St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-06
TOO EARLY FOR WORK.
Plenty of Time if $4,000 Is the
Limit of Worlds Fair Appropri-

alton.
TO the Editor of the Globe.
a correspondent who claims to be "a
representative of the GLOBE" in cor
respondence published in your paper on
the 10Th ult. in which he attempts to
criticise the worlds fair commission for
the state of Minnesota. starts out with
the following statement:
Is the feeling toward the Minnesota worlds
fair commission the same in the country that
II is in Minneapolis? If il is, there is hot one
chance in one hundred for the commission
to raise the money necessary to make cred
liable exhibit of the resources and products
of the state of Minnesota at Chicago in 1893.
Speaking for myself as member of
the worlds fair commission. allow me to
say: II was not aware that the COM
mission was appointed to raise the
money necessary to make creditable
exhibit of the resources and products of
the state of Minnesota at Chicago in
1885," but on the contrary was appoint
ed to prepare for and superintend such
exhibition as agent of the state, Oh
scale limited only by the amount of
funds which had been and which may
be In any manner provided for that
purpose. AS a member of that commits
sion 1 have not deemed it advisable to
urge upon the people of the state any
specific mode for raising additional
funds to be expended by the commits
sion, preferring to leave that question
outside of the commission. | am already
on record as favoring larger apprOpri-
alton by the state, and | am also Oh
record as member of the commission
to 20 ahead at the proper time and make
the best showing with the money al
ready appropriated, provided no adj
dltlonal SUN can be raised.
As citizen l would like to see the
state OF Minnesota represented at Chi
cagn Oh a scale equal to her great re-
sources. This caunot be done with the
$4,000 appropriated by the legislature,
and any person of common sense and
with the least reflection must admit that
when the commission begin to make eX-
penditureS in preparing for the worlds
fair it should have at least an approx
mate idea of the amount of funds it
will be permitted to eXpend. 1t will not
do with only $4,000 in sight to COM
mence to prepare for the worlds fair on
scale of Sl50,000, and it would seem to
be no less folly to commence on scale
for $4,000 show until at least it shall
be definitely settled that no more money
can be raised. In my Judgment if the
great state Of Minnesota is To make its
exhibit at Chicago within the means
already appropriated the time has not
yet come to begin the expenditure. The
$4,000 can be expended more judic-
iouSly and more intelligently in 1892
than in 1891, if this amount is all the
commission will be enabled to spend.
Your representative" intimates that
the commission is not sufficiently repre-
sentative, and says this is urged as all
excuse why the people of the state have
not been more ready and willing to IN
crease the appropriation. Is there any
any foundation for this statement? Be
fore the appointment of the commits
sion the legislature, composed of repre-
sentative men from all parts of the
state, had refused to appropriate more
than $4,000 for an exhibit to the Column
bian fair, and this lack of enthusiasm
and liberality certainly cannot be
charged to the commission.
When / accepted the appointment l,
of course, knew the amount of the APP
preparation, and | accepted it with
will to aid other members of the COM
mission to make the best exhibition Oh
the part of the state possible with the
means provided. At the same time [
did hope that the representative" men
of the state would provide way for
raising sufficient additional funds to en-
able the state of Minnesota to indiyidu-
aliZe herself at the worlds fair along
side of other great states of the union.
1t is much easier aud less expensive to
find fault with and criticise the COM
mission than to raise money, and if your
representative" correctly reflects the
feelings of the able business men of the
state, then of course nothing can be eX-
pected from them in adding funds to
the appropriation. The state has APP
propriated $4,000 for the collection,
arrangement and display of the pro-
ducts of the state of Minnesota at the
Worlds Columbian exhibition of 1898.
This of course includes the freight to
and from Chicago and expenses in max
ing the exhibit at Chicago, and as there
is no provision for a state building, the
products to be collected and exhibited
under the Appropriation will 60 into the
general buildings of the worlds fair.
Ii this is all, the time to make these col
lections and these arrangements for this
kind ola display, has in my judgement
not arrived.
Your representative" not having
been very strongly seconded by the
public in his onslaught upon the COM
mission has taken another tack. In
his communication published in your
paper on the Sd inst, he comes out in
the role of a constitutional lawyer, and
is eXpoundiug or attempts to expound
article 4, section 9. of the constitution.
If the business men of Minneapolis, for
whom he claims to speak, will guar
antee a fund sufficient wherewith to
place the state of Minnesota in her true
light before the world at the Columbian
exhibition. they need not give tor
tured construction to the constitution
to get rid of at least one of the present
commission. Most respectfully yours,
JAY LA Due.
Luverne, Mimi, Oct. 5, 1891.