The Pan-American Exposition and Its Directors

     As so much has been already said on the Pan-American Exhibition, we prefer to condense our remarks principally upon the directors and those who have the particular care, burdens, and responsibilities of the management of the Exposition, which is to open May 1st, and remain open until November 1st, as these matters bear more particularly upon the subject-matter of our JOURNAL than the general details.
     President Milburn possesses the personal appearance of a man well capable of taking so leading a position as that one now given to him. He has a fine combination of the vital and mental temperaments, which indicate that he has a fine constitution and an active brain, and is a man of keen judgment and large and comprehensive perceptions. He certainly is adapted to comprehensive work, and as the notable chief executive of the Pan-American Exhibition his head indicates that he is fully capable of carrying out all the responsible duties that may rest upon him. We are not surprised to find that he is a prominent member of the New York Bar, and has a national reputation as a graceful, easy, and forceful speaker. He is certainly intellectually as well as physically fitted to preside at a great exposition, being of commanding figure and dignified and gracious bearing. He has many of the attributes of New England stock, and was, we believe, born in Sunderland, England, about forty-nine years ago. He came to this country at the age of eighteen, and studied law at Batavia, N. Y., being admitted to the bar in 1847. He is now a member [73][74] of the firm of Rogers, Locke, and Milburn, of Buffalo.
     The Hon. William I. Buchanan, of Sioux City, Ia., who is the Director-General of the Pan-American Exhibition, is a man of sterling ability. He possesses a motive mental temperament, which gives him an organization for action as well as thought. Some men can direct work in their own offices without going upon the scenes or taking a practical part in the work they are directing; such men have generally more of the vital-mental temperament, and while they know what is going on, yet they do not give their personal supervision to the work. Mr. Buchanan is a man who could direct from a distance, yet he would not be content to simply give orders without seeing that they were carried out; it is on this account that we think that the Buffalo Pan-American Exhibition may be congratulated on the selection of two such able men as President Milburn and Director-General Buchanan, for the superintendency of such an important work.
     We recognize in Mr. Buchanan his breadth of head, above and around the ears, along the parietal eminence, which gives him tact, discretion, and power to wield an immense influence over others. He is not a wordy man, and knows exactly how to express an opinion without giving a fulsome explanation. He is capable of settling matters in a judicious way, for he has diplomatic power, and his experience during his service in the Argentine Republic and Chili has doubtless been of great assistance to him. He is an able arbitrator, and we judge that he would always be fair, judicial, and tactful when any considerations were brought forward that required special settlement. With his invaluable individual experience at the World’s Columbian Exposition, as director of the Department of Agriculture, his rare executive force, and his thorough knowledge of the conditions, customs, and characteristics of the people of South America, and his knowledge of Latin America, Mr. Buchanan has come to the Pan-American Exhibition particularly well equipped for the successful direction of its affairs.