The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-07-08
Reasons For the Fall Down on the
Building and Exhibits.
Commission Was Badly Handicapped
What Building Cost.
Excellent Educational Showing Made
BY North Star State.
From the Minneapolis Jourpal. !

De pretty well understood In the Mime
sofa colony here that the people at home
are dissatisfied with the showing Min
nesota has made. When the early visit
ors saw the state building and express
ed their dissatisfaction, they were told
that the commissioners had to choose be-
tween an expensive state building and
poor exhibits on the one hand, and
small building and good exhibits on the
other. Those who received this explana-
ton then went to look at the exhibits.
There, too, they met with disappoint-
ment. It has doubtless been noticed
by Journal readers that members of the
Minnesota State Editorial association,
who visited the fair in the first part of
June, were almost unanimous in their
expression of dissatisfaction with the
states showing. There is little doubt
that the editors fairly represent the gen
eral opinion of Minnesotans who have
been at the fair.
When the editors saw the exhibits
they were for the most part incomplete,
and there has been much improvement
since that time. For example, the agri
cultural exhibit was not complete and
not butter and cheese were to be seen.
Since then Minnesota buttermakers have
won glory by taking first place in the
first butter scoring contest. But that
does not affect what the visitor sees in
the agricultural exhibit. 1t has to be
admitted that excellent taste has been
displayed in planning the general scheme
and that it has been carried out well.
It is a pleasing exhibit and its artistic
quality is far better than that of many
states in the agricultural building. But
somehow or other, the exhibit does not
make hit with the public. 1t does not
succeed in advertising the state as a
great agricultural region. 1t does not
cause Minnesota to stand out in the
memory of the sightseers as a state that
has wonderful agricultural exhibit. One
reason is that the exhibit does not oc-
cupy enough space, one side of the square
in which it stands having small slice
cut off for South Carolina. The exhibit
gives the impression that too little
money was spent on it.
| The one great mineral of Minnesota
| is iron, and in the production of iron
ore it leads all the other states. Keep
ing this primacy in mind, it would seem
as if it would have been possible for
Minnesota to have an exhibit in the de-
partment of mines and metallurgy that
would be a tremendous advertisement
for the state. But here, too, the goal
has been missed. Somehow the Mime
sofa mineral exhibit utterly fails to
make hit. One of the most prominent
features of this exhibit is the model of
the city and port of Duluth. 1t is well
done and must have cost a deal of
money, but the connection between the
model and the states mineral production
is not established to the satisfaction of
the man who runs as he reads. Most of
the visitors to the fair are of that sort,
and are reduced to walk or brought to
standstill only by something wildly
striking in a vast assemblage of strik-
ing objects.
The state has no exhibit as a state in
manufactures and only two or three
Minnesota manufacturing firms make
private exhibits.
It would naturally be expected that such
great lumber producing state as Min
nesota would have forestry exhibit
that would rank up toward the top. As
a matter of fact there is no exhibit at
all of wood or timber or lumber. Min
nesota might be wholly treeless prairie
so far as the forestry exhibit tells the
tale, except for reproduction of scene
in the Minnesota woods, showing some
pine trees and some wild animals. This
part of the exhibit will advertise the
state among sportsmen, but it enlightens
nobody as to the states timber wealth;
it tells nothing of the great amount of
capitol invested in logging and lumber
ing and of the thousands of men employ
ed in these industries, not to mention the
resulting traffic by lake, river and rail.
The fisheries exhibit started out in
striking fashion, but the warm weather
killed the fish, though this defect can
be corrected. Certainly there are no
fish to compare with those that were
sent down from Minnesota the first
part of the month to meet an untimely
death.
The states horticultural exhibit does
not seem to come up to the expectations
of those who know what fourishing
horticultural society the state boasts,
but later in the season this exhibit can
be greatly improved. The advent of the
strawberry season has made it possible
to make the exhibit much more effective
than it was earlier. Still, Minnesota is
not supposed to be in the banana belt,
and cannot make such demonstration
in horticulture as many other states.
The state educational exhibit is an
excellent one; it is the one palpable
hit of the states whole representation at
the fair. In the first place, its location
is excellent Approaching from several
directions in the educational building,