454 New Yoek at the Woeld's Columbian Exposition. 



Method of Aeeangement. 



Positive regulations were issued by tlie liberal arts department 

 at Chicago, which stated that the public school exhibits must be by 

 grades, and that the State was the smallest unit that would be recog- 

 nized. A stranger desiring to study primary school work and methods 

 could thus find it all grouped in one place instead of having to search 

 for it in as many different places as made exhibits. This arrangement 

 was by far the most logical and scientific, and was only objected to by 

 cities which desired to have an alcove by themselves. 



It was decided, after much discussion with the advisory board, not to 

 attempt to secure a modification of the rule, but to arrange the exhibit 

 from a State standpoint. The graded plan worked out satisfactorily, and, 

 instead of eliminating the factor of local pride in preparing an exhibit, 

 proved rather to stimulate it, for each school system was spurred on to 

 make a finer display in each grade and produced a better balanced 

 exhibit than is likely to be seen where all grades are grouped together 

 and the deficiencies of one allowed to go unnoticed because of the excel- 

 lencies of another. Within each department, however, the exhibit of 

 a city or village was shown as a unit, so that while the State did not 

 have what is technically called a " collective " exhibit, it did present a 

 comparative display of " collective " exhibits from cities and- institu- 

 tions. Means were thus furnished of not only comparing New York 

 State with other States, but of comparing one section of New York 

 with another. 



Plan of Exhibit. 



The exhibit was divided into eleven general departments : University 

 of the State of New York, universities and colleges, university 

 extension, technical schools, trade schools, academies, high schools, 

 normal schools, elementary schools, kindergarten and private schools. 

 Each of these departments occupied one Targe alcove of about 600 

 square feet, except the elementary schools, which had two, the colleges 

 and universities which occupied about 3,500 feet along the east and 

 west university aisle, and the Pratt Institute and Eensselaer Polytechnic 

 Institute, which between them occupied 2,500 square feet in the south- 

 west corner of the gallery. The two latter institutions and the New 

 York Trade School were unfortunately separated from the main exhibit 

 by a departmental rule which aimed to group together schools of a 



The New York art schools occupied, in addition, about 1,000 feet in 

 the west gallery, and the business schools about 500 feet in the collective 

 business college exhibit, midway up the same side. 



The accompanying plan was adopted for the division of space. 



This effective arrangement typified the peculiar ^organization in New 

 York. In the same legislative act of May 1, 1784, the University of 

 the State of New York was created and Columbia College chartered 

 on the basis of old King's College. These two oldest institutions were 

 at the left and right of the long aisle. Beginning with the State Uni- 

 versity department, which occupied by virtue of its organization the 



