The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Couples sought permissions to marry on the Ferris wheel. Holmes brought Georgiana Yoke to the fair. He asked her to marry her, under a different name. Mayor Harrison was also in with Annie Howard, less than half his age. The Retrenchment Committee recommended drastic cuts to spending, but the Exposition Board rejected this request. Still, they pressured railroad companies to reduce fares to the Exposition. Millet staged several special events to attract more visitors to the fair, including a sumptuous ball. Another bank failed, and the Metropole was once again scene of a suicide. Several days after what the papers called a “riot” outside the City Hall, 25,000 unemployed workers gathered at the lakeside.

On July 31st, 1893, the Retrenchment Committee dictated drastic spending cuts at the fair. While the fair’s directors pressured railways to decrease fares, Frank Millet designed ever more alluring events to draw visitors. The greatest of these was the Midway Ball held on August 16th. The Tribune called it “the Ball of the Midway Freaks” (311), referring to the foreigners in traditional dress whom Millet had sourced from exotic destinations. The celebrity George Francis Train—the model for Phileas Fogg—hosted the Ball.