oportions and interesting details of the
fair do not appear to the Commission to have been made known to
the general public, to the extent or in the manner calculated to
inspire the interest and secure the attendance warranted by the
extraordinary merits of the great educational force here
installed. In the opinion of the Commission this delinquency
does not arise from any lack of devotion to the public welfare
by the press of the country at large.

The munificent recognition of the fair by the General Government
attracted national attention. The invitation extended by the
President of the United States, under authority of law, to the
nations of the earth to participate in the exposition,
supplemented by the cordial cooperation of our diplomatic and
consular representatives abroad, secured the most extensive
foreign participation ever accorded to any like undertaking.
Moved thereto by the example of the National Government, the
States, Territories, and dependencies of the United States
joined in the exposition with unparalleled generosity and
enthusiasm. The groups of palatial buildings erected by the
foreign governments and by the States and minor subdivisions of
our country, together with the exhibits installed in the
exhibition palaces provided by the company, bear the amplest
testimony of their earnest desire to make the exposition a
pronounced success. The splendid exhibit installed here by the
government of the Philippine Islands rises to the proportions of
an exposition on its own account.

The buildings are completed, the exhibits are installed, and the
exposition has been in progress for substantially three-sevenths
of its allotted period. The faith of the management in the
merits of the exposition has been justified by the approving
judgment of all who have entered the gates; but the daily
attendance has been far short of what it should be from any
point of view.

Unhappily, the magnificent proportions and the numberless
attractions of the exposition do not seem to be fully understood
by the masses of the people throughout the United States, whence
attendance must be chiefly expected. The results obtained from
the territory commanded by the press of St. Louis warrants the
belief that the unsatisfactory conditions prevailing would be
overcome if the cou