New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-07-29
THE ITALIAN EXPOSITION.

IABOR-A POOR DISPLAY or MACHINEBY.-DIs-
ADVANTAGES SUFFERED BY ITALIAN PARTNERS
WHAT THE EXHIBITION IS LIKELY TO DO FOR
THE ITALIAN NATION.
IFnoM An OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TEiBUNE.l
NIIAv, Italy, July 0.-Jhe Italian National EX-
position now in progress heie rs no doubt an out
growth of the sentiment hich has OF late years
been developing in Italy that Italy Is number OF
decades behind The age in respect 10 those Things
which make II nation great and people prosperous.
Italy in the past has Leen little better than an old
curiosity shop and art museum. and until recently
no Italian has seemed To doubt that Italy part in
the economy of the world was TO amuse people of
fo-calcd aesthetic tastes to paint pictures and to
carve statues to restore and preserve castles, tenn
pies and monuments. and 10 uncarth and to manu-
facture antiques. Take the large city OF Pisa, for
example, aal if one should ask what is its industry
and scarce OF wealth the only that could be
made would be that 1t has no otEer industry
sOurce of wealth than its leaning tower. If an
earth quake should send the leaning tower atop
pling to the ground, there would be nothing left
for the poo: Pisaus but to tie each q fragment of
tho toppleA tower about his neck ana cast himself
into the Arno. At Rome too. the entire business of
the people is to take in foreigners and iii pursuit of
their vacations the Romans devote themselves
clusively to hotels, art and antiquity And all
Italy where it can be done the example of the
Pisans and Romans is followed.
Now while without doubt the steady influx of
country like Italy, it is the other hand true that
the country, the chief industry of which is tavern
keeping is badly OIL, and needs to be walked up
little. As | understand il, the National Exposition
ut Milan is of the instruments devised for the
waking mp of the people AS the managers put it,
they want to show to Italians what Italy is and
what she is dong i'll the various industries, ard to
stimulate the people better work and of 1t.
l should fancy that International Exhibition
would have walked the people more ehectuaiiy.
Considering the end in view, the project of a
tional exhibition suggests the picture of blind
leading another blind man, and that other
picture of the man of inventive genius struggling to
lift himself over fence by his bootstraps. There
is no one of the civilized counties of the world
much in need of instruction from abroad as Italy,
and this very thought is constantly in ones mind
as he goes about the Milan Exhibition. 1t is fair,
however to say that, taking the exhibition simply
as an entertainment. without regarding the fact
that it supposed to be an exposition of the IN
iustries of 2S0O0,000 people, il is eminenty salts
factory and pleasing.
STATISTICS OF THE ENTERPRISE.
The Exposition is held in buildings expressly
erected for 1T in the public gardens of the city ten
minutes ride by the horse from the centre of
the city. The buildings a space of about
$4,000 square metres and the entire space devoted
to tho exhibition, including open courts. is not less
than 100000 square metres The buildings are of
wood, lightly and gracefully put together and they
are painted in very lively coors. / do not know
exactly what the buildings cost, but il is stated
that the managers have spent something n
million francs in all. l believe that 500, 900 francs
were raised by subscription and that 800 900 francs
were donated by the Italian Government. There
several entrances TO the Exhibition grounds
though there would be difficulty in passing all
OF the visitors through single door and very
narrow one The MilaneSe WILL fear be dsap-
pointed in then anticipations of immense crowds
They thought the city would be overlooking with
strangers from the opening of the Exhibition in May
TO its close in October. As it is one is almost lone
while at the Exposition. and ! do not think
the daily average of visitors will be than five
or six thousand. That number of visitors, each
paying franc for admission will hardly yield
large daily income. L told, however, that the
management relies upon the lottery which has been
organized in connection with the Exposition to
make up any deficit. Perhaps it is expected that
the lottery will do even more. To American it,
seems strange that of the most prominent feat
of an institution devst for the betterment of
the condition of the Italian people should be lot
terry.
FALSE AND TRUE CERAMICS
AS one would naturally suppose, the Exhibition
achieves its greatest in its displays ar-
cles which ordinarily cassed as Injuries. En-
tering tE1Exhibiton on the occasion of my fist
visit froni~the street called Palestro, stumbled
the department in which exhibited specimens of
italian ceramic art, glassware mosaics, jcwelry
. and bronzes. Without leaving this section of the
Exhibition coulu easily have day of delicious
enjoyment The display of Florence wares is of
course the finest in the ceramic department. though
Milan puts in a very forcible claim Tor recognition
There dinner services. coffee sets vases plaques
and everything else in the ceramic line in the
greatest possible variety and of all degrees OF rich
ness. As rule the articles exhibited are for sale
and are marked with their prices and if one takes
the trouble to make memorandum of what he
would like to have if he could afford it, he is aston
lshed to find out what quantity of beautiful things
$1,000 Will buy. Florence may be very dear
in America, hut they very cheap in Italy OF
late the Florence pOtters have taken to the manu-
facture of imitation antiques, and they turning
out lots of goods in this line, many of which are
shown i'll the Exhibition. The imitation is so per-
feet that fancy a collection of the bogus goods
labelled well back from the nineteenth century
would pass without question for a collection of
veritable antiques. III ve-franc vase made at
Florence yesterday were put alongside the 900
franc antique of which it is an imitation il would
be a matter of guesswork to tell which was the
antique and which the base imitation. | have no
doubt that many Americans pay fancy prices at the
antique shops of Rome and Florence for bits of pot
terry, the antiquity of which is merely "A matter of
faith.
FKAILrY AND STRENGTH.
From the ceramic gallery passes directly into
the rooms in which are shown the products of
italian glass-workers. Everything that is ever
made of glass is exhibition in these rooms from
small cheap blue bottle up TO the gorgeous Vene-
tian chandelier worth thousands of francs The
walls are covered with the most gorgeous Venetian