The World's Fair Scandal
Thousands of copies of Washington's 'World's Fair History' vanish into thin air, leaving local binders unpaid and the state's reputation in jeopardy.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Of the 100,000 copies of the famous World's Fair history of Washington, less than 40,000 have ever been shipped out of the state, and not more than 20,000 have ever been paid for. Of the 60,000 shortage, 20,270 copies lie in the Northern Pacific freight sheds in Tacoma, and the remaining 40,000 copies—which everyone believed were being distributed to visitors—have never even been printed. Worse, the Pioneer Bindery of Tacoma reports they have been stiffed on their contract. They delivered thousands of copies but have received only a fraction of their pay, while Treasurer Collyer claims that funds set aside for the printing were routed elsewhere. Visitors returning from the Chicago World's Fair confirm that they never once saw a copy of the book at the Washington state building.
“We have written and written Mr. Rochester, of the World's Fair commission, and no attention whatever is paid to our letters. We can't get the least satisfaction.”
Public vanity projects that collapse under administrative incompetence are a timeless tradition in Washington politics. Much like modern struggles with transparency in state-funded initiatives, this 1893 disaster suggests that the 'Evergreen State' has always had a knack for printing pamphlets no one asks for while failing to pay the workers who make them.
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