Macon Beacon

HOW EXPOSITION IS OF COUNTY BENEFIT

PARTICIPATION WILL NOT ONLY BE PERMANENT BUT VERY ECONOMICAL,

EXHIBITS TO BE EDUCATIONAL

"Dixie Reef" Name of Amusement Street-The Thoroughfare of Fun and Laughter at Big Show.

A great deal of careful thought was given the proposition of county and municipal participation in the Exposition by the Commission. It was the desire of this body to design a plan that would prove economical and at the same time beneficial. As a result of this investigation, the counties and municipalities are offered a most attractive proposition for a participation that is permanent and economical.

While the Exposition will run for a period of six months and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors, it is contemplated to keep the exhibit halls open practically all of the time for many years to come. Expositions will be held during every February and March while several hundred thousand visitors from the North are spending the winter here or attending the Mardi Gras festivities at New Orleans or Mobile.

During the summer and early fall a high grade chautauqua will be promoted and people from all sections of the South brought here for a few days or weeks. Encampments of the Mississippi National Guard will be held at Exposition Park each summer, and this event always attracts many thousand visitors. The park will be kept open for enjoyment by the great throngs of visitors to the coast section in summer.

Counties and municipalities will be invited to participate on the basis of permanency. That is, they will make exhibits to be enclosed in beautifully designed glass cases to be placed in the Mississippi building. By this means an exhibit will last for years, being protected from damage by dust or insects. Substitution and additions can be made at any time desired and the exhibit kept up to the standard.

After the initial investment the county will be at no added expense to keep its showing in fine shape for view by the constant stream of visitors that will come every day. While initial investment will be a bit more than if only a temporary showing was made, in the long run this plan is bound to be far more economical and attractive to the good business men who are in charge of county and city affairs.

Some of the counties have already accepted this suggestion and will have permanent exhibits and others will no doubt do so as soon as the proposition is placed before them. It is to be hoped that at least fifty of the eighty counties of the state will take advantage of this opportunity. It would give to Mississippi the greatest showing of any state in the Union. We have the material for such a showing and it can be made.

The Geological Exhibit.

The State Geological Department, presided over by Dr. E. N. Lowe, will be represented by a comprehensive display of geological specimens. Our people have been taught that Mississippi was not rich in minerals, but it is possible that we have been mistaken to a greater or less degree. Recent developments have tended to dispel this illusion.

A specially designed room of ample proportions will be provided for the geological exhibit, and Dr. Lowe is already at work collecting and arranging an excellent showing of our wealth in that particular line. It will be an eye-opener to our own people as well as the visitors who will come in great crowds during the Exposition.

The space occupied and designed for the Geological Department will be filled with a display of a permanent nature and it will be there for inspection by every one who visits Exposition Park, either during the Exposition or for years afterward. The Commission was gratified at the chance to provide quarters for so important a branch of state government.

There is no reason why a state department or state institution of any character should not make a most creditable showing at the Exposition. In some instances funds may be somewhat short, but a resourceful and deserving official will always find a way if he is really interested.

There is not a county or community in the state of Mississippi that cannot share in the benefits to be derived from the Exposition if they will only make the effort. The investment will be nominal and the profits sufficient to warrant the greatest effort. The county too poor to give it a trial will always be too poor. Prosperity comes to those who invite prosperity and go after it with a determination to find it.

The Centennial Exposition in Kansas was the beginning of a great era of prosperity for that state, which continues to the present day. The Exposition can do as much, or more, for the State of Mississippi if the people will take an interest and insure the success its importance deserves.

Palm trees will play an important part in beautifying the Exposition park. Some of the finest specimens in the country are to be found in the coast section and will be transplanted and merged into the general landscape plan for beautification.