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

IN THE WOMAN’S BUILDING. 13 but indirectly, when it was decided, and I think wisely, that there should be no separate exhibit, but that each manufacturer should be expected to state whether his exhibit was in whole or part the work of women; and that we should have some device indicating this fact placed thereon, so that all who go through the Exposition and are at all interested, in this matter can easily see a statement of the facts. Our request to the Committee of Installation to put the neces- sary questions in the entry blanks, then, being prepared to send to proposed exhibitors, was immediately granted, and almost all of the manufacturers who sent in their applications for space answered our questions, the first being: “ Was this article produced wholly or in part by the work of women? ” The affirmative answer to this question entitles us to members on the juries of award—a most important privilege for the protection of women’s interests, which was conferred upon us by Congress. A good illus- tration was given of the lack of appreciation of the universality of woman’s work in the world, when I asked one of the members of the Board of Control, at the time they were prescribing our duties, how many representatives we might have on the juries which would pass upon exhibits that were wholly or in part the work of women. His reply was that we might appoint all the members of those juries; that they were perfectly willing for us to name the entire jury that was to award prizes in departments where women’s work was to be judged. This was so overwhelming, that I modestly insisted that we name only one-lialf of such juries, as otherwise, though I did not tell him so, we should have had the appointing of all the members of all the juries of the Exposition, except in. very- few of the departments of classification. The desire of the Board of Lady Managers is to present a com- plete picture of the condition of women in every country of the world at this moment, and more particularly of those women who are bread-winners. We wish to know whether they continue to do the hard, wearing work of the world at prices which will not main- tain life, and under unhealthy conditions; whether they have access to the common schools and to the colleges, and after having taken the prescribed course are permitted graduating honors; whether the women, in countries where educational facilities are afforded them, take a higher stand in all the active industries of life as well as in intellectual pursuits; how large the proportion is of those who have shown themselves capable of taking honors in the colleges to which they are admitted, etc.