New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-11-21
An Address by the United States
Centennial Commissions.
To tie People Of The United States:

| 10 he Ieopte 81 The United States
The Congress of the United States has e.
acted that the completion of the One Hun
| dredth Y ear of American Independence shall
be celebrated by an International Exhibition
of the Arts, Manufactures, and the Products
of the soil and mine, to be held at Philadel-
phia, in 1876, and has appointed n Commits
sion, consisting of representatives from each
State and Territory, to conduct the celebra-
| ton.
| Originating under the auspices of the Ma
| tiOnal Legislature, controlled by National
| Commission, and designed as it is to "Com-
memorate the first Century of our existence,
| by an Exhibition of the Natural resources of
the Country and their development, and of
| our progress in those Arts which benefit man.
kind, in comparison with those of older Ma
| TONS" it is to the people at large that the
Commission look for the aid which is neces-
sary to make the Centennial Celebration the
grandest anniversary the world has ever seem
That the completion of the first century of
our existence should be marked by some i'm
posing demonstration is, we believe, the pa
triotic wish of the people of the whole country.
The Congress of the United States has wisely
decided that the Birthday of the Great Re-
public can be most iittingly celebrated by the
universal collection and display of all the tro-
plies of its progress. 1t is designed to bring
together, within a building covering fifty acres,
not only the varied productions of our mines
and of the soil, but types of all the intellect
ual triumphs of our citizens, specimens of
everything that America can furnish, whether
from the brains or the hands of her children,
and thus make evident to the world the adj
vancement of which a self-governed people is
capable.
In this "Celebration all nations will be
invited to participate; its character being In
transitional Europn will dicOloy bar ortc op6
manufactures, India her curious fabrics, while
newly opened China and Japan will lay bare
the treasures which for centuries their ingen-
ious people have been pertecting Each land
will compete in generous rivalry for the palm
of superior excellence.
To this grand gathering every zone will
contribute its fruits and cereals. No mineral
shall be wanting; for what the East lacks
the West will supply. Under one roof will
the South display in rich luXuriance her
growing cotton, and the North in miniature,
the ceaseless machinery of her mills convert
ing that cotton into cloth. Each section of
the globe will send its best offerings to this
exhibition, and each State of the Union, as
member of one united body polite, will
show to her sister States and to the world,
how much she can add to the greatness of
the nation of which she is q harmonious
part.
To make the Centennial Celebration such
a success as the patriotism and the pride of
every American demand will require the
cooperation of the people of the whole coun-
try. The United States Centennial Com
mission has received no Government aid,
such as England extended to her Worlds
Fair, and France to her Universal EXPOSE
ton, yet the labor and responsibility imposed
upon the Commission is as great as in either
of those undertakings. 1t is estimated that
ten millions of dollars will be required, and
this sum Congress has provided shall be
raised by stock subscription, and that the
people shall have the opportunity of sub
scribing in proportion to the population of
their respective States and Territories.
The Commission looks to the unfailing
patriotism of the people of every section, to
| see that each contributes its share to the
expenses, and receives its share of the bene-
| fits of an enterprise in which all are so deeply
| interested. 1t would further earnestly urge
the formation in each State and Territory of
centennial organization, which shall in
| time see that county associations arc formed,
so that when the nations are gathered to-
gether in 1876 each Commonwealth can view
with pride the contributions she has made to
the national glory.
Confidently relying on the zeal and patri-
otism ever displayed by our people in every
national undertaking, we pledge andprophesy
that the Centennial Celebration will worthily
| show how greatness, wealth, and intelligence
can be fostered by such institutions as those
which have for one hundred years blessed
the people of the United States.
JOSEPH II. HAwLEY,
President.
LEWIS WALN SMITH,
TemDOrary Secretary.