Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission Part 40

In the Department of Manufactures the industrial concerns from Mexico were represented as follows: The cotton and woolen mills, which have greatly developed in the Republic; the leather and shoe industry was well demonstrated by a number of factories which exhibited their products; there were also shown a number of samples from the manufacture of furniture and decorating fixtures for buildings and residences.

Full information about the railroad lines, general railroad map, and great number of photographs of the most important points on the lines, plaster models of the Tehuantepec Railroad connecting the two oceans, and statistical information of the railroad development were exhibited in the Transportation Building. Models of light-houses and original light-houses that will be used in the Vera Cruz Harbor were displayed also, as well as models of the harbors of Mazanillo, Salina, Curz, Coatzacoalcos, and Tampico. Tools, bags, scales, etc., used in the mail service, and statistical information of the development of the service were shown, as were carriages, harness, saddles, and all kinds of implements used for driving and riding.

The war department had a general display of educational methods used in the military and naval academies, and maps, military library, improvements invented by some member of the army and samples of materials made by its factories.

In the Electricity Building were maps and reports of the most important electrical installations of the country.

In the Machinery Hall were displayed machines made in the factories of the army for the manufacture of cartridges, and antiscaling substance.

Among the Mexican exhibits at St. Louis, the largest number was in the Agricultural Building, where the display occupied over 900 square feet of s.p.a.ce. The exhibits made by the three leading breweries of Mexico was noticeable as to elegance and artistic good taste. Great importance was attached to the exhibits of leaf and manufactured tobacco. The coffee exhibit attracted general attention.

The exhibit of fibers, especially that of Henequen, from Yucatan, was very important and complete, the last named being the cause of flourishing trade with the United States. The exhibit of sugar showed the great resources of Mexico in this product. A splendid exhibit of Mexican vanila attracted the attention of all visitors. The exhibit of agronomical maps by the Mexican Commission was of much scientific value, and the collection of insects and injurious parasitical plants was also worthy of attention.

The Mexican exhibit in the Department of Forestry, Fish and Game consisted of 600 specimens, arranged and cla.s.sified by the Medical and National Inst.i.tute of Mexico, and attracted considerable attention. The magnificent exhibit of animals and stuffed birds was also admired. The exhibit was arranged and presented by the Geographical Commission of Mexico. The collection of woods presented by the governments of the States of Colima, Durahgo, Mexico, Puebla, San Luis Potosi, Michoacan, Yucatan, and the department of fomento was noticeable for the diversity of kinds of woods forming the collection, amounting to 800. The exhibit of broom root from Mexico was the only one of its kind in all the Department of Forestry, and concerning which the largest number of inquiries was made.

In the Palace of Mines and Metallurgy Mexico occupied 13,000 square feet of s.p.a.ce. A great variety of ores and minerals was displayed, viz, gold, silver, lead, iron, copper, antimony, zinc, etc. The number of exhibitors amounted to 330. The Geological Inst.i.tute of Mexico presented maps, geological plans, mineral rocks, publications, etc. Among the latter a very interesting study of the veins of the mines of Pachuca and Real de Monte, also another of the Rhyolitas of Mexico.

The social and economical conditions of the Republic of Mexico were splendidly represented in the Department of Social Economy by numerous official and private publications and photographs. The wise steps taken by the Government, which have changed the economical conditions of the country, const.i.tuting an intellectual, material, and positive development, were logically collected according to the department of state to which they belong. The exhibit was completed by a numerous collection of photographs of cities, ports, public buildings, monuments, residences, etc., showing how Mexican cities have been improved and beautified and how the Republic of the south has progressed from a material and artistical standpoint.

NEW ZEALAND.

_Members of commission_.--Mr. T.E. Donne, representative; Mr. Frederick Moorhouse and Mr. Thomas Clarkson, attaches.

When the New Zealand government received the invitation of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition executive to be represented at the World's Fair the colonial parliament gave the utmost publicity to the proposal and offered to allow any of its business firms a share of the s.p.a.ce that was to be placed at its disposal. The tariffs of the United States, however, proved a serious obstacle, as the chief business houses of the young nation failed to see how their interests would be served by advertising in a country which placed a heavy tariff on their goods. However, the executive of the government, recognizing the cordiality of the invitation and with a desire to emphasize its wishes for the closest relationship with the American people, decided to be represented directly by one of its own departments--the department of tourist and health resorts. The chief of that branch of the public service, Mr. T.

E. Donne, was therefore authorized to prepare an exhibit setting forth the attractions of New Zealand to tourists and the work the department is doing in that connection. When compiling the exhibit Commissioner Donne represented to his government that it would be advisable also to include a few of the country's general products, and it therefore extended the original idea in this direction.

In the Department of Forestry, Fish, and Game New Zealand had a unique and tastefully arranged display that attracted keenest interest. A collection of Scotch red deer and fallow deer heads testified to the magnificent hunting that is obtained among the virgin forests of New Zealand, and specimens of trout--rainbow, salmon, fario, and fontinalis--taken from the mountain-fed streams that intersect the country from one end to the other appealed to the fishing enthusiast.

Pictures and paintings around the walls were fascinating in that they served to indicate to visitors the character of a country which nature has blessed, when judged from a point of view of the beautiful and picturesque. Mount Cook, majestically rising to a height of nearly 13,000 feet, was shown in paintings and photographs. Lakes Taupo, Te Anau, Wakatipu, Manawapouri, Waikaremona, and others, whose clear, gla.s.sy waters, surrounded by verdure-covered hills, gave some idea of the loveliness of New Zealand lakes. The w.a.n.ganui River, Milford Sound, one of the world's wonderful fiords, and the canyons known as the Otira and Buller gorges were some of the features that interested the visitors.

The thermal districts were chiefly represented by the great Waimangu geyser and its crater, 21/2 acres in extent, which throws up boiling water, mud, and stones to a height of 1,500 feet, claiming a place as one of the "wonders of the world."

Forestry was represented by beautifully finished ornamental wood and a splendid exhibit of the famous Kauri gum. This gum, which is used princ.i.p.ally in the manufacture of varnish, takes an important place among New Zealand products, no less than five million dollars worth being exported last year. Of special interest to ornithologists were the native wingless birds of New Zealand.

The ancient habits of that interesting and progressive race, the Maori, who preceded white people in New Zealand, were shown in some remarkably realistic and unique carvings and paintings. The Maori has long since pa.s.sed the savage state and has shown his ability to attain the highest stages of modern civilization. The contrast between the position of the Maori in 1840 and in 1904 const.i.tutes a remarkable progress in racial development. Formerly the Maori was a savage, clever and enterprising, but ferocious, cruel, and a cannibal. To-day he tills the soil, speaks English, and sends his children to school and college, where they study for the highest professions, such as medicine, law, teaching, etc.

Contact with a highly civilized community has diverted the natural intelligence of the Maori to useful channels, while Christianity has developed the best instincts of a fine race of people. In the to-day the Maori stands side by side with the white man, a welcome comrade in the building of a new nation. Six Maoris occupy positions in the New Zealand legislature, and one is a cabinet minister.

In the Agricultural Building a score of sacks containing wheat, oats, peas, beans, clover, gra.s.s seed, etc., paid tribute to the climate and soil of New Zealand. The extreme interest shown by all visitors const.i.tuted a very high compliment to the country. The demand by farmers for samples of wheat and oats was great. The attention bestowed by farmers and grain merchants upon the New Zealand grain display had its counterpart in the att.i.tude of women visitors toward the exhibit of woolen rugs and blankets. Its exceptional soil and climate enable the New Zealand farmer to rear sheep with a grade of wool that can seldom be obtained elsewhere. Factories that have been established in the princ.i.p.al cities weave the wool into clothing, rugs, and blankets of an excellent strength and quality. Fleeces, both scoured and greasy, afforded wool experts an opportunity of closely examining the staple in raw material. Other products shown in the Palace of Agriculture were bales of hemp manufactured from New Zealand flax, a very fine sample of hops grown in the Nelson district, rabbit skins packed and ready for export, kegs of tallow, crude petroleum, etc. These served to indicate partially the resources of a wonderfully rich and productive country.

A chief attraction of the New Zealand exhibit was the opportunity it provided Americans for personally interrogating the New Zealand representatives concerning the government of their country. Political economists in America, as in other parts of the world, have in recent years been pointing to New Zealand as a country where a government fulfills its proper functions in caring for the welfare of the whole of the people, where each man and woman takes a recognized and effective part in the making of the laws which govern them, and where high ideals of modern civilization are lived up to.

NORWAY AND SWEDEN.

The Norwegian Storthing (Parliament) on the 20th of January, 1904, failed to pa.s.s a bill appropriating funds for Norway's partic.i.p.ation in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The Government, however, being aware that there would be some individual exhibitors, decided to accept the invitation from the American authorities to have a commission appointed.

By resolution of the Crown Prince Regent on March 25, Frederick L.M.

Waage, vice-consul for Sweden and Norway to St. Louis, was appointed commissioner-general for Norway. No Government appropriation and no money was raised by private subscriptions.

Three individual exhibitors displayed goods:

David Andersen, Christiana, in the Varied Industries Building, silverware and enamel. Cost of exhibit, $40,000; installation, $500, transportation, $800.

Chr. Knag, Bergen, furniture of the old Norwegian style in the east wing of the Fine Arts Building. Cost of exhibit, $3,000; transportation, $125.

Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, Dortheim, tapestries, old and new Norwegian patterns and designs by Gerhard Munthe. Cost of exhibit, $10,000; transportation, $35.

Sweden's partic.i.p.ation at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was authorized by the following decree addressed by King Oscar, of Sweden and Norway, to A.R. Akerman, director-general and president of the board of trade, which decree appointed Mr. Akerman commissioner-general to the exposition. The decree gives fully an account of the Swedish partic.i.p.ation and was as follows:

Greetings, etc.

Since the President of the United States has invited the governments of other states, including Sweden, to partic.i.p.ate in a Universal Exposition in St. Louis, originally intended to be held in 1903, but now being decided to be open during the period from May 1 to December 1, 1904, and we, through gracious proposition, of which a copy is herewith attached, suggested to the Riksdag to appropriate, on an extra budget for 1904, an amount of 120,000 kronor for Sweden's partic.i.p.ation in the art and educational exhibits of the exposition has the Riksdag in a communication of May 22, 1903, with reference to the arrangements of expenses of the State budget, eighth section, communicated the following:

The Riksdag had considered the advisability that Sweden be officially represented at the Universal Exposition in St. Louis 1904, especially as this could be supposed as being in line with the desire of the Swedes residing in the United States and serving to strengthen the ties that still unite them with their Fatherland, and in accordance with the expression of the chief of our ecclesiastic department in the minutes of our ministry had the Riksdag embraced the opinion that the official partic.i.p.ation of Sweden should embrace the departments of art and education, in which sections our country seems to have especially good possibilities successfully to compete with the greater countries of culture.

In a letter to the Academy of Fine Arts, incorporated in the minutes of our ministry, the three societies of artists had expressed the desire that from the collections of art belonging to the State works of art should be contributed that might be required in order that the exposition in question should give a complete ill.u.s.tration of the development of art in our country.

In consequence of this, the Riksdag had considered it necessary to point out the fact that as it has occurred that works of art contributed from the collection of the States to be exhibited at other places at the return of the same were more or less damaged, and that as in consequence of the transport that would be necessary in this case absolute guarantee for the rest.i.tution of these works of art in an undamaged condition could hardly be had, doubts seemed to meet as to such a contribution as had been suggested by the societies of artists.

Calling attention to what has just been pointed out, the Riksdag stated that the Riksdag, with consent to our proposition in question regarding the partic.i.p.ation of Sweden in the art and educational departments of the Universal Exposition in St. Louis 1904, had appropriated on an extra budget for the year 1904 the sum of 120,000 kronor.

Having had this presented before us, we have, accepting on Sweden's behalf the above-mentioned invitation as far as concerns the art and the educational departments of the exposition, resolved to appoint a committee, who is hereby empowered to take all measures necessary for the partic.i.p.ation of Sweden in these departments of the exposition and to transact all business belonging to the same which is not of a nature to be submitted to our gracious consideration; and we have appointed you as president of the committee and as members of the same selected the princ.i.p.al of the technical school of Stockholm, Bror Viktor Adler; the inspector of the common schools at Stockholm, Carl Gustaf Bergman; the vice-general consul, Bror Axel Fredrik Georgii; the a.s.sistant professor at Ostermalms public secondary school, Stockholm, Nols Gerhard, Eilhelm Lagerstedt, and the superintendent of the art section of the National Museum, Carl Ludvig Loostrom.

We, intending to appoint in the future, on the recommendation of the committee, a commissioner for Sweden at the exposition, herewith empower the committee to appoint a secretary and necessary a.s.sistants and in as far as it is found necessary to secure the cooperation of persons whose insight and ability can secure for Sweden a successful and honorable representation at the exposition.

Finally, we authorize the committee to collect after the beginning of 1904, at our exchequer department, the above-mentioned amount appropriated by the Riksdag to be used as demands require for the purpose intended, with the obligation to account for same and with the understanding that the committee a.s.sumes the responsibility that this amount under no circ.u.mstances is exceeded; and we have ordered the exchequer department to pay from moneys on hand in advance, on requisition and to be deducted from the mentioned appropriation, what is necessary to carry on the work of the committee during the year 1903, not exceeding an amount of 20,000 kronor. Which we herewith communicate for your knowledge and abeyance as far as you are concerned, at the same time as a gracious letter is sent to the exchequer department.

PERU.

For the representation of Peru at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the Peruvian Government appropriated approximately $100,000. The President of Peru appointed Mr. Alexander Garland, a distinguished Peruvian and noted writer of international and economical matters, commissioner-general. Mr. Garland, it is said, has always been noted in his country as a strong upholder of favorable trade relations with the United States. Mr. Miguel Miro-Queseda, a newspaper man of Peru, was appointed secretary to the commission. Subsequently Mr. Ernest H. Wands, of New York, and Wilfred H. Schoff were appointed commissioners and Mr.

Manual C. Velarde secretary.

A variety of samples of cotton and woolen goods manufactured by factories lately established in Peru, at La Victoria, Vitarte, La Providencia, San Jacinto, Malastesta, etc., was displayed in the Peruvian section of the Agriculture Building, together with abundant samples of different qualities of Peruvian cotton. In the same building were exhibited excellent samples of sugar cane from Grande, Cartavio, Roma, and Chiquitoy. Samples of other products of the soil, as cotton, coffee, cacao, cocoa, cocaine, rice, etc., which figure under the exports of Peru, were also exhibited. In the same section were samples of Peruvian maize, white, yellow, and red, at least double the size of the corn raised in other parts of the world, as well as other specimens of the agricultural products of Peru.

The mines section showed the mineral resources of the country. Gold, silver, copper, lead, cinnabar, manganese, and all kinds of minerals were represented by a large variety of rich samples. Large blocks of lignite, anthracite, etc., gave an idea of the importance of the coal fields of Peru. Mineral oils, mineral waters, sands from placers, and a variety of salts samples were exhibited demonstrating that Peru is well endowed in minerals. There was also a mineral map of Peru made under the direction of the Sociedad Nacional de Mineria.

The Peruvian section in the Forestry, Fish, and Game Palace had samples of rubber of the Peruvian varieties in large quant.i.ties. Samples of wood gave an idea of the inexhaustible amount of raw materials that are contained in the vast forests of Peru, valuable for civil and naval construction and cabinetwork. Barks, resins, nuts, roots, seeds, and leaves for medical use and dyeing and tanning purposes confirmed the richness of Peruvian soil.

RUSSIA.

_Russian Commission._--Mr. Edward Grunwaldt, executive commissioner; Mr.

Jacob G.o.dberg, Mr. Max Berkowitz, Mr. L.A. Robinson.

Russia was at different times invited to partic.i.p.ate in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904, but no definite acceptance was received until Mr. Thomas H. Cridler, the foreign representative of the Exposition Company, made a personal visit to the Emperor. His Majesty was heartily in favor of the proposition, and in proof of his good feeling toward the American people, ordered an appropriation of 450,000 rubles be set aside to meet the preliminary expense of the Russian exhibit.

A commissioner-general was appointed. He was instructed to proceed to St. Louis and secure the necessary s.p.a.ce for exhibits and a site for Russia's pavilion.