— 35 — THE WORLD’S PÄIRS the necessary preparations, but also takes up more of his personal time and atten tion, than he can well afford. It is there- fore not surprising, that leading manu- facturers, who have an assnred custom, often refuse to participate in exhibitions. It would be easy for any person acqnainted witb the manufacturing interest in diffe rent countries, to eite examples from the late exhibitions which show, that many leading branches of trade were represented exclusively by beginners, who have yet their reputation to establish, but not by houses of note. Such was chiefly the cause of the un- satisfactory appearance of the German de- partment at Philadelphia, but if a severe criticism of it was therefore justified. yet, the hasty deduction, that all German manufactures were inferior, was wholly unfounded. We are of the opinion that the fault lies in such cases much less on the side of the manufacturers, than in the nature of the administrations connected with the exhibition, The problem here is, how to unite commercial simplicity and expedi- tion with bureaucratical conscientious- ness ? It cannot be solved by abandon- ing the direction to merchants, who are in active business, and who have con-