The San Francisco call., 1896-09-10
BABIES, BABIES
AND MORE BABIES
Great Exhibition of Infant
Native Sons and
Daughters.
FOND MOTHERS HAPPY
When Their Little Ones Were
Prize Winners for Weight
or Beauty.
FOND MOTHERS HAPPY
THOUSANDS OF SPECTATORS
Who Were Duly Interested as the
Beribbcnad Children Were Put
Up for Inspection.

The management of the Home Products
Exhibition at the Mechanics Pavilion ar
ranged that Admission day should go
down TO history as 'iBabies' day" The
news went forth and thousands of mothers
hocked to the Pavilion. Hundreds came
with babies which might be prize
winners Others brought babies who were
merely spectators. When the baby show
got fairly started it had the right-of-w way,
and kept in the middle of the road all the
afternoon amid sunshine and squalls.
Sir George Bromley, who is a knight
and great grandfather, was one of the
judges. Ernest Otto, S. H. Tacey and F.
Formhals acted as Mr.. Bromley's asso-
ciates, assisted by about all the clerical
force connected with the institute and eI-
position. There would have been other
judges, but they failed to materiaiZe
when the critical time arrived. Ed Green
way openly declined an appointment as
Judge; James Phelan voiced the rank
heresy that "One baby is Just like an
other" Judge Cofey declined on account
of ''muItifarious duties; Judge Campbell
simply ran away to Stockton.
The vista opening up before the COM
peting babies was dazzling. The winners
would triumph before a crowd which
packed the galleries aud the aisles, and
who seemed 10 be all eyes. In addition 10
thus being distinguished and admired
g sbove all other babies in sight there were
prizes to be won, ranging from pair of
oaby's lace pins TO = silver cup, and from
Z pap bowl and clay model bust to a silver
cup. The clay model bust was offered to
perpetuate the robust perfection of the
heaviest girl baby not over one year old.
The heaviest baby boy of the same tender
age had prepared for his reward for be-
coming fat silver rattle with bells.
First all the babies who wanted to COM
pete for prizes for weight n the various
classes engaged the undivided attention
OF all the Judges and all their assistants,
and so four sets of scales were kept in
motion, while babies tipped the beam" !"
Not few sleDt all through the weighing
A few wanted TO pull down the weight on
the beam. Others simply kicked and
cried for all that they were worth The
superior mind of man was manifested by
the fact that it took three Judges, two
clerks and one weigheT-in-chief to weigh
IN one baby, and then the weight was
afterwsrd challenged in two or three in
stances. The judges persevered 10 the
end, and when they had recorded q lot Of
facts about over 200 candidates for records
the weighing was over and the beauty
show OF the babies was begun.
The exposition band had only Just
finished a performance of the overture TO
''Se mramlde" when the musicians had
10 come down from their elevated posi-
tion IN favor of the babies, who, with
their fond mothers and the judges, occu-
pied the band platform nearly all the att
erno0n- There were four beauty prizes
two for the boys and two for the girls.
The babies were distinguished as TO sex
- he i'll iii
on the left shoulder and the boys having
blue ribbon on the right shoulder. 1t was
planned 10 have the girls and boys brought
up separately, bat this could not always
be carried out. for no less than four pairs
Of twins found their way 10 the platform
and belDed to add TO the statistical value
Of the show.
The baby girls not over ore year old had
the first trial, and this developed the plan
OF the judges. The parents with babes in
arms sat by the score around the outer
edge Of the platform. The judges looked
them all over and then prepared half a
dozen or more tickets bearing numbers
and placed these IN q silk hat. Then an
infant was ccaxed 10 pull out the tickets
and the first one to be selected drew the
first prize ana the second selection enti-
tied to the second prize, and so on. When
one class was judged the stage was wanted
by another The stage was filed and
cleared four times Of fat babies, lean
babies, bald-headed babies, blue-eyed,
hazel-eyed or blaek-eyed babies babies
with curls and babies without, and IN fact
about ali sorts and conditions of Caucas-
ian babies eligible to compete. Every
class came up quietly. Every class went
of with the great majority Of its members
crying.
The Judges said that they did not make
the babies CRY. When the cause was inves-
tigated it was discovered that Henry Root,
q bachelor, was handing them ali down,
and they may have discovered his mex
perience. The prize winners were as fol-
lows:
Handsomest girl baby not over 1 year old,
Ethel Rose Brennan, IL months old, hazel
eyes; exhibited By mother, Mrs. D. J. Bren-
nan Of 22131z Polk street
Second hendsomest girl baby not over year
Old Myrtle CrGuz, black eyes; exhibited by
Mrs. Richard Crsnz of 80 Ninth street.
Third handsomest girl baby not over year
old, Doris Metcalf, exhibited by Mrs. George
Metcalf Of 2Z2S Sutter street
The fourth prize in this class went 10 twins,
Hazel and Harold JanJou; exhibited by Mrs
Eugene JanjOu Of 1902 Lincoln avenue The
twins are only three months old. They were
the youngest prize-winners ct the show and
the youngest twins present
Ha1dsomest girl baby not over 2 years old,
Oracle Boyd; exhibited Dy Mrs. E. E. BOYD OF
52OD Turk street.
Second handsomest girl not over 2 years old,
Lizzie Hall; exhibited by Mrs. c.. 1. Hall OF
1l43 Valencia street.
Third handsomes5 girl not over years old,
Pauline KurtneT; exhibited by Mrs Louis
Kuttner OF 1416 Mission street.
Handsomest boy baby not over year old,