Gen. L. Victor Baughman, chairman; Francis E. Waters, vice-chairman;
Frederick P. Stieff, treasurer; Frank N. Hoen, William A. Marburg,
William H. Grafflin, Wesley M. Oler, Thomas H. Robinson, Jacob M.
Pearce, Orlando Harrison, Mrs. Frances E. Lord, Mrs. Parks Fisher, F.P.
Cator, H.J. McGrath; Samuel K. Dennis, secretary.
A further appropriation of $40,000 was made, giving the commission a total of $65,000. Through the systematic, scientific work of the Maryland geological survey the commission had at hand the basis of an excellent exhibit for the Palace of Mines. After vicissitudes of various kinds, chiefly those occasioned by the great fire in Baltimore, the Maryland Building was finished and opened on June 8. The total cost of the building was $18,402.70. It was of a modern classic design, very boldly treated. In plan it was a parallelogram 100 feet long by 40 feet wide, with a recess on the front 10 by 55 feet, forming a loggia, which was richly decorated in color (the only such external color scheme on the grounds), supported by six columns of the composite order 25 feet high, carrying a cornice and balustrade above. The Maryland State arms were the central feature over the main entrance. At either end there were large semicircular porches, supported on Ionic columns, which made the total length of the building over all 140 feet. The site was an ideal one, close to the New York and other State buildings and on the direct route from the Inside Inn to the center of the grounds. The building was surrounded by a beautiful oak grove, and was on gently rising ground. Inside the classic feeling was maintained. On entering through the loggia one found an imposing hall 55 feet long by 25 feet high. The color scheme of this room was golden brown, with a lighter shade of the same for the vaulted ceiling. Portraits of great value, taken from the statehouse at Annapolis, as well as one of his eminence Cardinal Gibbons, lent an air of dignity. Other rooms on the ground floor were: On the left a picture room, where a large number of framed photographs of Maryland scenery, buildings, and objects of interest were hung, and back of this a lunch room and pantry, for use on reception days. At the other end of the building there was a drawing room, with a room at the back which was used as a men's smoking room, with toilet attached. A stairway led from this part of the building to the ladies' boudoir, which also had toilet attached, and to a ladies' drawing-room.
The second story, at the other end of the building, had a good room fitted up for the gentleman in charge of the building. Mr. Albert Jones, of Baltimore, and Mrs. Parks Fisher, of Baltimore, dispensed hospitality in true Maryland style, and made many friends for the State among the many visitors who came daily to the building. Upon Mrs. Fisher devolved much of the responsibility of making the building popular, and she was careful to have a few representative ladies of old Maryland families established in St. Louis to assist her in entertaining those who came. To Mrs. Fisher is due much of the credit for the taste and judgment used in furnishing the building.
The exhibit of Maryland's mineral resources in the Mines and Metallurgy Building covered an area of nearly 3,000 square feet of floor space, together with about 4,000 square feet of wall and window space. The mineral products were as follows:
Coals, building and decorative stones, ores, clays and clay products (including pottery, tile, terra cotta, fancy and common brick, fire brick, enameled brick, retorts and stove linings), limestones, sands, cement rocks, flints, feldspars, marls, tripoli, barites, soapstones, etc. All of the leading operators and manufacturers in the State took part in the display, some of them supplying large collections of materials. In addition to the exhibit of mineral products there was an extensive systematic collection representing the geology, mineralogy, and paleontology of the State, displayed in a series of plate-glass, cases on the walls. In this exhibit the numerous materials found at the various geological horizons were displayed, the object of the exhibit being to show the great variety of geological formations represented in Maryland.
The Maryland agricultural exhibit occupied a space 90 by 20 feet. A feature intended to illustrate the varied conditions, crops, and methods found in the northern and southern sections of the State, quite foreign to each other, were the two barn scenes, located at each end and on the wall side of the block. The corn exhibit, consisting of samples of ten ears each, was displayed in a handsome case 4 by 12 feet, protected by plate glass. Each sample was tied with orange and black ribbon, with the names and addresses of the growers attached. A second corn exhibit was made in a special exhibit in the, middle aisle of this mammoth building. Here were displayed the four staples—tobacco, sugar, cotton, and corn.
The tobacco exhibit was displayed in a case of like construction and proportions to that occupied by the corn, and located at the opposite end and in front of the "Southern Maryland Barn." It made an attractive showing of the planters' tobacco from both southern Maryland and Frederick County. A special tobacco exhibit was also made in the middle aisle on a space 20 feet square. In the center stood a giant Indian on a pedestal over 7 feet high, with a long-stemmed pipe in his mouth and a horn of plenty on his left arm, from which the manufactured products of the weed fell to the ground. The whole was apparently built of tobacco.
The canned-goods industry was in evidence in this section to the right and left of the "Springhouse." Placed against the wall, which was covered with black cloth, were three pyramids of cans of peas, corn, and tomatoes.
MASSACHUSETTS.
That Massachusetts might be creditably represented at the St. Louis
Exposition the Commonwealth appropriated $100,000.