The entire forestry interests of the State were represented in the forestry exhibit, which was collected from every portion of the State.
There were 94 different producers represented in the horticultural exhibit. The display of horticultural products was collected from every part of the State, and Tennessee was surpassed by few in the character and quality of her products.
There were 266 contributors to the agricultural exhibit, representing every strictly agricultural product, except tobacco, which was represented in a special exhibit. There were 187 exhibitors represented in the special tobacco exhibit, and these exhibits covered the tobacco production and industry of every county in the State. The collective exhibit in agriculture and the special tobacco exhibit were located in and adjoining the central nave of the Palace of Agriculture.
In the mineral display in Mines and Metallurgy Building there were 168 different exhibits, representing every mineral in the State, and the specimens were from the different localities where developments have been made. This exhibit was one of the most beautiful in its installation and general effect of the many splendid exhibits in the Palace of Mines and Metallurgy. On account of the quantity of material collected and the inadequacy of space inside the building it became necessary to make a separate exhibit in the Mining Gulch, which was confined to coal, iron, phosphate, copper, and marble.
There were 12 different exhibitors in the Live Stock and Poultry Department, who made their exhibits under the auspices of the commission.
The exhibit in the division of anthropology, Administration Building, was one of the finest of its kind, and one which attracted the attention of archaeologists from every part of the world. Gen. Gates P. Thurston, of Nashville, collected and installed the exhibit, which was made up from the private collection of General Thurston, the Hicks collection, and the collection of the Tennessee Historical Society.
During the life of the exposition large quantities of advertising matter were distributed from the State building and from the State spaces in the exhibit palaces. This advertising matter was furnished in part by the State, in part by the different cities and counties of the State, and in part by the railroad companies of the State.
TEXAS.
On January 9, 1902, a corporation known as "The Texas World's Fair Commission" was chartered under the provisions of the laws of the State of Texas on application of citizens of Texas, and appointed Texas World's Fair Commissioners by Hon. Joseph D. Sayers, then the governor of the State. It was believed by the commission that with State aid to the extent of $200,000 added to sums that had already been guaranteed by subscribers, the State could make a creditable showing at the World's Fair in competition with other States and Territories. Accordingly the commission memorialized the twenty-eighth legislature for an appropriation of $200,000. The bill which sought to authorize the appropriation was reported to the house and was opposed by the governor of the State on two contentions: First, that the constitution did not authorize such an appropriation, and, second, that the limited revenues of the State would not justify it. When the commission failed in this direction, a meeting was held to determine whether the commission should attempt to go ahead with the work or abandon the enterprise. The commission decided by an overwhelming vote that Texas could not afford to deny herself participation in a universal exposition where all the States and Territories of the United States would enter in friendly competition, and the executive committee and the general manager were instructed to proceed with the organization. The task of reorganizing the work by counties was resumed, but with limited success. The plan was to call upon the counties for a sum equal to 2 cents on the $100 property valuation, with which to create the Texas World's Fair Commission fund. Out of 243 organized counties in the State the following subscribed and paid the amounts set against them:
El Paso, Tom Green, Tarrant, Dallas, Harris, Jefferson, Galveston,
Smith, Nueces, and Comal.