In accordance with the authority thus conferred it was your pleasure
to appoint the undersigned to represent you in this work. You acted
promptly and gave your Representatives ample time to take advantage of
the seasons to secure samples of everything necessary for a complete
display of the State's resources. To this one fact is due largely the
greater completeness of the Seattle exhibit than any California had
previously made. You also relieved your Representatives of possible
embarrassment by allowing them to appoint their own assistants and
fix their compensation and term of service. In the exercise of this
authority preference was given to those best qualified to perform the
work required, and the term of employment depended on efficiency and
good behavior. No help was hired that was not absolutely necessary,
and no one was kept on the pay-roll a moment longer than his or her
services were required. In short, it was our determined purpose from
the start to try and secure maximum results at a minimum cost in every
department of the work, to the end that the final outcome might be an
improvement on any previous effort made by California of a similar
character.
We considered this to be necessary, not only in deference to our own
reputation, but more particularly for the credit and benefit of the
State. You can understand if the display made at Seattle had been less
complete or in any way less attractive than the one made at Portland,
for instance, the impression created would be that those in charge were
becoming careless, or that California was retrograding, a condition
that would probably have resulted in as much harm as good, and largely
or entirely neutralized the object of the Legislature in making the
appropriation.