The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-03-04
FevoRs ExPosITIohs.

| NDER suspensionNof the rules, the House OF
| Representatives on Thursday voted an apprc-
- priation Of 100000 each for the proposed Fan
American exposition to be held at Buffalo and the
Ohio centennial, to be celebrated at Toledo The
fact that such measures passed the House by viz
tually unanimous approval is proof that the value
Of expostons is now fully understood in the East,
and that even the most economical Congressman no
longer regard expenditures for them as either
waste unwarranted use OF money.
In fact it is only upon the Pacific Coast that expo
stions are not understood or their benefits duly ap
preciated There has never been really large ex-
position the coast, and people have never had
experience of their benefits The greatest enterprise
Of the kind attempted here was the M1dwlnter
Fair and that prepared hastily and was never
designed to be more than Western exhibit OF
some of the display made at the Worlds Fair IN Chi
cago That exposition, therefore, afforded no proper
test OF what expositions accomplish when planned on
vast scale and deliberately worked out
AS things near at home impress us more than
greater things afar off, SO large number of Pacific
Coast people Judge all exposons by the results at
tanned by the Mdwner Fair rather than by what has
been accomplished by the carefully worked out
enterprises of other sections The tendency to form
judgments in that way is natural but it is not wise.
The more sagacous plan would be to note the results
flowing from expositions generally, and to learn from
those who have had most experience IN their conduct
In the East, where expostons on large scale,
prepared for through years OF work, are common,
public sentiment is we'll nigh unanimous in their ia
vor While the Pacific Coast has never had an in
ternationaI exposition, thoroughly COM
prehensive American exposition, each OF the great
sections of the Eastern States has had several Even
in the South where there no large cities, where
banking capital is scarce there have been IN recent
years two such expositions, while IN the richer and
more popuous North scarcely year passes without
seeing the opening of some enterprise OF the KIND
As a consequence of this ample experience, expo
sons are regarded in the East the most profitable
method of advertising that widespread community
can devise The experience has not been lost upon
Congress- and accordingly appropriations for such en-
terprses are now made willingly and literally, as was
shown by the action OF the House on Thursday.
1t is safe to say that the State Legislature had
promptly voted the 100000 required to assure the
Pacific Coast Exposition in California, an equal sum
would have been voted for it by Congress at the
same time the appropriations were made for Buffalo
and Toledo We have lost something in point OF
time by the delay OF the Legislature, but State ap-
oropriation now will enable obtain grant from
Congress when it assemblies this fall The Legislature
should profit by the example set at Washington,
where the value OF expositons is more fully under
stood than here We safely trust the business in
stncts of the East on subjects concerning which the
East has ample experience and we have had none.