The Portland daily press., 1893-08-04

clusion, and the Philadelphians lost all
the money they subscribed to- the pro-
ject
At one or two of the foreign fairs,
and especially in France, suspicious
have been entertained of the integrity
of the jury of awards. In the present
age an exaggerated Importance is
given to the medals, honorable men,
tions, ETC., o. such an exhibition.
France being q republic, and subject
to the same temptations and want of
restraints and of corrections as our
own country, the American exhibitors
did not like the way the Frenchmen
danced around them, as If they would
like to becc 1e personally acquainted
before they tested the merits of the
articles displayed. Yet, there was no
scandal in the sequence, and perhaps
this exhibition will turn out all right.
The arbitrary man who undertakes to
impose his views of comforting medals
and favors is generally nuisance.
I spoke to one of the national COM
mission the day they came to some So
luton of the methods of giving awards,
aud he said: s'Mr. Thacher is right.
Congress said that this should not be
a competitive fair. People came here
who wanted their history to be taken
into consideration; that they had made
certain products for a long period of
time, and were not therefore to be
measured with some special product
which might be very carefully pre-
1a1x fhn nvhf7i+ hor~o -
Probably, in the long run, the people
will care very little about medals OBJ
tanned from expeditions. The piano
people have been the principal quar-
refers on the ground, and pianos in
America come under the head of waste.
full running expenses.
One cause Of the present uneasiness
in business arises from the huge COM
missions paid the jobbers and go-be-
tweens. We have seen an immense sew
ing machine company fail, and prob
ably if we will look into the way it was
conducted we shall find that the cost
of the sewing machine was hardly ten
dollars, and that by the time the IN.
fortunate consumer received it he was
paying forty to fifty dollars for it. It
is the same way with life insurance all
over this country. Not content with
writing reasonable amount of obliga-
tions, the particular companies want
to put two hundred million dollars on
as the amount of their risks, and they
put in as their assets costly edihces,
reared in distant states and nations,
which in case of revulsion would bring
but little money. If one looks around
him in this worlds fair he will see that
the American system of paying COM
missions has made it almost impos-
sible for the million of consumers
TO obtain that which they want
at a moderate profit. Part Of this is
due to our having SO much country to
cover All plumbers supplies, includ-
ing bathtubs and closets, are furnished
to the intermediates at from forty
to sixty per cent. off, an enormous
amount for the ultimate consumer to
nav. The windmill men who go over
this country putting up scaffclds and
pin wheels to pump water from holes
and cisterns, will purchase in the next
town to the consumer their iron pipe,
and charge for it at forty per cent.
upon what they paid, whereas the con-
surner himself could go into the same
town and buy the pipe commission off.
Seeing in Chicago solid oak set of
interesting appearance, a lady entered
and asked it's price. 1--WE cannot sell
it to you," said the clerk, not naming
the price. II did not ask that" said
the woman; 'have you no price upon
it?" "You go to somebody in the
trade, and tell them to come here and
buy it" remarked the merchant. aenS
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