Читать книгу New York at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis 1904 - DeLancey M. Ellis - Страница 22

After briefly complimenting the President and Directors of the

Exposition, Mr. Harriman said:

"Our 'Domestic Exhibitors' could have no higher testimonial than that furnished by the magnificent buildings and grounds of this Exposition. We have here combined in brilliant variety the charms and beauties of garden, forest, lake and stream, embellished by these splendid structures, forming an harmonious whole certainly not equaled by any former Exposition. All credit is due the President and Directors, whose intelligence and untiring labors have conquered all obstacles and brought this World's Fair to a most auspicious and successful opening. One cannot view the result of their labors without being deeply impressed with the magnitude of their undertaking, and when we consider the exhibits which have been assembled within these grounds, we are led irresistibly to an appreciation of the multitude of forces which contributed to this great work, and particularly to the co-operation which must have existed to produce the result before us.

"I have the honor on this occasion to speak for our 'Domestic Exhibitors.' They are well represented by their works before you, and by these works you can know them.

"These exhibits represent in concrete form the artistic and industrial development of this country, and in viewing them one cannot but be impressed with the great improvement in the conditions affecting our material and physical welfare and with the corresponding advancement in our intellectual and esthetic life.

"Let us consider for a moment the processes by which this result has been reached. We have here collected the products of our artistic, scientific and industrial life. The raw materials of the farm, the vineyard, the mine and the forest have been transformed by the skilled artisan, the artist and the architect into the finished products before you. By the co-operation of all these resources, of all these activities, of all these workers, this result has been accomplished. From the felling of the trees in the forest, the tilling of the soil and the mining of the ore, through all the steps and processes required to produce from the raw material the complicated machine or the costly fabric, there must have been co-operation, and all incongruous elements and resistant forces must have been eliminated or overcome.

"The chief factor, therefore, which has contributed to these results is the co-operation of all our people. The first law of our civilization is the co-operation of all individuals to improve the conditions of life. By division of labor each individual is assigned to or takes his special part in our social organization. This specialization of labor has become most minute. Not only is this true in scientific and philosophic research, in professional and business life, but in the simplest and earliest occupations of men, such as the tilling of the soil, the specialist is found bringing to the aid of his industry expert and scientific knowledge.

"… In the division of labor and the resultant specialization of human activity we have necessarily different classes of workers, some of whom have adopted the co-operative idea by forming organizations by which they seek to better their conditions. No doubt each class of workers has its particular interests which may be legitimately improved by co-operation among its members, and thus far the labor organization has a lawful purpose, but while standing for its rights it cannot legitimately deny to any other class its rights, nor should it go to the extent of infringing the personal and inalienable rights of its members as individuals. On the contrary, it must accord to its own members and to others the same measure of justice that it demands for itself as an organization.

"In working out this problem there has been much conflict. Indeed, according to human experience, such conflict could not entirely be avoided, but in the end each class must recognize that it cannot exist independently of others; it cannot strike down or defeat the rights or interests of others without injuring itself. Should capital demand more than its due, by that demand it limits its opportunities, and, correspondingly, the laborer who demands more than his due thereby takes away from himself the opportunity to labor. No one can escape this law of co-operation. Self-interest demands that we must observe its just limitations. We must be ready to do our part and accord to all others the fair opportunity of doing their part. We must co-operate with and help our colaborer. We should approach the solution of each question which may arise with a reasonable and, better still, a friendly spirit. He who obstructs the reasonable adjustment of these questions, who fosters strife by appealing to class prejudice, may justly be regarded by all as an enemy to the best public interests….

"In conclusion, permit me to advert to the Louisiana Purchase, which we are now celebrating, and call attention to the importance of that event in securing to our people the fullest benefit of the co-operative idea. Manifestly, if our Government were restricted to the original territory of the United States, as defined by the Treaty of 1783, we must have encountered in many ways the opposition of governments, some of them European, which would have occupied the territory beyond our original south and west boundaries. Our trade and commerce moving from or to our original territory would, necessarily, have been largely restricted by hostile foreign powers. The Louisiana Purchase not only more than doubled our territory by adding a country rich in material resources, but gave us control of the Mississippi river, and made possible the acquisition of the Oregon Territory, the Mexican cessions and the annexation of Texas. …

"Though much has been done towards the development of this imperial domain, yet we may truly say that we have only seen the beginning of that development. The possibilities for the future are boundless. With a land of unparalleled resources, occupied by a people combining the best elements of our modern civilization and governed by laws evolved from the highest and best progress of the human race, no eye can foresee the goal to which a co-operation of all these forces must lead."

The Mexican Commissioner, A. R. Nuncio, spoke in behalf of the foreign exhibitors. The concluding address was made by Hon. William H. Taft, Secretary of War, who attended as the special representative of the President. At its conclusion the President of the United States, in the White House at Washington, pressed a key that started the machinery, unfurled the flags, set the cascades in motion, and thus opened the Exposition.