New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-13


u.o, MAY u (Spec!aD.-The Bureau OF
IDS for the Columbian exhibition Is se'ueu IL
A"a s,on where it pursues the even tenor of It's
"aS" a,,,stlv that Il is almost forgotten by the
way n,siae During the Exhibition the Bureau
w'''- .ras was near al hand in the Administration
o. "s,ns end much OF the time had nara ROAD
D' ,,sI II was the everyday target Tor mercAess
~',,-r in the Chicago press. and was the every
e1 '''I." ~ more or less veXauon Of spirit be-
oN az Executive Committee and the exhibitors
tNs'" nsople this Executive Committee meant
10 M" Dd T,hacher the chairman. He was held
!'A" ,h,o generally for all shortcomings, and in
i'"uy IN blame for the then unpopular single
en rys,em of awards. Mr.. Thatcher. however
'''ss NV his guns. and pretty enectualy repcied
wv o,,ack OF the enemy without and WITHIN the
e s grounds. But when the big Far was
hA no confessed that he was quite worn ou''
"e' =, the same time had become 50 hardened
t0.' =. was now as impervlous to further Grill
tnA' -" auck is to water. Nevertheless. after be-
CAS-" o.. equipped to meet any situation, he de-
'ns "a "a get away and out of the atmosphere
.a ,,,aIs There tremendous opposition 10
o. -. .royal but in spite of opposition he carried
Wv Inf With Instructions TO the Bureau OF
vs. ,ras 70 pack up and follow, Mr. Thatcher turned
A"" .aot on the breezy press. ard shaking the
~. .. =, Chicago off his feet, calmly departed Tor
.'s,ny,on And here. in the Pacific Building in
v ,ss, halfway between the protecting folds of
&c and Stripes on the Capitol and the White
Wv ,ha Bureau Of Awards is working out Its
.-.n salvation. so to speak. and with none 10 mo-
Wv. make i, afraid. Mr.. Thacher here talks in
....s,i,rlv of the work. When asked about the
- on medals and diplomas and also about judges
,.Dorts on which the exact wording OF 'he u'-
,srr.s denends-vhether these reports were up 10
,hs mark. or required much revision ana IL So IN
.bst particulars. Mr. Thacher said:
CONGRESS- bv an act approved August o. 1892 (as
.mended March 3. 1888, placed the matter OF tut
nlsnn9 ~ The secretary Of the Treasury. The law
o,nviSes that when completed they snail be handeu
p"s FOR proper distribution. Beyond that we nave
" ssnonsIhility either as the designs, the ma
,srias or the time of their compleuol Iioie 'i.'''
y % cen, NJ me Judges reports eminenty sat
Spr ry"' They are full and complete They are
;nstrIcve and interesting. About 10 per cent nav
proved somewhat ny reason T C1
In instances Of this kind the judges, where II mas
been possible, have been COMMITMENTS ,, Wi are
COMPLETE or 10 abridge them, as the case might ne
Where the judges making the eNahlhauoh oy ,d
served in the same group or class were asKeed 10
make the modification or change. Only ABOUT per
cent Of the Judges reports have been OF chai'iC-
,sr recurring entirely new consideration. These de-
fectve reports have been due frequently 10 me re-
nort having been written in foreign lanSuaSe, or
,s-mgh assuming that both the exhibitor and the
public would understand the merits o. nc eNh .
stone upon which the system stands is the an.
nouncement in the report Of the specihc points OF
@ me- Could moi permit reports Of this charac
Ter to stand and we have exercised great care IN
;nSgss This has not essened the awards. but sim
Div has made more distinct ana COMPREHENSIVE uie
character Of the same.
EXCLUSION OF COMPETITION.
In regard to the fact that Notwithstanding all
Judges were governed by TIE same rules excluding
competitive awards. foreign judges found it difficult
to Judge the exhibits from points OF excellence.
rather than hv comDarisOn. u said.
Each Judge undoubtedly weighed the character
Of the exhibit against his idea of what supreme
excellence in that exhibit would be. This was just
what We wanted We were not TO grant an award
to new country for showing the best thing fl
could do. but We were to show what constituted
the very highest degree Of excellence obtained by
that character of exhibit anywhere in the world
This was calculated to teach the world what was
best II countries could not attain TO the de-
gree OF excellence obtained by the old countries IN
certain EXHIBITS. they nevertheless would nave pc
fore them a standard OF excellence toward which
they might continually press until they reached that
standard And this is therefore an educational sys
tenn.
A very large majority of the reports demonstrated
the merits of the sngle-judge system. 1t was not
expected that the system would work out with alb
soute smoothness and without some difficulties be-
satisfactory; but the principle that the Exhibition
was educat ional in its character, and not to be
for trafickins has been fully established This sys-
ten is best adapted for showing the advancement
and progress made from one Exhibition 10 another.
II Is the best form for milestone 10 mark the
progress In the march Of civilization. BY simply
giving graded medals and stopping there no Ex-
RIbItion could properly mark its bearings at that
time In the march Of civilization and progress. Tn
selsnce presented by each cas- OF exhibits were
recorded in permanent form over the name OF an
expert authority
We have been busy for the last few weeks send
ing out to exhibitors the text OF their awards, just
ssS ee win iE ppesr N ee dPas |een Go
that the exhibitors appreciate the value from
commercial point Of view. of the awards made. The
n he y~h0 he
best authority available indicate Just how true
were the advertised claims OF the exhibitors. and
70 that extent aid the exhibitor In prosecuting his
business by telling the world that his exhibit. or
mat the article he produced will accomplish that
which he claims for II. All the gold medals Of all
previous Exhibitions could never pronounce n sin
ge reason why the exhibitor received recognition
Or what merit his exhibit had. But these reports
disclose the specific points Of merit, ana. as said,
gre OF the utmost commercial value TO the q
exhibits ''e advancement "'"ue IN "''' Class OF
when the reports are all made public. and COM
larison Is made between them and those published
,vr previous Exhibitions. have no doubt the syS-
'em viii be fully vindicated.
FOREIGNERS AND AMERICANS COMPARED.
When asked how the foreign and American judges
compared In efficiency. faithfuness and amount Of
"efk accomplished. Mr.. Thatcher said:
~ difficult to form any comparison Of this kind
~ scarcely any two JUDGES equally
pe', N the same class In which they served. The
inst when We found nat they hs se printed
sy. m''n we greatest authority in the world
s sl subject. special and particular subject. 1t
liI''natel the necessity OF the appointment OF II
49, ~, expert on the part Of America. / think many
~ tne foreign juG,es enjoyed the advantage Of ex-
r rlas az past Exhibitions and this somcwhat IA
es,i r,ea their work. On the other hand this ac-
f o,s with methods pursued at past Exhibit /
,s and so Numerically opposed 10 our own sys-
s,n worked 70 disadvantage. 1t was natural to
in,ssyss mat the American judges much more
Ten .s'eu IN the successful outcome of the sys-
say ,s man our foreign friends but am bound to
ps,.d IA. ne latter, when the Exhibition was COM
Nssa no matter how they may have felt at the |
jse sang were completely converted 10 the excel
,orsc.,T tne system. Many OF these are writing his
Inc rr.. ana educational reports which win be OF
q r. possible value In completing the history
rr.s se exhibition ] think that we had perhaps |
"a Nv. number OF expert authorities In proportion
Ws III quota OF judges than the foreigners had. |
man .om r favored TO secure In each case some
pro,.s W woman wnO was recognized by his or her |
ne.ss' or In his her line OF trade as the au-
VI, N mat specially. OF course. we We're some
N, ssnpered by the rule adopted that the differ
nsss.u ons OF the country should receive far
NJ even division of appointments to the Board |
Az one time | accused OF naming |
hn.. 5udges from tho State Of New-York. but |
he sr, vna was found that 1t simply because
ns mssnsorluss In certain lines Of exhibits lived In