Page:The Journal of geology (IA journalofgeology11893univers).pdf/33

It has been the object of Mr. F. J. V. Skiff, Chief of the Mines and Mining Building, to make the mining exhibit truly characteristic of the states and foreign countries represented, and thus to give it the greatest possible value to the general public and to the individual exhibitors. His supervision has been wise and systematic, and it is to him that a large part of the success of the mining exhibit is due. Where failures have been made they have been the fault, not of the Chief of the Mines and Mining Building, but of the commissioners under whose charge the exhibits were prepared, or else of the government of the state or country which they represent. Very often the commissioners have been so hampered by the fancies of the mine owners or others in their districts that, though entirely capable of doing so, they have been unable to make a creditable exhibit of the regions they represent. Many of the state exhibits contain a large amount of good and characteristic material which is often rendered useless and often ridiculous by bad and ignorant arrangement; while many otherwise good and characteristic exhibits are rendered very unattractive by the slovenly way in which they are exhibited and the untidiness of the cases and specimens. Of course the last mentioned defects are minor ones, especially to those interested in the subject; but at the same time the neatness of presentation has a great influence on the attractiveness, and hence on the benefits, of an exhibit to the general public. An exhibit which has no natural beauty may be made very attractive by neat and systematic arrangement, while on the other hand, an exhibit of beautiful things may be made actually repulsive by a slovenly and dirty mode of presentation.

The different state exhibits have been collected and displayed by means of the appropriations made by the various state legislatures for such work. As the amount and conditions of the appropriation varied very much in different states, the size and costliness of the exhibits vary accordingly, and often give a very great advantage to the state with the larger appropriation. In criticising an exhibit, therefore, these circumstances must be borne in mind.