94
EXPOSITION AT VIENNA.
which an affirmative answer would also seem a natural reply, but the answer was in the negative. This caused much excitement, and even a threat on the part of some juries to throw up their work; for they did not care to identify themselves with a process of self-stultification. Perhaps this may not appear a necessary consequence; I will, therefore, give an example :—
Take, for instance, two manufacturers of Porcelain, one nearly at the top of his profession ; and it is at once obvious that he deserves a high reward, which the jury may consider does not amount to the highest; that is, the Diploma of Honor ; they, therefore, give him the Medal for Progress. Now, it must be evident to all that in such an art as his, he cannot have made progress without being a meritorious worker, and a man of good taste; but if he is only to receive the Medal for Progress, the two latter and equally important qualities are left out of sight, whilst the general public will be more likel} r to think highly of the third class medal for Good Taste than of the first, with the indefinite idea of progress attached to it. After much discussion the Council of Presidents of Juries, a deliberative body which held a position between the General Direction and the Juries, decided in favor of the jurors’ view, that one or more medals should be awarded where deserved, and that another absurd regulation, that only one Diploma of Honor, in any group, should be given to one nationality, should be rescinded. There was a tacit understanding that this was accepted by the Council of General Direction; but after all the labors of the jury based on this understanding were concluded, and the juries themselves dispersed, their decisions were altered and the old idea reverted to. Therefore, practically, the published lists of prizes do not give the true opinions of the jurors and experts.
Anything more mischievous can hardly be imagined, and already many unprincipled people are taking advantage of it. Thus advertisements appear intimating that the advertiser is the only one in his class who received the medal for " Good Taste”; the public are not aware that this is the lowest prize in the form of a medal. Then others are telling the world by advertisements, circulars, and other means of deceiving, that they received the Diploma, but do not say it is merely