12th Jan.
Cxtcaco is the most wonderful city in the world, and it is going to have next _Yeat. the, most magnificent "World's ait' ever conceived by the most untrammeled. imagination. Chicago, of course, does" not pretend to compare with London in size, but London counts its age by. centuries, while Chicago has all been created within the past sixty years. It was the early French ex-blorers who first built a little fort which they called " Chicagou" on the shore of Lake Michigan, and later the American government built a fort there, and called it Fort Dearborn. In the war of 1812 the Indians, who were allies of the British, captured the fort and slew the retreating garrison. When the war! was over, the fort was re-established and a small village grew up round it, which was organised as a town in 1833 with 175 houses and 550 inhabitants. The rates in the first year amounted in all to $49. In 1838 a pulaver was held at Chicago with the Indians, who sold twenty million acres of land round Lake Michigan to the United States for £220,000. In 1837 Chicago had a population of 4,170, and became a city, rapidly increasing' in size and importance, until the population in 1890 was over a million, The great fire of 1871, which destroyed property valued at £40,000,000, is fresh in our memory. Who recovery from it was marvellous, and the city has now over 2,200 miles of streets and 50 of boulevards, while the city government this year will cost £3,200,000, the population being at Jeast 1,250,000.
But one of the great features of Chicago are its twenty parks, covering nearly 2,000 acres, of which over half are taken up by Washington Park, Jackson Park andthe broad Midway Plaisance, connecting them. 'This is the site of the great World's Fair, 1,037 acres in all, the chief buildings being in Jackson Park. 'The "World's Columbian Exposition," the peg on which it is hung being Christopher Columbus' discovery of America in 1492, is in charge of a Commission created by Congress. Itis composed of 106 leading men of the States, eight nominated by President. Harrison and two nominated by the Governors of each of the States and Territories. There is also a " National Board of Lady Managers," who are working hard to ensure a complete display..of women's work. The active management of the exposition is in the hands of a local corporation, whose directors are forty-five of the leading men of Chicago. Mr. W. T. Baker is the president of this body, and Mr. B. Butterworth the secretary, while Mr. George R. Davis is the director-general of the Fair. The exhibition is to be dedicated by President Harrison on the 12th of next October, and it is to be -opened to the public on the Ist of May, of October. There are~tobe twenty and is to be seen, farther, than the gs. Thecost -runs*into' tallest structure yet shown.at any many millions of dollars, thie total sain'; World's Fai required bein; g estimated at £8,525,091 sterling, whi!
lo the receipt sources are estimated at £4,119,088.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.