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NEW YORK AT THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION - ST. LOUIS 1904
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NEW YORK AT THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION - ST. LOUIS 1904

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NEW YORK AT THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION - ST. LOUIS 1904

DELANCEY M. ELLIS

1907

[ILLUSTRATION]

REPORT

ALBANY N.Y. _March_ 25 1907

Hon. CHARLES E. HUGHES _Governor_:

DEAR SIR.--We beg to submit herewith in accordance
with the provisions of the statute the final report of the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission of the State
of New York.

Very respectfully

EDWARD H. HARRIMAN
LOUIS STERN
EDWARD LYMAN BILL
WILLIAM BERRI
FREDERICK R. GREEN
LEWIS NIXON
JOHN C. WOODBURY
FRANK S. McGRAW
JOHN K. STEWART
JAMES H. CALLANAN
JOHN YOUNG
MRS. NORMAN E. MACK

CHARLES A. BALL

_Secretary and Chief Executive Officer_

[Transcriber's note: Certain cross-references originally appearing as
"See page N" have been changed to refer to chapter and section
instead.]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter

1. Introduction and historical sketch

2. Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission State of New York

3. New York State Building

4. Functions held in the New York State Building

5. Dedication Day

6. New York State Week

7. Brooklyn Day

8. Thanksgiving Day

9. Educational exhibit and schedule of awards

10. Fine arts exhibit and schedule of awards

11. Agriculture and live stock exhibit and schedule of awards

12. Horticulture exhibit and schedule of awards

13. Forest fish and game exhibit and schedule of awards

14. Mines and metallurgy exhibit and schedule of awards

15. Social economy exhibit and schedule of awards

16. Financial statement

Table of Full Page Illustrations
[this table did not appear in the original book]

Frontispiece: HONORABLE BENJAMIN B. ODELL JR. GOVERNOR 1901-1904

Page
8 FESTIVAL HALL AND GRAND BASIN
15 EDWARD H. HARRIMAN PRESIDENT NEW YORK STATE COMMISSION
25 WILLIAM BERRI VICE PRESIDENT NEW YORK STATE COMMISSION
35 EDWARD LYMAN BILL TREASURER NEW YORK STATE COMMISSION
45* LOUIS STERN CHAIRMAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NEW YORK STATE
COMMISSION
50 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT BUILDING
59 NEW YORK STATE BUILDING
71* JOHN K. STEWART NEW YORK STATE COMMISSIONER
80 NEW YORK STATE BUILDING MAIN ENTRANCE
87* JAMES H. CALLANAN NEW YORK STATE COMMISSIONER
95 NEW YORK STATE BUILDING ASSEMBLY HALL
104 APOTHESIS OF ST. LOUIS (NIEHAUS)
109* LEWIS NIXON NEW YORK STATE COMMISSIONER
112 GERMAN PAVILION
121 NEW YORK STATE BUILDING ENTRANCE HALL
(See section "THE ARCHITECTURE" in chapter III)
126 EAST PAVILION AND CASCADE
133* JOHN C. WOODBURY NEW YORK STATE COMMISSIONER
145* FREDERICK R. GREEN NEW YORK STATE COMMISSIONER
155* FRANK S. McGRAW NEW YORK STATE COMMISSIONER
162 PALACE OF LIBERAL ARTS
171* JOHN YOUNG NEW YORK STATE COMMISSIONER
181 MRS. NORMAN E. MACK NEW YORK STATE COMMISSIONER
190 STATUE OF JOSEPH HENRY ELECTRICIAN (FLANAGAN)
195 CHARLES A. BALL SECRETARY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER NEW YORK
STATE COMMISSION
200 PALACE OF EDUCATION WEST ENTRANCE
207 EDUCATIONAL EXHIBIT
215 EDUCATIONAL EXHIBIT COMMON SCHOOL STATISTICS
227 EDUCATIONAL EXHIBIT FOURTH GRADE ALCOVE
239 EDUCATIONAL EXHIBIT TRADE SCHOOLS SPECIAL SCHOOLS BUSINESS
EDUCATION ALCOVE
250 "SHOOTING UP THE TOWN" (REMINGTON)
257 FESTIVAL HALL AND CASCADE GARDENS
267 DE LANCEY M. ELLIS Director of Education and Social Economy
CHARLES H. VICK Superintendent of Horticulture
CLARENCE LUCE Architect
J. H. DURKEE Superintendent of Agriculture and Live Stock
HARRY W. WATROUS Chairman Committee on Art
277 GRAND BASIN AND PALACE OF ELECTRICITY
284 FLORAL CLOCK AND AGRICULTURAL BUILDING
287 AGRICULTURE EXHIBIT DISPLAY OF VEGETABLES
301 AGRICULTURE EXHIBIT DISPLAY OF SEEDS
313 AGRICULTURE EXHIBIT
325 NEW YORK CITY BUILDING (See chapter VI)
337 EDUCATIONAL EXHIBIT FROM ENTRANCE (See section "THE
INSTALLATION" in chapter IX)
349 LOUISIANA PURCHASE MONUMENT PLAZA ST. LOUIS AND VARIED
INDUSTRIES BUILDING
360 GRAND BASIN BOAT LANDING
365 HORTICULTURE EXHIBIT
373 HORTICULTURE EXHIBIT DISPLAY OF GRAPES
385 HORTICULTURE EXHIBIT
397 EXHIBIT OF STATE INSTITUTIONS FOR JUVENILE DELINQUENTS
(see section "STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES" in chapter XV)
409 EXHIBIT OF BERTILLON AND FINGER PRINT SYSTEMS OF IDENTIFICATION
(see section "STATE DEPARTMENT OF PRISONS" in chapter XV)
421 MINES AND METALLURGY EXHIBIT SLATE MANTEL
(see section "SLATE" in chapter XIV)
427 FOREST FISH AND GAME EXHIBIT CAMP ADIRONDACK
436 APPROACH TO WEST PAVILION
445 FOREST FISH AND GAME EXHIBIT NATIVE BIRDS
457 FOREST FISH AND GAME EXHIBIT CAMP ADIRONDACK INTERIOR
(see section "ATTRACTIVE FEATURES" in chapter XIII)
470 PHYSICAL LIBERTY (MCNEIL)
477 MAGNETIC SEPARATOR WORKING ON NEW YORK ORES
487 MINES AND METALLURGY EXHIBIT
495 MINES AND METALLURGY LIBERAL ARTS AND LAGOON
500 MACHINERY BUILDING AND LAGOON
507 ANCIENT AND MODERN METHODS OF CARING FOR THE INSANE
515 EXHIBIT OF STATE DEPARTMENT OF PRISONS
(see section "STATE DEPARTMENT OF PRISONS" in chapter XV)
523 EXHIBIT OF STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES CARE OF DESTITUTE ADULTS
(see section "STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES" in chapter XV)
528 ON THE PIKE
535 EXHIBIT OF STATE COMMISSION IN LUNACY HOSPITALS FOR THE INSANE
(see section "STATE COMMISSION IN LUNACY" in chapter XV)

* These photographs are also labelled "Copyright 1903 [or 1904]
by Pirie MacDonald Photographer of Men N.Y."

CHAPTER I

Introduction and Historical Sketch

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

[ILLUSTRATION]

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held in the city of St. Louis in
1904 in commemoration of the acquisition in 1803 of the vast territory
west of the Mississippi then called Louisiana. The transfer is
generally regarded as one of the most important events in our national
history and stands on record as the greatest acquisition of territory
ever made by peaceful methods. An American historian of great prominence
says: "The annexation of Louisiana was an event so portentous 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."

The territory was ceded to France by Spain by the secret treaty of San
Ildefonso in 1800. This aroused to intense excitement the people of the
West who were inclined to give credit to the rumor that the army of
forty thousand men sent by Napoleon (who was responsible for the
negotiation of that treaty) were in reality to take military possession
of Louisiana and the Floridas instead of to suppress the insurrection in
San Domingo the ostensible object. France and England had been
struggling for many years for supremacy in the Western Continent and in
the possession of this vast territory Napoleon foresaw a prosperous New
France. But there were many complications arising at home. Important
political questions demanded attention and the great Napoleon soon
realized that he could not hope to cope successfully with the two great
problems lying at such a great distance apart.

NEGOTIATIONS FOR TRANSFER OF TERRITORY

At that time our country was interested in procuring possession of the
site of New Orleans and the free passage of the Mississippi river
forever for all American citizens and negotiations were opened for
their purchase by Thomas Jefferson author of the Declaration of
Independence and at that time third President of the United States.

During the negotiations Napoleon suggested the transfer of the whole
Louisiana territory and the transaction was brought to a most successful
conclusion the signers of the treaty being James Monroe Robert R.
Livingston and F.B. Marbois the representative of Napoleon. It was a
significant bargain. By it Napoleon formed closer bonds of friendship
between France and the United States and prevented any possibility of
the territory falling into the hands of Great Britain. He prophesied
that this Republic would eventually become a world power and a
commercial rival to England. How completely his prophecy was fulfilled.
Our country attained possession of a vast territory embracing more than
a million square miles an area greater than the combined areas of the
British Isles France Germany Spain Belgium the Netherlands and
Italy the consideration being a figure less than that representing the
value of a single square block in any one of our great cities or an
amount much smaller than has been yielded by any one of many mines
within the boundaries of the territory. Twelve flourishing states and
two territories have since been carved out of Louisiana and the center
of our population is rapidly moving towards that region which was once
known as the wilderness of the West.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON

It is a matter of the utmost gratification that the State of New York
played so important a part in this great event in the person of Robert
R. Livingston who was then United States Minister to France. Dr.
Livingston the title of LL.D. having been conferred upon him by the
University of the State of New York was one of the leading statesmen of
his day. A graduate of Kings (now Columbia) College he began his career
in the practice of law in New York city and was made Recorder of the
city in 1773. Elected to the Continental Congress in 1775 he was
appointed one of a committee of five to draft the Declaration of
Independence but enforced absence from Philadelphia made it impossible
for him to sign the document. He was soon after elected Chancellor of
the State of New York and as such administered the oath of office to
George Washington as first President of the United States. His previous
training in public affairs admirably fitted him for assuming the
important duties leading to the transfer of the Louisiana territory and
to him as much as to any individual belongs the credit for the
successful consummation of the transaction.

At the Exposition a handsome statue of Livingston by Lukemann was
erected in the Cascade Gardens on the approach to the West Pavilion.
Upon the front of the New York State Building appeared this legend:
"Robert R. Livingston of New York Minister to France 1801-1805
inaugurated the negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase and was the
first to sign the treaty."

ORIGIN OF THE EXPOSITION

The first action looking towards the commemoration of the Louisiana
Purchase was taken at a meeting of the Missouri Historical Society in
September 1898 when a committee of fifty citizens was appointed to
take the preliminary steps looking to the observance of the occasion.
This committee recommended the submission of the question to a
convention of delegates representing all the Louisiana Purchase states
and at this convention which was held at the Southern Hotel St. Louis
January 10 1899 it was decided to hold a World's Fair as the most
fitting commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the
acquisition of the Louisiana territory. An executive committee with the
Hon. David R. Francis as chairman was appointed to carry out the
undertaking and this committee determined that at least $15000000
the amount paid to France for the territory would be needed.

ACTION BY CONGRESS

Congress passed a bill in June 1900 carrying a provisional
appropriation of $5000000 and pledging governmental support if the
city of St. Louis raised $10000000. The people went to work with a
will and had raised $5000000 by popular subscription early in January
1901 and the following January thirtieth an ordinance was passed by the
St. Louis Municipal Assembly authorizing the issuance of $5000000 in
city bonds. On March twelfth President McKinley appointed a National
Commission of nine members and in August issued a proclamation inviting
all the nations of the world to participate in the Exposition. Owing to
labor difficulties and delay in securing construction material it soon
became evident that it would be impossible to hold the fair during the
year 1903 as originally planned. Legislation being necessary in order
to provide for the necessary postponement a bill was passed by Congress
and approved by President Roosevelt June 25 1902 authorizing the
holding of the fair in 1904 instead of 1903 as originally determined.

Beginning with the basic appropriation of $15000000 [Footnote: In the
winter of 1904 a bill was passed by Congress authorizing a Government
loan of $4600000 to the Exposition Company to be repaid in
instalments from the gate receipts. The loan was entirely canceled
early in November 1904.] as described above to which had been added
$1000000 appropriated by the State of Missouri the great enterprise
was projected on a $50000000 basis. It was planned to make the
universal Exposition at St. Louis the most comprehensive and wonderful
that the world had ever seen. How well its projectors succeeded is a
matter of recent history. How completely all previous expositions were
eclipsed has been told many times in picture and in print.

THE SITE

The site chosen for the Exposition included the western portion of
Forest Park one of the finest parks in the United States. Its naturally
rolling ground afforded many opportunities for effective vistas which
were quickly embraced by the Exposition Company's landscape artists.
Containing 1240 acres it was a tract approximately two miles long and
one mile wide.

The grounds might be said to have been divided into two general
sections the dividing line being Skinker road. To the east was the main
picture so called which was formed by the grouping of eight
magnificent exhibit palaces around Festival Hall the Colonnade of
States and Cascade Gardens.

THE MAIN PICTURE

Festival Hall stood upon a rise of ground well above the principal
exhibit palaces and its majestic dome surmounted by a gilded figure of
"Victory" the first "Victory" to take the form of a man was visible
from most any part of the grounds. The grouping of the exhibit palaces
was geometric in arrangement in shape like an open fan the ribs of the
fan being the waterways and plazas between which the exhibit palaces
were located.

THE ARCHITECTURE

The architecture while varied and in some instances striking was still
so modified as to make a most harmonious whole. For purity in
architecture the best example was the Palace of Education which was
built on the lines of the Italian Renaissance. For most striking
architectural effects the Mines and Metallurgy building was invariably
pointed out. It was of composite architecture comprising features of
the Egyptian Byzantine and Greek. The stately obelisks which guarded
its entrance ways and the bas-relief panels which formed its outer
facade were objects of universal interest.

To the southeast of the main group of buildings and gracefully
clustered among the trees were the state pavilions. Along the extreme
northern portion of the grounds for a mile stretched the amusement
highway known as the Pike.

OTHER FEATURES

To the west of Skinker road were located the Administration buildings
and with one or two exceptions the pavilions of foreign governments
the Agriculture and Horticulture buildings the Philippine Reservation
and the Department of Anthropology. The Intramural railroad seven miles
in length passed the principal points of interest and enabled visitors
to get about the grounds with speed and comfort.

To convert this great tract of land into a beautiful park with well-kept
roadways embellished with velvety lawns and magnificent flower beds
would seem to be a task greater than man could perform within the short
space of time available for the completion of the Exposition. That it
was done and well done is a matter of history.

PROCESSES AS WELL AS PRODUCTS

It was early determined that the great Fair should be one of processes
as well as of products; wherever possible there should be life and
motion; that the exhibits should answer the question "How is it done?"
as well as "What is it?" The result was that the Exposition became a
constantly changing scene of moving objects and an educational force
many times greater than any of its predecessors. The student of
Mechanics Electricity Pedagogy the Applied Arts and other kindred
subjects could obtain here within a limited area valuable data which
otherwise could only be collected at the expense of much time and
considerable money.

DEDICATION CEREMONIES

The formal dedication ceremonies covered three days beginning April 30
1903 the actual date of the Centennial Anniversary of the signing of
the treaty and one year previous to the opening of the Exposition. Our
commonwealth was fittingly represented at that time a special
appropriation of $50000 for the same having been made by the
Legislature. Governor Odell and staff State officers a joint committee
from the Legislature and the members of the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition Commission attended. There were also present a provisional
regiment of infantry of the National Guard under command of Colonel S.
M. Welch N.G. N.Y.; a provisional division of the Naval Militia under
command of Lieutenant E.M. Harman Second Battalion; and Squadron "A" of
New York under command of Major Oliver H. Bridgman.

THE FIRST DAY'S PROGRAM

The program for the first day consisted of a grand military parade in
the morning and exercises in the Liberal Arts building at two o'clock in
the afternoon followed by fireworks in the evening. The day was cold
and unpleasant and a chill wind blowing from the north caused visitors
to seek comfort in heavy wraps.

The Governor of the State of New York and her troops met with a
continuous ovation along the line of march of the great military parade
and from every side compliments and felicitations were bestowed upon the
State's representatives for so hearty and imposing a participation in an
event a thousand miles from home.

The occasion was graced by the presence of the President of the United
States Theodore Roosevelt and by ex-President Grover Cleveland both
of whom made extended remarks at the afternoon exercises.

ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT.

...



 
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