CHAPTER XII.

TRANSPORTATION BUILDING.

Wonders in the Way of Railway Trains — An Object Lesson for Railroad Operatives — The Mahogany
Train of the Canadian Pacific Railway — The Most Costly and Magnificent in the World — Its
Engine Can Haul Ten Full Passenger Cars Sixty Miles an Hour — A Tremendous Engine From the
London & Northwestern Railway of England and a Handsome Train. This Locomotive Can
Haul Thirty of Its Coaches, Each Containing Six Passengers, Seventy-Five Miles an Hour — Its
Average Time Including Stops Fifty-Three Miles an Hour — Stevenson's Rocket on Exhibit — Also
the Albion and Sampson Built in 1838 — Also the Two First Engines Run over the Old Colony
Road in the Thirties- -An ther Old-Timer Built in England in 1831 and Last in Service in
Mississippi in 1890 — It Puffed and Whistled Sixty Years and Once Fell Overboard and Staid
under Water from 1868 until 1870— More Than Fifty Locomotives on Exhibition, Representing
the Baldwin and Other Works — Three From England, Three From Germany and Four From
France — The Baldwin Has an Engine That Has Made a Mile in 39 1-4 Seconds, or 92 Miles an
Hour — All of the Baldwin Locomotives are Jacked Up so That Their Engines May be Seen in
Motion— Nicaragua Canal Relief Map — Graphic Illustration of That Enterprise — Not More Than
$100,000,000 Required to Construct It— Excavation Already in Progress on the Atlantic End-
Great Exhibit of Bicycles — Pneumatics of All Sizes, Degrees and Conditions — The Old-Time
Bicycle Practically Unexhibited— Safeties All the Go— Pennsylvania and New York Central Exhi-
bit— Coaches, Buggies and Baby Carriages — Sledges, Carretas and Volantes — Marine Architecture
— Sedans, Palenquins and Cateches— The Transportation Building and the Department Chief.

REAT crowds gather daily around the numerous objects of
interest in the Transportation Building, from the thousand
dollar baby carriages up to the enormous locomotives used
upon many American and European roads of rail. Perhaps
that which invites as much attention as any other of its kind
is an engine which represents the highest type of locomotive
used on the London and Northwestern railway of England.
It dcesn'tlook anything like the American locomotive, but its
record for speed is far ahead of the railroad time-killers in
America. This locomotive is devoid of the trappings which
render symmetrical the American engine, but it is built in a
manner to split the air at the rate of seventy-five miles an hour. This
English locomotive has four drive wheels, each 7 feet il/2 inches in diameter. In
front and behind these wheels are two-wheeled trucks. To the casual observer it
would seem that the cylinders on either side of the locomotive are too small to per-
form great service. It is only when the observer steps in front of the locomotive
and sees under it a third and ponderous cylinder that he understands why the Eng-

330

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

ish locomotive can speed over the country at the rate of seventy-five miles an hout
and haul a train of thirty coaches.

The name of the English locomotive is " Queen Empress." Its big drivers
and their location with regard to trucks is similar to the Lord of the Isles, the old
locomotive which is being shown as a relic. The new type apparently sticks to the
old form. On the Queen Empress there is no " cow catcher," neither is there a
cab to shelter the engine-driver from sunshine or storm. He must stand on an
iron platform and direct his engine with the same lack of protection as character-
ized the locomotives built in the time of Richard Trevethick. The big locomotives

ENGLISH LOCOMOTIVE "S \MSON" MAD!

on the London and Northwestern make an average time of fifty-three miles an
hour, including stops. In some instances these stops are six minutes each. In ad-
dition to the Queen Empress and two passenger coaches, five covered freight cars
and an employe's caboose, which ran over the New York Central as a special fast
trainforthe Fair, and whichcameintojackson Parkoverthe BaltimoreandOhioroad,
there are in the London and Northwestern's exhibit full sized models of early and
famous locomotives. One is Stephenson's Rocket, which was constructed in 1829,
and the other, Richard Trevethick's road locomotive, which was built in 1833. This
latter was the first locomotive to which the principle of high pressure was applied.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

There are other old-timers that are never overlooked — the Albion and
Sampson, which came from Nova Scotia on flat cars operated by the Canadian
Intercolonial railroad. The Sampson was built near Darlington, England, in 1838.
The builder was Timothy Hackworth, grandfather of T. Hackworth Young, who is
in charge of the locomotive exhibit at Jackson Park. This engine was shipped at
once to Nova Scotia, where it remained in service until a few years ago. Like all
old-fashioned locomotives it is cabless and without a " cow catcher." Motive

power is applied to the rear drive wheel by means
of cylinders, placed upright at the rear end of the
boiler and directly under the seat occupied by the
driver. The origin of the Albion is a mystery.
All that is known of her is that she is English
built and that she was in service in Nova Scotia
many years. Her record is now being looked up,
to ascertain when and by whom she was built.
The cylinders of the Albion are placed at an an-
gle about midway of the boiler, connection being
made by the piston on the center drive wheel.
These locomotives are much older and outrival as
curiosities the old Progress, the first engine that
ever ran in Chicago. The passenger coaches of
about the same date as these old locomotives are
quite as primitive as anything of the kind in exist-
ence. They were roughly built to accommodate
four passengers, and are treasures in the eyes of
experts interested in the development of railways.
Two other engines which form a marked contrast to
those of modern make came from the Old Colony
railroad of Massachusetts, and were the first to
draw regular trains on that road. For years they
have been in the shops at Fall River, and were
sent out without even a new coat o'f paint. They
closely resemble the old pioneer from the Peoria road, except that they are much
more rickety and one of them is much smaller. The maximum speed of these
engines was fourteen miles an hour. Standing alongside of one of those for
which ninety-five miles an hour is claimed, it shows to advantage the marked im-
provement made in the last few years.

Another interesting relic of early railroading in this country is a locomotive
of English build brought to the United States in 1836. For several years it was
operated on the Natchez and Hamburg road, now part of the Illinois Central
system. In 1868 it was taken to Vicksburg, but shortly after ran into a river, where
it was buried until 1870, when the superintendent of the road had it dug out and
put in service again. Although largely out of date and at least a full generation
behind the times it was kept in use on a small branch road down in Mississippi up

THE BRAKEMAN ON TRANSPORTATION
BUILDING.

332

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

EARLY LOCOMOTIVE.

to three years ago. This
engine is a curious look-
ing machine and is an in-
teresting attraction.
When first put in service
it ran on strips of iron
bolted to wooden rails
laid lengthwise. A sec-
tion of the old track thirty
feet long is also shown.
There are fifty odd loco-
motives in the Transpor-
tation building and two
outside. The two outside
are wonders. The Brooks
engine, which is on the

north side, weighs ninety tons and is designed for freight. It has twelve wheels,
each 52 inches in diameter, with all the latest improvements. The pedestal on
which it stands is four feet high. At the
south end of the building is a Baldwin en-
gine. This engine weighs 100 tons and
is the largest ever turned out by any
works. It is a twelve-wheel, compound
engine of the Van Clain type, with a 20
by 6-inch cylinder. The wheels are 52
inches in diameter and the boiler 72
inches in diameter. This engine was
built for the Central railroad of New Jer-
sey and will run on that road after the
Exposition. Among these fifty odd lo-
comotives in the building three are from
England, four from France and three
from Germany, and in addition Rogers,
Pittsburg, Richmond, Porterand Schenec-
tady works are represented. The larg-
est exhibitors are the Baldwin people,
who send fifteen engines. This company
represent all of their machines in ac-
tion. Each is jacked upon bases to al-
low the wheels to turn clear of the rail
about an inch and a half, and the wheels
are turned by compressed air. The com-
pany also have an engine for which a speed
of ninety-five miles an hour is claimed. PARLOR CAR OF TODAY.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

333

It is of the compound type, with seven-foot drive-
wheels. Certain improvements have been made
on this engine over one of its type which stood a
test of ninety-two miles an hour, the fastest mile
being 39^ seconds. The costliest and most mag-
nificent train throughout is the new mahogany
train built for exhibition by the Canadian Pacific
railway. At the request of Chief Willard A. Smith,
the company undertook to furnish a train to stand
side by side with the one sent by the London and
Northwestern. The two together — one vestibuled
and the other on the continental coach pattern
— make a most interesting comparison of the two
methods. The train was built at the Montreal
shops, is 400 feet long, 10 feet 3^ inches wide and
14 feet 8 inches high. It consists of a locomotive,
baggage car, second and first-class coaches, din-
ing car and sleeper, all vestibuled, steam heated
and electric lighted and equipped with automatic
brakes, couplers
and signal devices.
American railroad
men are apt to gasp
when they read the

figures accompanying the exhibit's entry. The en-
gine and tender weigh 213,000 pounds — io6}£ tons
loaded — are of the ten-wheel passenger type, with
drivers 5 feet 9 inches in diameter; the locomotive
and tender, coupled, measure 59 feet 8 inches in
length. It is claimed the monster locomotive is
capable of hauling ten coaches sixty miles an
hour for its fuel and water distance. The baggage
car is of standard type and weighs thirty tons; sec-
ond-class car, upholstered in leather and used for
a sleeper at night, weighs thirty-two tons, capac-
ity sixty-four passengers; first-class car, same
weight, capacity fifty-six passengers, interior deco-
ration in early Italian renaissance style, upholstered
in plush, woodwork in main room white mahogany,
smoking room in old oak, upholstered with olive
corduroy. The dining car and sleeping car are
decorated and finished in a fashion to make plain
citizens afraid to enter. The dining car is in Ital-
ian renaissance, carpet of old India rug pattern,

JAMES WATT ON TRANSPORTATION
BUILDING.

JOSEPH MICHEL MONTGOLFIER ON
TRANSPORTATION B'JILDING-

534

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

old bronze metal, leather of yellow-brown. Its
weight is 85,0x30 pounds, length 70 feet 10 inches, on
six wheeled trucks. The general collection em-
braces many precious railroad relics of Europe
and America, and as a whole it is a remarkable
combination of original drawings, old-time auto-
graphic letters, daguerreotypes, and implements.
There are the spade and pick used by Charles Car-
rcll of Carollton, the last surviving signer of the
Declaration of Independence, in turning over the
first shovelful of earth in the construction of the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at Baltimore, July 4,
1828— the first event in the railroad history of the
American Continent, and the first railroad, in the
true sense of the term, in the world. All rail lines
in England at this time were tramways, built solely
for the carrying of coal. There is also the trowel
used by Charles Carroll in laying the cornerstone
of the Baltimore and Ohio station on the date
mentioned, this same trowel being also used subse-
quently to lay the
cornerstone of the
Washington Mon-
ument at the na-
tional capital. There is likewise the special badge
worn by Charles Carroll at the laying of the cor-
nerstone, another badge worn at the same time by
the Grand Master of Masons, and a third, of dif-
ferent design from either of the others, worn by
jhipley Lester, Chairman of the Citizen's Com-
mittee. In the collection of relics is the Masonic
apron worn by the Grand Secretary; the first cer-
tificate of stock of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road Company; way bills, which in the early days
of the Baltimore and Ohio were made out for
each car, with every passenger's name and destina-
tion entered thereon; large pasteboard passenger
tickets of different colors for each day in the week;
the original letter of Ross Winans, then an Assist-
ant Master of Machinery, and afterwards the great
railroad contractor in Russia, and many-times mil-
lionaire, stating to the President of the Baltimore

and Ohio that he found it impossible to support -^^- PILOT ON TRANSPORTATION
his family on $75 a month. Old-time pay rolls BUILDING.

GEORGE STEPHENSON ON TRANSPOR-
TATION BUILDING.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

335

showing the small beginnings in the way of salary
received by many of the subsequently best-known
railroad managers in the country are exhibited.
John King, President of the Erie; James Clark,
President of the Illinois Central and various other
roads; Albert Fink, Trunk Line Commissioner;
W. T. Blanchard, Trunk Line Commissioner, and
numerous other distinguished men in railroad cir-
cles, all commenced in a very small way on the
Baltimore and Ohio, which has been the greatest
railway school in America. The collection of old
historical drawings is notable. There are fourteen
of George Stephenson's earliest efforts, numbering
among them the " Twin Sisters," the " Patentee,"
the first locomotive with steam brakes; the"Belted
Will,' " Lancashire Witch," " Northumbrian," the
engine that opened the Liverpool and Manchester,
the first railway in England; the "Rocket," the
" Planet," and other famous historical locomotives.
One of the interesting foreign exhibits is a parloi
car such as Ger-
man railroads use,
built by Van Der
Zypen & Charlier
of Cologne. The

body of the car is thirty feet long, ten feet wide,
and is built mostly of steel. The lower half of each
side is a solid sheet of steel thirty feet long, three
feet broad, and one-eighth of an inch thick. On
the side-plates rest the window frames of wood,
covered with sheet iron. The cross-bars of the
running gear are made of pressed steel. The in-
terior of the car is finished in solid brass of fanciful
design, buff silk, and blue velvet. The top, made
of sheet steel, is oval in shape and tastefully deco-
rated. The platform at either end is surrounded
by beautifully wrought railings of iron. The in-
terior is similar to that of the day coaches found
on American railroads. The seats are arranged
along either side, with an aisle in the center. Alpha
and Omega in railroading, represented by the De
Witt Clinton and the empire state express trains,

stand on the parallel and contiguous tracks. The RQBERT FULTQN QN TRANSPORTAT1ON
New York Central also has another exhibit in a BUILDING.

DENNIS PAPIN ON TRANSPORTATION
BUILDING.

336 HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

building near by. The Pennsylvania Railroad also has a separate exhibit located
between the Hygeia Building and Cold Storage.

The space assigned the Pennsylvania company is 400x150 feet, and the ex.
hibit is partly outdoors and partly housed in the main hall, 100x40 feet in size, built
of staff and of classical and beautiful architecture. The exhibits relate only to the
transportation lines comprising the Pennsylvania railroad system, and its design is
not only to perpetuate the early history of the lines merged into or associated in
interest with the Pennsylvania company, but also to place permanently on record
the results that have attended the efforts of the management's advanced methods'

One of the outdoor exhibits is a section of a four-track standard railroad,
TOO feet in length, laid with standard zoo-pound rails, or 3,333 pounds to the rail,
with frogs, switches, stone ballasts, ditches, signals, and overhead foot bridge. The
rails are 100 feet in length. The track is ballasted with crushed stone and drained
on each side by drains made of concrete. The signal tower is equipped with a
special Westinghouse electro-pneumatic machine; which controls the two switches
and six signals governing the track. Nothing like this in the way of a railroad
track has ever been seen before in the West.

On this splendid track and in strange contrast with it, is exhibited the original
locomotive "John Bull," with pilot and tender complete, which was first put in
service on the Camden and Amboy railroad Nov 12, 1831, and which is the oldest
complete locomotive in America. It was still able to haul to the Exposition the
two Camden and Amboy passenger coaches of the style of 1831, leaving New York
April 17 and arriving in Chicago April 22. On the track are exhibited also the two
special gun cars on which the two huge Krupp guns of ten inches and sixteen and one-
half inches bore were brought here. The guns weighed 140,000 and 285,000 pounds
respectively and the gun cars 113,300 and 175,000 pounds, making totals of 253,300
and 460,000 pounds. Reproductions of the guns are mounted on the gun cars.

Still more interesting, if possible, is a collection of old railroad material senv
in a special car from the Smithsonian Institution in charge of J. Eifreth Watkins
It consists of a number of specimens of articles in use as far back as 1830 or 1831
Old signals, wooden engine and car wheels, strap rails, and primitive switches and
Crossings are exhibited, but the most interesting article is a section of track laid in
^83 1 on the Camden and Amboy railroad. The rails are about the size of those
used in mines for small hand cars. The ties are blocks of granite about two feet
wide, laid three to each rail. The stone sleepers are provided each with two holes,
or, when they come at the joint of two rails, with four holes. In these holes were
driven locust wood plugs and the rails were fastened down by spikes driven into
the locust plugs. When they fastened a rail in that way in 1831 it was expected to
stay. The rails themselves were held together by single fish-plates at each joint, to
which they were riveted with hot rivets. This was to make the track very rigid,
the possibility of rails wearing out never occurring to railroad men in 1831, since
at that time none had ever given out.

The first attempts at navigation are well illustrated by canoes and rafts which
bear many strange names and which have been gathered from the islands of the

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

337

sea, the heart of the Dark Continent, the rivers and lakes of America, and the
frozen regions of the far north.

Innumerable models, accurate in every particular, illustrate the oddities of
the marine construction of China, India, Ceylon, and the Malay Peninsula. The

use of the various forms appears in pictures
from original photographs made by the Ex-
position's representative in various lands.
A superb Turkish caique is one of many
similar objects of interest. The growth and
present perfection and variety of the mer-
chant marine and the navies of the nations
of to-day appear graphically in the shape of
hundreds of models of the finest workman-
ship. The big shipbuilders of the world,
and especially of that country which has so
long ruled the sea, have vied with each
other in showing the miniatures of their tri-
umphs. The great steamship lines of the
world vary this by diagrams and other de-
vices for illustrating life at sea. At one
point in the building there arises before the
visitor the side of a great transatlantic liner,
or at least a section of it sixty feet in length.
Entering on the lower deck, one may pass
through the various rooms and ascend stair-
case after staircase for five stories, the rooms,
their fittings and furnishings, being identical
with those of the real steamers. And then
there are superb collections of sail and row
boats, yachts and launches, of such graceful
lines and such elegant finish that one lingers
longingly over them and wishes that his
purse was something fatter. The North
German Lloyd Steamship company have a

novel exhibit — a large map of the world on which is noted the daily positions of all
the steamships of the North German Lloyd company. These positions are indicated
on the various ocean lines of the company by means of miniature steamers that are
moved from day to day to correspond with the movements of the company's vessels.
Around this map are placed the models of the six newest steamships of the com-
pany and on the walls of the pavilion are descriptions showing the tonnage and
ocean passenger traffic of the world. The exhibit is in charge of one of the officers
of the company detailed for that purpose. Thomas Cook & Son make a fine
exhibit — and who has not traveled in some part of Europe, or Asia, or Africa — who
has traveled much — who has not been at some time or another a "Cookie."

LOCOMOTIVE STATUARY ON TRANSPORTATION
BUILDING.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR. 339

Rising aspiringly in the southern central court is a huge steam hammer — the
fac simile of that of 125 tons, the largest in the world. It calls attention to the fact
that not only the " fruits of peace " but the " peacemakers " have here a place.
Because naval vessels group properly with merchant marine and pleasure craft they
keep them company and they bring them naval armament and equipment. Recent
improvements in armor plate and naval ordnance are fully shown and will bear
careful scientific study. An important and fascinating portion of the marine exhibit
is in the gallery floor, which is reached by free elevators at frequent intervals.
These elevators are themselves exhibits of vertical transportation.

Much has already been said about the luxurious and useful modern carriages
and other wheeled vehicles which celebrated makers in the world are displaying.
Here and there is an " old-timer" like the deacon's " one-horse-shay." There are
some which belonged to celebrated men of an elder day. A Lord Mayor's state
coach stands out in startling contrast contrast with a rude carreta made without
metal by the untutored hands of the Pueblo Indians. There is a startling outfit of
cart and harness from Palermo, land sledges from Punchal, a caleche from Quebec,
and a Cuban volante. The horse, the ox, and the ass appear in various burden-
bearing capacities, and the harness and saddlery abound in most useful and econ-
omical forms, as well as in the elegant and even fantastic.

Almost side by side in the Carriage Department of the Transportation Build-
ing stand types of the English and American styles in carriages. The former is a
heavily built court coach, the coachman's seat draped with a heavy hammer-cloth,
with a rumble behind and footboard for the footman. This, of course, is not intended
for everyday use, but in its solid build and heavy wheels and tires, expresses the
English idea that strength can only come from massiveness. The American ideal,
on the other hand, is a light top wagon whose wheels look like spider-webs by the
side of those of the massive English vehicle, yet of the two over the average roads
of this country the latter would undoubtedly stand the strain much longer than the
English production, as well as being far easier on the horses drawing it.

The human pack animal is not forgotten. The cargadores of South America
and street carrier of the Orient form picturesque groups. Palanquins, traveling
hammocks, and sedans from remote corners of the globe, and some from remote
times, illustrate how one class of mankind drudges that another may ride in luxury.

Oddly contiguous to these boxes and bags on poles rise many beautiful pa-
vilions, which shelter the pets of the " wheelmen." The bicycle exhibit is to be
found in the beautifully lighted and readily accessible entresol. Several nations
have contributed, but the American makers, both for the number and the beauty of
their displays, are entitled to unstinted praise. There are also choice and rare
marine exhibits on this gallery floor, some beautiful dioramas, and many exceed-
ingly important engineering models, drawings, and maps. The associated
engineering societies of Germany occupy the southern gallery with an exhibit
which has cost a large amount of work and money — a very large amount when it is
considered that the commercial inducement plays only a slight part in it and that

340 HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

it is intended almost solely as a contribution to the engineering advancement of
the world.

Models or relief maps of the Erie Canal system, the Nicaragua Canal, and
the Hudson river are of great interest. There are five very elaborate models of
Hell Gate as it looked before and after the dangerous flood: Rock blown up in
1885. The first shows the gate prior to 1869 on a scale of an inch to the mile.
Ward's island, Hallett's Point, Flood Rock, the Hen and Chickens, Gridiron, and
the Negroheads are plainly recognized in the miniature model. The second
exhibit is a model of Hallett's point, one of the rocks blown up by Gen. Newton in
1876. By turning a crank the surface is made to rise, showing the galleries, shaft
heading, and coffer dams as they were just before the rock was torn asunder by
dynamite. There are also models of Way's reef, Flood reef, and of the drill scow
used in making the borings at Hell Gate.

A very interesting and educating place is the Transportation Building, and
no mistake. It overlooks the wooded island, forming one of the group of edifices
composing the northern architectural courts of the Exposition. It is refined and
simple in architectural treatment. The main entrance consists of an immense
single arch, enriched to an extraordinary degree with carvings, bas-relief, and
mural paintings, the entire feature forming a rich and beautiful yet quiet color cli-
max, for it is treated in leaf and is called the golden door. The interior of the
building is treated much after the manner of a Roman basilica, with broad nave
and aisles. The roof is in three divisions; the middle one rises much higher than
the others and its walls are pierced to form a beautiful arcaded clear story. The
cupola, placed artistically in the center of the building and rising 165 feet above the
ground, is reached by eight elevators. The main building of the transportation
exhibit measures 960 feet front by 250 feet deep. From this extends westward to
Stony Island avenue an enormous annex, covering about nine acres. This is only
one story in height. In it may be seen the more bulky exhibits. Along the cenfral
avenue or nave, facing each other, are scores of locomotive engines, highly polished.
The Transportation Building cost $488,183.

Those who were loudest in their condemnation of the bright colors used in
painting the Transportation Building are now the sorriest that they did not count
ten or delay in some other way before they spoke. As the color scheme developed
the carpers grew fewer and the advocates of the plain grew more aggresssive. One
is at a loss to explain a sky-blue statue of Stevenson, an emerald green Watt or a
terra cotta Edison, but each merges its glaring colors into a congruous whole.
Artist and layman acknowledge that the boldness of coloring does more than any-
thing else to bring out the dazzling brightness of the white city.

Except for the doorway of retreating arches, the architectural gem of the
whole exposition, no particular attempt at adornment has been made on the Trans-
portation Building. Every nook, nave, corridor and grand gallery is built for a
purpose. It was planned and built, more than any building in Jackson Park, for its
use in properly displaying ancient and modern methods of transportation. Being
in this highestsense useful it is, according to Socrates, in the highest sense beautiful.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR. 34*

It should be classed as a cardinal sin for any sightseer to merely walk through
the Transportation Building, glancing at the exhibit with indifferent eye. Better
not enter the portals of the building. It is a place for the student and not for the
dilettante. The one sees the apotheosis of evolution in transportation. The other
sees wheels going round or methods for making them do so. You may travel over
the world seeking old and new methods with a fadist's zeal and a lifetime of search
will not bring you to as many methods of progression as you will find in the Trans-
portation Building. The experts in transportation methods are the ones who are
the most astonished. It convinces them more than any one else of the littleness of
human knowledge. In their own field, where they have been accustomed to wear
as a right the crown of the chieftain, they meet strangers with methods superior to
their own in every respect. After a careful inspection of the cars and locomotives
the general manager of one of the best roads in the United States said: "Our com-
plete train service in the United States is perhaps better for our uses than that of
any foreign country, but there is not one of them, apparently, who has not advanced
further in particular directions. American roads can learn a lesson in improved
methods from every foreign exhibit in the Transportation Building. It is rather
humiliating to acknowledge this, and I, for one, have just ordered a smaller sized
hat, but the thing to do is to acknowledge the truth and adapt for our own use the
many improvements displayed."

How Darwin would gloat over the transportation exhibit! Logicians tell us
it is a vain thing to attempt proof by analogy. Perhaps not by a single illustration,
but how is it when illustrations are heaped Ossa on Pelion? Whether or not the
doctrine of evolution applies to man, there is no question that it applies to the
works of man. From the lifting of weight by contracted biceps to the steam crane
which lifts a hundred tons as easy as the baby lifts its rattle is a lesson in evolution.
From the original " Rocket" and "Meteor" locomotives with their stove boilers and
barrels of water on wheel-barrow tenders to the i3O-ton locomotives capable of a
speed of 100 miles an hour is an object lesson seen here in a moment, but it com-
passes the experiences and best work of hundreds of thousands of men during their
lifetime. Forty years ago an enterprising Frenchman joined two wheels with a
frame, put a saddle on the frame, and with toes just touching the ground developed
a speed which astonished the universe. From this "dandy horse" to the modern
pneumatic safety bycicle is a long step or rather a multitude of short steps, but each
can be seen in the general scheme of evolution. One is fairly dazed at the develop-
ment of man's genius, but his exaltation is shattered in a minute by the chattering
of an impertinent sparrow which flits jerkily along just out of reach. How long
before man will propel himself in similar wise? From the "dandy horse" to the
pneumatic, from the "meteor" to the modern locomotive is but the beginning of
things in comparison with the airy flight of the British interloper. Ages may come
and Langleys may go before the aeroplane principle is fitted to the uses of man.

Willard Adelbert Smith is chief of the department of the transportation
exhibits. He was born at Kenosha, Wis., Sept. 20, 1849. His parents came west
from New Hampshire in the '305 and were among the early settlers in Wisconsin.

42 HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

His early education was in the public school of the village, up to 1861, when the
family removed to Rockford, 111., where he entered and graduated from the high
school. In 1865 he entered the freshman class of Shurtleff College, at Upper Alton,
and graduated with class honors in 1869. The same year he entered the law school
of Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., and graduated with highest honors in
1871. In 1870 he was admitted to the bar of the State of Missouri, and in 1871
admitted to practice in the United States courts. He was appointed to his present
position with the exposition July 27, 1891, upon the recommendation of the railroad
managers of Chicago.

CHIEF SMITH.

GOLDEN DOOR, TRANSPORTATION BUILDING.

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HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR. 345