August i, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



343 



always been men of the type who offer " salted " mines at 

 a time when money is being invested freely in mines, and 

 the fact that some industrial consolidations may have been 

 formed for the sole benefit of promoters is no reason why 

 the law should be invoked to prevent all consolidations. 

 The law presumes that a citizen will use due caution to 

 avoid, for example, buying a spavined horse ; and a like 

 degree of prudence will protect people from parting with 

 their money for shares of unsound companies. And no 

 law in the world can insure the soundness of a manufac- 

 turing company or guarantee profits — unless the govern- 

 ment should assert not only control of, but responsibility 

 for, every company which offers its shares to the public. 



THE COMING WORLD'S FAIR AT ST. LOUIS. 



'T'HE extent and character of the work done already in 

 ' connection with the proposed Louisiana Purchase 

 Exposition, to be held at St. Louis in 1904, indicate that 

 this is to rank among the really notable world's fairs. 

 The "department of publicity" has not been particularly 

 active, but this is just as well, since it will be time enough 

 to begin to get the masses interested when the fair has 

 approached readiness to receive them. But the work which 

 has been done has been of that preliminary kind which re- 

 lates to planning and organization and securing the co- 

 operation of exhibitors of a class which shall make the 

 exhibition truly representative of the material progress of 

 the country. 



A fact which may be of interest to possible exhibitors 

 is that the coming St. Louis world's fair will be, in a much 

 greater degree than any other exhibition ever held in the 

 United States, a government enterprise. In addition to 

 the appropriation of millions in money, the government 

 has appointed a national commission which shall have an 

 important voice in the conduct of the exposition, its ap- 

 proval being required of practically all the important func- 

 tions of the management. For example, in the matter of 

 awards the rules must be indorsed by the government 

 commission, and the awards made must before issue be 

 confirmed by the commission. The act of congress in re- 

 lation to the exposition requires that periodical reports 

 shall be made to the president of the United States, show- 

 ing receipts and disbursements and giving a general sum- 

 mary of the financial condition of the exposition. 



There is now assured the financial support neccessary 

 for the success of the exposition ; a large amount of con- 

 struction work has been done on the grounds and build- 

 ings which, by the way, are to be far more extensive than 

 in any former exhibition, and the energies of the manage- 

 ment — composed of men who are able to profit by their 

 experience in former exhibitions, from Chicago down — are 

 being devoted to securing the promise of exhibits from 

 leading concerns in the various departments of industry 

 and art best calculated to illustrate the progress of the 

 period since the United States acquired the great Louisiana 

 territory. But this is not to be merely an American exhi- 

 bition. All countries are to be invited to be represented, 

 and it appears probable that the recent activity of Ameri- 



cans in foreign markets, and the attention which has been 

 directed abroad to the United States as a competitor in 

 international trade, will stimulate foreign manufacturers 

 to exhibit their products side by side with those of this 

 country to an extent that has not been witnessed at any 

 former exposition. 



The management are determined to be prepared for the 

 date fixed for the opening, and in order to do this, and in 

 fact in order to know what provision will be necessary, it 

 is requisite that the amount of space required by intend- 

 ing exhibitors shall be known a good while in advance. 

 For this reason, it is urged that every manufacturer who 

 may be a possible exhibitor shall communicate with the 

 management soon with regard to the accommodations 

 likely to be wanted. It may be mentioned that the man- 

 agement proposes to depart from the usual practice of 

 great fairs, and to make no charge for exhibit space, and 

 abolish charges for power, light, and such facilities as may 

 seem reasonably necessary for the best presentation and 

 operation of a desirable exhibit. The idea is that the 

 manufacturer shall be called upon to incur no expense be- 

 yond the cost of putting his exhibit together and trans- 

 portation, and the management hopes to reduce the latter 

 item very materially by special arrangements with the 

 railways. 



It is stated that the government thus far has appropri- 

 ated $5,000,000 to the general funds of the exhibition, in 

 addition to about $1,300,000 in connection with the pro- 

 posed government exhibit and a building to hold it. The 

 director of exhibits is F. J. V. Skiff, who was identified in 

 an important way with the Chicago world's fair and with 

 the United States commission to the Paris Exposition of 

 1900. 



Thomas M. Moore, who was chief of the department 

 of machinery at the Pan-American Exposition, will sus- 

 tain a like relation to the St. Louis world's fair, and it may 

 be mentioned that in his department — Machinery — pro- 

 vision will be afforded for such India-rubber exhibits as 

 are classified as " mechanical goods." Other lines of rub- 

 ber products will have equally good provision for their 

 display in other departments of the exposition. 



GIVING IT A NAME. 



A CCORDING to ancient record, one of the first tasks set 

 •^*- for the lusty father of the human race was the selection 

 of original and euphonic names for the representatives of the 

 animal kingdom. Before that time hopeless confusion reigned 

 because none of them knew what they were. A little reflection 

 on this point will make it clear how embarrassing it must have 

 been for a respectable rhinoceros to be in doubt as to whether 

 he were a monkey, a giraffe, or a polecat, or for a bull elephant 

 to suspect that he might be a mouse. 



Since that time one of the chief occupations of the descend- 

 ants of Adam has been that of giving names — countries, states, 

 cities, towns, everything animate and inanimate has demanded 

 a name. Living and dead languages, fiction and fact, all the 

 wide realms of human thought have been called into service in 

 the great and ever increasing demand for names. It is not 

 strange, therefore, that some confusion exists, and that when it 



