The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-05-21
THE pHILADELfHIA FAIR.
The wan, OF Proper Ciassincation-The Auri-
cultural Haii-The Anna zins Wealth Of this
Country rs shown In its Natural Products.

Country rs shown In Its Natural Products.
PHILADELPHIA, May 10.-The want OF
proper classification OF the exhibits Is one OF
the most Iamentahle features Of the Philadel-
phIa Fair. have already had occasion to point
out the lack Of anything like a scientific princi-
pie In the arrangement Of various departments.
and especially of EXHIBITS appertaininR to mari
time pursuits. And the moro you stroll through
the various buildings, the more you become
convinced that the men who had the or
eanization OF the business in their hands
had only a very faint conception Of
the work intrusted to them. To take only
one example, you find steamship building rep
resented 10 the Machinery Hall. The exhibits
| are put along side OF specimens Of Ice boats,
which have no machinery about them. In the
m ain building you 0nd with jewelry, silks, and
procelains, a collection Of nets and fishing ap-
paratus (see Norway enclosure). At the same
time you nnd in the Agricultural Hall an exhi-
bition OF fishing tackle and large 10th biological
collection, collection OF fishes preserved in
alcohol, and In their natural state, not in tin
boxes as the provision packers exhibit them In
another branch OF the same department In this
way things belonging strictly to one aud the
Same department are scattered over the grounds,
and a man who comes to study any special
branch either OF industry OF art, or even OF the
aturh products OF the country, unless he be
endowed with the tenacity Of purpose Of an old
fashioned Ger ian professor, would have to leave
the Centennial grounds In disgust.
This .ack Of system in the arrangement OF tho
Exhibition shows itself not only In those depart
ments whore some scientific notions are requir-
ed In the persons intrusted with the manage
ment, but even In those where plain common
sense should have been the legislator. So,
for instance. you come to any OF the
fOreign denarfmenta IN nj of Spain
sweden. or any other, and In couple
OF hours attentive examination OF the exhibits
you can form a pretty correct notion OF what
the country possesses In the way Of natural
wealth and what she is up to in the way Of In
| dustry. In every one OF these departments you
see everything, from specimens OF minerals and
metals, to the finest fabrics, jewelry and works
OF art. In most cases you find even detailed
maps OF the countries and their geological
| formation, specimens OF national costumes and
photographs which make you familiar with the
cities the public buildings, and the national
| types. Had the same system been adopted for
the exhibits Of the various States OF the Union,
| the visitor must at least have obtained some
| sort Of notion of the leading characteristics OF
| Iowa as compared with Florida, or OF Texas as
compared with Connecticut. But nothing OF
the kind has been done. The products OF Amer
lean soil and American industry are In a chaotic
disorder, equally regardless Of either geographic
cal or any kind of classification, except that
which is offered in special buildings for State
| headquarters. 1t 10 only by going through
these little pavilions that the stranger
can expect to obtain a conception OF
the pecuiarities Of the various States OF the
| immense continent. And as 1t IA most likely
| that In every one OF these pavilions he will in
| variably find the State Com missioners discuss
| ing the Presidential election, playing draw
| poker, chewing tobacco, and drinking bad whis-
key, the notion which he will form OF this great
| country Will necessarily be neither very correct
nor very favorable.
| The great misfortune Of this patriotic and ad-
mirable undertaking is not only the fact that
the men to whom its management has been To-
trusted were ignorant OF the first principles upon
| which this sort OF work should stand, but also
| In the peculiar structure OF the average Ameri-
can mind. The vast extension Of the territory
has impressed immensely on the brain OF every
American. Consequently the nrst condition OF
popularity OF the Exhibition was that the thing
should be bigger than anything yet produced.
Hence, mnss OF useless buildings scattered
over an unnecessarily large area; and a ma
| tura consequence of that. In the nrst place. an
incalculaoe amount Of trash exhibited to I'LL up
the space, and in the second, innumerable con-
cessons for local railroads, rolling chairs, soda
water fountains, restaurants. and all that Is i'm
piled In ashow covering some go acres. Had the
exhibits sent in been properly selected before adj
mission and duly classified after It, We must
have had a perfect gem offered TO our admira-
ton In Philadelphia. But then II would not
have been such big thing, and probably would
not attract any notice on the part of tue average
| American.
Tho Agricultural Hall is ono OF the depart
ments In which the want Of classification is p r
| ticularly striking. You fnd here almost every
imaginable article. Stuffed hogs and birds, olga
| rettes, chocolate, aerated water and agricul-
| tural implements are exhibited with yeast
| powder chemical products. wines and such fine
| liquors as Maraschina Of Spalato. There Is no
| line OF demarkaton drawn between purely
agricultural products and those which have
no connection with agriculture, except in the
sense that the raw material for their fabrication
Is extracted from the soil. Bat, upon this prin-
cips, every imaginable industry must be con-
sidered as branch OF agriculture. Why not in
| clude bronZes, Jewelry and silyerware under the
| same heading? The metal for them is derived
| from the soil. Or why not include silks or cos
| metics 10 the same category? Their raw mate
rial is Just as much connected with agriculture,
and certainly more than fsherics are.
But this disordery classification notwith-
standing, the Agricultural Hall is, next to the
Machinery Hall aud the Main Building, I'M
doubtedy the most interesting and instructive
on the grounds. The productive forces OF this
favored country are shown to their best Ivan
taRe, and had the exhibits Of the various States
not been carelessly mixed up, the display would
have been one Of the most instructive. Yet,
disorderly and still Incomplete as II Is. It shows
that there Is not a specimen OF tho animal,
vegetable or mineral kingdoms that this country
does not possess in profusion. Had II not been
for the caprcious extravaganza Of its popula-
latlon, the United States could completely IL
more the outside world, aud live as comfortably
and luxuriously as any people need wish to.
1t Is by contemplating the long rows OF pre-.
served and fresh fruits, Of meats and fishes Of
all kinds Of wines and spirits, OF grains and
vegetables, of silk worms, wools and cottons
OF metals. minerals and specimens of soil and