CHAPTER II.

GREAT PARADE OF TRADESMEN.

Eighty-Thousand Men in Line— More than One Hundred Bands of Music— Half a Million Person*
Witness the Grandest Civic Parade Ever Seen in any Country— Vice-President Morton Reviews
the Moving Masses — Great Gatherings of Distinguished People— Men of Peace resplendent in
Habiliments of War— Flashing uniforms and Eloquent Medals of Honor— All Professions and All
Trades Represented— Fifteen Hundred American Banners Borne Proudly by Naturalized Citizens
of All Nationalities — Generals Miles and Schofield Consider the Parade a Wonderful Success —
Masses of School Children Attired in the National Colors Portray a Beautiful Design — Great
Deference Paid to the Representative of the Nation.

VERY ONE hoped for a pleasant day for the great civic
parade on Thursday, the 2oth, and none were disappointed.
Immense preparations had been made by the 80,000
marchers and the 500,000 other participants. The city of
Chicago had been decked out as never before, as scarcely a
house could be seen that had not been elaborately or other-
wise decorated. Flags, bunting and transparencies were
to be seen by the hundreds of thousands. A platform had
been erected over the northern steps of the post-office, and
here Vice-President Morton, in the presence of more than
a thousand dignitaries, including cabinet ministers, Justices of
the Supreme Court, Senators and Members of Congress, Gov-
ernors of States, Foreign Ambassadors and other distinguished
persons, reviewed the great parade. On the eastern and western steps more than
two thousand little girls represented the States, and so arranged themselves as to
look at either place like a great American flag, which was novel, beautiful, artistic
and inspiriting.

The procession will always be remembered by those who saw it as the
greatest of its kind ever seen, andall will remember that it passed off in perfect and
satisfactory order. There were 116 bands in line by actual count, and every trade
and calling in the land was represented. As some one has written: "Great and
cosmopolitan Chicago accomplished its greatest feat in the way of celebration when
an army of 80,000 men passed a given point in two hours and forty-five minutes
which was the exact time taken by the civic parade in passing in review before the
Vice-President of the United States. Half a million of people witnessed this grand,
record-breaking event, and every one of the number seemed ambitious to view it
from some point on Adams Street close to the reviewing stand at the north end of
the Government Building until they were scattered by the well-organized efforts

88 HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

of the city police all along the line over which the great procession marched."
The people ventured out in the cold, frosty morning early as the milkmen and
wended their way down-town to points of vantage, and most of them sought posi-
tions near the reviewing stand, which by nine o'clock was already half filled with
the fortunate holders of tickets of admission thereto. The several school children
who, attired in red, white, and blue, formed a living picture of " Old Glory," were
escorted to their positions on the grand stand at the east and west sides of the
Government Building, where, as living stars and stripes, they sang the Nation's
song in sweet, young voices. There was music in the air from bands leading par-
ticipants in the parade to the places of formation. There were exciting incidents
enough in the great crowd that blockaded Adams, Dearborn and Clark Streets, to
relieve the waiting reviewers of any impatience. They had a long wait, indeed.

Vice-President Morton was the first of the official party to arrive. He was
immediately escorted to the middle of the reviewing stand. He was recognized at
once, and the people on the reviewing stand arose and paid him deference heartily,
while the crowd on the streets for the only time during the day got beyond the
restraint of the police, and made a rush to pay obeisance and respect to the second
man of the land, appearing as the chief official representative of the government
on account of the affliction which detained President Harrison in Washington.
In the great procession, which was soon afterward in motion, were Teutons
and Sclavs and Frenchmen, and their hearts and their feet beat time to the same
music — that of " The Star-Spangled Banner." Orangemen walked in that proces-
sion, and for the first time in the history of 300 years che Irish Celts walked with
them in a common cause. Hereditary foes were brothers, and for oiice the de-
scendants of warring European clans marched under the same flag. All were
Americans, all were freemen, and in the pride of sovereignty as freemen the old
hatreds of the old days were cast out of their hearts.

It was not strange that many eyes that saw the light under different heavens
were suffused in watching the bright flag which multiplied itself in a million forms
around and above them. Few colors were displayed to remind that host of natural-
ized citizens — who, it is fair to presume, were in the majority — of the countries
they had left to find a refuge and a home in the prairie of the West.

All the participants in the parade marched proudly and cheerfully. Not all
by any means had flashing uniforms; not all wore medals eloquent of their valor;
nor did the habiliments of all betoken the possession of luxury in a material sense;
but all looked happy in being permitted to profess in the most public manner their
American citizenship. There were societies, the professed object of which is to
oppose other organizations of alien connections, but they did not fall on one
another.

The municipal colors were displayed next to the national ones, for next to
the Union the object dearest to that great army of marchers was the city of their
residence. All professions, all trades, all occupations were represented in an
American parade.

After the parade had passed the populace immediately took possession of

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HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR. 89

Adams street, crowding, in fact almost fighting, to get near the Vice-President and
other National officials. On the occasion of the unveiling of the Grant Monument
at Lincoln Park a year before, Gen. Horace Porter, of New York, who was on Gen.
Grant's staff, said that the crowd that was gathered in Lincoln Park that day was
the largest he had ever seen. But the Columbian parade and the crowd on Adams
street was a mass-meeting compared with the crowd of a year before. Adams
street from the bridge to the lake was absolutely packed with humanity. It was a
congested sea of faces, and the crowding was as heavy on the side' streets leading
from Adams, but after the reviewing party left the stand the crowd dispersed in
good order, considering all things.

The parade meant a great deal to the intelligent people who witnessed it
from the reviewing stand and other points. It was a union of men adverse in opin-
ion, in politics, religion and all other sentiments or opinions other than those of
patriotism. Citizens of foreign birth contributed greatly to its success. They car-
ried more red, white and blue flags, and their bands played only the songs of loyalty.
The greatest deference received by the man representing the Nation was paid by
these men. They dipped their colors lowest and observed the Vice-President most
attentively. Indeed, the members of the best disciplined of their societies forgot
their drilling and turned their heads and kept their eyes on the Vice-President
until they were able to see him no longer. Altogether they gave a marvelous exhi-
bition of their loyalty to the country which they had sought for their own better-
ment. That was one of the lessons of the day.

Another thing wonderful about the parade was the rapidity with which it
moved. Gen. Miles said it broke all records, and Maj.-Gen. Schofield, command-
ing the United States forces, said that the passage of an army of 80,000 men in re-
view was a wonder when it was considered that it was all done in less than three
hours and in the face of some unavoidable delays. The bearing of every man in
line was soldierly, although all moved in columns of twenty. Nothing was lacking.
Everyone of the more than 150 musical organizations in line played good music.
E.very one of the 1,500 banners was borne proudly, and in point of numbers the
parade exceeded any parade intended to be of a civic nature ever held in America.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.