The Morning herald., 1876-02-15
THE HERALD.

THE HENALDe
WIIaINGToN, FEBRUARY IS, 1876.
rIrr asrERxATIoNAL JURH.
The awards to be made as reward OF
merit 10 The articles ON exhibition At the
Ceat.,nial viii be termed the international
Jury system. In speaking Of it the Ne"
york'"Tribune" states:
If righffnlly carried out, the Jury sys-
tenn adopted by the Centennial Commis-
sion will make the Exposition Of 1870 o.
more lasting value than any Of its prede-
cessors.o d Instead Of medals, which have
little significance, because they tell nothing
of the especial merits OF the articles ior
which they are bestowed, the awards are
to be in III. form of carefully written re-
ports, in which the particular points OF e1-
celleuce designd to be recognized and re-
warded will be clearly stated, Thus the
volumes of reports will form complete
encyclopedias Of the Exhibition which cali
he consulted on all disputed questions as
to the relative merits Of objects OF like
character, and will be an authority to settle
the ouarrels Of rival manufacturers ana
inventors about the value of their preml-
ums. theoretically the system is sdmlra'
BILE, and there are no obstacles to is sue
cess in practice if the right kind OF Jurors
can be secured. 1t is essential that they
should be men of high character and OF
manifest fitness for the line Of work to
which it is proposed to assign them. They
must be thoroughly honest, so as to be be-
yond the reach of the influences which ex-
hibitors seeking to obtain their
favorable judgment will be pretty
sure to bring to bear, and they
must have sufficient practical knowledge
ofthe articles in the group or class upon
which they are to pass to enable them to
Judge intelligently. Alleged ignorance or
suspected venality on the part Of any OF
the Jurors would vitiate the whole system
and make 1t worse than the old one
giving medals.
The Jurors will number 200 in all. One
hundred are to be appointed by foreign
Governments, and the remainder by the
Centennial Commission, or rather by lts
Executive Committee. The foreign Jurors
will unquestienably be men of considera'
Bile eminence in art, science, literature, Or
industrial pursuits. Many will be special.
lists Of distinction, who will come to study
our institutions and resources. Our Amer
lean jurymen should equal their associates
from abroad in ability, technical knowledge
and personal character and how to bring
this about is problem that the Centennia
authorities are now laboring to solve. Th'
salary of 81 900 to be paid each juryma'
has brought out "a throng of applicants
Nearly 1000 letters from men wanting
places for themselves or their friends hav
already been received. 1t is safe to pre-
sumo that nine-tenths of the would-b
iurymen have no sort of fitness for the wor
they are eager to do. Some no doub
have axes to grind, others would like
have a good time in Philadelphia th
summer without expense to themselve
and still larger number merely want th
$1,000 The commissioners would do we
to throw the whole batch Of application
into the fire, and to shut their ears to tn
importunities Of the applicants. One ma
thinks he has claim to place on tn
iury because he has subscribed for Center
nial stock, another because he is backed b
aCong ressman who voted for the appr
priation, third because he has a relati'
who il commissioner, and still othe
advance other claims equally bad. A
such considerations We hope will be disr
garded. Artists, engineers, skilled ar
sans, manufacturers, chemists, metallr
gis.s, machinists, architects, scientific fl
mers, horticulturists, eminent educators
such are the men wanted for jurors q
of6ce-seekers-men whose names will CT
ry such weight that their reports will
unassailable; men whose knowledge a
character will be everywhere accepted
an indisputable guarantee Of the impair
ality and wisdom Of their verdicts. Ift
Commissioner will select hundred 81
men and induce them to serve, they "
put fitting crown upon work which