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NOTABLE advance was made at the Paris Exposition in the installation of the Department of Social Economy in a building devoted to its sole use, where, by means of graphics, maps, diagrams, photographs, and documents, the various forms of socialized improvement were exhibited. That the interpretation of the scope of social economy was very different was shown by the exhibits of the various countries, Russia showing industrial betterment and the work of the temperance societies, Germany workmen's insurance and the prevention of accidents, Switzerland the efforts of the peace societies, and Holland improved dwellings for the work men; however, through all this diversity ran the central purpose, that each of the exhibits was a definite contribution to the sum total of human progress.

While social economy is no new science, its application and interpretation have received great development within the last decade. The thousands of visitors thronging this building, particularly the wage-earners of the various nations, emphasized its great importance and the necessity of developing it still further in future Expositions. It was, for instance, of great value for the employees to see exhibited the various movements for their social and industrial betterment; while, on the other hand, the employer could study for himself the various demands of labor as expressed in reports and special circulars.

On general principles, each visitor at a great Exposition like that of Paris gets what he brings to it; in other words, the Philistine seeks his "cakes and ale," his Midway and his Streets of Cairo; the stu

dent of social science studies the Palace of Social Economy and the Swiss Village, while the scientist is interested in the wonderful applications of science to the ever-increasing perfection of delicate yet complicated machinery. Those who are content to spend what time they can in a study of one, two, or three departments, approaching them each time with a mind enlarged and broadened by new and fresh comparisons-these visitors will pronounce the Exposition a success and a means of inspiration. At this period of the world's existence it is more satisfactory to regard a great exposition as a composite, each part of which is sure to repay individual study.

The entire Exposition was divided into eighteen groups, which included the entire range of human activity, education, fine arts, electricity, agriculture, foodstuffs, textiles, and colonization, etc. Group XVI. was devoted exclusively to Social Economy. The subdivisions will show the importance of this group, and the reason why they were installed in a building of their own Apprenticeship and the protection. of child labor; the remuneration of the wage-earner, and profit-sharing; large and small industries, co-operative associations of workmen, trade-unions; agricultural credit; security of workshops, prevention of accidents; child labor and women workers; accident insurance; workingmen's dwellings; co-operation; institutions for developing the moral and the intellectual condition of workmen; institutions for thrift and savings; mutual aid, pensions, insurance; public or private. movements for the welfare of the citizens; labor legislation, labor bureaus, the Musée Social; hygiene; private and public char

ity. The catalogue for this group was a volume of nearly five hundred pages.

The Hon. Howard J. Rogers was the Director of Education and Social Economy. The space at his disposal in the United States section at the Exposition was 27x27 feet, hence a principle of rigid exclusion was compelled, and carefully selected types were exhibited. The visitor gained by this fact, because he was not obliged to look at hundreds of similar objects. The Special Agents for Mr. Rogers were Dr. Josiah Strong, Mr. W. F. Willoughby, Chief Expert of the Department of Labor, Washington; Dr. Edward T. Jones, Dr. Fred. W. Speirs, Mr. Homer Folks, Dr. E. T. Devine, and Dr. W. H. Tolman.

The space assigned to the United States was adjoining Germany and opposite Switzerland. On all sides of the room were shelves containing documents, reports, and books, the sources of information, which were interpreted by means of photographs installed in the wing frames, so placed as to be seen comfortably; above the wing frames were hung charts and diagrams, which were so large that they could be readily seen at a distance. Just under the wing frames, and above the shelves, was a broad ledge, serving as a table, on which

books and diagrams could be studied with comfort. It also made a convenient resting-place for large albums. On the lefthand side of the room was a notable collection of maps and charts, prepared by Dr. Edward T. Jones, of the University of Wisconsin, illustrating the extent of the United States and its resources. For instance, all the cities of 8,000 inhabit ants were plotted in one map, while in another the boot and shoe industries were shown; a third graphic showed the United States laid down on the map of Europe. This exhibit had been prepared with great care by Dr. Jones, and was very valuable from the Exposition point of view, because each chart was labeled in French and English. Each map was mounted on a spring roller and set at angles, so that a large number of maps were thus installed in a very small space. Another corner of the room was devoted to an exhibit of the work of the Library Association, while diagonally opposite was the great Negro Exhibit in the care of Mr. Calloway, who had been charged with the collection and interpretation of this material, consisting of documents, photographs, and graphics.

Prominent in this exhibit were the results attained by Hampton Institute and

of any movement for the solution of this phase of the race question.

In the center of the room were a set of I models of New York's tenement-house district a part of the exhibit of the Tenement-House Committee of the Charity Organization Society of New York. Mr. Lawrence Veiller, the Secretary of this Committee, the promoter of the movement for improved housing, received the award of a gold medal, and the exhibit was honored by a grand prix.

A collection of the work of the building and loan associations, the railroad pension systems, the fraternal orders, the factory inspection, and the labor unions had been made by Mr. William Franklin Willoughby, of the Department of Labor, Washington. This kind of a collection did not lend itself to a spectacular display, but was of great importance to the investigator of these problems. It secured a large number of awards from the various juries under whose sections the different subjects came.

In addition to the exhibits, some of the nations prepared a special volume describing their entire section of social economy. This was more than a catalogue, for it contained a general survey of the entire field, making it possible to gain an adequate conception of the development and treatment of the problem in question. The Director of the United States section had a series of monographs prepared by specialists, treating subjects like factory inspection, the sweating system, labor bureaus, religious movements for social betterment, industrial betterment, the social work of the Salvation Army, and hygiene.

One of the most scientifically successful exhibits was made by Hungary, which was installed in one of the smallest sections in the Palace of Social Economy. It was successful because the most casual glance showed objects of human interest; for example, in the center of the room was a group of three different kinds of labor ers-the farmer, the artisan, and the peasant-with their implements of work. Turning to the left were models of the peasants' homes, and in the adjoining case models of the various kinds of foodstuffs eaten by people living in the country. Another case showed in the same way the kind of food eaten by the city laborers,

with models of their houses. On the opposite side of the room were exhibited appliances required by law for each manufacturer in his factory for first aid to the injured, or for use in more serious accidents. The entire upper part of the room was covered by a frieze, on which were painted types of working men and women, with typical occupations, both of the city and country.

A fourth of the space was devoted to an alcove where were assembled the reports, documents, charts, and graphics which constituted the scientific foundation for the spectacular or popular exhibit in the front room. This information was summarized in a series of monographs, so that in this alcove the scholar and the special investigator could study sources, drawing his own conclusions and testing those of others. By this arrangement Hungary caught the Philistine and held him, by satisfying his desire to see things of human interest, and at the same time gratifying those who wanted to know the why and wherefore of all that was shown. Every exhibit was labeled in French, and many of them in Hungarian.

One general criticism of the entire section of Social Economy was its lack of interpretative material--that is, a brief description of the exhibit so that any visitor whose interest was aroused ever so faintly might be able to gratify his desire for more information. The United States Government had one of the most complete exhibits, which was extremely gratifying, because Social Economy is a new thing, and it was hard to explain to our people just what it meant. The value of this exhibit would have been very greatly cnhanced if it could have been made more self-explanatory; with the exception of the material collected by the League for Social Service, and maps prepared by Dr. Jones, the labels of the photographs and charts were all in English and had not been translated into French, so that the pictures and charts were almost meaningless to the great majority of visitors, who had no knowledge of English.

The test of a successful exhibit is its ability to attract and hold the interest. An Exposition is nothing more than a great fair or show for the vast majority of visitors, who attend to be interested and possibly to gain new ideas. There is a