Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission Part 35

On the 15th of July, 1904, the Congress voted $50,000 as an additional sum for the same purpose.

The Cuban Pavilion at the exposition was constructed on a lot 140 by 170 feet. The building was 100 feet by 80 feet surrounded by a garden containing more than five hundred native plants. It was one story high.

At its front was a beautiful terrace, and there were extensive porticoes on the sides. Access to the building was gained by a 32-foot stair on the front, and by lateral stairs of smaller size.

Five rooms surrounding a central court. Access to the roof was obtained by a winding stair placed on a tower. The style of architecture on the building in its exterior court and entrances was Florentine-Renaissance, from the last half of the fourteenth century. The other salons were decorated in the modern style, called "New Art." The building was lighted by more than four hundred incandescent lamps, arranged in such a manner that they formed part of the decorations. The cost of erecting the building was $31,050.

The members of the Cuban commission were as follows:

Mr. Gonzalo de Quesada, honorary president; Mr. Esteban Duque Estrada, commissioner-general; Mr. Antonio Carillo, secretary of the Cuban commission; Mr. Eduardo Morales de los Rios, commissioner of education; Mr. Sixto Lopez Miranda, technical commissioner of education for Cuba; Dr. J.J. Luis, commissioner of social economy; Mr. Enrique B. Barnet, sanitary commissioner; Mr. J.W. Flanagan, honorary commissioner; Mr.

J.E. Bernal, Mr. Fernando Mesa, Mr. Francisco de Armas, a.s.sistant commissioners; Mr. Antonio E. Trujillo, disbursing officer; Mr. John R.

Taylor, a.s.sistant sanitary commissioner. Technical commission: Dr.

Enrique Jose Varona, doctor in philosophy and letters; Dr. Carlos de la Torre, doctor of natural sciences; Senor Carlos Theye, chemical engineer; Senor Manuel D. Diaz, civil engineer; Senor Ramon Jimenez Alfonso, agronomical engineer; Dr. Gaston Alfonso Cuadrado, doctor of sciences and pharmacy.

The exhibit of Cuba in the Department of Education comprised the whole educational system from the kindergarten to the university. For the organization of this exhibit the secretary of public instruction, Dr.

Leopolds Cancio, appointed a committee of seven. The committee issued several circulars inviting the teachers to contribute to the educational exhibit.

Toward the beginning of March the first contributions began to arrive, and in the early days of April the first s.h.i.+pment was made. This was followed by others, and by the 25th of April all the educational exhibits were in the various booths and ready for display.

This exhibit was cla.s.sified in groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8, which left the only two groups, 5 and 7, in which it was not represented.

In group 1 it was represented by the normal school of kindergarten of Habana, and by kindergarten public schools of Habana, Guanabacoa, Matanzas, Gardenas, Sagua la Grande, and Cienfuegos, by elementary public and private schools from most of the school districts of the country, by a teachers' academy, and by training and correctional schools for boys and girls.

In group 2 the six public secondary schools of the country were represented by photographs, reports, collections of sh.e.l.ls and b.u.t.terflies, pupils' work and reports.

The "San Alijandro" School of Painting and Sculpture of Habana appeared with a report and photographs in group 4.

In group 6 the School of Arts and Trades of Habana had a very good display of manual training and photographs.

Correspondence schools, the Academy of Science, meteorological and magnetical observations of the Belen Observatory, geological collections, text-books, school appliances, and a collection of the text-books used at the present and of those used under the Spanish Government in the public schools were all cla.s.sified in group 8.

One of the most important features of the exhibit was the display of photographs showing over 500 views of schoolrooms, school buildings, groups of teachers and children, inst.i.tutions of secondary education, inst.i.tutions of special education, and the university.

In these photographs the department showed the best schools, such as "Luz y Caballero," of Habana, and the "Eseulen Modelo," of Santiago de Cuba, and the least advanced rural schools located in thatched-roof huts 20 or more miles from the nearest town.

The exhibit showed not only the great increase in the last few years in the number of schools and in the school expenditures, both of which have increased about tenfold, but the great change undergone in the methods of teaching, which at present accord with the most modern standards, the old methods having been entirely abolished from the public schools.

The superior board of health of Cuba was represented at the exposition by Dr. Federico Torralbas, as medical inspector of the sanitary department of Habana; Dr. Emilo Martines, as a.s.sistant professor of pathology of the National University, and member of the commission for infectious diseases of the sanitary department of Habana; Dr. Juan H.

Davalos, as chief of the section of bacteriology of the laboratory of the island of Cuba, who is considered the leading authority on bacteriological subjects in Cuba; Dr. Enriqui B. Barnet, as the executive officer of the sanitary department of Habana and acting secretary of the superior board of health of Cuba; Mr. John R. Taylor, as preparator of the laboratory of Las Animas Hospital, of Habana, having a thorough knowledge of the transmission of diseases by the medium of the mosquito. He was one of those who voluntarily allowed himself to be bitten with infected mosquitoes known to be capable of transmitting yellow fever, recovering after a severe attack of the disease.

In the Department of Mines and Metallurgy, Cuba's exhibition consisted of Portland cement and its products, asphaltum (crude and refined), iron, manganese, copper, zinc, tin, gold, and silver ores, and a collection of marbles of the Isle of Pines.

In Liberal Arts Cuba's exhibition consisted of photographs, engravings, periodicals, perfumes, soaps, and other manufactured articles.

In the Department of Art Cuba had a room where about one hundred and fifty pictures were hung, consisting of oil paintings and water colors.

In the Department of Agriculture Cuba's exhibit consisted of manufactured cigars, chocolate, jellies, beer, preserved fruits of all descriptions, cotton, hemp, coffee, sugar, and various other agricultural products of Cuba.

In the Department of Forestry, Fish, and Game Cuba's exhibition consisted of samples of woods used in construction and for furniture, house decorations, etc. The collection of woods at the Forestry Building was given to the Yale University Forestry Schools at the close of the fair. The mineral collection at the Mines Building was subsequently donated to the United States National Museum, at Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.

DENMARK.

The Government of Denmark, while making no appropriation for a partic.i.p.ation at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, appointed William Arup as commissioner-general to look after the interests of the Danish exhibitors. At the same time the Government appointed a committee, consisting of the following-named persons, to a.s.sist him in his work: Charles Ambte, director of State railways; Mr. N. Anderson, councilor of state, P.D.; Arnold Krog, professor in arts, P.D.; Admiral Richeleu St.

Kors, of D.; Philip Schon, councilor of state. Of these gentlemen only Admiral Richeleu visited the fair.

Commissioner-General Arup personally bore the total expenses of transportation and installation, which amounted approximately to $25,000.

Denmark had no official building on the grounds but confined her s.p.a.ce to the princ.i.p.al exhibition palaces. Her princ.i.p.al displays were installed in the Palace of Varied Industries, where she occupied about 5,000 square feet of s.p.a.ce.

Twenty exhibitors displayed goods in the Palace of Varied Industries.

Their displays consisted princ.i.p.ally of porcelain, silverware, art pottery, cabinet works, embroideries, photography, s.h.i.+p models, and a s.h.i.+p model of the free port of Copenhagen. The last-mentioned model was subsequently donated to the Chicago Munic.i.p.al Museum.

In the Palace of Electricity, the Agricultural Building, and the Palace of Fine Arts Denmark occupied smaller s.p.a.ces, but her exhibits attracted general attention on account of their universal excellence.

EGYPT.

The amount of Government appropriation for Egypt's partic.i.p.ation at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was approximately $50,000. The princ.i.p.al exhibit made by the Government of Egypt consisted of a representation of antiquities in the Anthropology Building; an exhibit by the Sudan Government in the foreign section, comprising ivory, gum, rubber, various cereals, and a variety of ancient weapons and curious articles in use by the natives of Sudan. In the same section were exhibited some heads of wild animals including hippopotamus and the buffalo. In the Liberal Arts section was displayed a large relief map showing the system of irrigation in use in Egypt with the ca.n.a.ls clearly marked. This exhibit was made by the administration of the Daira Sanich, which forms part of the Government, and in the same section the public works department of the Government exhibited various models of the Delta Barrage and other irrigation works existing in various parts of Egypt.

In the Agricultural Building, through the Khedivial Agriculture Society and the Produce a.s.sociation of Alexandria, a complete collection of cotton and cereals and every kind of agricultural product grown in Egypt were shown, in addition to which the Campagnie des Sucreries of Egypt had a very fine display of sugar, and the Port Said Salt a.s.sociation sent samples of various kinds of salt.

The commissioners appointed by the Egyptian Government were Herman E.

Lawford and Abdel Hamid Abazza. The latter was in charge of the agricultural section. He is connected with the Khedivial Agriculture Society of Egypt, and was requested by the Government of Egypt to make a report on the cotton industry in this country, particularly with regard to diseases of the cotton plant. Mr. Lawford has resided in Egypt for several years and has been connected with various land and industrial companies. Mr. Quibell, who was attached to the commission, is an inspector of antiquities in the employ of the museum at Cairo, and has been in Egypt for a number of years, his time being devoted to scientific researches.

FRANCE.

The French Government, at the time when the general commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was appointed, appropriated a sum of 600,000 francs for its expenses and a sum of 600,000 francs for the partic.i.p.ation of the fine arts. Later on an appropriation of 350,000 francs was made for the educational exhibit and several other exhibits over which the Government had immediate and direct control. The entire charge of putting up the French commercial exhibits in the various palaces, except Fine Arts and Education and National Pavilion, had been granted, in April, 1902, to a permanent committee on foreign expositions, which worked under the supervision of the French general commission. The committee raised from private sources a sum of 5,000,000 francs.

Aside from the above sums, an appropriation of 100,000 francs was made by the department of the colonies for the partic.i.p.ation of the different colonies at the exposition.

Another appropriation of the same amount was made for the social economy exhibit.

The approximate amount of money spent by France for its partic.i.p.ation in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was 7,750,000 francs. The contract for building the French Government Pavilion was let to a general contractor in Paris, who undertook to build it for the sum of 500,000 francs.

In addition to the above sum, an appropriation of 100,000 francs was made for the painting of the building; 10,000 francs for the statuary over the roof. An appropriation of 150,000 was made for the gardens.

The commission appointed by the Government of France was as follows:

Mr. Alfred Picard, special envoy of the French Republic; Mr. Georges Gerald, commissioner-general; Mr. Jules Boeufve, a.s.sistant commissioner-general; Mr. Felix Lamy, secretary of the French commission; Mr. Robert Delaunay-Belleville, private secretary to the special envoy; Mr. Max Ferlaud, private secretary to the commissioner-general; Mr. Emile Heurteau, private secretary to the special envoy; Mr. Marcel Estieu, attache; Mr. Andre Artoine, attache.

French commercial section: Mr. Ancelot, president; Mr. Gustav Kester, vice-president; Mr. Perdoux; Mr. Maurice Estieu, treasurer. Fine arts section: Mr. Andre Saglio, commissioner; Mr. Horteloup; Mr. Delestre, attache.

The National Palace of France, as erected at the St. Louis World's Fair, was a reproduction of the Grand Trianon, at Versailles. It was located at the west end of the Louisiana way, one of the main avenues on the fair grounds; at the other end of the avenue was located the United States Government Building.

The French Pavilion consisted of three rectangular buildings bordering on a main state court. Large pilasters of white and pink marble were arranged as the frame work for high windows, topped with decorative arches. An outside flight of stairs and porphyrolite sills of imitation marble gave that impression of luxury and good taste which is characteristic of all productions of the Louis XIV period.

Two large wrought-iron brackets supported lanterns in the same style and gave a more animated appearance to the main entrance at the end of the court. Part of the arch decorations were reserved for the entrances; the balance of the arches used in the arrangement of windows with balcony were fitted with wrought-iron bal.u.s.trade railings, in the general style of the palace.