The exhibit of the State Department of Prisons probably received as much attention from the public as any single State exhibit prepared. It consisted of a demonstration of the workings of the Bertillon and finger print systems for the identification of criminals. An ornate installation of solid oak, handsomely carved, was built by the inmates of the State Prison at Ossining, and was carried to St. Louis and erected upon the space assigned to this department. Throughout the season Captain J.H. Parke, an expert on the finger print system, and E.E. Davis, Jr., an expert on the Bertillon system, were present to demonstrate the workings of these systems to Exposition visitors. But few are familiar with the operations of the Bertillon system, and the finger print system is as yet practically unknown. New York State is the pioneer State of the Union in putting into practical operation the finger print system for the identification of criminals, and it is the only State in which it is at present in use. Although there is a National Bureau of Identification at Washington, D. C., which is conducted through the co-operation of the chiefs of police of many of the large cities throughout the country, it cannot be said to be a department of the United States government, and its system is far from as perfect as that of the Empire State. STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Probably in no State of the Union does there exist a labor department organized upon such extensive lines as is that of the State of New York. Recently three bureaus were merged forming the State Department of Labor. These were the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Board of Mediation and Arbitration and the office of the Factory Inspector. The exhibit consisted of a complete set of reports of these various bureaus, and of the department erected therefrom, supplemented with a series of graphic charts bearing upon every phase of the labor question, and comparing the economic condition of the Empire State with that of other States of the Union and various foreign countries. The exhibit was a valuable sociological contribution. An especially strong feature was four monographs, entitled "Typical Employers' Welfare Institutions in New York," "Labor Legislation in New York," "The Work of the State Department of Labor," and "The Growth of Industry in New York." These were printed in such quantities as to permit of their distribution among visitors to the Exposition. The graphic charts were reproduced in half-tones and inserted in the monographs. The exhibit was carefully studied by students of sociology generally as it is recognized that the State of New York speaks with a voice of authority upon questions of this nature. STATE DEPARTMENT OF EXCISE