The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-05-12
From The Neio York Tribune, May 10th.
International Exhibitions.

Worlds Fair 10 the Hyde Park Crystal
Palace set the fashion among the nations
Of the earth Of meeting at intervals in the
great capital cities to compare progress in
art and industry and learn what they
could from one another. The results of
that experiment made by the London So
ciety OF Arts 10 1881 we're so valuable and
80 quickly apparent that the supreme i'm
portance of such exhibitions has ever since
been admitted, aud tor the last fifteen
years not twelvemonth has passed with
out an international display of greater or
less extent in s)me city of Europe. None
of the larger fairs, except that OF 1851,
have paid their cost, il the shape of pecu
mary returns; yet no one questions that
the indirect profit has in all cases been
enormous to every nation participating In
the assemblage, whether as host or guest
The French government was so well per-
suaded OF this that it appropriated r.
100000 francs for the exhibition of 1867,
one half to be paid by the state and one
half by the city of Paris, and felt itself jus
tilted in dividing an apparent surplus of
receipts among the private guarantors,
instead OF applying it to the reduc-
ton of this appropriation, on the ground
that the country had received more than
an equivalent for its expenditure. Even
the enormous deficit of $9,OOO,0O0 in the
Vienna enterprise of 1873 Is looked upon
as the result Of mismanagement and
accident, and by no means shakes the con-
fident behalf OF the world that exhibitions
are worth all they cost.
The tendency of recent years has been
to rely more and more upon the aid and
direction OF the government in carrying on
these undertakings, and the sixth Of the
great worlds fairs which opens to-day in
PHILADELPHIA presents some remarkable
and instructive contrasts to the chief OF its
predecessors. 1t is by far the most i'm
posing in extent, and in certain depart
meUts it is probably the richest of any that
the world has yet seen. If We reckon IN
its total cost the sums which exhibitors
and foreign governments have spent for
the transportation Of their goods, the
maintenance Of commissioners, Nc, it
may perhaps be regrded as more eXpen-
sive even than that of Vienna, while it is
more than twice as costly as the Paris
Exposition of 1867. Yet it is the
work of an association OF private
citizens who have had few opportunities to
study the experience of other nations in
suph affairs, and who found nothing in the
experience OF their own country except
blunders and discredit. The wretched
failure made by the New-York Exhibition
of 1853 and the lamentable figure which
America presented at Vienna certainly
gave US no reason to expect successful
issue Of the work just accomplished a
Paramount Park. But private citizens
have triumphcd where government officials
would have failed Private citizens
happily chosen. shouldered the reponsibilit,
collected the funds, devised the who'll
scheme Of organization, perfected tn
details OF management, reused the interes
of foreign nations, and stimulated the
laggard enthusiasm of our own people
There is no parallel for such work il
the history Of the world great fairs. Tn
Hyde Park and South Kensington palace
were not public enterprises, but they were
undertaken by an influential corporation
under government patronage. Private
companies had something to do with tn,
two Paris Expositions, but it wa
really the state which managed ant
paid for them. Here, however
the cooperation Of the government wa
purely formal until the undertaking wa
substantially finished, and then congress
only contributed moderate sum of none,
TO cover deficiencies which would perhap
not have existed but for the recent fnan
cial disasters. The whole scheme spring
right from the midst Of the people, tn
great complicated work is improvised by
few bankers, merchants, editors, pro!es
sors, manufacturers, and railroad men.
We believe that nothing exhibited a
Paramount Park to-day will be bette
worth study than the general result OF thi
new experiment in popular management
For it is the universal judgment that il
the perfection Of the plan and the admin
istration the Philadelphia fair has neve
been equaled. The Americans charac
teristic fondness for the immense has her
had full indulgence. No such huge col
lection Of the products of the earth anC
the handiwork OF man has ever beer
brought together. No assemblage of ar
fists and artisans has ever been so magnfi
Gently entertained The main exhibition
hall is not only the best adapted for III
purpose that has eyer been erected, bu
it is actually the largest building of am
kind in the world. The long hall which
adjoius it THE two together presenting
facade of three. quarters of mile) ex
hlbits the most remarkable array 0
machinery in motion that has ever beef
attempted, and the great engine in tn
has been no serious trouble in tue prepare
tons for this enormous show, and no Rrea
waste. The buildings are cheap vet no
shabby, with just enough architecture
ornament to escape criticism, and 10 avoi,
disfguring the beautiful landscape whicl
surrounds them. Where costly decora
tons was allowable. as in the permanen
structures for art and horticulture, it ha
been applied with good taste; where none
had to be saved il was saved judIciously
The comfort of visitors and exhibitors hav
alike been consulted with marvellous fore
thought The great problem of passenge
transportation, which was such a seriou
difficulty at Vienna, seems to have bee
easily solved. II there are blank space
in the show to-day, and packing -boxe
appear where the products of art ought {
be on view, the fault is not that of tn
commissioners of the exhibition. Unlik
almost all their predecessors in other cour
tries,they were ready before the appointe
time. When the first cases OF good
reached the grounds the buildings wer
finished and swept to receive them, an
the perfect system of railway carriage.
handling, and distribution which Amer
can genius has devised for the occasio
was In smooth and rapid operation. II
lu ~ .E A.. 4 L.