New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-09-01
THE UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION.
DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES.

IFRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUSE.l
| VIENNA, Aug 18.-The ceremonies at the distrbu-
ton OF prizes exceedingly tame. The affair did
not take place in the main Exhibition building, the
most appropriate place for it, because the rotunda
is 80 crowded with showcases that there is no place
for an audience. The idea of holding it in the
| grounds, like an American mass-meeting, did not
| probably occur to the managers. large hall in
| the labyrinthian of buildings that form the
imperial palace of the Hofburg chosen. The hall
is called the Winter Riding School, and is used, when
the Court inhabits the palace for the equestrian in
structons and diversions of the imperial household
| 1t is room of imposing hight, with succeed and
whitewashed walls and colonnades on all Sides sup
porting two galleries. The floor, ordinarily of saw
dust covered with boards for the occasion, and
| there were some scanty decorations Of eveygreens
In front a tribune with scarlet carpet, for the
Archdukes, and facing this q parterre was rallied
| off for the diplomatists and high officials. Next
came the space for the press and back of this the
exhibitors and general public were massed as thick
as they could stand-fye six thousand of them at
| a rough guess-and thousand more were in the two
| galleries.
| The Emperor was not present.THe has taken such
| a warm interest in the Exhibition, and has been
such frequent visitor to it, that his absence from
the browning event of the whole affair is a sin
gular circumstance About week ago he went TO
| his Summer chateau in Ischl, and probably will not
return until the hot weather and the cholera abate
He was represented by his brother the Archduke
| Carl Ludwig, the Lord Protector of the Exhibition,
who is a TALL wel-formed man, with decided Haps-
| burg features, and the inevitable bald spot
! on the top of his head which characterizes
the family. He came out from behind
| the curtains at the back of the stage
| pmctually at O'Clock, followed by the old Arch
| duke Albrecht uncle of the Emperor, Commander
inChief of the Austrian army, and sort of Austrian
| Wellington in a small way. After him came the
| Archdukes Ramer and Leopold, cousins of the En-
| peror-both TALL sodierly men, with gray hair and
| beard. Following them was another person in uni
form, who did not to be of much account, for
he placed himself against the wall at a polite dis
tance from the Archdukes and stood as mOtioness
as if stuck there until the performance was over
| As soon as the Archdukes entered, band
| perched under the ceiling struck up the
solemn strains of the Austrian national hymn,
| Got erhdlte Frdns den Kaiser" Then Carl
Ludwig said dozen words or so, whereupon the
General Director Baron Schwarz- Senborn, began to
list read the names Of persons to whom the Diploma
| of Honor was awarded. The reading occupied tedi
GUS half hour. The weather sultry as it ever
| is in Vienna during mid-August, and the crowd
packed like sheep in pen, with no seats for any
body except the gold-embroidered diplomatists In
'front.' soon became hot and tired, but with the re-
markable politeness and patience of Vienna crowd
made no sign of discomfort. Whenthe Baron finished
he turned to the audience and said God bless; God
| protect; God keep His Majesty the Emperor Franz
Joseph and led those around him who could hear III
| giving three cheers.
1t was impossible to do than read the list of
| the diplomas of honor. The number of medals and
recognition diplomas" granted is prodigous The
list fills quarto volume of 529 pages and embraces
about $4,000 names Ii is avertable denge OF honors
that the iuries have shOweTed upon the exhibitors
The purpose appears to have been to make some
award to everybody who shows meritorious article
After the reading was over somebody made short
speech of thanks in the name of the ex-
hibitors. The band played the national hymn
again, the tired Archdukes, who had been
on their feet for three-quarters of an hour,
made haste to quit the platform and the audience
poured out through the one door in fearful
crush and so the affair ended. As ceremony II
was dull and hfeless, and might just as well have
been omitted altogether. 1t had none of the i'm
pressve features that accompanied the distribution
Of prizes at the Paris Exposition. There was no
comforting of honors by Imperial hands upon men of
eminent achievements in art, science and invention
tedious reading of names by the General Director,
which nobody cared TO hear or could hear if they
wanted to- and row of Archdukes in glittering uni
forms standing on platform for the crowd to stare
at-that composed the whole performance
With the announcement of the awards the Exhi-
biton may be said to have reached its climax The
exhibitors now know their fate, and their interest
will naturally flag. Many of then will return home
aud leave their wares in charge OF agents. The
medals have been distributed with such lavish gen.
tba he 1isapnOinteQ ii
doubt less than at any previous Worlds Fair. Still
the very prodigaty of the juries creates class OF
gTumblers among exhibitors who have ar
tcles of exceptional merit, and who
find themselves rewarded with only copper
medals just like those received by hundreds OF
others whose articles bore no comparison to theirs
in excellence. There was, in fact, no comparison
instituted by the uries between like articles III the
galleries of different nations. The Medal for Merit
means only that the recipient has shown something
meritorious, and the Progress Medal that he has
some valuable design or invention produced since
the Paris Exposition of 1861 The American ex-
hibitors of sewing-machines for example get no
recognition of the fact that their machines are the
best in the world. Bhey are given only the same
medals which the English and Germans receive,
who have made clumsy limitations of their
inventions.
The only prize which confers a really valuable
distinction is the Diploma of Honor OF these there
are 4l2, and America receives only eight -Four OF
the eight go to the group of Education. The Smith
sonian Institution gets one the National Bureau OF
| Education another the State of Massachusetts, the
third and the City of Boston the fourth In making
these awards the jury was influenced by knowl'
edge of the great work for the promotion OF science
| ard of public education, accomplished by the re-
| cipients as well as by their contributions to the