262 



EXPOSITION, INTERNATIONAL COTTON. 



From the beginning, the newspaper press in 

 almost every State in the Union gave its 

 powerful aid in making known the purposes 

 of the enterprise, and setting forth the vast 

 benefits, social as well as industrial and com- 

 mercial, which must nere-sarily result from an 

 exhibition which would bring together the 

 representative men of the great industries of 

 the Union, which would display to the North 

 the almost limitlc-^ resources of the Southern 

 > ; which would show the South the ainaz- 

 in_ r inventive- genius and mechanical skill of 

 th.' Northern States; and which, manifesting 

 the interdependence of North, South, East, 

 and West, would tend to obliterate the recol- 

 lections of civil strife and contention, and re- 

 new those ties of fraternity and good-fellow- 

 ship which should unite Americans, to what- 

 ever geographical section they may belong. 

 "The grand central idea of the exposition," 

 said Mr. Kimball, "the main shaft to which 

 has been belted every wheel that has worked 

 for its success, is concentrated in the one word, 

 4 improvement' improvement of the knowl- 

 edge of the people as to the great resources at 

 their command, as to the best implements and 

 machines which inventive genius has contrived 

 for their development ; as to the most approved 

 methods of converting crude wealth into refined 

 wealth; as to the avenues of labor through 

 which they might march out of the bondage of 

 poverty into the freedom of industrial, commer- 

 cial, and financial prosperity; and, better than 

 all else, improvement of the fraternal and pa- 

 triotic spirit that is becoming to a people of 

 a common heritage and a common destiny." 



Preparations. All the space had been ap- 

 plied for and allotted before the opening day ; 

 but, when that day arrived, there were piles of 

 bales and boxes unopened and unarranged, 

 owing somewhat to the dilatoriness of exhibit- 

 ors, usual on such occasions, and somewhat to 

 the inability of the railroads to forward them 

 as rapidly as they were consigned. The unex- 

 pected number of applicants for space at the 

 last moment made it necessary to provide in- 

 creased accommodation. The managers gen- 

 erously preferred to inconvenience themselves 

 rather than exclude any exhibitors. Thus, 

 there was much work to be done for a month 

 after the official opening, and during that time 

 the buildings and the exhibition had an un- 

 finished appearance; but the goods were put 

 in position with wonderful rapidity, the work 

 of the carpenters was pushed forward by day 

 and night, so that even the early visitors were 

 not disappointed, or the general effect of the 

 show much impaired. Too much praise can 

 not be given to the managers and their assist- 

 ants, for the energy, zeal, and system which 

 they manifested in the execution of the ardu- 

 ous and complex task which they had under- 

 taken. Although none of them had any pre- 

 vious experience in the direction of such an 

 enterprise, their good judgment, unwearying 

 devotion, earnest desire to please, calmness and 



good temper, in the countless details of their 

 work, received the grateful applause of ex- 

 hibitors and visitors. 



The Opening. The exposition was formally 

 opened by Governor Alfred II. Colquitt, I'IVM- 

 dent, on the 5th of October, 1881, in presence 

 of all the high officials of the State, a number 

 of distinguished visitors, and a vast concour-e 

 of people, accompanied by some military pomp. 

 After prayer by the Right Reverend Robert 

 W. B. Elliot, Bishop of Texas, addres-c> wciv 

 made by Governor Colquitt, Senators Z. B. 

 Vance, of North Carolina, and 1). W. Voor- 

 hees, of Indiana, and Mr. II. I. Kimball, of 

 Georgia. Immediately after the conclusion of 

 the addresses the engines were set in motion 

 by Governor Colquitt, Senator Brown, and 

 Senator Vance, the exposition was declared 

 to be formally opened, and the fact announced 

 to the public by the firing of a salute by a bat- 

 tery of artillery. 



Buildings and Grounds. The site selected 

 for the buildings, etc., was Oglethorpe Park, 

 the property of the city of Atlanta, covering an 

 area of between forty and fifty acres, situated 

 about two miles from the center of the city, on 

 the line of the Western and Atlantic Railroad, 

 well laid out and cultivated, and previously 

 used for the fairs of the State Agricultural 

 Society, and of local associations of a kindred 

 character. The close vicinity of this park, its 

 capacity, and its easy accessibility by train and 

 a line of street-cars, gave it advantages pos- 

 sessed by no other site that could have been 

 obtained. The main building, in the form of 

 a cross, planned for a model cotton-mill, and 

 constructed of very heavy timber, was 720 feet 

 long by 400 feet wide, admirably lighted and 

 ventilated, supplied with ample steam-power, 

 consisting of three engines in the main build- 

 ing and one in the agricultural annex, and 

 eight lines of shafting arranged for the opera- 

 tion of all sorts of machinery. It was trav- 

 ersed in its length and breadth by wide aisles, 

 the total length of which was eleven miles, 

 on either side of which, and in the center, the 

 exhibits were displayed. Besides this main 

 building, but connected with it, there were: 

 1. A hall, called the " Agricultural Annex," 275 

 feet by 100, in which the agricultural imple- 

 ments and machinery were exhibited ; 2. A 

 building known as the " Carriage Annex," 210 

 feet by 100, devoted to the display of carriages, 

 etc. ; 3. Two buildings, set apart for the ex- 

 hibit of minerals and woods, the respective di- 

 mensions of which were 200 by 150 feet, and 

 100 by 50 feet. Overlooking the main build- 

 ing on the north side of the grounds was the 

 Art and Industrial Hall, 310 by 55 feet, open 

 to the roof 50 feet high, with wide galleries, 

 reached by convenient staircases, devoted to the 

 exhibit of works of art and all sorts of man- 

 ufactured goods. Close to the Art Hall was 

 a commodious room, 112 by 88 feet, called the 

 "Judges' Hall," capable of seating 2,000, used 

 for the meetings of the judges, and for the vari- 



