The control of the fair's design and construction was a matter of dispute between various entities, particularly the National Commission which was headed by George R. Davis, who served as Director-General of the fair. It was also headed by the Exposition Company which consisted of the city's leading merchants, led by Lyman Gage which had raised the money needed to build the fair, and Burnham as Director of Works. In addition the large number of committees made it difficult for construction to move forward at the pace needed to meet the opening day deadline. After a major accident which destroyed one of the fair's premiere buildings, Burnham moved to take tighter control of construction, distributing a memo to all the fair's department heads which read "I have assumed personal control of the active work within the grounds of the World's Columbian Exposition... Henceforward, and until further notice, you will report to and receive orders from me exclusively."