Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-02-02
ACROSS THE WATER.
HOW THEY MANAGE ExPosI.
TIoNs.
AKeea Interest Manifested by People
ofall Grades and Conditions.
The Cincinnati Centennial to surpass
Them All.
CINCINNATI, Jan. a, 1888.

home after several months absence in
the old country, where he went on q
tour OF observation, was met recently.
This gentleman, who, by the way, is
averse to having his name In print,
kept his eyes and ears open while
travelling aud his experiences would
fill o volume. He paid particular at
tention during his absence to the way
they managed public expositions In
that country, and having been con-
nected with similar enterprises in his
native city, his interest in matters of
the kind was heightened by that fact.
His travels embraced all the principal
points during the jubilee year where
displays of this kind were in progress,
and to these he paid. particular atten-
ton, spending several days each, at
Manchester, Liverpool, New Castle-on-
Tyne, Saltaire, and other points. Said
he In speaking of the Manchester Ex-
hibition, which opened It's doors to the
public last May, and which ran six
months:
"What impressed me most remarka-
bly, was the keen interest displayed by
the people of all grades and conditions.
The object of this exhibition was to
illustrate, as fully as possible, the
progress made in development of arts
and manufactures during the Victoria
era, commemorating the jubilee year
Of Queen Victoria's reign. Such was
the interest manifested, that it was no
trouble to fill the space, and, in fact,
many exhibits had to be declined
which were of great merit and which
were intrlnsically equal to those which
were accepted. The tradesmen seemed
to fully appreciate the advantages sure
to accure from participating in the dis
play, and, in consequence, no trouble
was experienced In getting the best of
everything.
"The place allotted to machinery
alone covered no less than 10000
square feet, and in its completeness of
plan and symmetry of arrangements,
in Its architectural features, its art dec
oration, its perfect collection ofpictures
and its provision for the comfort and
enjoyment of visitors. the Manchester
display was perhaps the most complete
and interesting of any we visited.
II was charmed with the machinery
as a happy thought, which led the
COlAllAItlCC w CAlllUIt IIlOuctS Vi Ulu anu
out of date machines side by side with
the marvellous creations of engineering
and mechanical skill and ingenuity
which have done so much to revolu-
tionize the trade of that country and to
give to 1t the preeminence which it
now enjoys.
Another feature struck me as being
particularly unique. The object of the
department to which 1 allude seemed
to be to reproduce fac-similies of old
historic buildings In Manchester and
other old places, and to present to the
nineteenth century a living and faith
ful picture of the streets through which
our fOrefathers walked, of the houses
in whiclithey dwelt, of the shops and
market places in which they transacted
business, and of the churches in which
they worshiped, and beneath the shad-
ows of which many of them now sleep.
"There you can see the old Roman
colony planted at Mancunium, the
fortified gateway built by the Roman
iegions, and narrow street, the houses
on either side of which nearly meet in
their upper stories, while the ground
floors are occupied with shops and stalls
which are known to have been situated
in the market street of old Manchester.
From thence you can wander through
the market space past the old Exchange
and smithy door, the old Stafford
Bridge, on one end of which is erected
an ancient chapel, while at the further
end stands the tower of the Old Church,
now the cathedral, from which peals a
chime Of beautiful bells.
ttYaEo II oil i'm oil will, 70
fabrics, pottery, glass, metal, wood,
marble, stone-worlS, its acres of ma
chinery in motion, its chemical and
allied industries, its thousands of speci-
mems of handicraft in process of pro-
duction, Its fine art collection, the
illuminatioMs and decorations, and the
myriad of other attractions. Manchester
eclipsed them all, and / don't suppose
there was ever anything to compare
with 1t since the close of The Centenni.
al Exposition at Philadelphia.
1T would be impossible to give you n
just conception of the magnitude of the
enterprise. Every department was
full and complete. While tile Exposi.
tions at New Castle-en-T at Liver
pool and Saltaire were charming, and
In which | passed many instructive
and pleasant hours, the one at Man.
chester came nearer my ideal of what
an affair ofthis kind should be-"
Did you visit the American Exhibit
at London?'
II did. And say it with a natural
regret, the so-called American Exhibit
is not worth mentioning only to con
denim 1t. IT WAS nothing but an in-
mense building filed with advertising
schemes aud the only thing there thai
attracted much attention was Buffalo
Bill and his indians. In other words.
the so.called American Exhibit was
nothing more than an annex to the
Wild West show, and seemed to be
wholly given up to advertising quack
nostrums and other wildcat schemes.
Recurring again to the Manchester
exhibit, one can form an idea of the
popular craze for this sort of thing
when you remember that the area cover
ed by it is thirty-three acres, while the
building area is fourteen acres more,
and that the general charge for space
was fifty cents per foot, and that every
inch of space was taken. The mini
mum charge for entry fees was $3.50.
This will give you an idea of its popu-
iarity And It deserved all the atten-
tion paid u, for a more varied and COM
prehensive collection was never made. 7,
win the Cincinnati Centennial Ex.
position, In your Judgment, compare
fAVOrabiy with those yOu visitpdou