In the Mines Building the grand prize was awarded to Montana.  In the Agricultural Building the State received 209 medals, and the exhibits in all the other exhibit palaces were remarkably good.

NEBRASKA.

On April 8, 1903, the Nebraska State legislature voted for the appointment of a State board of commissioners by the governor and for the appropriation of $35,000.

The following-named commissioners were subsequently appointed by the governor: 

Gurdon W. Wattles, president; Peter Jansen, vice-president; Matt Miller, treasurer; H.C.  Shedd, secretary.

Although Nebraska had no State building on the grounds, it erected a very large and commodious pavilion on the main aisle of the Palace of Agriculture, where the State commissioners established their headquarters.  In the pavilion were reception rooms, reading and writing tables, post-office, check room, lavatories, and all the articles and conveniences found in the more elaborate State buildings on the grounds.  The pavilion covered nearly 8,000 square feet of space, and was handsomely decorated with grains, grasses, and corn arranged in most artistic form.  In addition to the appropriation of $35,000 made by the legislature to cover the cost of the exhibit, private subscriptions, amounting in the aggregate to $25,000, contributed largely by exhibitors, increased the amount expended by Nebraska at the fair to $60,000.

The principal exhibit made by Nebraska was in the Agriculture Department.  There sheaf grain, grasses, corn, vine products, and all agricultural products were shown, including all varieties of field, sweet, flint, and pop corn.

In connection with the agricultural exhibit in the pavilion, the commission maintained a small theater fitted up with opera chairs, stage, electric fans, and all accessories of the modern playhouse.  In the theater a free stereopticon and moving-picture exhibition was given, illustrating the resources and industries of the State.  Another attractive feature of the agricultural exhibit was the mounted steer “Challenger,” which won the first prize of the world at the international stock show at Chicago, December, 1903.

In the horticultural exhibit a display of Nebraska’s choicest fruits attracted much attention.

The educational exhibit showed the work of the Nebraska schools from the kindergarten through the colleges and universities.  It also made a fine display of the work of women’s clubs in literary and musical lines.  Throughout the exhibit the fact that Nebraska ranked first in small percentage of illiteracy was constantly emphasized.

In the mineral exhibit samples of Nebraska’s best building stones, bricks, cement, and similar products were displayed, and a complete collection of soils from different parts of the State was shown.  Cases of fossils from the university museum, specimens from the geological department of the university, and typical photographs of Nebraska added attractiveness to the exhibit.  There was also an exhibit showing Nebraska’s dairy and creamery resources.