Читать книгу Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission - Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission - Страница 29

GRAND MARSHAL, MAJ. GEN. HENRY C. CORBIN, UNITED STATES ARMY. * * * * *

At 10 o'clock a.m. the freedom of the city was tendered to the President of the United States by the mayor of St. Louis.

The military parade, composed of United States troops and the National Guard in attendance, assembled under direction of the grand marshal and moved from the junction of Grand avenue and Lindell boulevard promptly at half-past 10 o'clock, preceded by the President of the United States and official guests in carriages, through Forest Park to the exposition grounds, where the Presidential salute was fired, and the parade was reviewed by the President of the United States.

At 1.30 p.m. a grand band concert took place, the doors of the Liberal Arts Building, where the dedication exercises were held, were thrown open, and the audience seated under direction of the guards and ushers.

Promptly at 2 o'clock the assembly was called to order by Hon. David R. Francis, president of the Exposition Company, and the following programme was carried out:

First. Invocation by his eminence Cardinal James Gibbons, as follows:

We pray Thee, O God of might, wisdom, and justice, through Whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with the Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of the United States, that his Administration may be conducted in righteousness and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides, by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion, by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy, and by restraining vice and immorality.

By the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress and shine forth in all their proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge, and may perpetuate to us the blessings of equal liberty.

We pray for his excellency, the governor of this State, for the members of the legislature, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled by Thy powerful protection to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.

We pray for the president and directors of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, that their arduous labors may be crowned with success, and may redound to the greater growth and development of this flourishing city on the banks of the Father of Waters.

May this vast territory which was peacefully acquired a hundred years ago be for all time to come the tranquil and happy abode of millions of enlightened, God-fearing, and industrious people engaged in the various pursuits and avocations of life. As this new domain was added to our possessions without sanguinary strife, so may its soil never be stained by bloodshed in any foreign or domestic warfare.

May this commemorative exposition to which the family of nations are generously contributing their treasures of art and industry bind together the governments of the earth in closer ties of fellowship and good will, and of social and commercial intercourse. May it hasten the dawn of the reign of the Prince of Peace, when national conflicts will be adjusted, not by hostile armies, but by permanent courts of arbitration.

May this international exposition, inaugurated in the interests of people and commerce, help to break down the walls of dissension, of jealousy, and prejudice that divides race from race, nation from nation, and people from people, by proclaiming aloud the sublime gospel truth that we are all children of the same God, brothers and sisters of the same Lord Jesus Christ, and that we are all aspiring to a glorious inheritance in the everlasting kingdom of our common Father.

Second. Address by Mr. Thomas H. Carter, of the National Commission, president of the day.

One hundred years ago to-day the Government of the United States acquired sovereignty over the vast territory west of the Mississippi River, which has since been known to the geographical nomenclature of the world as the "Louisiana Purchase." Beyond the river the boundaries and the resources of the territory were ill defined and but vaguely comprehended. The purchase price of $15,000,000 was pronounced exorbitant, the free navigation of the Mississippi being the only part of the property deemed worthy of serious consideration. The transaction was regarded by many as a violation of the Constitution and a menace to our form of government. The grave doubts of president Jefferson were only resolved into action by his patriotic desire for national supremacy over the river and his prophetic faith in the possibilities of the mysterious country beyond it. The revelations of a century most amply justified his faith.

When the treaty of cession was concluded, President Jefferson represented less than 6,000,000 people. During these ceremonies, President Roosevelt, the Executive of over 80,000,000 of freemen, will dedicate the buildings.

The magical story of local development puts to shame the creations of fiction. The contented and prosperous inhabitants of the Louisiana Purchase to-day substantially equal in numbers three times the total population of the United States in 1800. The conquest of space, forests, streams, and deserts and the founding of cities and States in waste places within this territory mark an advance unsurpassed in the history of human endeavor.

In conformity with a special act of Congress, the President has invited all the nations to cooperate with us in properly commemorating the masterful achievements of a century in this new country.

It is fitting that the celebration should be international, for you will in vain attempt to name a civilized country whose sons and daughters have not contributed to the glorious triumphs of peace recorded here. In vain will you seek a more cosmopolitan and at the same time a more homogeneous population than that of the Louisiana territory. The purchase facilitated by the exigencies of European war, and made in a season of darkness and peril, has proven a boon not only to the grantor and the grantee, but to humanity at large, for here the nations have commingled, and the brotherhood of man has become a demonstrated possibility.

As a means of giving expression to the universal appreciation of what has been accomplished for humanity within this field during the century, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was organized under authority of an act of Congress. With the aid of the United States Government and the city of St. Louis, the Exposition Company, through its officers, agents, and employees, has erected the majestic exposition buildings whose massive proportions and classical outlines excite the wonder and admiration of the vast multitude assembled within and about their walls.

To everyone present is accorded the privilege of assisting in the dedication of these buildings to their intended use. The President of the United States honors us by being present to extend his greetings and to voice the approving sentiments of his countrymen.

Moved by a broad and generous spirit, the nations of the earth, from the empire of most ancient origin to the republic of twentieth-century creation, dignifies the occasion by the presence of their accredited representatives. Our home folks from all the States, Territories, and districts betoken by their numbers and enthusiasm the interest of the body of the people in the exposition and the great historic event it is intended to commemorate.

In the name of the National Commission, directed by Congress to provide for the dedication ceremonies, I extend to you all a cordial welcome, and as responsive to this inspiring scene of peace and generous feeling, I call upon the chorus to favor us with Beethoven's Creation hymn.

Those best informed will, by unanimous consent, yield to Hon.

David R. Francis, president of the company, the highest measure

of praise for the organization of the exposition and the

construction of the buildings he will now present to the

President of the United States for dedication.

Third. Grand chorus: "The Heavens Proclaiming."

Fourth. Presentation of the buildings by Hon. David R. Francis, president of the Exposition Company:

The people of the Louisiana Purchase are proud of their

membership in the Federal Union.

They are grateful for the benefits that have flowed from a life under the enduring institutions framed by the founders of the Republic. They congratulate their brethren on the position our country occupies among the nations of the earth, and felicitate themselves on the part they have performed toward raising it to its present prestige and power.

They felt it a patriotic duty to fittingly commemorate the completion of the first century of their connection with the American Republic, and the rounding out of an important epoch in the life of the Republic. In the discharge of that duty this exposition was conceived. The inhabitants of the fourteen States and two Territories comprised within the purchase selected St. Louis as the scene of the celebration.

The people of this city, grateful for the honor conferred, promptly accepted it and cheerfully assumed the immense responsibility it entailed. The century just closed, unequaled as it was in every line of progress, furnishes no more striking evidence of the advance of civilization than the development of the Louisiana territory. A celebration in such an age and in such a country, to be fit, should be upon a scale in keeping with the best and the highest, and should be planned upon lines broad enough to take in every people and every clime.

A scheme so ambitious in its inception naturally had comparatively few advocates and encountered many antagonists and more doubters. It could not be accomplished without the recognition and the aid of the General Government, which, for a time, it seemed impossible to enlist. It was decided that the amount required to launch an undertaking so comprehensive should be the same as that paid for the empire which Jefferson purchased—$15,000,000. The Congress said to St. Louis, "When you have secured two-thirds of that sum, we will provide the remaining third." The conditions were accepted and fulfilled.

After three years of struggle the sinews had been secured—the first step accomplished. Two years have since elapsed. During that period the work has been pushed in every State and Territory and possession of the United States, and in every civilized country on the earth. The disappointments experienced and the obstacles encountered have but served to spur to renewed effort those who, from the inception of the movement, had determined to carry it to a successful consummation.

The further encouragement of the General Government on the provision for its own exhibit, the cooperation of 41 States and Territories and possessions of the United States, the pledged participation of 32 foreign countries are the results of vigorous domestic and foreign exploitation. That, and what you behold here to-day in physical shape, we submit as the product of five years of labor, nearly four of which were devoted to propaganda and appeal and organization.

The plan and scope, comprehensive as they were in the beginning, have never diminished at any stage of the progress; rather have they been amplified and enlarged.

St. Louis, with an ever-widening sense of the responsibility, and an ever-growing appreciation of the opportunity, has, up to this moment, risen to the full measure of the duty assumed. The management of the exposition has never despaired, but with a realizing sense of the mighty task it has undertaken, and mindful of the limitations of human capabilities, with singleness of purpose and with personal sacrifice for which it neither asks nor deserves credit, has striven to meet the expectations of those whose trust it holds.

The Exposition Company makes its acknowledgments to those faithful and efficient officials whose intelligent service have contributed so much toward bringing the enterprise to its present stage. The company expresses its obligation to the artists and artisans who have reared these graceful and majestic structures and whose labors have been inspired more by pride in the end to be achieved than by hope of material reward.

The Universal Exposition of 1904, when the date of opening rolls around one year from to-day, will, with its buildings completed, its exhibits installed, be thoroughly prepared to receive the millions of visitors who will enter its gates. The distinguished assemblage which honors us with its presence to-day can come nearer forming an adequate conception of the scope of the work by personal inspection than through the writings or illustrations of authors and designers, however great their talent may be.

To the President of the United States, to the accomplished representatives of foreign countries, to the chief executives of the sovereign States, to the Senators and Representatives of the National Congress, to the great concourse of visitors here congregated, we extend greeting. If you are pleased with what has been accomplished, your approval is abundant reward for the labor we have performed.

We bear in mind and trust you do not overlook that this celebration is of no section, but of the entire country. It is our hope and our expectation that every section and every commonwealth, and in fact, every community, will cherish a proprietary interest and lend hopeful aid to this undertaking, to the end that it may prove as nearly as may be commensurate with the country and the century whose achievement and advancement it is designed to commemorate.

The beautiful picture whose outlines you now behold will, to adopt the simile of the chief designer, when completed, compose a song that will reverberate around the globe.

And now, Mr. President, it is my pleasing privilege and high honor to present to you for dedication the buildings of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. May a high standard of citizenship and broader humanity and the mission of the country whose worthy representative you are be sustained and fostered and promoted by the uses to which these structures are devoted. May the happiness of mankind be advanced and broadened by the lofty purposes that inspired this undertaking and moved our own and sister countries to unite in its accomplishment.

Fifth. Dedication address by the President of the United States:

MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: At the outset of my address let me recall to the minds of my hearers that the soil upon which we stand, before it was ours was successively the possession of two mighty empires—Spain and France—whose sons made a deathless record of heroism in the early annals of the New World.

No history of the Western country can be written without paying heed to the wonderful part played therein in the early days by the soldiers, missionaries, explorers, and traders who did their work for the honor of the proud banners of France and Castile.

While the settlers of English-speaking stock and those of Dutch, German, and Scandinavian origin, who were associated with them, were still clinging close to the eastern seaboard, the pioneers of Spain and of France had penetrated deep into the hitherto unknown wildness of the West and had wandered far and wide within the boundaries of what is now our mighty country. The very cities themselves—St. Louis, New Orleans, Santa Fe, N. Mex.—bear witness by their titles to the nationalities of their founders. It was not until the Revolution had begun that the English-speaking settlers pushed west across the Alleghanies, and not until a century ago that they entered in to possess the land upon which we now stand.

We have met here to-day to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the event which more than any other, after the foundation of the Government, and always excepting its preservation, determined the character of our national life—determined that we should be a great expanding nation instead of relatively a small and stationary one.

Of course, it was not with the Louisiana Purchase that our career of expansion began. In the middle of the Revolutionary war the Illinois region, including the present States of Illinois and Indiana, was added to our domain by force of arms, as a sequel to the adventurous expedition of George Rogers Clark and his frontier riflemen.

Later the treaties of Jay and Pinckney materially extended our real boundaries to the west. But none of these events was of so striking a character as to fix the popular imagination. The old thirteen colonies had always claimed that their rights stretched westward to the Mississippi, and vague and unreal though these claims were until made good by conquest, settlement, and diplomacy, they still served to give the impression that the earliest westward movements of our people were little more than the filling in of already existing national boundaries.

But there could be no illusion about the acquisition of the vast territory beyond the Mississippi, stretching westward to the Pacific, which in that day was known as Louisiana. This immense region was admittedly the territory of a foreign power, of a European kingdom. None of our people had ever laid claim to a foot of it. Its acquisition could in no sense be treated as rounding out any existing claims. When we acquired it, we made evident once for all that consciously and of set purpose we had embarked on a career of expansion; that we had taken our place among those daring and hardy nations who risk much with the hope and desire of winning high position among the great powers of the earth. As is so often the case in nature the law of development of a living organism showed itself in its actual workings to be wiser than the wisdom of the wisest.

This work of expansion was by far the greatest work of our people during the years that intervened between the adoption of the Constitution and the outbreak of the civil war. There were other questions of real moment and importance, and there were many which at the time seemed such to those engaged in answering them; but the greatest feat of our forefathers of those generations was the deed of the men, who with pack train or wagon train, on horseback, on foot, or by boat upon the waters pushed the frontier ever westward across the continent.

Never before had the world seen the kind of national expansion which gave our people all that part of the American continent lying west of the thirteen original States—the greatest landmark in which was the Louisiana Purchase. Our triumph in this process of expansion was indissolubly bound up with the success of our peculiar kind of Federal Government, and this success has been so complete that because of its very completeness we now sometimes fail to appreciate not only the all importance but the tremendous difficulty of the problem with which our nation was originally faced.

When our forefathers joined to call into being this nation, they undertook a task for which there was but little encouraging precedent. The development of civilization from the earliest period seemed to show the truth of two propositions: In the first place, it had always proved exceedingly difficult to secure both freedom and strength in any Government; and in the second place, it had always proved well-nigh impossible for a nation to expand without either breaking up or becoming a centralized tyranny. With the success of our effort to combine a strong and efficient national union, able to put down disorder at home and to maintain our honor and interest abroad, I have not now to deal. This success was signal and all important, but it was by no means unprecedented in the same sense that our type of expansion was unprecedented.

The history of Rome and of Greece illustrates very well the two types of expansion which had taken place in ancient times, and which had been universally accepted as the only possible types up to the period when, as a nation, we ourselves began to take possession of this continent. The Grecian states performed remarkable feats of colonization, but each colony as soon as created became entirely independent of the mother state, and in after years was almost as apt to prove its enemy as its friend. Local self-government, local independence was secured, but only by the absolute sacrifice of anything resembling national unity.

In consequence, the Greek world, for all its wonderful brilliancy and extraordinary artistic, literary, and philosophical development, which has made all mankind its debtor for the ages, was yet wholly unable to withstand a formidable foreign foe, save spasmodically. As soon as powerful permanent empires arose on its outskirts, the Greek states in the neighborhood of such empires fell under their sway. National power and greatness were completely sacrificed to local liberty.

With Rome the exact opposite occurred. The imperial city rose to absolute dominion over all the people of Italy, and then expanded her rule over the entire civilized world, by a process which kept the nation strong and united, but gave no room whatever for local liberty and self-government. All other cities and countries were subject to Rome. In consequence, this great and masterful race of warriors, rulers, road builders, and administrators stamped their indelible impress upon all the after life of our race, and yet let an over-centralization eat out the vitals of their empire until it became an empty shell, so that when the barbarians came they destroyed only what had already become worthless to the world.

The underlying viciousness of each type of expansion was plain enough, and the remedy now seems simple enough. But when the fathers of the Republic first formulated the Constitution under which we live, this remedy was untried, and no one could foretell how it would work. They themselves began the experiment almost immediately by adding new States to the original thirteen. Excellent people in the East viewed this initial expansion of the country with great alarm. Exactly as during the colonial period many good people in the mother country thought it highly important that settlers should be kept out of the Ohio Valley in the interest of the fur companies, so after we had become a nation many good people on the Atlantic coast felt grave apprehension lest they might somehow be hurt by the westward growth of the nation.

These good people shook their heads over the formation of States in the fertile Ohio Valley, which now forms part of the heart of our nation, and they declared that the destruction of the Republic had been accomplished when through the Louisiana Purchase we acquired nearly half of what is now that same Republic's present territory. Nor was their feeling unnatural. Only the adventurous and the farseeing can be expected heartily to welcome the process of expansion, for a nation which expands is a nation which is entering upon a great career, and with greatness there must of necessity come perils which daunt all save the most stout-hearted.

We expand by carving the wilderness into Territories, and out of these Territories building new States when once they had received as permanent settlers a sufficient number of our own people. Being a practical nation, we have never tried to force on any section of our new territory an unsuitable form of government merely because it was suitable for another section under different conditions. Of the territory covered by the Louisiana Purchase, a portion was given statehood within a few years. Another portion has not been admitted to statehood, although a century has elapsed, although doubtless it soon will be. In each case we showed the practical governmental genius of our race by devising methods suitable to meet the actual existing needs, not by insisting upon the application of some abstract shibboleth to all our new possessions alike, no matter how incongruous this application might sometimes be.

Over by far the major part of the territory, however, our people spread in such numbers during the course of the nineteenth century that we were able to build up State after State, each with exactly the same complete local independence in all matters affecting purely its own domestic interests as in any of the original thirteen States, each owing the same absolute fealty to the Union of all the States which each of the original thirteen States also owes, and, finally, each having the same proportional right to its share in shaping and directing the common policy of the Union which is possessed by any other State, whether of the original thirteen or not.

This process now seems to us part of the natural order of things, but it was wholly unknown until our own people devised it. It seems to us a mere matter of course, a matter of elementary right and justice, that in the deliberations of the national representative bodies the representatives of a State which came into the Union but yesterday stand on a footing of exact and entire equality with those of the commonwealth whose sons once signed the Declaration of Independence.

But this way of looking at the matter is purely modern and in its origin purely American. When Washington, during his Presidency, saw new States come into the Union on a footing of complete equality with the old, every European nation which had colonies still administered them as dependencies, and every other mother country treated the colonists not as a self-governing equal, but as a subject.

The process which we began has since been followed by all the great people who were capable both of expansion and of self-government, and now the world accepts it as the natural process, as the rule; but a century and a quarter ago it was not merely exceptional—it was unknown.

This, then, is the great historic significance of the movement of continental expansion, in which the Louisiana Purchase was the most striking single achievement. It stands out in marked relief even among the feats of a nation of pioneers, a nation whose people have, from the beginning, been picked out by a process of natural selection from among the most enterprising individuals of the nations of western Europe.

The acquisition of the territory is a credit to the broad and far-sighted statesmanship of the great statesmen to whom it was immediately due, and, above all, to the aggressive and masterful character of the hardy pioneer folk to whose restless energy these statesmen gave expression and direction, whom they followed rather than led. The history of the land comprised within the limits of the Purchase is an epitome of the entire history of our people. Within these limits we have gradually built up State after State, until now they many times over surpass in wealth, in population, and in many-sided development the original thirteen States as they were when their delegates met in the Continental Congress.

The people of these States have shown themselves mighty in war with their fellow-man and mighty in strength to tame the rugged wilderness. They could not thus have conquered the forest, the prairie, the mountain and the desert, had they not possessed the great fighting virtues, the qualities which enable a people to overcome the forces of hostile men and hostile nature.

On the other hand they could not have used aright their conquest had they not in addition possessed the qualities of self-mastery and self-restraint, the power of acting in combination with their fellows, the power of yielding obedience to the law and of building up an orderly civilization. Courage and hardihood are indispensable virtues in a people, but the people which possess no others can never rise high in the scale either of power or of culture. Great peoples must have in addition the governmental capacity which comes only when individuals fully recognize their duties to one another and to the whole body politic and are able to join together in feats of constructive statesmanship and of honest and effective administration.

The old pioneer days are gone with their roughness and their hardship, their incredible toil and their wild, half-savage romance. But the need for the pioneer virtues remains the same as ever. The peculiar frontier conditions have vanished; but the manliness and stalwart hardihood of the frontiersman can be given even freer scope under the conditions surrounding the complex industrialism of the present day.

In this great region acquired for our people under the presidency of Jefferson, this region stretching from the Gulf to the Canadian border, from the Mississippi to the Rockies, the material and social progress has been so vast that alike for weal and for woe, the people share the opportunities and bear the burdens common to the entire civilized world. The problems before us are fundamentally the same east and west of the Mississippi, in the new States and in the old, and exactly the same qualities are required for their successful solution.

We meet here to-day to commemorate a great event, an event which marks an era in statesmanship no less than in pioneering. It is fitting that we should pay our homage in words; but we must in honor make our words good by deeds. We have every right to take a just pride in the great deeds of our forefathers; but we show ourselves unworthy to be their descendants if we make what they did an excuse for our lying supine instead of an incentive to the effort to show ourselves, by our acts, worthy of them. In the administration of city, State, and nation, in the management of our home life and conduct of our business and social relations, we are bound to show certain high and fine qualities of character under penalty of seeing the whole heart of our civilization eaten out while the body still lives.

We justly pride ourselves on our marvelous material prosperity, and such prosperity must exist in order to establish a foundation upon which a higher life can be built; but unless we do in very fact build this higher life thereon, the material prosperity itself will go but for very little. Now, in 1903, in the altered conditions, we must meet the changed and changing problems with the spirit shown by the men who in 1803 and in subsequent years, gained, explored, conquered, and settled this vast territory, then a desert, now filled with thriving and populous States.

The old days were great because the men who lived in them had mighty qualities; and we must make the new days great by showing the same qualities. We must insist upon courage and resolution, upon hardihood, tenacity, and fertility in resource; we must insist upon the strong virile virtues; and we must insist no less upon the virtues of self-restraint, self-mastery, regard for the rights of others; we must show our abhorrence of cruelty, brutality, and corruption, in public and private life alike.

If we come short in any of these qualities we shall measurably fail; and if, as I believe we surely shall, we develop these qualities in the future to an even greater degree than in the past, then in the century now beginning we shall make of this Republic the freest and most orderly, the most just and most mighty nation which has ever come forth from the womb of time.

Sixth. Grand chorus: "Unfold Ye Portals."

Seventh. Address by Hon. Grover Cleveland:

MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: The impressiveness of this occasion is greatly enhanced by reason of an atmosphere of prophecy's fulfillment which surrounds it. The thought is in our minds that we are amid awe-inspiring surroundings, where we may see and feel things foretold a century ago. We are here in recognition of the one hundredth anniversary of an event which doubled the area of the young American nation, and dedicated a new and wide domain of American progress and achievement. The treaty whose completion we to-day commemorate was itself a prophecy of our youthful nation's mighty growth and development. At its birth prophets in waiting joyously foretold the happiness which its future promised. He who was the chief actor in the United States in its negotiations, as he signed the perfected instrument, thus declared its effect and far-reaching consequences: "The instrument which we have just signed will cause no tears to be shed. It prepares ages of happiness for innumerable generations of human creatures. The Mississippi and the Missouri will see them succeed one another, truly worthy of the regard and care of Providence in the bosom of equality under just laws, freed from the errors of superstition and the scourges of bad government."

He who represented the nation with whom we negotiated, when he afterwards gave to the world his account of the transactions, declared: "The consequences of the cession of Louisiana will extend to the most distant posterity. It interests vast regions that will become by their civilization and power the rivals of Europe before another century commences," and warmed to enthusiasm by the developments already in view and greater ones promised, he added: "Who can contemplate without vivid emotion this spectacle of the happiness of the present generation and the certain pledges of the prosperity of numberless generations that will follow? At these magnificent prospects the heart beats with joy in the breasts of those who were permitted to see the dawn of these bright days, and who are assured that so many happy presages will be accomplished."

There was another prophet, greater than all—prophet and priest—who, higher up the mountain than others, heard more distinctly the voice of destiny, whose heart and soul were full of prophecy and whose every faculty was tense and strong as he wrought for our nation's advancement and for the peace and contentment of his fellow-countryman. From the fullness of gratitude and joy, he thus wrote to one who had assisted in the consummation of this great treaty:

"For myself and my country, I thank you for the aid you have given in it; and I congratulate you on having lived to give these aids in a transaction replete with blessings to unborn millions of men, and which will mark the face of a portion of the globe so extensive as that which now composes the United States of America;" and when, as President, he gave notice in a message to Congress of the actual occupancy by the Government of its new acquisition, he happily presaged the future and gave assurance of his complete faith and confidence in the beneficent result of our nation's extensions, in these words: "On this important acquisition, so favorable to the immediate interests of our western citizens, so auspicious to the peace and security of the nation in general, which adds to our country territories so extensive and fertile and to our citizens new brethren to partake of the blessings of freedom and self-government, I offer Congress and our country my sincere congratulations."

Our prophets do not live forever. They are not here to see how stupendously the growth and development of the American nation, or the domain newly acquired in their day, have, during a short century, outrun their anticipations and predictions.

Almost within the limits of the territory gained by the

Louisiana purchase, we have already carved out twelve great

States, leaving still a large residue whose occupants are even

now loudly clamoring for statehood.

Instead of the 50,000 white settlers who occupied this domain in 1803, it now contains 15,000,000 of industrious, enterprising, intelligent Americans, constituting about one-fifth of the population of all our States; and these are defiantly contesting for premiership in wealth and material success with the oldest of our States, and are their equals in every phase of advanced intelligence and refined civilization.

The States which composed the Union when its possessions were so greatly extended have since that time seen the center of the nation's population carried more than 500 miles westward by the swift and constant current of settlement toward this new domain; and the citizens of these States have been flocking thither, "new brethren to partake of the blessings of freedom and self-government," in multitudes greater than even Jefferson would have dared to foretell.

I shall not enter the field of statistics for the purpose of giving details of the development of the territory acquired under the treaty we commemorate. I have referred to such development in some of its general features by way of suggesting how distinctly the century just ended gives assurance of a startling and superabundant final fulfillment of the prophecies of its beginners.

The supreme importance of the Louisiana purchase and its value as a national accomplishment, when seen in the incidents of its short history and in the light of its present and prospective effects, and judged solely by its palpable and independent merits, can not be better characterized than by the adoption of the following language from the pen of a brilliant American historian: "The annexation of Louisiana was an event so portentious as to defy measurement. It gave a new face to politics and ranked in historical importance next to the Declaration of Independence and the adoption of the Constitution, events of which it was the logical outcome. But as a matter of diplomacy it was unparalleled because it cost almost nothing."

How fitting on every ground it is that the centennial of this stupendous event should be joyously and appropriately celebrated; and that it should be celebrated here in the most populous of the States created from the territory which the Louisiana purchase gave to us. And how in keeping it is with the character of this acquisition and with its purpose and mission that our celebration should not waste itself on the pomp and pageantry that belongs to the triumphs and spoils of war, or to the rapacious dispossessions of ruthless conquest. Every feature of our celebration should remind us that we memorialize a peaceful acquisition of territory for truly American uses and purposes; and we should rejoice not only because this acquisition immediately gave peace and contentment to the spirited and determined American settlers who demanded an outlet of trade to the sea, but also because it provided homes and means of livelihood for the millions of new Americans whose coming tread fell upon the ears of the expectant fathers of the Republic, and whose stout hearts and brawny arms wrought the miracles which our celebration should interpret.

We are here at this hour to dedicate beautiful and stately edifices to the purposes of our commemoration, but as we do this let us remember that the soil whereon we stand was a century ago dedicated to the genius of American industry and thrift. For every reason, nothing could be more appropriate as an important part of the centennial commemoration we have undertaken than the gathering together on this spot of the things that are characteristic of American effort and which tell the story of American achievement; and how happily will this be supplemented and crowned by the generous, magnanimous, and instructive contributions from other and older lands, which, standing side by side with our exhibits, shall manifest the high and friendly regard our Republic has gained among the governments of the earth, and shall demonstrate how greatly advancing civilization has fostered and stimulated the brotherhood of nations.

I can not, however, rid myself of the feeling that the inspiration and value attending such an exposition may be anticipated and increased if on this dedicatory occasion we promote appropriate reflections by a retrospection of some of the incidents which accompanied the event we celebrate.

We all know that long before the negotiations of the treaty of 1803 our Government had a keen appreciation of the importance to American settlers in the valley of the Mississippi of an arrangement permitting their products to be deposited and exported at the entrance of that river to the sea. It will be remembered that this need of our settlers had been met in a limited and not altogether secure manner by a treaty with Spain, allowing such deposits and exports to be made at the city of New Orleans. This privilege was entirely withdrawn in October, 1792, the territory appurtenant to such privilege having been in the meantime transferred to France. The situation thus created was extremely delicate. There was presented to the Government on the one hand the injury to western settlers through the loss of their trading outlet, and on the other the perplexing question of affording them relief by means of diplomatic agreement, or in some other method. The abandonment of our settlers to their disheartening fate was of course not contemplated.

It can not be denied that the conditions plainly pointed to cautious and deliberate negotiations as the way of prudence and safety. It very soon became apparent, however, that delay and too much deliberation did not suit the temper and spirit of sturdy Americans chafing under a sense of wrong and convinced that they were entitled to prompt assistance. The inhabitants of our territory bounding on the east side of the Mississippi, in a memorial addressed to the President, Senate, and House of Representatives, after reciting their discouraging conditions and expressing their faith in the Government's disposition to extend the necessary aid, closed their memorial with these significant words: "And so far as may depend on ourselves, we tender to our country our lives and fortunes in support of such measures as Congress may deem necessary to vindicate the honor and protect the interests of the United States."

The settlers in the States "west of the Allegheny Mountains" also, in a memorial to the Government, clearly indicated their impatience and readiness for extreme action, declared that prompt and decisive measures were necessary, and referred to the maxim that protection and allegiance are reciprocal as being particularly applicable to their situation. They concluded their statement with these solemn words: "Without interfering in the measures that have been adopted to bring about the amicable arrangement of a difference which has grown out of the gratuitous violation of a solemn treaty, they desire that the United States may explicitly understand that their condition is critical; that the delay of a single season would be ruinous to their country, and that an imperious necessity may consequently oblige them, if they receive no aid, to adopt themselves the measures that may appear to them calculated to protect their commerce, even though those measures should produce consequences unfavorable to the harmony of the Confederacy."

These representations emphasized the apprehension of those charged with governmental affairs that the course of deliberate caution and waiting, which up to that time had appeared to be the only one permissible, might be insufficient to meet the situation, and that whatever the result might be, a more pronounced position and more urgent action should be entered upon. President Jefferson wrote to a friend on the 1st of February, 1803: "Our circumstances are so imperious as to admit of no delay as to our course, and the use of the Mississippi so indispensible that we can not hesitate one moment to hazard our existence for its maintenance." He appointed an additional envoy to cooperate with our representative already at the French capital in an attempt to obtain a concession that would cure the difficulty, and, in a communication to him, after referring to the excitement caused by the withdrawal of the right of deposit, he thus characterizes the condition which he believed confronted the nation: "On the event of this mission depend the future destinies of this Republic. If we can not by a purchase of the country insure to ourselves a course of perpetual peace and friendship of all nations, then, as war can not be far distant, it behooves us immediately to be preparing for that course, though not hastening it."

I have not recited these details for the purpose of claiming that this accelerated speed and advanced position on the part of our Government had any important effect in hastening final results. I have thought it not amiss, however, to call attention to the fact that a century ago the people of this country were not seeking to gain governmental benefit by clandestine approach and cunning pretense, but were apt to plainly present their wants and grievances, and to openly demand such consideration and care from the General Government as was their due under the mandate of popular rule, and that in making their demands they relied on the mutual obligation of the relationship between the governed and those invested with authority, and invoked the reciprocity in political duty which enjoins that for the people's obedience and support of government, there shall be given in exchange, by the Government to the people, defense of their personal rights and the assurance that in safety and peace they shall surely reap the fruits of their enterprise and labor.

It may also be well to note the efficacy of the people's call upon the Government in those early days, and how quickly the response came; not by yielding to gusts of popular whim and caprice; not by conferring benefits upon the few at the expense of the many; but by a quick observation of the fact that the withdrawal of certain rightful privilege by another nation from American settlers had caused them distress, and by a prompt determination to relieve their distress, even if the unwelcome visage of war frowned in opposition.

Another incident which, it seems to me, we may recall to-day with profit and satisfaction, grew out of the conduct of the President when the treaty of 1803 had been formulated and was returned to him for ratification and final completion. He was, as is well known, originally quite firm in his belief that the Constitution as it stood did not authorize such an extension of our limits by purchase as the treaty for the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory contemplated. Holding this opinion, and at the same time confronted with the clear conviction that the treaty, with all its stupendous advantages, could not be allowed to fail without positive peril, if not to our national life, at least to its most vital object and aspirations, his perplexity was increased by the receipt of an authoritative intimation that any delay in final action on the treaty might open the way to a recession on the part of France. In these circumstances, not daring to risk the delay of an amendment to the Constitution prior to such final action, he proposed reconciling consistency with duty by procuring confirmation of the treaty by the Senate and compassing its unquestionable validation by a subsequent constitutional amendment.

In view of the conclusive statement, since that time of this constitutional question by every branch of the Government against Mr. Jefferson's original opinion and in favor of the nation's power to acquire territory, as was done under the treaty of 1803, and considering the fact that we have since that time immensely increased our area by the acquisition, not only of neighboring territory, but of distant islands of the sea, separated by thousands of miles from our home domain, we may be inclined to think lightly of President Jefferson's scruples concerning the acquisition of lands, not only next adjacent to us, but indisputably necessary to our peace and development.

There were wise men near our President in 1803 who differed with him touching the nation's power to acquire new territory under the original provisions of the Constitution; and these men did not fail to make known their dissent. Moreover, in the Senate, to which the treaty was submitted for confirmation, there was an able discussion of its constitutional validity and effectiveness. The judgment of that body on this phase of the subject was emphatically declared, when out of 31 votes 24 were cast in favor of confirmation. An amendment to the Constitution was afterwards presented to Congress, but its first appearance was its last. It does not appear that the President interested himself in its fate, and it died at the moment of introduction.

While in this day and generation we may wonder at the doubts which so perplexed Jefferson in 1803 and at his estimate of the limitation of our fundamental law, and may be startled when we reflect that if they had been allowed to control his action we might have lost the greatest national opportunity which has been presented to our people since the adoption of the Constitution, we can not fail at the same time to be profoundly grateful that these doubts and this estimate were those of a man sincere enough and patriotic enough to listen to wise and able counselors and to give his country the benefit of his admission of the fallibility of his judgment.

Thomas Jefferson never furnished better evidence of his greatness than when, just before the submission of the treaty to the Senate, he wrote to a distinguished Senator who differed with him on this question: "I confess that I think it important in the present case to set an example against broad construction by appealing for new power to the people. If, however, our friends shall think differently, certainly I shall acquiesce with satisfaction, confiding that the good sense of our country will correct the evil of construction when it shall produce ill effects."

A recent writer on American diplomacy, who is not suspected of partiality for Jeffersonian political doctrine, gave in strong and graceful terms a good reason for our gratitude to-day, when, in referring to this subject, he wrote: "It was fortunate for the future of America that we had at the head of affairs a man of such broad views of our country's future. A less able President, with the same views as entertained by Jefferson as to the constitutionality of the measure would have put aside the opportunity. Jefferson put aside his preconceived views as to the fundamental law; or subordinated them to the will of the nation and welcomed the opportunity to open up the continent to the expansion of American democracy and free institutions."

We are glad at this hour that Jefferson was wrong in his adverse construction of the Constitution and glad that he was liberal minded enough to see that he might be wrong. And yet may we not profitably pause here long enough to contrast in our thoughts the careful and reverent manner in which the restrictions of our fundamental law were scrutinized a hundred years ago with the tendency often seen in later times to flippantly attempt the adjustment of our Constitution to the purposes of interest and convenience?

In conclusion, I hope I may be permitted to suggest that our thoughts and surroundings on this occasion should lead us to humble recognition of the providence of God in all that has made us a great nation. From our beginning as a people our course has been marked by concurrences and incidents so striking, so significant and so constant, that only superstitious dullness or intellectual blindness will place them to the credit of luck or chance.

In the midst of our rejoicing to-day it is peculiarly fitting that we recall with soberness and meekness some of the happiness in connection with the great event we celebrate, which impressively illustrate the interposition of Divine Providence in our behalf. We sought from a nation ruled by one whose ambition was boundless and whose scheme for aggrandizement knew neither the obligations of public morality nor the restraints of good faith, the free navigation of the Mississippi River, and such insignificant territory as would make such navigation useful. While our efforts toward the accomplishment of this slight result languished and were fast assuming a hopeless condition, the autocrat of France suddenly commanded one of his ministers to enter into negotiations with our waiting and dispirited representatives and exclaimed: "I renounce Louisiana. It is not only New Orleans I cede. It is the whole colony without reserve."

It was only nineteen days thereafter that the treaty transferring to us the magnificent domain comprised within the Louisiana Purchase was concluded.

This astonishing change in our prospects, which dissipated the fears and apprehensions of our Government and revived the promise of our perpetuity and happy destiny, came at the very moment that Bonaparte was organizing a force to occupy the Louisiana Territory in the prosecution of colonial occupation and development, which, if consummated, would probably have closed the door even to the slight acquisition which we originally sought. The French colony of Santo Domingo was, however, a prime factor in this scheme of occupation, and it was essential to its success that this colony and Louisiana should both be included and should supplement each other. A serious revolt then raging in Santo Domingo delaying proceedings, the occupation of Louisiana was postponed until this revolt should be overcome. The troops sent from France to accomplish this apparently easy task were so stubbornly resisted by hundreds of thousands of freed blacks fighting against their reenslavement, and they suffered so terribly from climatic conditions and deadly fever, that after the sacrifice of 25,000 soldiers, many of whom were intended for the subsequent occupation of Louisiana, Bonaparte's plan for the occupation of both colonies miscarried. The disappointment and the conception of new schemes of war and conquest by the restless dictator of France, and his need of money to carry out these schemes, were controlling circumstances in leading him to throw in our lap the entire Louisiana Territory. None of these circumstances were within our procurement or knowledge; but who shall say that God was not accomplishing His designs in our behalf amid the turmoil and distressing scenes of Santo Domingo's revolt? And how can it be said that there was no Providence in the unexpected unyielding and successful fight for continued freedom on the part of the negroes of Santo Domingo, or in the fatal pestilence that vied with bloody warfare in the destruction of the army of subjugation, or in the fever of war and aggression which heated the blood of Bonaparte, all combining to turn him away from the occupation of the Louisiana Territory? All these things, so remote and so far out of sight, pointed with the coercion that belongs to the decrees of God to a consummation which restored to our people peace and contentment, and secured to our nation extension and development beyond the dreams of our fathers.

Thus we may well recall in these surroundings the wonderful measure of prophecy's fulfillment within the span of a short century, the spirit, the patriotism, and the civic virtue of Americans who lived a hundred years ago, and God's overruling of the wrath of man and His devious ways for the blessing of our nation.

We are all proud of our American citizenship. Let us leave this place with this feeling stimulated by the sentiments born of the occasion. Let us appreciate more keenly than ever how vitally necessary it is to our country's weal that everyone within its citizenship should be clean minded in political aim and aspiration, sincere and honest in his conception of our country's mission, and aroused to higher and more responsive patriotism by the reflection that it is a solemn thing to belong to a people favored of God.

Eighth. "America," with full chorus and band accompaniment.

Ninth. Prayer by Bishop E.R. Hendrix:

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we devoutly thank and worship Thee, the Author of our being, and the gracious source of all our blessings. We are because Thou art; and Thou hast made us in Thy image capable of fellowship with Thee and delighting in a fellowship with one another as we resemble Thee. Thou hast given us our reason and the power of cooperation with one another in all worthy ends looking to the well-being of our race. Civilization with its conquests over the material world is possible only with Thy aid. Christianity with its conquests over evil is the work of God and man, as Thou dost call us to be Thy fellow-workers and dost inspire us with courage and faith.

This wonderful achievement of human effort and skill which we dedicate this day is possible only by Thy help and as we have imitated Thy example. Thou art the great Architect and Builder. Thou art the great Mathematician and Engineer. Thou art the great Chemist and Electrician. Thou art the great Thinker and Artist. Our works are but pale and feeble copies of Thine, and are possible only because Thou workest until now and dost bless our works. The uniformity of Thy laws bids us work in confidence, and the unity of nature bids us work intelligently, because we work with Thee. We praise Thee for thy growing confidence in man, as Thou dost place in his hand the keys of every laboratory and dost trust him with the secrets of nature that have been hid from the foundation of the world. Again Thou dost give man dominion, whether in science, or art, or government, nor wilt Thou remove his scepter if he wield it for the betterment of his kind and for Thy glory. As the high priest and interpreter of nature may he prove worthy of his great trust.

We thank Thee for this great exposition, whose stately and noble exterior gives promise of being the home of a mighty spirit of worldwide fellowship of the nations. It is not only another milestone of progress, it is a timekeeper of civilization. We thank Thee for the pioneers and the prophets, the statesmen and the patriots who secured for us this great inheritance, and for their sons who have cultivated and developed it. Help us that we may realize the high ideals of our fathers who sought to establish and maintain good and righteous government, and to reap the harvests of patient industry. May no evil occurrence mar the happiness and good will which we invoke for the council of nations which shall here be held. May the commerce of ideas no less than of products be borne by favoring tides around the globe. To this end we implore Thy blessings upon the rulers of the nations of the earth which may be presented here. Grant peace in our time, O Lord, and may the victories of peace abound.

And now, O Lord, our God, we dedicate to Thee and to the welfare of our common humanity these buildings and grounds which Thy providence has made possible. Bless with Thy presence and favor this great festival of the nations that it may help to make stronger the bonds of human brotherhood in all the world. And all this we ask in the name of Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Tenth. Benediction by Right Rev. Henry C. Potter:

May the blessing of the Lord God Almighty, without whom all our labor is but vain, rest upon this work, and all who are or shall be engaged in it.

May He take these buildings under His gracious keeping and crown this great undertaking with His enduring favor, making it the school of truth and beauty and so a revelation of His infinite mind working and through the mind of man. And to Him be glory and honor and power now and always.

The Lord bless us and keep us; the Lord make His face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us; the Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon us and give to us and to all the people of this land peace, purity, and prosperity, both now and forevermore. Amen.

Eleventh. Centennial salute of 100 guns.

At 8 o'clock p. m. a grand pyrotechnic display took place on the open grounds south of the Administration Building.