What Price Tomorrow?

No U. S. world's fair ever charged more than 50-c- admission until gardenia-wearing Grover Aloysius Whalen engraved his $157,000,000 image on Long Island's Flushing Meadows. His, however, was to be a fair of fairs, the "World of Tomorrow." He talked about 40,000,000 customers and he figured on 60,000,000 (10,000,000 a month from May through October) to spend $56 apiece, bring a billion dollars worth of business to the Fair and New York City. Flamboyant Grover Whalen set the entrance fee at 75-c-. Last week he was learning something.

In two and a half months, attendance totaled 13,500,000, about half the number Whalen figured. Big for world's fairs, it wasn't big enough for the biggest. Into executive session went major industrial exhibitors (investment: $35,000,000) and voted to ask the Fair to cut the gate to 50-c-. Concessionaires, whose girl shows have failed to turn the trick at the tills, went further. Their demand: a 25-c- admission fee at night.

Treading softly in the midst of the ruckus, Grover Whalen began by making a few concessions. For parties of 500 or more he cut the admission price to 50-c-. At the eight large parking lots he slashed the 50-c--fee in half. To find out why more customers weren't coming in he planned a questionnaire. It looked as though Grover Whalen would soon have to cut the general admission to 50-c- a head to get enough People of Today to patronize his World of Tomorrow.

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