Page:The Pacific Monthly vol. 14.djvu/64



HE demand for exhibit space at the Lewis and Clark Exposition exhausted every available square foot of space in the buildings devoted to liberal arts and foreign exhibits, and several hundred prospective exhibitors could not be accommodated. It was thought for a time that room might be made for all; but when it was learned that 2,000,000 square feet of space asked for could not be supplied without the erection of additional buildings, 249 applicants were turned away.

As the result of this survival of the fittest policy, the exhibits at the Western World's Fair, while not so numerous as those at the St. Louis and Chicago expositions, are to the general public more interesting, and there re enough of them to satisfy the average visitor who does not expect to spend the summer at the Fair.

The large Oriental and European exhibits buildings at the Western Centennial have been found entirely inadequate, as regards space, in complying with the demands of the various commissioners, and more that one country was forced to be satisfied with an amount of space far below its desires. Among the countries represented are: Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Turkey, Persia, Algeria, Egypt, Japan, China, India, and Ceylon.

Probably the largest, most valuable and interesting exhibit is that of Italy, which occupies more than one-half of the European Exhibits Building. The participation of this country has been under the careful supervision of Sig. Zeggio, Italian commissioner, and is thoroughly representative of Italy. The exhibit is valued at a figure which closely approaches $1,000,000. Half of the Italian space is devoted to marble statuary, for which the country is pre-eminently renowned. In addition, the art branch of the Italian exhibit embraces marvelous mosaics from Venice and Genoa, and Florentine silver filigree work.