[Inclosure.—Translation.]
Mr. Krantz to Mr.
Washburne.
[Ministry of agriculture and commerce, Universal
International Exhibition 1878, cabinet of senator,
commissioner-general.]
Sir: The Government of the United States of
North America has not as yet made any response to the invitation which
was addressed to it, to take part in the Universal Exposition of 1878,
at Paris. Every new delay may become prejudicial to the common
enterprise.
If you will please to make use of the card of admission, herewith
inclosed, to visit the works going forward at the Champs de Mars and the
Trocadéro, you will be convinced that everything will be ready before
the dates fixed for the entry of products and the opening of the
exposition. All the European nations, with very few exceptions, have
entered into effective relations with my general commission, and have
appointed their delegates at Paris. The most of the states of South
America, as well as the nations of the extreme Orient, have been
corresponding with me for a long time.
[Page 136]
I cherish the thought that your government will not stand aloof, and that
the exhibitors from your country will fill the space which continues to
be reserved for them. The arts and industries of the United States have
always formed one of the most attractive portions of preceding
international competition, and I indulge the hope of a prompt response
on your part advising me that this will be the case in 1878.
The mechanical portion of the exhibition will have a special importance,
and American constructors cannot afford to deprive the public curiosity
of the motors, machines, and tools in which their industrial genius is
always manifested in the most striking manner.
I also call your attention to the development which will be given to
horticulture and agriculture in 1878.
The comparison of the flora and fauna of different nations may become the
source of economic progress, in which each one ought to be ambitious to
take its part.
It is in the name of the real sympathy which I feel for your country that
I ask you, sir, to take into serious consideration the points to which I
have had the honor to call your attention.
Accept the assurance of the high consideration with which I have,
&c.,
