The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1908-01-04
This Was Certainly Not the Object Of Its
Promoters, Otherwise Irish Work.
men and Irish Materials
Would Have Been More Literally Etapoyed
in It's Construction and Irish Hands
in Its Management.

Before this reaches you the great
International Exhibition will br Il thing
of history. writes kilian Bruce from
Dublin in Il letter to the Irish World.
for tho closing ceremonial arc going
on. Nothing is To be left undone to
make the latter end OF the great SNOW
worthy of it's brief but brilliant c;,>
reer.' So its pancgyrists and shares
holders say. and 50 it's hackers in tho
metropolitan press inform us in this
mornings papers in capitals that al
most overshndowcd the more serious
announcement that the admission fee
will be increased for the day. The
popular shilling is and has been aftet
all the main consideration throughout
its brilliant career with it's promo
tcrs. How far this consideration has
been effective | cannot say, but lave
no doubt 1t would have been ,nucll
much more So had II kndIicr regard
been shown for the claims ana ncces-
stiles of the working and so-c;tIicd
"IoWcr classes" of This city
ON Sunday, the workingnan's lloli-
day, il was not, except on two or three
occasions, opened at all, certain per-
sons living IN the aristocratic neigh
borliuod where the building is sitla-
ted objccting to this "vulgarizaion." F"
and certain others to what they termed
the "dcsccrati"n" Of the "Saw ba ill.,"
Nor was the entrance foe reduced on
considerable number of people IN town
and country. tu whom the difference
between a shilling and sixpcnco means
something.
Brilliant however as its career may
have been in a general WAY, IT, has been
sadly disappointing in ono respect tn
it's leading and most talked OF opera :
TORS. Not II title, even ~ common
knighthood, has been given to the
greatest ar least Of them. No Lady"
lts therefore been added to the long
list of those who figure at such faslI-
iulablc gatherings as Dublin cal, still
boast of, and no new "Sir" has been
created. either with or without n IL
with eye or air more supercilious to-
day than lie could yesterday. This to
the growing sense and intelligence of
The masses is 81 refreshing Incident ---
but there is weeping in the tents of
Shrn," and sore vcXation amongst the
disappointed cxpcrtants. ,cucll of whom
is accusing the other Of being the
cause of this unprecedented "1niscar-
ragc' not simply Of Justice but Of
dignity.
AS to what the Great Exhibition has
failed to do shall say no morc-all
this and other ccccntricit.ies, social and
financial. will come to light soon
enough. One thing. however, already
apparent should not be omitted. IL
has made no permanent impression on
Dublin as a city; nor has II, us was
prnphcsied, given. ut least directly, any
stimulus to Irish industry or trade
This object indeed it would scem wa.
hardly among the intention OF its pro-
motors. Otherwise Irish workmen and
irish materials would have been more
literally employed in it's construction
and Irish hands iii its management
This perhaps, it will be possible to en-
plain, as we'll as another popularity
in its brilliant career" complained OF
that it appeared more intended to
exhibit the products of other countries
especially of England and Canada
rather than those of Ireland.
But should Irish people complain OF
this? Don't they know, simple souls
that England wants customers for hel
goods from Ireland, and anywhere else
! on the earth Or under IT, and that
Canada, Englands Colonial favoritc
wants immigrants to strengthen .hel
against possible complications with tht
.