Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-11-14
PUBLIC LEDGER.
lz7e-ls7e.

10 1871, an act was passed TO provide LOT
celebrating the one hundredth anniyer-
sary ofIndependence by holding an In
ternational Exhibition at Philadelphia,
in the year 1876. Under its provisions
T the President appointed a delegate from
each State and Territory to constitute a
Centennial Commission to prepare and
superintend the execution of plan for
holding The exhibition. The commission
metin Philadelphia March 4, 1871, and
proceeded to the preliminary work of
electing officers, appointing committees,
and laying off the work before them.
6 Another meeting was held in May, with
an increase of members and determine
ton, It was resolved not to apply for
State or national aid, but to rely upon
the popular appreciation Of their great
undertaking, and to place it on the bus
mess footing of any private enterprise
the commission to have no pecuniary adj
vantage. At the suggestion of the com
mission, Congress passed an act creating
o aCentennial Board Of Finance"
which, as a corporation under the di-
rection of the commission, is empowered
TO secure subscriptions Of capital stock
to an smount not exceeding ten
million dollars, divided into shares
Of ten dollars each. Books will be
opsned hy. the commission for period
Of one hundred days, giving the citizens
Of each STATE and Territory an oppor-
tdnity to subscribe for stock, to an
amount not exceeding its quota, accord
ing to population. The stockholders
will afterward assemble and elect TWEEN
ty-fve directors, and these in turn elect
President and other officers, and adopt
the necessary bylaws and regulations.
The Centennial Board Of Finance is
authorized to Issue bonds not in excess
of capital stock, and secure payment
Of the same by mortgage upon property
and prospective income. No pecuniary
liability whatever is assumed by the
United States, and nothing in the act
shall be construed to override any State
laws The last act was passed the hrst
+. Of June, 1872. The commission has
provided that the Exposition shall be
held in Paramount Park, opening April
10, 1876. and closing October 10. there
after. Every nation Of the earth will be
invited to participate, and the privilege
of exhibition viii be restricted to ma
tions so accepting. Applications :or
space in the Exposition to be made by
all prior to the l4th Of March, 1915. A
comprehensive system for the arrange
ment and classification Of the Exposi-
ton was adopted, and an address has
been issued to the various Legislatures
and to the people. The commission
meets in Philadelphia again on the first
Wednesday in December, 1872. This is
an outline Of what has been done so far,
Hon. Thomas H. Caldwell. of Shelby
vile, is commissioner, and William +.
Prosser, alternate, for Tennessee. The
Exposition will be purely national in
character, every State being represented
in the commission and expected to take
its quota Of stock. Similar exhibitions
in this country aud in Europe, though
on smaller scale, have nearly always
been pecuniary success. The Worlds
Fair, at London in 1851, realized in re-
turns nearly double the amount OF out
lay, and the Worlds Fair, at New York
in 1858, was scarcely less profitable to
the stockholders The address Of the
commission issued to the people closes
as followss l
Confidently relying on the zeal and
patriotism ever displayed by our people
in every national undertaking, we pledge
and prophecy that the Centennial cele'
braiion will worthily show how great
ness, wealth and intelligence can be
fostered BY such institutions as those
which have for one hundred years
blessed the people of the United States.
49,
THR TPIZQOTIC