World: Figures v. Dreams

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General expenses (stationery, printing, telephone, telegraph, insurance, etc.) .................................................................................760,000

Total Operating Expenses..................................$6,605,000

Net Operating Income........................................$4,105,000

From this operating profit of its first 102 days (82 days to go), the Fair paid $2,314,990 to a trustee towards retirement of its $26,995,000 of 4% bonds, and $1,659,665 to reduce a $3,500,000 bank loan. That left very little in the kitty. It had on August 2 about $1,613,000 of cash and accounts receivable, quick assets, which amounted to only about 40% of its quick liabilities. For the Fair had still to retire a $1,700,000 bank loan, had $4,113,000 of unpaid and past due bills. Of its unpaid bills one was most pressing: $2,700,000 owed to contractors.

To pay off that debt and to replenish his working capital Grover Whalen last week asked his bondholders to agree: 1) to waive their claim on $2,800,000 of gate receipts (first 40% of gate goes to bondholders); 2) to lend the Fair the $1,250,000 already paid into the sinking fund for the bonds. Meanwhile, the Fair prepared to go to the banks for an additional $750,000 loan. By week's end not quite half (51% necessary) of the bondholders, who have received, besides interest, only one 5% payment on principal, had agreed to the plan.

For part of this sorry fiscal plight Fair officials blame labor. They made a deal with A. F. of L.'s New York Building & Construction Trades Council to employ only union labor. The contract called for no work stoppage because of jurisdictional disputes between local unions. But work did stop while unions haggled over which should pull what cable, etc. Construction was slowed up and in the closing rush to complete the Fair on schedule, overtime charges ate into the budget. World's Fair officials maintain labor disputes raised Fair costs about $2,000,000, cost exhibitors and concessionaires another $2,000,000. To that unlooked-for expense was added another: $1,588,000 spent to build a Hall of Nations (for foreign participants), which Congress refused to pay for, after indicating that it would foot the bill. (But the Government did put up $3,505,000.)

Nub of the Fair's predicament: that its operating profits are not high enough because of disappointing attendance. On August 9 its paid admissions numbered 13,026,285 (pass admissions, 4,398,534; public school pupils in free, 588,000).

At that rate (128,000 paid daily average) Grover Whalen will have about 24,000,000 admissions by the Fair's close next October 30—a little better than one-third his prediction. With luck, attendance might increase in the cooler autumn months, total 32,000,000 at season's end. Last March a Gallup poll said 13,000,000 people planned to attend the Fair, 19,000,000 hoped they could. Last week another poll showed that: 1) two-thirds of the planners had made 2.3 visits apiece to the Fair; 2) the remaining third were going this fall; 3) the hopers were still hoping.