The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-10-04
from the New York Tribune.l

From the New York Tribunel
The great Exhibition mt Paris is vir-
tually over, the awards having been
made, though not officially published.
The result, as far as the United States
is concerned, is precisely what the
Tribune predicted it would be months
before the Exhibition opened. Many OF
our manufacturers, convinced by their
experience at Philadelphia of the. inn
portance of this representation before
the world as an advertisement, exerted
themselves to conquer all difficulties,
and to make creditable display OF
their wares. The reward of their efforts
is the large list of medals and diplomas
given to this country. In agricultural
implements we take all the highest
prizes, all the second, and majority of
the third In machinery, scales instru-
ments of precision, beer, and parlor
organs, we rank first In dental instru-
ments we, as usual, pass all competitors.
In books we take three of the five
prizes in gold work, street cars, print
ing presses, sewing machines, canned
goods, the highest honors. In short,
there is scarcely an exhibit of any kind
by reputable firm which has not COM
manded success, and we venture to
predict that every firm which has thus
advertised itself over the world will find
that it has secured proportionate in
crease of custom.
But the fact remains that our exhibit
as whole was totally unworthy our po-
sition as one of the first four civilized
nations; and that the fault is due to the
willful blindness of the Government to
the importance of our proper represen-
tation. Many of our best manufacturers
refused to make any exhibit at all, so
short was the period allowed by the in
excusable delay of Congress-; and those
who did make one did it Mt the disad-
vantage of great and unnecessary out
lay hurried work and cramped space
in the buildings.
We hear many sneers at our inferior
ity in every display which called for
knowledge of art or the power of artistic
production. For this the Government
is certainly not to blame. Nor is any
body else, for that matter. 1t is half a
century too soon TO look for any revela-
ton of high artistic powers among u.s.
To each man his work. Our work as a
nation so far has been to open CONT
nent of unbroken forest, and to compel
machinery to take the place of too scant
labor. We have done this work and
done it well. Until the present genera
ton art was an almost unknown ele-
ment in our civilization. Not one
home-bred American in thousand has
ever seen a really great picture or statue !;
the European is born and reared in the
constant presence of all the beauty which
past ages have bequeathed to the world.
Our artists, it is complained, have, as a
rule, sent to this Exhibition only imita-
tons of French and German schools.
Why, OF course we are not original; men
are like children; they must go through
the age of servile imitation of their elders
before they feel the stirring of independ-
ent creative power within themselves.
A few of our artists have shown that they
had eyes to see the material at home and
the imagination to use it, and they have
won all the praise which was given us in
this department at the Exhibition. Art
will take care of itself in this country.
The American has as sensitive nervous
organization as even his italian brother
his eye is as keen, his hand as deft; the
dramatic sense is not lacking. Once
convince him that art is as necessary Il
part of life to him as agriculture or ma
chinery, and his energy and devotion in
her service will be as great.