World: Figures v. Dreams

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New York City's little Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia jammed his hat on his stubby stubborn head, and flew west. At Chicago last week he descended to do a little troubleshooting. At lunch in the Hotel Sherman he sat down with 700 advertising men. At his left he had Mayor Kelly, who had a World's Fair at home five years ago; at his right he had Charles G. Dawes, whose brother Rufus successfully financed Chicago's Fair. Little Fiorello's job was to convince them all that New York's is a lot better. Said he:

"Don't believe these stories about hamburgers selling for a dollar and a half. They cost a dime and they're not transparent or synthetic. . . . We have put a soul into this Fair. . . . It is the last word in the application of the genius of man. . . . Our Fair will not be remembered for any hootchy-kootchy dance—and a fan means nothing to us."

In several respects New York's Fair outstrips Chicago's: its World of Tomorrow cost more than thrice Chicago's $47,000,000 Century of Progress, is twice its size, and at the end of its first year will probably have a deficit three times as big as Chicago's $5,000,000. (The Century of Progress closed its second year in the black.) Fond of booming, expansive ciphers, honey-tongued Grover Whalen prophesied for his Tomorrow 60,000,000 customers, when he unveiled his big show last April 30. Today the books of the Fair give an instructive financial history of the biggest world's fair ever. Set up like most world's fairs as a supposedly self-supporting promotion enterprise, like most, it is far from breaking even. Beyond the halfway mark (August 9), the Fair's figures revealed the reason for Mayor LaGuardia's Chicago plea. They showed in round numbers:

Paid admissions................................................$6,220,000

Concessions (8 to 25% cut of gross business of restaurants, amusements, etc.)......................................................................1,800,000

Fair's concessions (gross of Perisphere and other Fair shows) ............................................................................... 915,000

Service charges (cashier & equipment hire, water, maintenance, etc.) ....................................................................... 850,000

Resale of electricity (submetered to exhibitors, etc.) ................................................................................420,000

Space rentals......................................................... 250,000

Royalties (on souvenirs, etc.)................................. 90,000

Miscellaneous........................................................165,000

Total Operating Revenue:............................. $10,710,000

Payroll (6,000 employes, recently reduced from 7,000) ........................................................................... $3,810,000

Purchase of electricity (from Consolidated Edison) .................................................................................100,000

Operation & maintenance (cleaning, repairs, power, equipment, rental, promotion, etc.).....................................................1,615,000

Interest (on bonds & bank loans).......................... 320,000