Art and Handcraft in the Woman's Building
of the World's Columbian Exposition

IN THE WOMAN’S BUILDING. 11 was brought before the World’s Fair Committee of Congress, Mr. Springer of Illinois willingly inserted the clause authorizing the creation of the board of women, and championed it in the com- mittee and before the House, where it met with no serious opposition. The Board of Lady Managers was created by an Act of Congress, Section 6 of which reads as follows: 11 And said Commission is authorized and required to appoint a Board of Lady Managers of such number and to perform such duties as may be prescribed by said Commission. Said board may appoint one or more members of all committees authorized to award prizes for exhibits which may be produced in whole or in. part by female labor.” Upon the assembling of the Board of Lady Managers in Chicago, we found that the first important duty to be settled was whether the work of women at the Fair should be shown separately or in conjunction with the work of men under the general classifications. This was a burning question, for upon this subject every one had strong opinions, and there was great feeling on both sides, those who favored a separate exhibit believing that the extent and variety of the valuable work done by women would not be appre- ciated or comprehended unless shown in a building separate from the work of men. On the other hand, the most advanced and radical thinkers felt that the exhibit should not be one of sex, but of merit, and that women had reached the point where they could afford to compete side by side with men, with a fair chance of success, and that they would not value prizes given upon the sentimental basis of sex. Both in Philadelphia and New Orleans the plan of separate exhibits had been carried out as well as possible; but in both cases the friends of women were disappointed by the meager showing made when the work done by women alone was separated, and they were not credited with the immense amount, both in variety and volume, which women had done in conjunction with men. From the farm the dairy products went into the general exhibit, presumably as men’s work. The interesting and unusually attract- ive showing of the bee and silk-worm industries, although prepared largely by women, went also into the general classification; and so with the thousand and one articles made in the factories of the world by men and women working conjointly; for women’s dis- tinctive part could not be separated without destroying the finished article. In our body the vote on this question did not come up directly,