50 years ago in Expo history: President of U.S. Chamber of Commerce praises world’s fair’s success

The president of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States wrote an article about Expo ’74 in the Chamber’s national newsletter, titled, “Spokane Proves We Can Still Do It.”

“If you were the 79th largest city in the country, would you take on the mammoth responsibilities of staging a world’s fair?” U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Arch Booth wrote. “Of course not! It couldn’t possibly succeed. But that’s just what Spokane did. And it is succeeding.”

Booth quoted George Reitemeier, the Spokane Chamber of Commerce general manager, as saying, “We are blessed by a perfect partnership between the business community and government leaders, who are practicing an economic philosophy dedicated to serving the society of man and preserving the environment. In the vernacular of youth, we’re putting it all together. And it’s working.”

Meanwhile, early indications showed that Expo was certainly an attendance success. The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend set an attendance record of 46,263. That record lasted only one day, because the Sunday attendance hit 49,707. Expo had been open less than a month and 678,629 people had already attended.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1920: The Wall Street Bombing occurs when a horse-drawn wagon explodes on Wall Street in New York City, killing 38 and injuring 143. The case remains unsolved to this day.

1974: U.S. President Gerald R. Ford announces conditional amnesty for U.S. Vietnam War deserters.