequence of this a muriW of bit-inoss people have declined to even visit the -how.

WILL IT PAY? Nearly . very vi.-iter a-';- in a ca-aal way if it will pay. and the general iv•j«!v is that those who have put moucv klio it will not sie ii a ".■*.:n. It is contended that even if the war had not proposition, as there is not the nopu'a- :'. return of the moiiev expended oil su.-h an u,n.li"'ta.!;i'.'. Had i; l.eeii in the centre of the State of New York Ihe T''e po:>'.i'at:o:i v.Hhin a radius of 2(1 ai"i the promote..-', want an attendance of one million n month |„ make it. pay. which means that a. la rue number of vi,i;or-. are needed to :o-M. the local p. H'dis.