New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-08-25
HOLLAND.
THE EXPOSITION AT AMSTERDAM
IvRoN ORR OWN CORRESPONDENT

CO.. oil itons TO house themselves IN glass anu
iron. This is no exception to the rule AS the org-
nal plan excluded objects Of luxury and art the
Dutch architects were careful that the building ltse
sbould not remind us of what was not to be 1ouhu
;Dside hone it is not specimen of the genius OF
the country at this day which in former days pro-
drced if not fine buildings at least fine pictures
There is merit in many Dutch buildings IheH
street architecture may not be noble, but IS ex-
tremely picturesque in the Such big piles as
the ROYAL Palace in Amsterdam and the new Ex-
change opposite, are Spanish in the worst type Oh
Spanish. Either of them might have been DullO by
Herrera in the gloomy days OF Phlhp H. III 'no
structure run up for the Exposition, the Dutch nave
devised something intensely ugly, and apparently
not very convenient. In the first place, though not
very large it proved too large for the exhibition as
first planned 1t isIcrOssshaped, with transepts Gu
riousy blunt and interior galleries so high that the
ascentto them is like the ascent aladder cheuecV
rs might have been gained by an unbroken view
from end to end of the nave has been sacrificed to
clnmsy steeple-like affair." raised beneath the dome
for no better object than to support some mdeous
carcatures of ROYAL escutcheOns The situation Is so
good that it was pity not to make the most OF IT,
There are ample grounds around the Palace hlled
partly with dnpGres, partly occupied by shruODery
and a pavilion for music. The dnnereS have been
said to be the most interesting part OF the exhlOi-
ton Some of them are certainly the most attractive
n the miscellaneous crowd that gurgles about the
iuclosure The first object that strikes one on en-
tering is a wooden temple, with fountain IN tue
center the deties of the place presiding over It's
flow and some hundreds pof worshipers performing
their rites with devout attention. The liquid Is OF
the color of brown amber. The nymphs attending
wear blouses and trousers and betray singular art
in causing it TO flow with much sparkle and froth
into certain tall sacrfcial glasses The rites con-
sst in emptying the glasses down the Threats OF the
deyotees and are repeated by the same person an in
definite number of times. Over the entrance is in
scribed in Roman letters name now familiar IN
| most European capitals, perhaps in some American,
that of Dreher. His principal temple is IN Vienna
In other cities accordingly, the fluid IS known as
Vienna beer As the Dutch are abeer-loyng people
and yet do not brew very perfect drink the enter
prise of DreheT reaps rich reward, while the ndl-
| genous brewer opposite entices few TO his shrine.
| The idea that produced this Exposition was the
idea of collecting such objects pertain to domestic
economy 1t was to be an epitOme of the art Of liv
ing cheaply and comfortably. In the former, the
Dutch of class already excel and the Dutch of
richer class almost as much in the latter There is
| accordingly a considerable collection of household
wares at low prices. If they not attractive TO
| the eye they are such as many workingman would
be glad to buy if he knew where. Whether the Ez-
benefited may bedoubtful, since the halflorin adj
mission must he prohibtory price TO very many.
Wages are low The skilled artisan may earn less
than five dollars week, often not more than three;
and yet Holland is a dear country, seems
50 to strangers The unit of trade is the
form, equal TO two francs about, and you
spend about as many fiorins in Holland as
francs in France But there are societies in Amster
dam concerning themselves with the Improvement
of the condition of the poor and they will profit by
the exhibition Of cheap articles, beside making their
own work more widely known. One of them has
put up in the grounds a model-cOttage, after the
pattern of a number it has built and leased. The
same kind Of work that Mr.. Peabody undertook to
do for the London poor, and that Miss Coutts and
M Ruskin have done on less scale is done here in
Amsterdam. This cottage has four rooms and an
attic. well arranged and apparently well built. |
could not find anybody to explain 70 how they
managed about ventilation and drainage. which
weak points even in the better Dutch houses. Mr..
Chadwick who has inst completed near London
model house, built Of concrete, perfectly drained
ventilated and lighted for about five hundred dollars
would be likely to criticise this The rent of the
Amsterdam cottage amounts if rightly understood,
10 about thirty dollars wear.
Exhibitors from the United States are conspicuous
only by THEN absence don't know that they have
lost much by staying away. 1t Is not merely an eN
position of domestic life, but the Dutch have man
aged to keep it almost all in the family. There are
think. more Dutch exhibitors than of all other
tiOns together The number is given at about 1900
from Holland, and her little neighbOr Belgium is
next on the list with go France and England stand
mOdestly in the back ground with 800 and 600 re-
speCtlycy, while a scrap OF German territory called
Nuremberg with ISL, is about 90 ahead of that big
ambitious Prussia, which one day IS going TO swallow
her-tO be herself absorbed in all-embTacing Ger
many Poor little amputatcd Denmark sends Co. and
nobody else so many as 20 Obviously this Is not cX
actly complete International, not even European
"A
manufactures in these days as medal nor does it
seem TO matter whether it comes from London, or
Paris, Dublin or even HavTe where, last wear,
positions were thought TO have reached their nadr
only 10 find lower deep in Amsterdam. medal is |
a medal wherever 1t comes from. The only possible
reason why no more exhibitors came TO Amsterdam
is that there are no left who had not already
received medals. And if there no American exnb-
tOS there American inventions filling their usual
place prominent among them the sewing machine |
On second thought am not sure but one two |
American companies are represented here by their |
foreign agents. Do not suppose j am going to say
any thing about sewingmacllnes aud the merits Of
the thousand rival inventions My advice to the !
jurors would be to give them medal apiece and send
them all home, and il there were % sewing machine !
whlch hau not received medal. think should buy
that
The exhibition had been open some ten DAYS when
l first saw II, but was only half ont Of its she'll |
There was din Of hammers and plenty of dust and |
stout fellows in blue blOuses chatteri1Q French at
lightning speed, opening big boxes, and building |
bigger showcases which, two DAYS later, looked |
like any one of twenty windows on the BOuleyards |
in Pans-windOws which all the world knows, sur
pass all others in the world for spndor and taste
The French will be last ready, as always. They |
were last in their own Exposition of 1861 which was
itself more dilatory in opening than all the others
The Dutch opened their doors on the day fixed |
though 1t is said the doors were almost the only |
thing that was opened There seems no effort at |
arrangement. The catalogue analyses the show for |
You into four classes: but the catalogue, alas is in
Dutch and version in French OF English or other
known language was TO be heard Of Try TO compre-
bend the arrangement without a catalogue, and You |
will readily believe that soap and chocolate bOnbons
glass and rubber fabrics come from the same fncfnrr.