Report of the Board of Managers. 13 



REPORT OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS. 



The Board of Managere respectfully report that immediately after 

 its organization, the board took into consideration the question of 

 holding an antumnal exhibition. Kearly all its members were also 

 members of the preceding board, which had the management of the 

 most successful exhibition ever given by the Institute ; and they 

 were, as a natural consequence, very desirous that the proposed dis- 

 play should equal, if not exceed, that of 1S6T. Their experience 

 had convinced them of the importance of having a few very promi- 

 nent objects of attraction, as well as a complete assortment in its 

 several departments, to secure its , pecuniary success. Although no 

 very striking novelties had recently been brought to notice, and no 

 very strong feeling manifested among the leading manufacturers of 

 the country in favor of a fair, still the board decided to take the pre- 

 liminary steps to secure the use of suitable grounds and buildings for 

 that pui-pose. Great inconvenience had been experienced at the 

 exhibition of 1S67, from a want of room for the proper display of 

 articles and the working of machines ; and the first aim of the 

 board was to provide premises more capacious than had been used 

 since the Institute had occupied the crystal palace. . 



The board was not successful in finding such a locality, and being 

 convinced that the accommodation of a complete exposition required 

 the erection of a temporary structure, it decided to refer the subject 

 to the trustees of the Institute, and make the holding of an exhibi- 

 tion conditional upon their providing the necessary buildings. The 

 trustees did not recommend the erection of an exhibition building, 

 and had they done so, it is doubtful whether such a building, con- 

 structed in the cheapest manner, could have been completed in time 

 to be occupied at the usual day for opening our autumnal display. 



The history of the past year only makes more apparent the abso- 

 lute necessity of immediately building a structure for the accommo- 

 dation of all the departments of the American Institute, and more 

 especially, its general exhibitions. All past experience shows that 

 the fine spirit and energy evinced by every new Board of Managers^ 



