The Louisiana Purchase Exposition reserves the right to call in
    and revoke or cancel any pass at any time.

Passes are void and will be forfeited if showing any evidence of alteration or erasure.  All passes are nontransferable, and will be forfeited if presented by any other than person named thereon.

    Any person holding a pass may be required to prove his identity
    by signature or otherwise.

    All passes will be issued subject to the conditions printed
    thereon.

    All passes issued in conflict with the foregoing rules and
    regulations shall be recalled and canceled.

The Exposition Company shall furnish the National Commission a complete list of all card passes and a statement of all other passes issued prior to July 1, classified as to departments, divisions, and bureaus, as accurately as may be done from the books of the company, and hereafter the company shall keep an accurate record by departments, divisions, and bureaus, showing all passes issued by each under the foregoing rules, and shall furnish a copy of such record to the National Commission with each monthly financial statement, and such statement shall contain a list of all card passes issued during the month to which the financial report refers.

Prior to the approval of the rules and regulations governing free admissions to the exposition grounds, the president of the Exposition Company exercised a free hand in the distribution of passes.

On April 30, and during the month of May, 1904, of the 1,841,275 total admissions only 667,772 were paid admissions, thus making the free admissions substantially two-thirds of the total.

In June, 1904, the total admissions were 2,448,519, and of this number 1,382,865 were paid.

In July an improvement occurred.  Of the 2,498,265 admissions during that month, 1,514,743 were paid.  Thenceforward less than one-half of the total admissions were free.  But notwithstanding the effort to check this abuse it was indulged to such an extent that the final totals make a remarkable showing, as follows: 

Total admissions during the entire period
of the exposition ....................... 20,066,537
Total paid admissions during the entire
period of the exposition ................ 12,804,616

The total attendance and the paid admissions at the exposition do not compare favorably with those of the Columbian Exposition of 1893.  The Columbian Exposition was conducted during a period of great financial depression, while the St. Louis Exposition was held during a period of remarkable prosperity.  The Government aid extended to the latter was far greater in every respect than was given the former.

The method of advertising the exposition adopted by the company was a subject of constant and almost universal criticism, and complaints were made to the Commission and in the public press that exploitation of the fair was inadequate.  On every possible occasion members of the Commission personally brought the matter to the attention of the exposition officials and suggested that steps be taken to give the enterprise wider publicity.