The Portland daily press., 1878-04-04
On to Paris.
The Exhibition and the American Dis
play.

WASHINGTON, March So 1873
Calling at the State Department yesterday,
in search of news (the proceedings in Congress
being of particularly dull and somnolent ma
ture), was shown a letter which had Just been
received from Mr.. Rufus T. Smith, one of our
assistant commissioners to the Paris Exposi-
tion, in which that gentleman makes q lengthy
and very favorable report of the progress of the
American section at the Paris Exposition, to
be opened on the first of May, next, and which
will surpass in grandeur any previous Interna-
tional Exhibition, with the exception. possibly,
of our own great Centennial Show" which
covered more ground at least, than the one
about to be opened In Paris. am thus ena.
bled to present to your readers, in aduance, the
first offi,ial and authentic report on the sub
ject.
As at our own Exposition of 1879, each ma
ton represented at Paris will have building Of
its own, located on the Champ de Mars, in
close proximity to the Main Building. It was
the desire of the French Commissioners that
each nation should construct brildng which
would be in some way characteristic of the
country to which it belonged; a task not easy
in the construction of distinctive American ed
ifice (unless built after the pattern of an Indian
wewam) Hence, as the next best thing, in
the absence of an american" style of srchi-
lecture, it was decided to make this building
on the plan and general appearance Of hsud-
some villa, such as one may see 10 any of the
fashionable suburbs of our larger cities, aud
ornament it plentifully with emblems of our
'Liberty and Unity; quite spossinls and In
good taste now, when France is Republic
The building will consist of two stories sur
mounted by cupola or dome; the rooms up
stairs to be used as offices By the American
Commission while those on the first floor will
be handsomely furnished as reception rooms,
where Americans will at all tim-s be sure to
meet friends aud receive hearty welcome. 1t
will be erected close to the Unlted States annex
and from the balcony surrounding the cupola
there will be superb view of the exposition
grounds. The spaces between the windows on
the front side, or facade, will be represented
on an ornamented escutcheon, the arms Of tue
thirteen original states of the Union; and along
the cornice, above these panels the remaining
States will be Represented hy smaller escutche-
ons carrying their armorial bearings; the arms
of the states of California and Colorado occupy
lug central position directly over the main
entrance. A flag pole, seventy feet high, will
be erected in front of the building, from which
the Stars and stripes will be thrown to the
Partisan breeze.
At the Exposition we will, all things consid-
cred, make pretty fair display, especially in
agricultural produce and implements, edge
tools of all kinds, hardware goods generally,
and electrical apparatus. eae very Interesting
exhibit will be the complete process OF making
shoes by machinery, the machines beiug the
same as those which recently carried off q num-
ber of prizes in Belgium. Among the states,
California is prepared to make the most snowy
display, and her exhibition of minerals will
be the finest the world has ever seen. A pyTa-
mid twenty feet square at the base, and sixty
seven and-s-hslf feet high, will represent the
1000, 900 of cubic inches of gold VII ch have
been produced on the Pacific coast This mass
would be equivalent to solid block OF pure
gold as large as a square room sixteen feet in
height, length and breadth. Encircling this
pyramid there will be fifty plate-glass show
cases. in which will be artistically arranged the
mineral wealth Of that favored section.