fabrics and embroideries, prominent among which are the famed jusi and pina cloths and sinamy fabrics. There were, besides, many pieces of hand-carved furniture and works of art.
There were artificial flowers, cotton goods, fancy goods, embroidery, jusi cloth, sinamay cloth, pina cloth, and silks.
Besides the above, the walls, ceilings, and show cases were decorated with hats, baskets, mattings, and pottery. In the rooms were 50 pieces of carved furniture. A number of paintings was also on exhibition here.
Following is the list of awards as approved by the superior jury:
Grand prizes, 1; gold medals, 16; silver medals, 62; bronze medals, 213; honorable mention, 1,200; total number of awards 1,492.
PORTO RICO.
In the Agricultural Building, not far from the main entrance, was found the Porto Rico section. It was in the nature of a pagoda of two floors. The lower one was dedicated to agriculture, mines, forestry, and a few of the manufactures exhibits. On the second floor were the liberal arts and manufactures exhibits and the offices of the commission; also the needlework display, which was collected and exhibited by the Women’s Aid Society, San Juan, and the Benevolent Society, Ponce.
The commission that represented Porto Rico at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was composed of the following:
Mr. Jaime Annexy, president; Mr. Gutsavo Preston, commissioner; Mr. Antonio Mariani, commissioner; Mr. L.A. Castro, assistant secretary; Mrs. R.A. Miller, honorary commissioner; Mrs. Hortensia Y. de Annexy, honorary commissioner; Miss Maria Stahl, representative Women’s Aid Society of San Juan; Mrs. David A. Skinner, representative of Benevolent Society of Ponce; Miss Pearl Magehan, superintendent of education; Mr. Nicolas Hernandez, attache.
The president of the commission was for some months in personal charge of everything concerning the exhibit. To his efforts the credit for the Porto Rico exhibit is due. Mr. Annexy is an industrial engineer and occupies a prominent position in his native country. Porto Rican coffee was considered the most extensive exhibit and was awarded the highest honors. The coffee produced in Porto Rico is almost all exported to Europe. In the year 1902 to 1903 coffee was exported to European countries to the value of $3,252,043, and the export to the United States was only $718,531. The total exports of the same year to foreign countries was $3,956,893 and to the United States $10,909,147. The exhibition of coffee was the most important aim of the Porto Rico commission, and it was distributed free in the Porto Rico Pagoda. It was also given away green, roasted, and powdered, in bags of different sizes.
Sugar was the next most extensive display and was awarded a gold medal. The export of sugar to the United States in the year 1902 to 1903 was $376,757 and to foreign countries $2,543. Many millions of dollars have been spent to import the latest machinery for the manufacture of sugar and all modern improvements in transportation are rapidly being adopted.
Tobacco leaf and manufactured tobacco comprised an excellent display. Different American concerns have undertaken in the last seven years the introduction of Porto Rican cigars and cigarettes into the United States, and there are few places in America where they can not be found. Porto Rican cigars and cigarettes are said to rank with those of Cuba.
Porto Rican cotton was said to be of superior quality and attracted attention. Cotton growers in Porto Rico are adopting the best machinery that is made in the United States. The liquor exhibit also was noticeable. Porto Rico received highest awards in straw hats, needlework, rice, beans, pharmaceutical products, etc.
In the Educational Building was the Porto Rican public school exhibit. The development of this branch of the Porto Rico administration in the last seven years was remarkable. The total number of schools is more than twice the number maintained under the Spanish Government, although it is said that the public schools are able to accommodate less than one-fourth of the pupils, in spite of the fact that more than 25 per cent of the revenues of the island, both insular and municipal, are expended for educational purposes. In addition to the elementary schools there are now established four high schools. Teachers are both natives and Americans.
An appropriation of $30,000 was made by the Porto Rican legislature for the purpose of representation at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The Porto Rican Pagodo was designed by a native architect, Mr. Armando Morales, and cost $5,000.
RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS.
_Members of commission_.–Robert B. Treat, president; William F. Gleason, vice-president; Edwin F. Penniman, treasurer; George E. Ball, secretary; George N. Kingsbury, executive commissioner; Col. Patrick E. Hayes, Frank L. Budlong, and George L. Shepley.
The Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Building was beautifully situated on an eminence on Colonial avenue, facing north, and adjoining Indiana and Nevada. The design for the building was selected in open competition by Rhode Island architects. The building in its general form was a reproduction of the Stephen H. Smith mansion in the town of Lincoln–a model distinguished among types of colonial architecture in old New England.
A distinctive feature of the design was the ogee gable, of which but one other example is believed to exist in Rhode Island colonial architecture. The Rhode Island Building imitated in cement the material of which the old Smith mansion is constructed–seam-faced granite–taken from the quarry on the estate. This material is curiously finished by nature’s handiwork in many colorings. The irregularity of the pieces and the variety of the colorings in peculiar combinations gave a quaint appearance to the building, and added much to its attractiveness.
From the broad front piazza through an entrance the visitor was introduced to State hall. The hall was set with lofty columns in colonial style. A writing room was on the east and a reading room on the west; between, a broad stairway led to the upper stories. The suite was in Doric detail. Opening from the southerly section of the hallway were the ladies’ parlor, the smoking room, and information bureau. The stairway was a reproduction of a notably beautiful construction in old Providence Bank Building and the Brown-Gammell house. A curious feature of its design were the balusters, which were fashioned in nine different patterns.
The finish of the second floor was from excellent models of the Ionic order found in old colonial mansions in Newport and Bristol. On either side of the hall were the executive and commissioners’ rooms. Prominent among the features of the building was the stained-glass window at the second-story landing of the stairway. The design for this window was the result of a competition by the students of the Rhode Island School of Design. On either side, suitably reproduced as to design and coloring, were the seals of the State of Rhode Island and the city of Providence.
By an ingenious arrangement of the gable construction a roof garden was provided, a broad stairway leading thereto from the second floor. A part of the roof garden was set aside for a suite for servants’ quarters, breakfast room, kitchen, pantry, and storage. Apart from the sleeping quarters the entire building was devoted to public use. The furnishings, decoration, and equipment of the Rhode Island Building represented many public-spirited contributions. The building cost $26,000, and the furnishing and equipment, which were contributed, were estimated to have cost $6,000. On July 4, 1904, the Rhode Island Building was purchased by Mr. John Ringen, of St. Louis. It was the first building on the grounds to be disposed of. Mr. Ringen transferred the building intact to his country estate for a residence.
In April, 1903, the legislature of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations enacted a measure providing for a State exhibit, and appropriated $35,000 for the purpose of the same. It was subsequently found that the sum appropriated would not be sufficient for the purpose, and in April, 1904, the legislature passed another bill appropriating the sum of $30,000.
Besides the State appropriation of $65,000, the school committee of the city of Providence subscribed $2,000 for an educational exhibit, making the total amount available $67,000. There was absolutely no private subscription or contribution.
The cost of installation, including cost of transportation, was as follows:
Rhode Island State Building ……………………. $26,000 Furnishing and equipment, contributed (valued at)…. 6,000 Exhibit of inland fisheries ……………………. 2,500 Exhibit Department of Education ………………… 3,000 Exhibit Department of Social Economy ……………. 3,000 Exhibit Department of Forestry, Fish, and Game …… 1,000 Exhibit Department of Agriculture and Horticulture .. 2,500
The State of Rhode Island was represented by exhibits in five of the exhibition palaces as follows:
United States Fisheries Building: By the commission of inland fisheries. Palace of Education: State board of education, Rhode Island State Normal School, Providence High School, and demonstration by exhibit of various schools of all grades in public school system of the city of Providence, Rhode Island School of Design, public schools of the town of Warwick, public schools of the town of Cranston, public schools of the town of Bristol, Miss Mary C. Wheeler’s Private School for Young Ladies, Providence, R.I. Social Economy: Board of State charities and corrections, Sockanosset School for Boys, Oaklawn School for Girls, department of factory inspection, bureau of industrial statistics, State Sanatorium for Consumptives, State board of health, State board of soldiers’ relief. Forestry, Fish, and Game: James W. Stainton, of Providence, R.I., exhibit of game birds and fish of Rhode Island. Palace of Agriculture: State board of agriculture, Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.
SOUTH DAKOTA.
Under an act of the legislature approved March 11, 1903, South Dakota appropriated the sum of $35,000 for the purpose of exhibiting the resources, the products, and the industrial, commercial, and social progress and general development of the State of South Dakota at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. A commission was also constituted, which consisted of three persons appointed by the governor, selected entirely with regard to their familiarity with the resources, arts, and products of the State, their business experience and executive skill, and all of whom were residents of the State.
Shortly after the 1st day of July, 1903, when the law creating the commission became operative, Gov. Charles N. Herreid, then acting governor, appointed as commissioners, S.W. Russell, of Deadwood; L.T. Boucher, of Eureka, and W.B. Saunders, of Milbank, who constituted the commission throughout the entire period. S.W. Russell was elected president; L.T. Boucher, vice-president; W.B. Saunders, treasurer, and George R. Farmer, secretary.
The commission at its first session determined that the State should be represented not only by a building or home for its citizens, but likewise in the Departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Dairy, Mining, and Education. To that end application was at once made to the chiefs of the various departments of the exposition for space in the respective exhibit buildings. Tentative locations were at once assigned to our State commission in all these departments, with the exception of that in the Palace of Education.
Although one of the last of the States to procure ground for the erection of our State building, the South Dakota Building was one of the three State buildings ready to open its doors on the opening day of the exposition.
The State building was located at the top of Art Hill, a little to the east of the colonnade of States and about 500 feet east of the Art Palace.
The South Dakota Building in its exterior and style of architecture was unpretentious. The building was two stories in height, having two commodious porches on the north and west sides; the outside walls were covered with cement, finished in natural color. The building being situated at the top of a small hill and entirely surrounded by large oak trees presented a most inviting spot to the overheated, weary sightseer.
It was to the interior construction of the building that time, care, and expense were chiefly devoted. Upon entering the front door the visitor stood in a hall 12 feet wide by 21 feet in length; to the right was the writing room and general business office, to the left the parlor, and at the rear of the building were the ladies’ retiring room, reading room, lavatories, and storage room. The walls and ceilings of all the rooms described were covered with metallic sheeting with embossed designs, beautifully tinted in colorings, each room different from the others. The furnishings of these rooms were simple, yet serviceable and neat, and in harmony with the colorings of the walls.
It was “The Great Corn Room” that impressed the visitor with wonder at its beautiful and fascinating designs, the interior walls being covered with native grasses, straw, and grains, wrought in a hundred beautiful and artistic designs. The word “Welcome,” directly over the rostrum in the center of the south wall, attracted the attention of the visitor upon his first entrance to the building on account of the peculiar shading, the letters, running from a pure white at the top to a dark blue at the bottom, the shading being so gradual that it seemed incredible that it was actual corn in its native coloring.
The arch in the ceiling presented a beautiful appearance, with large stars in crosscuts of red, white, yellow, and blue corn, a fantastic background with festoons of grains in the natural colors, wheat, oats, rye, barley, and flax straw being mostly used. There were two panels, lettered with oat straw, that glistened like burnished gold under the electric lights of the arch, describing the various products of the State, viz, cattle, swine, horses, wheat, oats, barley, corn, flax, gold, and silver. On the east wall wrought in corn upon a green background was the State’s motto, “Under God the People Rule.” This motto contained every conceivable color that corn is known to take on.
The walls of the other rooms were adorned by a number of paintings in oil and water colors. A number of enlarged colored photographs of artesian wells, public buildings, and other scenes, were also displayed, as well as pictures of prominent men of the State.
During the exposition forty-three South Dakota people received attention and care on account of illness or indisposition or accidents, and thousands came there to rest, meet friends, and attend to business matters. A post-office was maintained in the building, where thousands of letters were received and delivered.
The agricultural booth was similar in its construction to the “Corn Hall” of the State building, although different in design. The place assigned this exhibit in the Palace of Agriculture covered a space 35 by 45 feet 6 inches, with aisles on three sides. The facade fronted on the three aisles and in its architectural lines presented a solidity characteristic of the State’s exhibits. Cane stalk and corn in red colors were used to form the base of the facade, being put on in transverse sections, which gave at a distance as well as by close inspection a very pleasing effect. It was, however, to the interior decoration and exhibit that great labor and skill were devoted in making it especially attractive. Grains in the native straw, grasses, and clover were worked out in many fantastic shapes and beautiful designs. In the center of the booth, rising to a height of 15 feet, was a large octagonal pyramid, used almost exclusively for the display of grain in the straw; the bright yellow being in strong contrast with a red burlap background, made it naturally attractive. On the south wall or side a like exhibit of grains and grasses was shown; four large display tables, also in pyramid shape, occupied the space surrounding the centerpiece above described. On this table were several hundred glass jars, globes, and bottles for the display of grains and seeds of every description grown in South Dakota. It was, however, to the corn exhibits that special care and attention were given. Twelve large show cases were used for the display of this exhibit, besides a large quantity displayed in bulk, both in the ear and shelled. Over 100 bushels of corn was used in this exhibit alone.
The exhibit attracted much attention from the corn growers of other States, and was conceded to be one of great merit considering the newness of the State, and, as one Illinois farmer said, “It is better corn by long odds than I raised when I first went to Illinois.”
The display of horticultural products was in the Palace of Agriculture instead of the Palace of Horticulture. Twenty-five barrels of apples of some 15 different varieties were collected early in the fall of 1903 and placed in cold storage at St. Louis, thus supplying a continual display until the fruit season of 1904. The fact that 10 medals were awarded to the horticultural display demonstrates the merit of this exhibit.
The State’s representation in the dairy department was both unique and so different from that of other States that it attracted much attention. The space assigned for this exhibit in the refrigerator section of the Agricultural Building was 8 by 8 feet. The artistic feature, aside from the display of butter in bulk, was a profusion of flowers, buds, leaves in the form of bouquets, wreaths, garlands, and festoons made out of butter. They were artistically displayed on plates, baskets, and various sized vases, some of which were made of butter and others of painted chinaware. At the back of the exhibit the name of South Dakota appeared in leaf-work letters, as well as statistics of the annual production of butter, milk, and cream, all worked out in butter also.
About the 1st of June the educational exhibit was put in place. The walls were covered with art work, maps, and industrial work. The cabinets were filled with mounted specimens of written lessons, drawing, music, maps, and industrial work. The bases of the cabinets contained the remainder of the written work, neatly bound in volumes and labeled; specimens of basketry and woodwork, and a collection of zoological and botanical specimens. A number of the schools were represented by photographs alone, others by written work, photographs, and industrial work, and a few by written work alone. In subject-matter and original thought, South Dakota’s work compared favorably with that of other schools of like age and conditions, especially in simplicity and originality.
The arrangement of the mineral exhibit in the Mines and Metallurgy Building was along practical commercial lines rather than on specimen, spectacular, or on purely scientific lines, though rich specimens and beautiful pictures were displayed, and the State School of Mines had a most excellent scientific collection of ores, rocks, and fossils that was awarded a gold medal.
The location obtained for the exhibit was most favorable, and by many was considered one of the choicest in the building, having three full fronts on main aisles, two 44 feet and one 52 feet long, and was surrounded by the most attractive State exhibits in the building.
The installation was with stone walls 2 feet high, built of rough ashlar and surmounted by a dressed coping. On the two 44-foot sides this was of the celebrated Sioux Falls red jasper. The 52-foot wall was of Hot Springs sandstone.
On the face of each lintel the name of the State had been cut and gilded. In the center of the exhibit on tables were two relief maps of the Black Hills, one of these showing the whole geological uplift 120 miles long north and south and 100 miles east and west, the other showing the mineralized portion of the hills as now known, 55 miles northwest and southeast and 25 miles wide. The larger was about 12 feet long and 6 feet wide.
Across the exhibit from east to west and above the heads were displayed a series of panoramic views and pictures, transparencies on glass, being reproductions in color of the finest photographs obtainable, showing the scenic beauty and material conditions of our Black Hills country. The varied ores were exhibited in large piles.
_Financial statement._–Following is a brief review of the expenditures made by this commission and a report of the disposition of its properties:
Salary State commissioners ……………….. $3,000.00 Total amount expended ……………………. 31,725.06 Unexpended balance ………………………. 274.94 ———–
Total ………………………………. 35,000.00 ===========
Received from sale of State properties: State building ………………………… 365.00 Furniture …………………………….. 387.50 Booths and fixtures ……………………. 225.50 ———–
Total ………………………………. 978.00 Returned to the State treasurer unexpended balance, salvage ………………………. 978.00
The following properties have been turned over to the State Historical Society, for the use of the same, or such purposes as the State may deem advisable:
Educational exhibit (cases and bases, glass and cards), value …………………………. $400.00 Exhibit glass jars, globes, and bottles ……. 115.00 Exhibit ores and specimens ……………….. 200.00 ———–
Total ………………………………. 715.00
TENNESSEE.
_Members of commission._–Governor James B. Frazier, chairman; J.H. Caldwell, Chas. A. Keffer, E. Watkins, John F. McNutt, J.M. Shoffner, E.C. Lewis, John W. Fry, Hu. C. Anderson, Thomas W. Neal, I.F. Peters, Mrs. J.P. Smartt, Mrs. Mary C. Dorris, Mrs. A.S. Buchanan; B.A. Enloe, secretary and director of exhibits; D.F. Wallace, jr., assistant secretary.
The State of Tennessee made nine different exhibits at the World’s Fair, designated and located as follows:
(1) Tennessee State Building, a reproduction of “The Hermitage,” the home of Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States. (2) Collective agricultural exhibit, Palace of Agriculture. (3) Special tobacco exhibit, Palace of Agriculture. (4) Palace of Horticulture. (5) Palace of Forestry. (6) Palace of Education. (7) Palace of Mines and Metallurgy. (8) Mining Gulch on Intramural Railway. (9) Administration Building, section of anthropology.
The idea of raising a fund for the reproduction of “The Hermitage” as the Tennessee State building originated with the commission appointed by the governor of Tennessee to take charge of the participation of that State. The secretary of the commission was directed by the commission to inaugurate the movement. He began the agitation through the newspaper press, and delivered addresses on the subject to the commercial bodies of Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, and Jackson and to the representatives of the commercial organizations of Nashville. Intelligent zeal and persistent energy carried the enterprise to a successful conclusion. The entire expense of constructing the building and maintaining it was defrayed by voluntary contributions. It was Tennessee’s greatest single advertisement at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. “The Hermitage” was appropriately furnished with furniture of the period in which Andrew Jackson lived, and a great many articles of the original furniture owned by Jackson were exhibited in the building.
In the Educational Building exhibit were displays from the city schools of Bristol, Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga, and Jackson, and the public schools of Knox, Hamilton, and Shelby counties were represented also. The University of Tennessee, at Knoxville; Buford College, at Nashville; Burritt College, at Spencer; Columbia Institute, at Columbia; Memphis, at Memphis; Mrs. Forest Nixon, Centreville; Roger Williams University, at Nashville; Southern School of Photography, at McMinnville, and Tennessee Industrial School, at Nashville, were all represented by highly creditable exhibits.
The entire forestry interests of the State were represented in the forestry exhibit, which was collected from every portion of the State.
There were 94 different producers represented in the horticultural exhibit. The display of horticultural products was collected from every part of the State, and Tennessee was surpassed by few in the character and quality of her products.
There were 266 contributors to the agricultural exhibit, representing every strictly agricultural product, except tobacco, which was represented in a special exhibit. There were 187 exhibitors represented in the special tobacco exhibit, and these exhibits covered the tobacco production and industry of every county in the State. The collective exhibit in agriculture and the special tobacco exhibit were located in and adjoining the central nave of the Palace of Agriculture.
In the mineral display in Mines and Metallurgy Building there were 168 different exhibits, representing every mineral in the State, and the specimens were from the different localities where developments have been made. This exhibit was one of the most beautiful in its installation and general effect of the many splendid exhibits in the Palace of Mines and Metallurgy. On account of the quantity of material collected and the inadequacy of space inside the building it became necessary to make a separate exhibit in the Mining Gulch, which was confined to coal, iron, phosphate, copper, and marble.
There were 12 different exhibitors in the Live Stock and Poultry Department, who made their exhibits under the auspices of the commission.
The exhibit in the division of anthropology, Administration Building, was one of the finest of its kind, and one which attracted the attention of archaeologists from every part of the world. Gen. Gates P. Thurston, of Nashville, collected and installed the exhibit, which was made up from the private collection of General Thurston, the Hicks collection, and the collection of the Tennessee Historical Society.
During the life of the exposition large quantities of advertising matter were distributed from the State building and from the State spaces in the exhibit palaces. This advertising matter was furnished in part by the State, in part by the different cities and counties of the State, and in part by the railroad companies of the State.
TEXAS.
On January 9, 1902, a corporation known as “The Texas World’s Fair Commission” was chartered under the provisions of the laws of the State of Texas on application of citizens of Texas, and appointed Texas World’s Fair Commissioners by Hon. Joseph D. Sayers, then the governor of the State. It was believed by the commission that with State aid to the extent of $200,000 added to sums that had already been guaranteed by subscribers, the State could make a creditable showing at the World’s Fair in competition with other States and Territories. Accordingly the commission memorialized the twenty-eighth legislature for an appropriation of $200,000. The bill which sought to authorize the appropriation was reported to the house and was opposed by the governor of the State on two contentions: First, that the constitution did not authorize such an appropriation, and, second, that the limited revenues of the State would not justify it. When the commission failed in this direction, a meeting was held to determine whether the commission should attempt to go ahead with the work or abandon the enterprise. The commission decided by an overwhelming vote that Texas could not afford to deny herself participation in a universal exposition where all the States and Territories of the United States would enter in friendly competition, and the executive committee and the general manager were instructed to proceed with the organization. The task of reorganizing the work by counties was resumed, but with limited success. The plan was to call upon the counties for a sum equal to 2 cents on the $100 property valuation, with which to create the Texas World’s Fair Commission fund. Out of 243 organized counties in the State the following subscribed and paid the amounts set against them:
El Paso, Tom Green, Tarrant, Dallas, Harris, Jefferson, Galveston, Smith, Nueces, and Comal.
Navarro, McLennan, Grayson, Travis, Harrison, Collin, Palo Pinto, Fannin, Lamar, and Bexar counties endeavored to raise the assessments set against them, but did not succeed in doing so, although their subscriptions in the aggregate were generous. The subscriptions from the counties mentioned amounted to $49,096.34.
The railroads of Texas subscribed approximately $25,000. Early in the organization of the commission the Texas Bankers’ Association passed a resolution calling on its members to assess themselves for the Texas World’s Fair Commission fund at the rate of one-tenth of 1 per cent on their capital stock. About one-half of the banks of the State subscribed and paid on that basis an amount in the aggregate of $11,672.65. The State Lumbermen’s Association gave $3,133. The Texas Cattle Raisers’ Association subscribed $2,150.
The above sums, augmented by scattering amounts from different sources, constituted a total fund to the commission of $126,780.14.
The Texas commission was composed of the following-named persons:
John H. Kirby, president; L.J. Polk, W.W. Seley, and Walter Tips, vice-presidents; Royal A. Ferris, treasurer; Louis J. Wortham, secretary and general manager; Paul Waples, chairman executive committee; A.W. Houston, Barnett Gibbs, B.F. Hammett, Jesse Shain, E.P. Perkins, L.L. Jester, Monta J. Moore; P.P. Paddock, executive commissioner; R.H. Sexton, resident commissioner.
The members of the board of lady commissioners were: Mrs. L.S. Thorne; Miss Kate Daffan, Ennis; Mrs. B.F. Hammett, El Paso; Mrs. O.T. Holt, Houston; Mrs. W.R. Roberts, Brownwood; Mrs. Fannie Foote Emerson, McKinney; Mrs. J.B. Wells, Brownsville; Mrs. W.F. Beers, Galveston; Mrs. C.L. Potters, Gainesville; Mrs. E.P. Turner, Dallas; Mrs. William Cameron, Waco; Mrs. William Christian, Houston; Mrs. W.F. Gill, Paris; Mrs. W.E. Green, Tyler; Mrs. J.F. Wolters, Lagrange; Mrs. F. Hufsmith, Palestine; Mrs. I.H. Evans, Austin; Mrs. J.C. Lea, Dallas; Mrs. W.F. Robertson, Austin; Mrs. Bacon Saunders, Fort Worth; Mrs. T.V. Sessions, Nacogdoches.
The Texas commission installed and successfully maintained exhibits in the palaces of Fine Arts, Education, Transportation, Mines and Metallurgy, Forestry, Agriculture, and Horticulture. The cost of the installation was as follows:
Fine Arts …………….. $1,225.50 Education …………….. 948.00
Transportation ………… 459.30 Mines and Metallurgy …… 10,577.85
Forestry ……………… 4,477.05 Agriculture …………… 6,899.87
Horticulture ………….. 6,099.14
The contract price for the Texas Building, which occupied one of the most admirable sites on the exposition grounds, was $45,562. Expenditures in furnishings and in ornamenting the grounds were $12,000.
The Texas Building contained exhibits of a character intended to demonstrate the kinds of homes in which Texas people live, the kinds of schools in which their children are educated, and the churches in which they conduct their worship. These demonstrations were the conception and work of the Texas Federation of Women Clubs.
The work which the Texas commission did for Texas in forcing a recognition of the rights of breeders of pure-bred cattle below the Federal quarantine line, and the rights of breeders and raisers of beef cattle, on the attention of the exposition management was noticeable. The original ruling of the Live-Stock Department of the exposition was to the effect that pure-bred cattle from below the Federal quarantine line should not be allowed to participate in the live-stock show at the exposition, and that none but halter-broke cattle should be exhibited in any event. The effect of this ruling, the commission claimed, was, first, to shut out from participation the breeders of pure cattle from below the quarantine line, and, second, to prevent a demonstration that should show what the immense cattle ranges of the Northwest and Southwest are capable of producing.
When the supplementary appropriation of $4,600,000 was under consideration by Congress, the commission, through its general manager, Louis J. Wortham, who acted also as the official representative of the Texas Cattle Raisers’ Association, succeeded in having a provision added to the bill permitting an exhibition of pure-bred cattle from below the quarantine line under such restrictions as the Secretary of Agriculture might deem advisable, and, further, permitting the exhibition of range cattle in carload lots.
As a result of this action, the exposition provided for an exhibit of cattle from below the quarantine line and of range cattle in carload lots in November, and set aside $19,000 in prizes to be divided among exhibitors.
UTAH.
By a legislative enactment the State of Utah, on the 12th day of March, 1903, appropriated the sum of $50,000 for the participation of Utah at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Subsequently about $10,000 additional was received from the legislature for the expenses of the State at the exposition. The act making the appropriation appointed Governor Heber M. Wells, of Salt Lake City, as chairman of the State commission. The governor appointed as his assistants Hon. H.L. Shurtliff, Ogden; Hon. Willis Johnson, Salt Lake City; and the board elected S.T. Whitaker, of Salt Lake City, as director-general and John T. Cannon as secretary.
The Utah State Building was erected from designs of Director-General Whitaker, and was a replica of a residence of the State of Utah. Mrs. Inez Thomas was appointed hostess of the State building.
The State had exhibits in the Mines and Metallurgy Building, Educational Palace, and the Agricultural Pavilion. It received 3 grand prizes, 140 gold medals, as well as several minor awards.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT INDIAN EXHIBIT.
The United States Government Indian exhibit was opened June 1, and was visited by hundreds of thousands of persons, who pronounced it one of the most interesting and instructive exhibits at the World’s Fair.
Authority to establish and conduct the Indian exhibit at the exposition was granted in the following letter from the Secretary of the Interior to Mr. Samuel M. McCowan, superintendent of the Chilocco Indian School in Oklahoma:
Sir: In connection with the Department letter of May 22 last, detailing you for duty as superintendent of the Indian exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and on the recommendation of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, you are hereby detailed to erect the required building, perfect the details of the transfer of Indian families and pupils from their homes and schools to St. Louis, install and conduct the exhibit and supply the Indians with necessary food, shelter, and medical attendance.
You are hereby authorized to disburse the funds appropriated by act of Congress approved June 28, 1902 (32 Stats., p. 445), so far as expenditures are required by your duties in connection with the exhibit.
You are hereby also authorized to pay your actual necessary traveling expenses incurred in connection with the exhibit, including transportation and sleeping-car fare, payable out of $40,000 appropriation.
The exhibit occupied a reservation of about 10 acres in the northwest corner of the fair grounds, and its location at the extreme end of the anthropological exhibit typified the advancement of a primitive people toward civilization. Around the border of the reservation were arranged in a semicircle the native dwellings of the “blanket” or uncivilized Indians, as follows: Beginning at the western end of the semicircle, a Kickapoo bark house; the Maricopa-Pima group in two kees, one tent and summer houses; Arapaho group, one stockaded tepee; Geronimo, the great Apache medicine man, one (decorated) tepee; Pawnee group, ceremonial earth lodge or residence temple; Wichita group, grass lodge, summer house, and one tepee; Pueblo group, two tents and two summer sheds; Pomo group, one tent; Apache group, two tepees. These habitations were erected by the Indians themselves.
The Indians were grouped as follows: Six Pima, Arizona; 5 Maricopa, Arizona; 23 Arapaho, 35 Cheyenne, 50 Pawnee, 35 Wichita, 5 Comanche, 9 San Carlos Apache, 20 Osage, all from Oklahoma; 29 Pueblo and 23 Navaho, New Mexico; 35 Sioux, Rosebud, S. Dak.; 2 Pomos, California; 8 Jicarilla Apache; 25 Chippewa, Minnesota; a total of 310.
The school building was a two-story structure of the old Mission style of architecture, standing at the rear of the reservation and extending the width of it. A hall ran the length of the building on either side of which were the booths containing the exhibits. The idea was to show the contrast between the civilized and uncivilized Indians, and to this end the booths on the west side of the hall were occupied by the old Indians working at their crude, primitive trades, and those of the east side by the new Indians (pupils of the various Indian schools) pursuing the up-to-date methods taught them by the white man.
The exhibits were as follows: On the west side, beginning at the south end of the building, Chilocco School exhibit, showing work in agriculture and stock husbandry, methods of instruction and results; Pueblo, San Juan, N. Mex., expert potters and weavers with needle loom, primitive millers, and bakers of wafer bread; Pomo, California, makers of fine baskets, mats, stone tools, and musical instruments; Pima, Arizona, makers of coiled baskets and pottery; Maricopa, Arizona, makers of fancy pottery and basket workers; Navaho, Arizona, famous blanket weavers, workers in silver, shell, and turquois; Sioux, South Dakota, decorative artists with porcupine quills, beads of buckskin, manufacturers of bows and arrows, and the calinite pipes, axes, and hammers; Apache, Arizona, expert weavers of blankets and makers of pottery; Apache, New Mexico, makers of coiled basketry of a peculiar type; Navaho, Sante Fe, N. Mex., Indian School, modern blanket weavers; Navaho, reservation, N. Mex., workers in silver, shell, and turquois; Pueblo, New Mexico, makers of pottery, blanket weavers and silversmiths.
On the east side, beginning at the south end of the building; Chilocco class in domestic science, model dining room, furnishings made by the pupils of the Chilocco School, Chilocco, Okla. This class gave daily demonstrations in cooking and serving food, Miss Peters in charge. Laundry class from the Chilocco School, under the charge of Miss Peters. Class in printing the Indian School Journal, printed daily by a class of students from the Chilocco School, E.K. Miller in charge. Painting, blacksmithing, and wheelwrighting classes from Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kans., K.C. Kaufman in charge. Manual training, Haskell Institute, C.F. Fitzgerald in charge. Domestic art class, students from Haskell Institute, Miss Taylor in charge. Harness-making class from Genoa, Nebr., School, J. McCallum in charge.
The halls were decorated with the work of the Indian pupils in penmanship, literary composition, arithmetic, sewing, lace work, bead work, and basketry. Every school in the service was represented in this display, except Carlisle, Phoenix, and Riverside. The exhibit was remarkable for its beauty and extent. In the model dining room the tables, dishes, napkins, rug, floor, chairs, wall paper, and general furnishings were all manufactured by pupils of the Chilocco School.
In the rear-center of the building was the assembly hall, where were held the daily classes, under the direction of Miss Harrison, and the musical and literary programmes, under the direction of Miss Crawford. There were in attendance at the school during the exhibit 150 boys and girls.
The following daily programme was observed:
Reveille ………………………………………… 6.00 Flag salute ……………………………………… 6.45 Breakfast ……………………………………….. 7.00 Band concert …………………………….. 9.30 to 11.30 Industrial work ………………………….. 9.00 to 11.30 Literary class work ………………………. 9.00 to 11.00 Literary musical programme ……………….. 11.00 to 11.30 Dinner …………………………………………. 12.00 Band concert ……………………………… 1.00 to 3.30 Industrial work …………………………… 1.00 to 4.00 Literary class work ……………………….. 1.00 to 3.00 Literary musical programme …………………. 4.00 to 5.00 Old Indian sports and ceremonies (on plaza in front of school building) ………………… 5.00 to 6.00 Flag salute and dress parade ……………………… 6.00 Supper …………………………………………. 6.20 Taps …………………………………………… 10.00
The band concerts, under the direction of Mr. Lem Wiley, were always well attended and heartily applauded. The feature that attracted more attention, probably, than any other was the musical-literary programme. At these entertainments the hall was always crowded, and the audience never failed to be interested. The following programme, chosen at random, will give an idea of the character of the exhibitions:
1. Prelude ————————————— Orchestra.
2. Vocal solo ——————————— Dolly, Dolly. Mary Leeds, Pueblo.
3. Scarf drill —————————— Kindergartners.
4. Recitation ——————————– My Tambourine. Ida Prophet, Seneca.
5. Vocal Solo ————————— Hearts and Flowers. Oscar Norton, Houp.
6. Oration ————————– The Old and New Indian. Richard Lewis, Pima.
7. Vocal solo ———————————— My Desire. Bertha Johnson, Pottawatomi.
8. Recitation ————————– Flag of the Rainbow. Esther Parker, Comanche.
9. Recitation —————————– The Pawned Bible. Stella Hall, Cherokee.
10. Vocal solo ————— When the Birds go North Again. James Arquette, Puyallup.
11. Recitation ————- Why he Stole the Parson’s Sheep. Iva Miller, Shawnee.
12. Pole drill ——————————- Sixteen Girls.
13. Instrumental solo —————————– Selected. Gertrude Brewer, Puyallup.
The dress parade in the evening was another feature that drew large crowds, and was thoroughly enjoyed by the spectators.
The average daily attendance was about 30,000. On some days it ran as high as 50,000.
Praise of the exhibit has been universal. Distinguished men of nearly every nationality and profession have eulogized it in the highest terms. It is believed that the Government, by bringing this exhibit to St. Louis, has given a strong impetus to the work of the Indian Service. The people of the country have seen the progress made by the Indian in the Government schools, and will no longer refuse to give the work their substantial support. It has been said that the true value of the Government Indian exhibit can not be estimated until the years have revealed its fruits.
VERMONT.
The Vermont Building, 50 by 100 feet, was a reproduction of what is claimed to be the second most interesting historic structure in the United States–the old Constitution House at Windsor, where in 1777 the constitution of the State was formulated, a constitution of intense interest from the fact that it was the first in all history to prohibit slavery.
As this State building was a reproduction of a famous old tavern, it was peculiarly appropriate that it should maintain a dining room, and here between one and two thousand people were daily entertained.
The minutes of the constitutional convention were for many years supposed to have been lost, but were quite recently discovered in the Congressional Library at Washington, and were elaborately reproduced in facsimile by Senator Proctor.
Thanksgiving Day was the Vermont and Hew Hampshire day at the exposition.
The State commission was composed of the following:
Governor Charles J. Bell, ex officio chairman; W. Seward Webb, president; Arthur C. Jackson, vice-president and executive commissioner; Frederick G. Fleetwood, second vice-president; J.C. Enright, secretary and counsel; F.W. Stanyan, treasurer; Miss Mary Evarts.
The legislature having failed to make an appropriation, Mr. Jackson, a native of Waitsfield, personally raised all the money required for the construction and maintenance of the State building.
Among the elaborate displays were those of private exhibitors in the Machinery Building, marble in the Mines Building, and the granite exhibit in the same building.
VIRGINIA.
During the winter session of 1902 the Virginia legislature by enactment provided $50,000 for an industrial exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, with the condition that no portion of the sum should be used for a State building. The act provided for three commissioners and five assistant commissioners, one of whom was named principal assistant, with duties of superintendent and treasurer. The State commissioner of agriculture was named as one of the commissioners, and the appointment of two was left to the governor, with power vested in the commission to appoint the assistant commissioners. Governor Montague appointed Col. A. M. Bowman, of Salem, Va., and J.L. Patton, of Newport News, Va., as commissioners. This commission, in February, 1903, elected Hon. G.W. Koiner, president, and appointed Hon. George E. Murrell, of Fontella, Va., superintendent, treasurer, and secretary; Hon. W.W. Baker, alternate and second assistant, and later appointed O.W. Stone, Martinsville, Va., B.C. Banks, Bland, Va., Lyman Babcock, of Bay Shore, Va., and J.C. Mercer, of Williamsburg, to complete the executive force. Mr. Murrell immediately took charge of the work and assisted by J.C. Mercer as his secretary and stenographer, with the aid of Mr. Baker, planned the scope and took steps toward the collection of exhibits. Later, as the force was strengthened, Mr. Stone was given charge of tobacco and peanuts, Mr. Banks of minerals and timber, and Mr. Babcock of fish and game.
Exhibits were planned in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fish and game, mines, and education, and were executed as follows:
In agriculture, exhibits of corn on the stalk, in the ear, and shelled, to the extent of 1,000 bushels; grain in sheaf and threshed; peanuts shelled and unshelled, to the extent of 5,000 pounds; wine, pickles, vegetables, cowpeas, transparencies illustrating agricultural scenes, cotton in bales, etc., tobacco in leaf and manufactured products. A pavilion erected in the Agricultural Building was of Moorish architecture, consisting of one central and eight subsidiary pavilions, connected with corn festoons. Corn, tobacco, peanuts, and sheaf grain entered into the decorations on a blue ground, the effect being harmonious. It was accorded the honor of obtaining one of the four grand prizes awarded in State agricultural exhibits. Tobacco was also used as a special exhibit, and was featured by an Indian maiden standing on a pedestal 23 feet high and holding in her outstretched hand a bundle of tobacco. A miniature log cabin advertised a special brand of tobacco. The horticultural exhibit consisted of an open, three-towered elliptical pavilion and a horn of plenty, apparently pouring apples on a pyramid of natural fruit below. This was made primarily an apple exhibit, more than 800 barrels being used for the purpose. Peaches, melons, pears, cranberries, and other fruits were shown in season.
The forestry, fish, and game exhibit was displayed by the use of sectional disks and boards in the rough, dressed, and polished, and by specimens of fish in natural skins and papier-mache, illustrating the leading food fish of Virginia waters. Mounted animals and a very complete collection of mounted water fowls and game birds were displayed. There was also one of the largest collections of oyster models ever made, illustrating by means of composition replicas in the natural shell of all the leading types of the Virginia oyster.
Transparencies 28 by 30 were used to illustrate forest scenes, while in manufactured goods an interesting display was made. The exhibit booth consisted of a rear facade with brown color scheme, relieved by ornamentation in shells, fish scales, and forest products, the whole forming an immense picture of Hampton Roads executed in colors.
The installation for the mines and metallurgy exhibit was mediaeval in architecture. A castellated gateway, veneered with copper ores, gypsum, and slate was flanked by a balustrade of slate surmounted by onyx balls. In the gateway appeared a coal exhibit, representing King Coal seated on a throne and guarded on either side by gnomes. The windows in the rear were screened with transparencies 28 by 34, illustrating scenery of the State, while the floor space was occupied by pyramids of various ores. The panels of the wall space were framed in coke, in which were displayed, in colors, pictures of the upper works of the mines. Between these panels were arranged upright cases containing ores of gold, silver, lead, iron, asbestos, kaolin, mica, clays, zinc, manganese, talc, etc., while exhibits of marble, rough and sculptured, together with cubes of building stones and mineral waters were displayed. The general color scheme was that of copper and iron pyrites. In these four exhibits Virginia occupied a little less than 10,000 square feet of floor, and her exhibits, both by award and public opinion, were adjudged to be among the best. An award was won by every entry made. During the spring of 1903 the Virginia assembly appropriated $10,000 to be expended by the Commission in the erection of a State building. This sum was augmented by private subscriptions of nearly an equal amount, and an exact replica of Monticello, the home of Jefferson, was erected. In this building, outside of the manual exhibit made in the Education and Social Economy Building, by the Blind, Deaf and Dumb Institute of Stanton, all of Virginia’s educational exhibit was displayed It consisted of an exhibit valued at over $10,000, made by the University of Virginia. A comprehensive exhibit was made by the Randolph Macon system, and exhibits were made by Roanoke College Hollins Institute, and a number of other schools. The building, in addition to its social offerings, provided an interesting historical study through its furnishings of articles owned by Jefferson, and was classed among the most satisfactory State buildings of the fair.
WASHINGTON.
In March, 1903, Governor McBride, pursuant to the act of the legislature, appointed the following-named gentlemen members of the Washington State commission for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition:
A.L. Black, Bellingham; Edward C. Cheasty, Seattle; Thomas Harrington, Buckley; M.E. Hay, Wilbur; G.L. Lindsley, Ridgefield; G.W.R. Peaslee, Clarkston; R.P. Thomas, Anacortes; W.W. Tolman, Spokane.
At the first meeting of the commission, held in Tacoma April 2, 1903, A.L. Black was elected president of the commission; G.W.R. Peaslee, secretary; and Elmer E. Johnston, of Everett, executive commissioner.
The type of structure selected for the Washington State Building at the St. Louis World’s Fair was an unique and attractive one, designed primarily to demonstrate the quality, character, and exceeding dimensions of the State’s forestry product. It consisted of eight pieces of fir timber 24 inches square and 110 feet long, placed on end at the points of an octagon 90 feet in diameter at the base, five stories in height, the eight timbers surmounted by an observatory carrying a flag pole 60 feet in length. All the material entering into the construction of the State Building was shipped from the State of Washington, and was donated to the State by the Northwest Lumber Manufacturers’ Association. The market value of said material in Washington would be, in round numbers, $8,000. The freight on the material from Washington to St. Louis and the construction of the building amounted to $18,823.10. The unique design and unusual construction features of this building constituted it at the start one of the features of the exposition construction.
It was photographed by many thousand visitors, illustrated in railroad guides as one of the attractions, featured by papers and magazines everywhere, and will probably be distinctly remembered longer by a greater number of people than any other building on the exposition grounds. As a practical exhibit of the State’s lumber products it was a tremendous success, and together with its exhibit contents, representing a composite collection of the State’s natural products and resources, was a colossal advertisement and demonstration of the State’s natural wealth.
In addition to the State appropriation, heretofore mentioned, and the donation of lumber material above referred to, various counties in the State expended a total of $15,000 in the maintenance of individual exhibits.
The State of Washington installed and maintained throughout the period, in the various classified exhibit palaces, comprehensive exhibits of its mines, forestry, fisheries, game, horticulture, agriculture, education, climate, and scenery, and in addition, and supplemental thereto, maintained a composite showing of all these resources in its State building:
Horticulture: One thousand boxes of the best apples grown in the State in 1903 were carried over in St. Louis in cold storage. On May 1 the exhibit was opened with the 500 jars of miscellaneous fruits preserved for this exhibit; on May 15 we began the showing of fresh fruits, which showing was continued with all varieties and ample quantities (both in Horticultural Hall and in our State building) throughout the season, consuming four carloads of this material received by freight, and 150 boxes miscellaneous fruits in season expressed. Awards–Grand prize, for “collective exhibit of fruits.” Gold medals, Yakima County, Chelan County, W.L. Wright, Geo. H. Farwell; silver medals, Chelan County Horticulture Association, Chelan County Fair Association, Clarkston Fruit Growers’ Association, Orondo Fruit Farm, Yakima Horticulture Association, Washington Irrigation Company (Sunnyside), Wrightville Farm, to 38 individual exhibitors; bronze medals, to 27 individual exhibitors.
Forestry: A comprehensive collection of commercial woods, large dimensions, rough, and a good variety of finish shown in our various booths, counters, tables, etc.; also, a sample collection of all our native woods, rough and finished, exceeding in quantity (exclusive of the exhibit features of our State building) the exhibit shown by any State.
This exhibit was entered as “collection of commercial woods of best quality and largest dimensions; and the greatest educational exhibit of forestry shown at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, in that it teaches the youth and uninformed adult more of the characteristics and extent of the wonderful forests of the Northwest, and conveys to the residents of the treeless areas of the North-Central States a better knowledge of the quality and duration of their future lumber supply than does any other forestry exhibit shown on the occasion.”
Awarded grand prize on “commercial woods.” Collaborators–H. McCormick Lumber Company, the Larson Lumber Company, Grays Harbor Commercial Company, Pat McCoy Logging Company, St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company, Clarke-Nickerson Lumber Company, the Northwestern Lumber Company, the Northwestern Woodenware Company, Panel and Folding Box Company (Hoquiam), E.K. Lambert (Elma), and the American Portable House Company.
Agriculture: In this department our space in Agriculture Hall and the lower floor of our State building was crowded with an exhibit of all cereals in straw and seed, forage grasses, vegetables, hops, wool, dairy products, etc.
Awarded grand prize on “collection of cereals, forage grasses, and miscellaneous vegetables;” grand prize on “best one-farm exhibit;” gold medals on various county exhibits, seven in number; gold medals on various mill products, five in number; gold medal on dairy exhibit, by Hazelwood Company; gold medal on hops, wool, and flax; gold medal on beet sugar.
Fisheries: Washington’s exhibit in this department included every native leading variety of food fish and game fish, exceeding in numbers and quantity the showing of any other State. The installation was also the most practical undertaken here, considering the water and temperature, as all live exhibits were failures, and the collective exhibit was awarded first prize.
Game: In this department was shown a comprehensive specimen collection, in whole mounts, of the fur-bearing animals, animals of prey, game animals, and game birds indigenous to the section; one carload. Awarded silver medal.
Mines: In this department was shown the most complete collection of the State’s minerals that has ever been made. Entered as “a collection of ores, gold, silver, copper; minerals, fossil collection, coal and coke; building materials, iron, lead, antimony arsenic; roadmaking and cement materials, clay and clay products, limestone and lime, soils, mineral waters, illustrations.” Awarded gold medal on “collective exhibit of ores and minerals;” silver medals to various counties and individual exhibits.
Climate and scenery: Over 400 paintings and photographs were shown in the State building. Not in competitive exhibit.
Education: Photographic enlargements of all the State’s normal schools colleges, and city school buildings; also shown in the State building.
Literature: The “State Book” issued by the commission has been distributed at the rate of 500 per day throughout the period; in addition to which individual literature has been furnished by Seattle, Spokane, Yakima, Everett, Walla Walla, Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, Clarkston, Waitsburg, Tacoma, Bellingham, Wenatchee, Olympia, Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway Company, Chelan, Pullman, to the total number of 800,000 pieces.
The total expenses on account of participation in the Exposition were $69,135.47, leaving a balance unexpended of $8,245.
WISCONSIN.
The board of managers for the State of Wisconsin was appointed under an act of the State legislature, and an appropriation of $104,000 was also made for exploiting the State’s resources, its educational advantages, and for providing a State building. Of this amount $100,000 was for general exploitation and the State building, and the $4,000 was for use exclusively in showing the work of the State University, which ranks among the leading educational institutions of the United States.
The appropriation was apportioned by the board of managers as follows:
Agriculture ………………………. $5,000 Dairying …………………………. 6,000 Horticulture ……………………… 5,000 Agricultural College ………………. 1,500 Mines ……………………………. 5,000 Education ………………………… 6,000 State building ……………………. 15,000 Furnishings and maintaining ………… 10,000 Forestry …………………………. 5,000 Live stock ……………………….. 10,000 Special university appropriation ……. 4,000
The results obtained from the exploitation are shown in the large number of grand prizes, gold, silver, and bronze medals awarded to the State. The State building received a gold medal. The Wisconsin building was erected at a cost of only $14,750.
The Wisconsin State Building was located on Commonwealth avenue on the brow of the hill above the United States bird exhibit. The building was original in conception. The design of the building was what is known as the “English cottage.” It was a departure from the ordinary semiclassic style of architecture prevalent in the exposition buildings. It gave the impression that it was designed for the spot on which it was located, and it fitted in the slope of the hillside and between the giant forest trees as if it were a part of nature’s plan. The structure with its plastered walls and red gable roofs, amid the green foliage, was a welcome relief from the general massive architecture of the surrounding buildings.
The building proper was 30 feet from the street. The semicourt was flanked on the north and south by long and wide verandas and a veranda extended across the front of the cottage. The semicourt was a profusion of flowers and shrubbery. The keynote of the building was rest and comfort. The decorative and color schemes were restful and quiet and harmonious. The wainscoting and the grand staircase were finished in Flemish oak, and the furniture was the “mission style,” which harmonized with the woodwork. Indian blankets in rich dull reds and blues hung from the railing of the wall, which emphasized the “mission” effect.
The second floor was devoted to the sleeping apartments of the hostess and the board of managers and the governor’s suite. The furnishings were of mahogany. In the basement were the dining room, kitchen, and storerooms.
The personnel of the board of managers of the State of Wisconsin was as follows:
W.D. Hoard, president; A.J. Lindemann, vice-president; Grant Thomas, secretary; S.A. Cook, treasurer; W.H. Flett, William A. Scott, Mrs. Lucy E. Morris, Mrs. Theodora Youmans; Mrs. Emma I. Walsh, hostess.
In the Palace of Education and Social Economy a comprehensive display of the highly organized school system of the State of Wisconsin was arranged; in the Palace of Agriculture a fine collection of the agricultural and dairy products of the State, also the exhibit of the Agricultural College; in the Palace of Horticulture a superb display of the fruit; in the Palace of Mines and Metallurgy an interesting exhibit of the mineral wealth; in the Palace of Forestry, Fish, and Game a display of the commercial woods, and throughout the fall prize-winning herds of cattle, sheep, horses, and other live stock were on show at the live stock display grounds. The educational exhibit in the Palace of Education was illustrative of the progress of Wisconsin’s schools. The exhibit embraced the kindergarten, graded schools, high schools, manual training schools, optional study of the German language, public library, the public museum in its connection with the schools, school for the deaf, agricultural school, and barracks or portable schoolhouses for use in the crowded districts of the city. The three free schools of agriculture and domestic economy, located at Madison in connection with the State University, and at Menominee, and Wassau were especially noteworthy. The two latter are distinctly training schools in agriculture and domestic economy, and are the only schools of their kind in the United States.
The public schools of Milwaukee made a separate display. The furnishings of the entire exhibit, except the cabinets, were made by the pupils of the high school manual training department.
A unique feature of modern school work was illustrated by the application of the graphophone in the instruction of the children, and illustrations of the results obtained. Unique among the records were those on which had been impressed the voices and declamations of children who have been taught to speak at the public school for the deaf.
The Milwaukee public school exhibit embraced the entire school system, from the enrollment of the student in the kindergarten to the graduation by the high school, the salaries of the teachers, and the financial statement of the school board.
One booth was devoted to the work of the benevolent institutions and the United States School for Indians.
The exhibit of the State University was in the Palace of Social Economy. It was mainly composed of photographs of the university buildings, grounds, equipment, and of classes at work.
Wisconsin made its best record in the display in the Agricultural Palace, which was made up of agricultural products of the State and of butter and cheese exhibits. The space that was allotted to Wisconsin was utilized to the best possible advantage. Every grain grown in the Badger State was exhibited in the stalk or sheaf and in the threshed state. There were also, from time to time, fresh exhibits of seasonable vegetables.
The display in the Horticultural Palace was comprehensive enough to include about all of the fruits produced in the State. Eighty-nine varieties of Wisconsin apples were shown. There were shown 18 kinds of Wisconsin grown strawberries; 5 varieties of crab apples; 47 kinds of plums; 4 kinds of pears; 5 kinds of gooseberries, and 4 kinds of cranberries.
Wisconsin’s fame as a cranberry-producing State was brought to the attention of the visitors by a miniature representation of a Wisconsin cranberry bog.
Under the head of “mining interest,” there were included all of the various distinctive mining industries and the granite and other stone productions of the State, and its clay development. All of this was included in the State’s display in the Mines and Metallurgy Building. A clever representation of a cross section of a lead and zinc mine was interesting.
In the center of this exhibit was a pyramid of red hematite iron ore from the famous Menominee, Baraboo, and Gogebic districts.
In the display of metals, Wisconsin showed zinc, lead, iron, copper, and graphite. The last was new in the State, and promised great results.
The display of granite and building stones was of interest, and a polished shaft of Montello granite was greatly admired.
The display included samples of various clays for which the State is famous, together with examples of the wares made from them.
In the Forestry, Fish, and Game Building, Wisconsin made a comprehensive display of its commercially important woods. There were 14 kinds of timber suitable for commercial purposes, together with the furnishings of the display, which were also of Wisconsin wood. Of the woods the more important were white and red and curly birch.
There were, in 4 large cases, lifelike specimens of the taxidermist’s art. Prominently displayed was the Wisconsin badger, and other cases contained bear, deer, and porcupines in characteristic attitudes.
The live stock exhibits of the State were very successful, although handicapped by a small appropriation.
The entries consisted of horses–Percherons, Clydesdales, hackneys, and English coach animals. In cattle there were Guernseys, Shorthorns, and Jerseys. In sheep, Shropshires, Bembouillets, and Cotswolds. In swine, Tamworths, Berkshires, and Poland Chinas. Poultry, of all breeds, and pigeons were also displayed.
WYOMING.
By act of the seventh legislature of the State of Wyoming in 1903, provision was made for the appointment by the governor of a commission of seven members to secure a collection of the resources and products of this State and to properly display and care for the same at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, at St. Louis in 1904, celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from the Government of France.
The same act appropriated $25,000 from the general revenues of the said State of Wyoming, to be used in the purpose aforesaid.
In pursuance of such act of the Wyoming legislature, Governor DeForest Richards appointed the following commission:
Clarence B. Richardson, commissioner in chief; Robert H. Homer, Bryant B. Brooks, Willis George Emerson, George E. Pexton, Charles A. Badgette, William C. Deming.
Whereas the law provided that the said commission should meet at the State capital and organize within fifteen days of the date of appointment, a meeting was held upon the 20th day of March, 1903. The following were elected:
Robert H. Homer, president; Bryant B. Brooks, vice-president; William C. Deming, secretary.
In pursuance of the instructions of the commission, the commissioner in chief and the secretary proceeded to St. Louis about the middle of March, 1904, and installed Wyoming’s exhibit in the Mines and Agricultural departments, along general lines approved by the commission. The exposition was formally opened on the 30th day of April, 1904, and Wyoming was one of the comparatively few States to have its exhibit practically complete upon the opening day.
Almost from the opening day of the exposition a surprisingly large number of people from Wyoming visited the fair, and the expressions of approval of the showing made by this State were highly encouraging to the commission. It was shown by registration at the Wyoming headquarters and at the various hotels that one person in every fifty in Wyoming saw the World’s Fair.
In the Palace of Mines and Metallurgy, Wyoming’s exhibits were very favorably located on two of the most prominent aisles of the building and occupied a floor space of 2,700 square feet. In addition to this, a wall space of 2,100 square feet was utilized for a display of Wyoming pictures, plats, maps, and drawings. The exhibit in this building was quite extensive and weighed about 250,000 pounds, it being the purpose of the commission to show all native products in commercial quantities.
The oil exhibit, which Dr. F. Salathe kindly volunteered to prepare, consisted of over 200 varieties of every grade of lubricating and illuminating oil in this State, and was one of the most complete exhibits of the kind shown at St. Louis.
Whenever it was practicable, the commission endeavored not only to show the crude material, but some article of utility manufactured from it. In carrying out this idea, the iron exhibit comprised 32,000 pounds of the crude ore, and around it were grouped nails, spikes, bolts, steel rails, barbed wire, and pig iron manufactured from the ore.
To illustrate the utility of our onyx and marble displays, a large pyramid of the different varieties of onyx, weighing about 40,000 pounds, was shown; also a beautiful mantel and fireplace manufactured from this material.
The mines exhibit was comprised of 156 varieties of mineral–a larger number than was shown by any other State–and over 3,000 classified exhibits. Being one of the most complete in extent and variety shown in the Mines Building, the State received a gold medal on the general collective exhibit.
Great quantities of copper ore and copper products from the famous Encampment district made up a large part of the State’s display. One of the exhibiting companies showed the mineral in all its stages and processes of manufacture, from the crude ore to the finished product.
Wyoming also exhibited one piece of natural soda, weighing 5,000 pounds, taken from a natural soda lake near Laramie, in Albany County, while the exhibit of refined sodas was on a par with that exhibited from any other State. In bituminous and lignite coals, both in quality and quantity, Wyoming’s exhibit was one of the most prominent found at the fair. Cubes of coal weighing as much as 10,000 pounds each, from which huge pyramids were formed, towered high above their surroundings and immediately caught the eye of every passer-by. These coal exhibits came chiefly from the great mines at Cumberland, Rock Springs, and Kemmerer, and were taken from veins 30 feet in thickness.
Onyx in both its native and finished state was shown in large quantities. A pyramid of gray onyx and beautiful mantels and polished slabs from fields in northern Laramie County were a revelation to all who saw them.
Gold ore and refined gold from the famous South Pass district were on exhibition, demonstrating that Wyoming may in the course of time rival her southern neighbor, Colorado, as a gold-producing State.
Marble and building stones were shown in great variety, both in their native and finished states. Moss agates, lithograph stones, asbestos, bentonite, gypsum, glass from native sand, and soda added to Wyoming’s collection, which in variety was as great as any exhibit in the Mines Department. All told, there were 156 varieties of minerals, aggregating more than 3,000 classified exhibits. The exhibit was reenforced by beautiful color photographs of Wyoming scenes and resources, which occupied a wall space in the Mines Building of 2,100 square feet.
The commission was especially indebted to State Geologist H.C. Beeler for his valuable assistance and advice in connection with this work.
As the State’s appropriation was so limited, the commission decided to show all the agricultural, horticultural, educational, and forestry and game exhibits in the Palace of Agriculture. In this building Wyoming occupied a floor space of 2,100 square feet and a wall space of 1,400 square feet.
The agricultural display was prepared and installed under the direction of Prof. B.C. Buffum, assisted by Mr. Elias Nelson, and consisted of over 1,400 classified exhibits. The showing of grains was particularly remarkable, and by actual competitive tests it was demonstrated that Wyoming grown wheat weighed 66 pounds per bushel, and the heaviest wheat from elsewhere was that of the Argentine Republic, which weighed 64 1/2 pounds per bushel. Wyoming oats weighed 48 pounds per bushel, and the heaviest oats from elsewhere were those from New Zealand, which weighed 46 1/2, and those from Idaho, weighing 46 pounds. Wyoming hulless barley weighed 56 pounds, while the standard is 48 pounds per bushel.
On all these products, as well as Wyoming grown alfalfa, Wyoming was awarded grand prizes.
The exhibit of Wyoming forestry products, which was prepared under the direction of Mr. John H. Gordon, showed a number of trees from 5 to 7 feet in diameter, and a variety of over 40 woods found in the State. Owing to the great expense and disadvantage under which such a collection must necessarily be made, it was impossible to reach every section of the State and secure samples of the different woods, but this was done wherever it was found to be possible, and an effort was made to secure samples of all the woods of the State.
A beautiful table manufactured by Mr. Gordon, made of over 35 varieties of these woods, was a work of art and attracted more attention and favorable comment than anyone thing shown in the exhibit.
The exhibit of Wyoming grown fruits from Fremont county, as well as the fruits grown in Laramie County, were especially praiseworthy.
The educational exhibit, which was prepared and collected under the direction of the superintendent of public instruction, T.T.T. Tynan, consisted largely in showing pictures of school buildings of the State and the school work of many of the pupils. Although only a small sum was available for this purpose, the exhibit was quite complete and made a very creditable showing.
The commission printed and distributed over 500,000 pamphlets giving information on the resources of Wyoming, and this was supplemented by a large amount of literature which was received for distribution from other sources.
Wyoming exhibitors received 125 awards in the two departments of Mines and Agriculture, where the Wyoming exhibits were shown, and the grand prizes awarded Wyoming grown grains were the results of actual tests by weight for the excellent quantity and size of the grain. Credit must be given Prof. B.C. Buffum, of the State University, for his thorough work in the preparation of these exhibits.
The Wyoming Commission closed up its affairs February 1, 1905, showing that its entire expenditures for all purposes was only $20,000, or about four-fifths of the appropriation.
LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION HOSTESS’ ASSOCIATION.
In obedience to the call of Mrs. Parks Fisher, hostess of the Maryland Building, the hostesses of the various State and Territorial buildings of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition assembled at the Maryland Building on the morning of June 16, 1904, for the purpose of forming an organization, the object being mutual improvement and the bringing into closer social relationship the members thereof.
Preliminaries were discussed and the meeting adjourned to assemble on June 30 at the Alaska Building, on which occasion the organization was perfected and the following officers were elected:
President, Mrs. Parks Fisher, Maryland; vice-presidents, Mrs. Mary E. Hart, Alaska, Mrs. C.C. Monson, Connecticut, Mrs. Floyd Walton, Mississippi, Mrs. Sallie Douglas, New Mexico, Miss Esther Wehrung, Oregon; recording secretary, Mrs. Dore Lyon, New York; assistant recording secretary, Mrs. G.L. Hall, New Jersey; corresponding secretary, Mrs. W.N. Strother, Virginia; assistant corresponding secretary, Miss Elizabeth Cage, Arkansas; treasurer, Mrs. Belle Hall Small, Missouri; press representative, Mrs. Mary E. Hart, Alaska.
Many pleasant social functions took place under the auspices of this popular organization, and its business and social meetings were characterized by the greatest harmony. The organization is a permanent one and is to be represented at all future expositions. Its officers are to be elected annually, the next election to be held at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oreg.
The full list of membership is as follows:
Mrs. Parks Fisher, Maryland; Mrs. Mary E. Hart, Alaska; Miss Jessie Drais, Arizona; Miss Elizabeth Cage, Arkansas; Mrs. Frank Wiggins, California; Mrs. J.A. Filcher, California; Mrs. Josiah Hughes, Colorado; Mrs. C.C. Monson, Connecticut; Mrs. John W. Hughes, Georgia; Miss Anne Sonna, Idaho; Mrs. Floyd Walton, Mississippi; Mrs. Belle Hall Small, Missouri; Mrs. Emma D. Nuckols, Missouri; Mrs. Addie McDowell, Montana; Mrs. H.E. Freudenthal, Nevada; Mrs. G.L. Wall, New Jersey; Mrs. Sallie Douglas, New Mexico; Mrs. Dore Lyon, New York; Mrs. E.B. Marchant, Oklahoma; Miss Ethel Wehrung, Oregon.
APPENDIX 5.
REPORT OF BOARD OF LADY MANAGERS TO THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION COMMISSION.
AUTHORIZED BY ACT OF CONGRESS MARCH 3, 1901.
* * * * *
NEW YORK, N.Y., _June_, 1905.
I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the Board of Lady Managers of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which was appointed by you as provided for by the act of Congress dated March 3, 1901.
Very respectfully,
MARY MARGARETTA MANNING,
_President of the Board of Lady Managers Louisiana Purchase Exposition_.
The LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION COMMISSION.
Historical Data.[1]
[Footnote 1: Compilation.]
The territory originally known as Louisiana was taken possession of by the explorer La Salle in 1682, in the name of Louis XIV, and the first colony was founded by the French at Biloxi in 1699. The vast domain was transferred to Spain, by secret treaty, in 1763, and remained in the possession of that country until 1800, when the King of Spain, during the assistance of Napoleon in the erection of the Kingdom of Etruria for his son-in-law, the Duke of Parma, ceded the Louisiana Territory to France in return for that aid. It was part of Bonaparte’s policy and earliest ambition to restore to France all her lost possessions, and by the significant treaty of San Ildefonso, signed by Manual Godoy, the Spanish minister of state (known as the “Prince of Peace”), and Marshal Berthier, minister of France at Madrid, all that vast and vaguely defined territory known as Louisiana, which France had originally transferred to Spain, was reconveyed to France.
Up to the end of the revolution the possession of the Louisiana Territory by one foreign power or another had not touched Americans closely, but now conditions changed. When rumors of the last treaty finally reached the United States, the planters in the Mississippi Valley became alarmed. The laws and customs regulations of the Spaniards at New Orleans were arbitrary, and their business methods antiquated, complicated, and irksome to the colonists, and there had already been friction between them, the Spaniards being aided by Indians hostile to the frontiersmen. The right of deposit was essential to the pioneers who journeyed down the river in their flat-bottom homemade boats; they required a place to store their goods at New Orleans while waiting the arrival of trading vessels. In the early nineties the Spanish authorities closed navigation and refused the right of way to the ocean, but in 1795 a treaty was signed which gave the right of deposit, with certain minor limitations, for three years, and the way to a market was kept open for that period, and thereafter until 1802; that year the Spaniards again withdrew the privilege, and therein lay a potent motive for the acquisition of at least the mouth of the Mississippi River, and, although the immediate demand of these early American settlers was simply an open seaport and waterway to the sea, the Louisiana Purchase was the direct outcome of our strained relations with Spain.
A resolution was offered in Congress authorizing the President to call out 50,000 militia and take possession of New Orleans, but the United States sought security, and a substitute resolution was adopted appropriating $2,000,000 for the purchase of the Floridas and New Orleans, the Floridas being at first the entire cession contemplated, even without the island of New Orleans. The chancellor, Robert R. Livingston, had been appointed as our minister to France at a time when the affairs of that country were in a somewhat precarious condition. Napoleon, then only 34 years old, was dictator, surrounded by enemies. President Jefferson wrote Livingston to make the best terms he could with Napoleon, either for the mouth of the river, site for a city, or place for deposit. He at no time spoke of acquiring the whole tract. Livingston, with great tact and judgment, kept the matter before Napoleon, realizing not only the importance of the small tract originally involved, but the incalculable advantage that would be derived by the United States could the accession of the whole territory be accomplished. He was, therefore, greatly surprised by a question from Talleyrand, in which he was asked “What we would give for the whole tract?” This was followed by a proposition from Napoleon’s representative, Marbois, the state treasurer, in which he offered to sell all the Louisiana Territory to the United States for 100,000,000 francs ($20,000,000), with a provision that the United States should pay the claims of American citizens against France for depredations by French privateers, which amounted to 20,000,000 francs ($4,000,000). This offer Livingston declined, and Marbois asked him to name a price. Livingston, after a polite and politic disavowal of any anxiety to seek a larger expansion of territory, cautiously remarked, “We would be ready to purchase, provided the sum was reduced to reasonable limits,” but refused to make an offer, postponing the matter until the arrival of Monroe, who, he was informed by the United States Government, had been appointed minister with special powers to negotiate this purchase of New Orleans.
Talleyrand told Livingston that if they gave New Orleans, the rest would be of little value, and Marbois dropped his price to 80,000,000 francs ($16,000,000) and the claims, and later said if we would name 60,000,000 francs and take upon us the American claims to the amount of 20,000,000 more, he would submit the offer to Bonaparte. Our minister declared that sum was greatly beyond our means, and wished Bonaparte reminded that the whole region was liable to become the property of England. The minister of the public treasury admitted the weight of this possibility, but said: “Try if you can not come up to my mark. Consider the extent of the country, the exclusive navigation of the river, and the importance of having no neighbors to disrupt you, no war to dread.”
The American minister was not long in deciding to accept Napoleon’s proposition to acquire the whole territory, but still waited to conclude negotiations until the arrival in Paris of Monroe.
The great treaty was, in its essential elements, the work of three days. On April 11 Talleyrand asked Livingston “whether he wished to have the whole of Louisiana?” On April 12 Monroe arrived, but was too ill to attend a conference. Livingston again saw Talleyrand, and on April 13 two conferences took place between Marbois and Livingston, lasting several hours and ending at midnight, in which both negotiators agreed upon a treaty of transfer and acquisition, leaving open the amount to be paid. Upon this point they did not widely differ. Livingston’s memorable midnight dispatch, dated Paris, April 13, 1803, and finished at 3 o’clock in the morning, gives the authentic official history of the Louisiana purchase treaty. The Livingston letters tell that the decision to sell Louisiana was reached on Sunday, April 10, after Napoleon had had a prolonged conference with Talleyrand, Marbois, and others. The idea of selling originated in the active brain of Napoleon. It was opposed by Talleyrand, Berthier, and others, but Napoleon contemplated war with England, and needed funds. The Louisiana Purchase tract was so far away and would require so much money and so many men to protect it, that, in his estimation, it was probably better to dispose of it at a good price rather than hold, and he feared, in the event of war, which was imminent, he would lose the colony of Louisiana within sixty days after he took possession. The treaty of Amiens was at an end; Austria was threatening; a British fleet was in the West Indies; he was disgusted at the disastrous campaign in Santo Domingo, angry with Spain, and desired to be free for new campaigns in Europe. The First Consul, impressed by our minister’s social rank in his own country, no less than by his merciless logic and solid understanding, had given his promise that debts due for the spoliation of our commerce should be paid. This promise, of which he was again reminded, could only be kept by realizing on sale of public lands, as he had no other resource. Small wonder that he wished to be rid of the whole irritating subject of Louisiana.
Monroe, on his arrival in Paris, found that the negotiations for the purchase were already far advanced by Minister Livingston. Owing to the illness of the special envoy, he was not presented to the First Consul until May 1, and hence, as a negotiator, had nothing officially to do with the treaty, which was virtually negotiated April 13, and finally concluded April 30. On that day the treaty was signed in the presence of Napoleon by Marbois and the two American representatives, and when the negotiations were completed Napoleon made the following prophecy: “This accession of territory strengthens forever the power of the United States. I have given England a rival.”
The agreement, in the form of a treaty, reached Washington July 14 for ratification. Congress was called in special session October 17; the treaty was confirmed by the Senate after two days of discussion; a resolution was passed, to take effect immediately, but only after much opposition. Many persons were strongly opposed to the purchase, condemned the acquisition of a wilderness, and expressed their belief that the territory was not worth the price to be paid, and that its control would be difficult and unprofitable.
The exact cost ultimately agreed upon was 64,000,000 francs in the form of United States 6 per cent bonds, representing a capital of $11,250,000. In addition to this, the American Government agreed to assume and pay the obligations of France to American citizens for French attacks upon American shipping. These were estimated at 20,000,000 francs, or $3,750,000, making the total payment $15,000,000. The tract comprised 554,000,000 acres. Napoleon sold the territory for 2 cents an acre, or 10 acres for one franc. When the negotiations were pending, Marbois expressed to Napoleon the difficulty of reaching a definite conclusion as to boundary. When Talleyrand was questioned as to boundaries, he returned evasive answers, and said he did not know, and when pressed to be more explicit, said: “You must take it as we received it.” “But what did you mean to take?” asked Livingston. “I do not know,” replied Talleyrand. “Then you mean that we shall construe it our own way?” said Livingston again, to which Talleyrand made final reply: “I can give you no direction. You have made a noble bargain for yourselves, and I suppose you will make the most of it.”
When we consider that Jefferson at one time was willing to give $2,000,000 for New Orleans alone, we can marvel that so vast an empire as the whole province should come to us for the price paid. We can afford to overlook any defects in the treaty details and forever hold in gratitude the illustrious men who, by their diplomatic skill, their earnestness of purpose, and well-directed efforts, achieved one of the greatest triumphs in the world’s history. It well justified the assertion of Minister Livingston as he placed his name to the treaty of cession, and rising and shaking hands with Monroe and Marbois, said: “We have lived long; but this is the noblest work of our lives.”
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held to commemorate this most important event in the history of America–the purchase from France of the vast Louisiana Territory–an event second only in importance to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which constituted the first great advance of the United States toward national expansion, and at the same time insured to them the control forever of the greatest natural waterway on earth, the Mississippi River.
The Missouri Historical Society was the first organization to take formal steps toward the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the acquisition of this territory. In acknowledgment of the public sentiment expressed, Governor Stevens, of Missouri, called a convention of delegates to be appointed by the respective governors of the twelve States and two Territories that had been created in the Louisiana Purchase. Ninety-three delegates attended the meeting on January 10, 1899, and unanimously voted that an international exposition should be held in St. Louis as a means of giving expression, by practical demonstration, to the universal appreciation of what had been accomplished within this vast region during the century.
An executive committee was appointed, of which Hon. David R. Francis, of St. Louis, was made chairman. The aid of the United States Government was sought, and, after preliminary work on the part of the members of the committee in raising the $10,000,000, which Congress had made a condition should be secured before rendering material assistance, a bill was passed March 3, 1901, appropriating $5,000,000 toward “celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase Territory by the United States by holding an international exhibition of arts, industries, manufactures, and the products of the soil, mine, forest, and sea in the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri.”
This enormous tract of land that for a century had been steadily contributing to the material advancement of the world was now to show that it was ready and able to assume its full share not only in practical life and progress but in the deeper phases of science and art, and to demonstrate the nature of its resources by participation in the greatest universal exposition ever held. By this exposition it was not only above all else to illustrate the marvelous development of the territory whose acquisition it was meant to celebrate, but it was likewise “to provide for a comparative display of the products, natural and artificial, of the nations of the world, to be arranged in classified groups, the exhibits of each nation in every class to be set down by the side of those of all other nations, thereby better to insure comparison and an intelligent verdict as to merit by the direct and practical contrast thus secured.” It was to demonstrate the feasible combination of the artistic with the useful, the beautiful with the enduring, the graceful with the strong.
The three most significant dates historically connected with the acquisition of the magnificent domain known as Louisiana are April 30, 1803, when the great treaty was signed; October 19, when the treaty was ratified in the Senate of the United States by a vote of 24 to 7; and December 20, of the same year, when our Government received formal possession at New Orleans from the French prefect, Laussat. The council chamber of the Cabildo (which building was so ably reproduced at the exposition) and the balcony adjacent were the scene of the formal retrocession of Louisiana from Spain to France, and also of the event so much more momentous to us–the ceremony in which France delivered Louisiana into the keeping of the United States.
On August 20, 1901, by a proclamation of the President, “in the name of the Government and of the people of the United States, all the nations of the earth” were invited “to take part in the commemoration of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, an event of great interest to the United States and of abiding effect on their development, by appointing representatives and sending such exhibits to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition as would most fitly and fully illustrate their resources, their industries, and their progress in civilization.” This invitation was sent through the Department of State of the United States to the chief magistrates of all civilized governments, from nearly all of whom official acceptances were received in reply.
It has become a matter of history that ground was broken for the site of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition December 20, 1901, that day being the anniversary of the one on which the jurisdiction over the Louisiana Territory passed from France to the United States in 1803. The dedication exercises were held on the afternoon of April, 30, 1903, and were designed to commemorate not only the one hundredth anniversary of the signing of the treaty by Livingston, Monroe, and Marbois, transferring the territory from France to the United States, but also to dedicate in a formal manner the grounds and palaces of the exposition then rapidly advancing toward completion, though not to be opened before the following spring.
The exercises were participated in by representatives from nearly all civilized nations, and the presence on April 30, 1903, of the President of the United States, ex-President Cleveland, the Joint Committee of Congress, the ambassadors and ministers of twenty-six foreign governments, the governors and representatives of more than forty States and Territories, conferred upon it the official indorsement of the nations of the world, and added the weight and dignity which the sanction of governments alone could give.
When the treaty of cession was concluded in 1803 President Jefferson represented less than 6,000,000 people and there were but 50,000 white settlers in the Louisiana Territory. President Roosevelt in 1903 represented 80,000,000 people, the Purchase contained 15,000,000 inhabitants, and the 865,000 square miles which it comprised had been geographically divided into twelve States and two Territories. It was an area greater in extent and in natural resources than that of the original thirteen States, and constituted the largest real estate transfer ever known in the history of nations.
The price of $15,000,000 paid for it was considered exorbitant by those who were opposed to the purchase in 1803, yet the possibilities of the country, then so vague and ill-defined, so amply justified the prophetic faith of its advocates that a century later many millions of dollars in excess of the purchase money were spent in commemorating the transfer of a tract of land without which the present greatness of the United States would not have been possible. The present value of the agricultural products alone of the area for one year are a hundred times, and the taxable wealth more than four hundred times, the purchase money.
The board of lady managers was created pursuant to a clause in section 6 of the act of Congress of March 3, 1901, empowering the National Commission[A] of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition as follows:
[Footnote A: The creation of the National Commission of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was authorized by act of Congress, March 3, 1901, and the members were appointed by President McKinley. According to section 12 of an act approved June 28, 1902, the Commission will cease officially to exist on the first day of July, 1905, at which time, also, will expire the term of appointment of the members of the board of lady managers.]
And said Commission is hereby authorized to appoint a board of lady managers, of such number and to perform such duties as may be prescribed by said Commission, subject, however, to the approval of said company. Said board of lady managers may, in the discretion of said Commission and corporation, appoint one member of all committees authorized to award prizes for such exhibits as may have been produced in whole or in part by female labor.
The following is the complete list and order of appointment of the members of the board of lady managers made by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission, acting under the authority conferred by the aforesaid section 6 of the act of Congress of March 3, 1901:
Name. Date By whom. appointed.
Miss Helen M. Gould Oct. 16, 1901 Hon. P.D. Scott. Mrs. John A. McCall Oct. 18, 1901 Hon. M.H. Glynn. Mrs. John M. Holcombe do Hon. F.A. Betts. Miss Anna L. Dawes do Do.
Mrs. William E. Andrews do Hon. J.M. Thurston. Mrs. Helen Boyce-Hunsicker do Do. Mrs. James L. Blair do Hon. John M. Allen. Mrs. Fannie L. Porter do Hon. P.D. Scott. Mrs. Frederick M. Hanger do Do.
Mrs. Richard W. Knott Nov. 19, 1901 Hon. William Lindsay. Mrs. Washington A. Roebling do Do. Mrs. M.H. de Young do Hon. Thomas H. Carter. Mrs. Belle L. Everest do Hon. John F. Miller. Mrs. Marcus P. Daly Nov. 20, 1901 Hon. Thomas H. Carter. Mrs. William H. Coleman Nov. 21, 1901 Hon. John F. Miller. Mrs. Edward L. Buchwalter do Do. Mrs. Lewis D. Frost do Hon. John M. Thurston. Mrs. Finis P. Ernest Nov. 22, 1901 Hon. George W. McBride. Mrs. James B. Montgomery Jan. 22, 1902 Do. Mrs. John Miller Horton Sept. 30, 1902 Hon. M.H. Glynn. Mrs. Daniel Manning Oct. 2, 1902 Do. Mrs. Carl von Mayhoff do Do.
Mrs. James Edmund Sullivan do Hon. Thomas H. Carter. Mrs. Annie McLean Moores Oct. 3, 1902 Hon. John M. Allen. Miss Lavinia H. Egan Nov. 29, 1902 Do.
OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF LADY MANAGERS, LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION
Mrs. Daniel Manning, president, Albany, N.Y.; Mrs. Edward L. Buchwalter, first vice-president, Springfield, Ohio; Mrs. Finis P. Ernest, second vice-president, Denver, Colo.; Mrs. Helen Boice-Hunsicker, third vice-president, Hoboken, N.J.; Miss Anna L. Dawes, fourth vice-president, Pittsfield, Mass.; Mrs. Belle L. Everest, fifth vice-president, Atchison, Kans.; Mrs. M.H. de Young, sixth vice-president, San Francisco, Cal.; Mrs. Fannie L. Porter, seventh vice-president, Atlanta, Ga.; Mrs. William H. Coleman, treasurer, Indianapolis, Ind.; Miss Helen M. Gould, New York, N.Y.; Mrs. Richard W. Knott, Louisville, Ky.; Mrs. John M. Holcombe, Hartford, Conn.; Mrs. Frederick M. Hanger, Little Rock, Ark.; Mrs. James Edmund Sullivan, Providence, R.I.; Mrs. Margaret P. Daly, Anaconda, Mont.; Mrs. Mary Phelps Montgomery, Portland, Oreg.; Mrs. Carl von Mayhoff, New York, N.Y.; Mrs. John Miller Horton, Buffalo, N.Y.; Mrs. Lewis D. Frost, Winona, Minn.; Mrs. W.E. Andrews, Washington, D.C.; Mrs. Annie McLean Moores, Mount Pleasant, Tex.; Miss Lavinia H. Egan, Shreveport, La. Miss Julia T.E. McBlair, Washington, D.C., hostess of the building of the board of lady managers.
_Standing committees_.–Executive: Mrs. Daniel Manning, chairman; Mrs. Holcombe, Miss Egan, Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Coleman, Mrs. Buchwalter, Mrs. Moores, Miss Dawes, Mrs. Knott, Mrs. Hanger, Miss Gould. Entertainment: Mrs. Daniel Manning, chairman; Mrs. Porter, Mrs. Everest, Mrs. Sullivan, Mrs. Ernest, Mrs. de Young, Mrs. Horton, Mrs. von Mayhoff, Mrs. Hunsicker. Foreign Relations: Miss Dawes, chairman; Mrs. Knott, Miss Gould, Mrs. Holcombe, Mrs. von Mayhoff, Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Moores. Congresses: Mrs. Buchwalter, chairman; Mrs. Hanger, Mrs. Andrews. Press: Mrs. Knott, chairman; Mrs. Hanger, Miss Egan, Mrs. Moores. Woman’s Work: Mrs. Montgomery, chairman; Mrs. Holcombe, Mrs. Daly, Miss Gould, Mrs. Buchwalter, Miss Dawes, Mrs. de Young. Legislative: Mrs. Buchwalter, chairman; Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Coleman. Awards: Mrs. Hanger, chairman; Mrs. Knott, Miss Egan, Mrs. Porter, Mrs. Hunsicker. Auditing Committee: Mrs. Andrews, chairman; Mrs. Ernest, Mrs. Montgomery.
_Special committees_.–Hall of Philanthropy: Miss Helen M. Gould, chairman. Creche: Miss Helen M. Gould, chairman; Mrs. Everest, Mrs. Andrews, Mrs. Sullivan. House: Mrs. Ernest, chairman; resident members of board and members of rotating committee on duty. Model Playground: Mrs. Holcombe, chairman; Mrs. Hanger, Miss Gould. Editing Minutes: Mrs. Hanger, chairman; Mrs. Ernest, Miss Dawes. House Furnishing: Mrs. Daniel Manning, chairman; Mrs. Holcombe, Mrs. Montgomery.
INTRODUCTION
As it was designed that the St. Louis Exposition should afford an opportunity of demonstrating to other nations the progress that the United States had made in every branch of manufacture, agriculture, and art, the enormous field that existed from which to draw the great variety of material warranted the assumption that a wonderful display would be made. The sponsorship of our Government, and its invitation to other nations to participate, vested in the citizens of the United States, not only as a nation but as individuals, the responsibility of acceptably placing before the eyes of the world the achievements and advancement not only of their own but of all civilized and semicivilized nations.
The importance of the event rendered it a fitting occasion for women again to exhibit to the world the record of their increasing development and progress. At the Centennial in Philadelphia the women’s commission brought together the exhibits shown in the Woman’s Department, raised funds necessary to build the Woman’s Pavilion, suggested the Department of Public Comfort, and originated and carried to completion other useful and practical ideas. The board of lady managers at the World’s Columbian Exposition achieved a most wonderful success; at the Cotton Centennial in New Orleans the women from each State and Territory did excellent work, as did those at Atlanta, Nashville, Omaha, and Buffalo. All this had thoroughly prepared the public mind for the cooperation of women in further exposition work.
The board of lady managers of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, was, therefore, created as an official organization, acting under the authority given it by the Government. Its most important duty–that of appointing woman jurors–was prescribed by Congress, and all others were secondary to it. The members realized the responsibility which rested upon them and the necessity of making such a record that at the close of the exposition they again might show that women’s attainments and achievements were a factor of sufficient importance to warrant their participation in an exhibition of such magnitude; they must continue to prove by practical demonstration that the rapid advancement and increased usefulness of women, made possible by the educational and other advantages that had been accorded them, rendered their work worthy of the examination and attention of the world.
Preparatory to accepting any responsibilities that might be required of them in order to represent woman’s work officially, a formal request was made by the members of the board of lady managers to the National Commission, to define the full scope of their appointment and the duties to be assigned to the board, careful inquiry being made as to what special and important work they would be expected to perform.
Pursuant to this request, an informal meeting of the eighteen members who had been appointed in the fall of 1901, was called by the National Commission, in the city of New York, for December 5 of that year. Hon. Thomas H. Carter, president of the National Commission, in an address on that occasion, outlined their duties to a limited extent, and stated that a meeting would be called in March, 1902, for the purpose of perfecting their organization and determining the nature of their work. This meeting was not called, as had been contemplated, however, and it was not until September 30, 1902, that the members of the board were again assembled, pursuant to a call of the Commission, the meeting place being in the city of St. Louis.
After formal organization of the board of lady managers they were again addressed by Hon. Thomas H. Carter, who said, in part, as follows:
The act of Congress left the number of lady managers optional with the National Commissioners.
Before the exercise of the discretion allowed by Congress numerous persons suggested a great variety of ways whereby the ladies of the country, and the world, if you please, might with force and propriety participate in this coming exposition. The agency or organized clubs was for a time suggested as a proper method by which the assistance of womankind might be interjected into this great work, but many difficulties appeared in an effort to crystallize that thought in the proper shape.
Owing to the confusion existing during the sessions of Congress, the necessity as well as the desirability of allowing the National Commission to appoint a board of lady managers became from day to day more apparent, and, therefore, in pursuance of that authority it was determined, with the consent and approval of the local committee under whose auspices the exposition was given, to appoint a board consisting of twenty-one persons; and of the twenty-one nineteen members have now been appointed. * * * It will rest with you ladies, and the two additional members hereafter to be appointed, whether or not you wish to increase the size of your board. * * *
After or about the time of the New York meeting the National Commission, acting under the authority of the law, prescribed certain general limitations or rules within which this board of lady managers would continue to exercise their functions. These rules were, I think, made very general, and were submitted to the local company for approval, as the statute requires. The company has suggested certain amendments, which are not of great importance and do not at this time limit your deliberations to any considerable extent. * * * The rule upon which your authority will rest reads: “The board of lady managers, appointed as authorized by section 6 of the act of Congress, shall have authority to exercise general supervisory control over such features of the exposition as may be specially devoted to woman’s work.” That rule is practically without any limitation whatever. It places under your control and supervision the work for the exhibits, whether appearing in the manner of artistic, industrial, or other tangible production, or whether appearing in the manner of woman’s engagement in any part or portion of the exposition work. I think it will rest