The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-05-06
Mr.. Burners Artistic
Designs at St. Louis.
Manufactured Articles illustrate Each
Product of Toll. Lovely Dis
plays Enhance Attractive
ness of Palace Agri-
culture.

The Chicago Record Herald last
Sunday contained a handsome two
column cut of Col. Thomas X. Bruner,
secretary of the North Carolina State
Board of Agriculture, who has de-
signed the unique exhibit at the st.
| Louis Worlds Fair, which attracts
| more attention than anything at the
Fair. Accompanying the picture is a
picture of the exhibit which Mr..
| Bruner has arranged attractively and
| artistically. The article in the
| Record-Herald will interest all who
contemplate visiting st. Louis this
summer. 1t is as follows:
"A series of exhibits occupying the
central bay of the Palace of Agricul-
ture at the st. Louis worlds fair, and
| the most striking feature in that vast
structure, are called special exhibits
to distinguish them from the State
collections of miscellaneous agricul-
tural products. They are specialized
exhibits of tobacco, sugar, cotton and
corn; that is, they are composed of
the products from all of the States
which produce any of these crops on
a commercial scale, and they are so
arranged as to bring together for
easy comparison these commodities.
Each State also demonstrates the local
| uses of these crops, while the whole
produces a harmony and unity which
is aptly described as an epitome of
any one of these crops as produced in
the United States.
The idea of building these uniVer-
| sal exhibits originated with F. w.
| Taylor, chief of the department. After
| he had formulated the idea he set
about to find the man to work out the
| infinite details and to give form and
| expression to his ideal.
r, IL. Bruncr in Charge.
"He selected Colonel T. K. Bruner,
of North Carolina, who, by reason of
| his experience during the last twenty
years in exposition work and combined
| with his service as secretary of the
| board of agriculture of that State,
proved to be the right man for this
| Important task. He, had made name
! for himself in doing valuable work
| fortunate in securing his services.
| He took hold of his work with
zeal, and canvassed the States mostly
| interested, securing not only the ex-
| hibits, but the funds needed for this
| handsome installation. This was to
| be elaborate, comprehensive and ar
tistic. He was assisted by G. f.
| Greene, an artist of ability, and this
| collaboration has produced the most
magnificent spectacle yet seen at any
of the great international fairs.
Design Wrought i'm Tobacco.
"Inspectlng them cursorily upon en-
| tering the north end of the Palace of
| Agriculture the first to greet the visi-
tor is tobacco. This exhibit is 52x400
| feet square, and the central structure
| reaches a height of sixty feet. The
entire design is wrought in tobacco
in the forms of leaf, granulated, fine
cut twist and the like. The central
| feature is an octagonal base of forty
! feet in diameter on which rests the
globe which in turn is Surmounted
| by ship of the galleon type, which
was in vogue when the first tobacco
was sent from the new to the old
world by Sir Walter Raleigh's lieu
tenants in 1854. CThis probably went
| from "Wokokon" Island, now known
as Roanoke, on the northeast coast Of
| North Carolina).
"The whole conception is worked
| out in tobacco, embracing all shades
| from the black perique of Louisiana
| to the bright orange and lemon wrap
| pers of Virginia and North Carolina.
The whole looks in the distance like
| a picture in sepia. 1t is an effective
presentation of the whsle subject of
tobacco and attracts much attention.
Other Exhibits Similar.
"Beet and cane sugar are wrought
out in the same way by Louisiana and
| Colorado and Michigan. The growth
| and processes of manufacture are il
! lustrated most effectively. Both cot
| ton and corn are developed on an
elaborate scale and the products and
| by-products of each of these leading
| crops are brought effectively to view.
! The cotton occupies 52x200 feet and
| the corn 52x300 feet. Texas takes the
lead in the one and Missouri in the
| other.
aside from these special exhibits
| to Colonel Burners supervision has
! been intrusted the whole scheme of
installation within the Palace of Agri-
culture Here, again, his large ex-
perience and artistic taste have been
of great value. Many of the plans
| presented were without merit or so
| purely conventional as to mean moth
| ing These have been changed, inn
proved and otherwise fitted for the
purpose they are to serve. The in
stallation in this building is by far
more symmetrical and attractive than
in any other building on the grounds.
| Much OF the credit is due to the effec-
! tive work Of Colonel Bruner, who
stands very close in his relations with
Chief Taylor"