The progressive farmer and the cotton plant., 1905-07-11


set glow, and the entire picture reflected in Expo
sition Lake. In the day one sees to the north
ward, sixty miles away, softened and cloud-like,
the snow-clad summit of Mt. Adams. Mt. Hood
is also visible on most fair days, believe.
Oregon now has one-sixth of all the standing
timber in the United States, and it is entirely
proper therefore that the Lumber and Forestery
Building should be the most prominent one at
the Fair. 1t is made entirely of rough logs. In
side are massive logs and planks well calculated
| to open the eyes of an fastener.
Another interesting section OF the Fair is that
devoted to Oriental exhibits. These attract more
attention here than they would with u.s. because
the Pacific Coast looks to Asia more and more as
a field for trade conquests. A Salem merchant
with whom l talked says that our purchase of the
Philippines has done a great deal to clear the
way for this commercial expansion. As for me-
/ haven't studied the problem enough to know
whether not he is right In the Government
Building are excellent Alaskan and Philippine ex-
hibts. A great many people have gone from this
section to the Klondike. and trade with Alaska is
on the increase. A California man told me of
friend of his who has made $45O,OO0 in Alaska
gold mining.
All expositlons very much alike. and having
seen Omaha, Buffalo, Charleston and St. Louis,
l suppose am less impressed by this one than I
should be if / had rot seen the others so recent
ly. And at any rate, it is too far from home to
attract many people from the South. It might
pay them to come to see the Northwest, but not
to see the Exposition alone
One of the buildings no visitor should miss
even if it is somewhat sidetracked from the main
section, is that of Fine Arts. The paintings are
far superior to what I expected to find in this
frontier country. And no incident of the trim has
pleased me more than finding Millets "Man With
the Hoe" the original copy worth Sl750OO, as L
went through the gallery yesterday. Everybody,
of course, has small reproductions of the
picture printed in connection with Markham's
famous poem which the picture inspired but.the
original, with it's color. detail and shading, is a
work far more profound and powerful than any
cheap reprint can indicate The man. of course,
is the European peasant, and his hoe is not an
improved goose-neck, but what we call grubbing
hoe a rough. ill-shaped blade with a short. heavy
handle With this rude tool he has dug up the
earth about him, and still leaning, looks up for
moment as if something had attracted his atten-
ton. His mouth is half open, his dull eyes
staring and mass of unkempt. matted hair al
most covers his low, slanting forehead. Mark
hams poem is eloquent, but not so than the
product of centuries of oppression-this terrible
cloutish figure. stolid and stunned, hopeless and
careless slave to the wheel of labor and brother to
the ok I shall always be glad that Markham's
poem, not then famous, impressed me master
piece the first time saw it, and that it was re-
printed in The Progressive Farmer then, with
editorial comment. "The Man With the Hoe"
and Kipling's "Recessiona" the only two
poems of the last ten years that likely to be-
come classic.
| They are also showing here the log cabin-only