Our Educational Display was the best and most complete ever made, and was very much the best exhibit of the kind at the Seattle Exposition. It was collected and superintended by Mr. Robert Furlong of San Rafael, an expert in this line of work, and embraced a representative showing of every department of California’s educational system from the kindergarten to the university, not omitting the libraries and private educational institutions. There could be only one criticism to this department and that was its crowded condition, as there was too much material for the space that could be allowed for it. In an exhibit of products, quantity can be reduced without material detriment, but if one sample of an educational exhibit is left out, the work perhaps of some fond son or daughter whose parents may come looking for it, there is likely to be trouble. Nearly all portions of California contributed to this Department, making the display representative in every sense.
OUR LOCATION AND GROUNDS.
The California building, though some distance back from the main entrance, was on high ground and eligibly located as to attractive surroundings and accessibility. The grounds for so large a structure were necessarily extensive, and the work of clearing, leveling, sodding and planting these grounds involved an expenditure much greater than at previous expositions, where the grounds were smaller and required less preparatory work.
Mr. Geo. C. Roeding of Fresno, our Superintendent of Horticulture, giving his talents and time, as did Miss Withrow, for the love of the work and the good he could do the State, collected from different nurseries in California two car loads of fruiting trees, flowering plants, palms and shrubs, and traveled to Seattle to personally superintend the work of converting these grounds into a typical California park, with clusters of palms, geranium beds and orange groves. It gave to the Exposition a semi-tropic feature which visitors greatly enjoyed, and which was highly appreciated by the Exposition management as a rare and valuable acquisition to their already beautiful landscape effects. It might be said, however, that the citrus trees and other tender plants did not thrive well even in the Seattle summer, and though the grounds thus planted, as a side attraction and subject of favorable comment, were perhaps worth all they cost, yet they were not so beautiful as they would have been under more favorable climatic conditions. Mr. Roeding’s work in the department was prompted by love of his art and pride in his State. He contributed liberally from his own nurseries and gave time and technical assistance that money could hardly have bought, and for his unstinted services, not only your Representatives, but all Californians, owe him a debt of lasting gratitude.
COUNTY AID.
Striving to obtain the best exhibit possible with the means available, your Representatives early solicited the co-operation of all the counties of California, offering in return for their efforts such distinctive representation as the merits of their respective products would warrant, consistent with a general harmonious plan of installation. Some responded very generously, others modestly and some not at all. On the whole, however, the help from counties was very material, particularly the services of their respective representatives in entertaining visitors to the California building and answering the constant flow of questions provoked by an inspection of the exhibits. Those counties that supported one or more representatives at the Exposition and which contributed more or less to the general display were, San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Alameda, San Francisco, Tulare, Sacramento and Siskiyou. Material was contributed by Kern, Fresno, San Joaquin, Monterey, Santa Clara, and here and there a little from others, but none of these latter maintained a representative, while some of those first named had at least two people with us all the time. It can be readily understood that with the regular State employees, reenforced by all the county representatives indicated, selected generally by reason of their especial qualifications for the position, the California force was very strong, and if any one visited the building and left without learning all he or she wanted to know about our State, or any part or industry thereof, it was because they did not make the desire for such information known. The work of the able floor representatives and lecturers was strongly reenforced by a well equipped
LITERATURE BUREAU.
A neat booth with spacious counter was provided at a prominent and convenient place in the building and well supplied with attractive literature all the time, free to all comers. In addition to the State book, a large edition of which was compiled and published at the expense of the appropriation, and which, we desire to say here, was as comprehensive a publication on California as was ever gotten out, nearly every progressive county contributed to the supply, thus making it possible to meet the eager demand that always exists for information regarding this State. Altogether from first to last we estimate that more than a car load of literature was handed out from our literature booth or given to visitors by those on the floor, and yet no one was ever asked to take a line who had not previously expressed a desire for it. If you force literature on people much of it is thrown away as soon as they are out of your sight. If put within convenient reach people take what they want and no more, and what they want they keep. No California literature was thrown away.
