NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 



NEW YORK (STATE). 



579 



those of Mississippi, Georgia, and South Caro- 

 lina ; tobacco, of Virginia ; sugar and rice, of 

 Louisiana; fruits, of Florida. The Northeast- 

 ern State exhibits were characterized by a 

 variety of manufactured articles. The dis- 

 plays of the railroad Companies were made 

 up 'chiefly of the minerals and agricultural 

 products of the sections which their lines trav- 

 ersed. 



The Horticultural Hall was devoted to dis- 

 plays of fruits and plants from the States of 

 the Union and from foreign countries, Mexico, 

 Central America, and the West Indies being 

 well represented. A hot-house, 250 feet by 25, 

 occupied the southeastern part of the building, 

 and contained a profusion of tropical plants. 

 The corresponding spaces at the sides of the 

 rest of the building were devoted to a great 

 variety of growing plants from temperate and 

 semi-tropical regions, while fifty feet of the 

 width of the building through the middle of 

 its whole length was taken up with tables on 

 which ripe fruits and vegetables were dis- 

 played. Premiums amounting to $32,000 were 

 offered for the finest displays and best varieties 

 of fruits and plants. 



The Agricultural Exhibition was under the 

 direction of Dr. George B. Loring, the United 

 States Commissioner of Agriculture, and the 

 immediate superintendence of the Hon. George 

 Y. Johnson, of Kansas. It included several 

 divisions in which premiums were offered. 

 These comprised displays of fat stock; horses, 

 mules, and donkeys ; dogs ; poultry, and pet 

 stock; cattle; dairy products; sheep and goats ; 

 Bwine ; farm and garden products ; farm ma- 

 chinery and utensils; machinery for produc- 

 tion of agricultural products; humane inven- 

 tions, and buildings. The Dairy Exhibit oc- 

 cupied 60,000 square feet, of which 10,000 was 

 refrigerated. Over 10,000 packages of butter 

 and 5,000 of cheese were displayed. 



Among other special exhibits were those 

 illustrating the cultivation of cotton and the 

 manufacture of the fiber, and the process of 

 cultivating and harvesting rice and sugar, and 

 preparing the products for the market. 



There was a special exhibition of woman's 

 work, for which $50,000 were set apart by the 

 Exposition Management. It was under the 

 charge of Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, of Boston, 

 as Chief Commissioner, and an efficient staff 

 of assistants from the various States. The 

 space assigned to it was the west gallery of 

 the Government Building, where it occupied 

 710 feet in length and the whole width of the 

 gallery, of 40 feet. A separate section was as- 

 signed to each State; but in a few cases, in- 

 cluding those of Texas and Wisconsin, the dis- 

 plays of woman's work were included in the 

 State sections on the main floor. The exhib- 

 its included many works of art and design, 

 needlework in variety, useful inventions, lit- 

 erature, etc. The funds were increased by 

 private subscription and in other ways, and 

 the display was considered the most varied 



and complete ever made of the products of 

 feminine skill, ingenuity, and industry. 



There was also a department for the special 

 exhibition of the work of the colored race, un- 

 der the charge of the Hon. Blanche K. Bruce, 

 of Mississippi, as Chief Commissioner, with a 

 special commissioner from each State. For 

 this also $50,000 was set apart by the manage- 

 ment. It occupied the gallery at the north 

 end of the Government Building. 



Aside from the educational features of the 

 State exhibits there was a collective exhibi- 

 tion of educational appliances, methods, etc., 

 which occupied the east and south galleries 

 of the Government Building. 



It was several weeks after the opening be- 

 fore all the departments of the Exposition 

 were in a completed state, and the attendance 

 during this period did not fulfill the expecta- 

 tions of the managers. The receipts did not 

 fully cover the expenses of administration, and 

 there was a considerable deficit in consequence 

 of the fact that the expenses of preparation 

 had largely exceeded the estimates. 



NEW IORR (STATE). The session of the 

 Legislature, which began on the first day of 

 January, came to a close on the 16th of May. 

 Dennis McCarthy, of Syracuse, was made 

 President of the Senate, to appoint the com- 

 mittees and preside in the absence of the 

 Lieutenant-Governor. Titus Sheard, of Her- 

 kimer county, was chosen Speaker of the As- 

 sembly. The Senate was composed of 19 Re- 

 publicans and 13 Democrats, and the Assembly 

 of 76 Republicans and 52 Democrats. 



Action of the Legislature. The most important 

 work of the session, and that which occupied 

 the largest share of attention, related to the 

 administration of municipal affairs in the city 

 of New York. Mr. Frederick S. Gibbs and Mr. 

 Theodore Roosevelt, of that city, as chairmen 

 respectively of the Senate and Assembly Com- 

 mittees on the Affairs of Cities, were largely 

 instrumental in shaping and directing legisla- 

 tion on this subject. Two investigations were 

 ordered relating to the matter, which ran 

 through nearly the whole time of the session. 

 The Senate Committee on Cities undertook an 

 inquiry into the working of the Department of 

 Public Works of the city of New York ; and a 

 special committee of the Assembly, with Mr. 

 Roosevelt at its head, made an investigation 

 extending, so far as time allowed, to all de- 

 partments of the city government. The in- 

 vestigation of the Senate committee resulted in 

 no practical action. Three separate reports 

 were made at the very end of the session by 

 different members of the committee, involving 

 considerable disagreement as to the facts found. 

 An incident of this investigation was the ar- 

 raignment before the bar of the Senate of a 

 witness who, under the advice of counsel, re- 

 fused to answer questions propounded to him 

 by the committee. He was declared in con- 

 tempt, and committed to jail in Albany. The 

 matter was brought before the Supreme Court 



