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REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



November 1, 1013. 



There are undoubledl)' very strong 

 reasons why Australia should accept the 

 cordial invitation now extended to her. 

 The Panama Canal will greatly benefit 

 this country, and it has not cost her a 

 cent. We ought certainly to show cur ap- 

 preciation of the boon Americans have 

 conferred on the world, and especially 

 ■on the lands washed by the Pacific, in 

 thus " wedduig Atlantic Bridegroom to 

 Pacific Bride," by doing our best to make 

 the exhibition as great a success as pos- 

 sible. 



Whilst this sentimental reason will not 

 perhaps have much weight, the chance 

 thus given of bringing Australia before 

 a vast multitude who know nothing at 

 all about her is one we ought to seize 

 without delay. There can be no ques- 

 tion whatever as to the great value an 

 adequate show of our products and stock 

 would be to Australia. She wants set- 

 tlers, and American settlers especially. 

 Special envoys have been despatched 

 from time to time to the United States 

 with the set object of advertising Aus- 

 tralia, and thus attracting Americans 

 here. After all, an exhibit is nothing 

 more than a glorified advertisement, and 

 the World's Fair at San Francisco is 

 about the finest hoarding for our show 

 poster that could possibly be found. 



Canada considers it worth her while 

 to spend iJ^i 50,000 on buildings and 

 exhibits. Everv State in South America 

 will have a special pavilion, and will be 

 sending exhibits. Germany, after hang- 

 ing back awhile, has decided to be ade- 

 quately represented. France's pavilion 

 IS already being built. No State in 

 Europe but will be in evidence. Japan — 

 despite the difference over Californian 

 legislation — is spending a large sum on 

 a special building. England alone hesi- 

 tates to come in on the ground that the 

 high tariff in force in the United States 

 makes it useless for English manufac- 

 turers to take part in the Exhibition. In 

 spite of this, numbers of British firms 

 have already taken space on their own 

 account ; but it would be a great pity if 

 there is no British Palace amongst those 

 of the other nations. 



The commissioners would rather that 

 Australia stayed out altogether than that 

 she sent only a poor exhibit. The Fede- 



ral Government has voted ;^20,000, if 

 New South Wales. Victoria, Queensland 

 and South Australia make similar grants 

 a fine and really adequate representation 

 could be made. 



Those m charge of the project have 

 arranged for separate magnificent 

 palaces to house exhibits in each of the 

 following departments : — (a) Fine Arts, 

 (b) Education, (c) Social Economy, (d) 

 Liberal Arts, (e) Manufactures and 

 varied Industries, (f) Machinery, (g) 

 Transportation, (h) Agriculture, (i) Live 

 Stock, (k) Horticulture, (1) Mines and 

 Metallurgy. Exhibit material from 

 every country in the world will be in- 

 stalled in these great palaces, each in its 

 proper class. Australia, if she comes 

 into the scheme, would have space al- 

 lotted to her free, chiefly in the palaces 

 devoted to the last four departments, for 

 of necessity the Commonwealth's great 

 products are from the soil, not, as in 

 older lands, from the brain. 



Her pavilion, for which space has 

 been reserved near one of the entrances, 

 should be built as far as possible with 

 x^ustralian wood, and decorated by 

 Australian artists. It would be the meet- 

 ing place of all Australians viewing the 

 Exhibition, and, if well managed, here 

 could also be attracted tens of thousands 

 of visitors. At the Paris Exhibition in 

 1900 the Austrian pavilion was always 

 crowded. Not because it was the build- 

 ing of the Dual Empire, but because it 

 was so well arranged, had so excellent a 

 restaurant, and such a fine Hungarian 

 band. It was a fine advertisement for 

 Austria. There is no reason why Aus- 

 tralia's pavilion should not likewise be 

 made the most popular at the Fair. 



It might easily be made to accommo- 

 date a picture theatre. Nothing gives so 

 good an idea of a place as moving pic- 

 tures of typical scenes in town and 

 country. A cinematograph show, how- 

 ever poor, always attracts a large crowd 

 at an exhibition — especially if it is free ! 

 Fine films, depicting typical Australian 

 life and scenery, would tell thousands 

 more about this great country, convince 

 them more quickly of its possibilities 

 than an}' amount of dry statistics and 

 pamphlets. There are many other ways 



