The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-06-13
HALIFAX C. H, VI, June 0. 1s7s

/
meeting Of the Radical CImb f,ot RsnuI,,a
CAM of that city," and make Of il Am oe..,.
sion to speak In uncompl,mentary terms ri
the proposed Centennial Exhih,t;o,, ,,,,,d
consequently Of the Centennial Commissn,,
| am u member of the. Commission. and /
have Alright to be heard in reply.
| The Press, of Philadelphi.. must ara
aouotiess VIII take care Of her reputation,
l certainty have no defence to make for ant
radical Club (not Republican,, or people.
whether IN Philadelphia or elsewhere I
peiieFe, though, that the club whose pro-
ceedinss you quote is composed OF negroes
| Sertaln II Is, however, that the United States
| COMMISSION will never recognize any race
inhaDltlhg This country, as q race, and in
| we tnem. TO participate in the great Exhibit
| tion " 1876; and it recognizes nothing less
than States and Territories. Under the act
oil Congress creating the Commission. NOT
even The great cities can demand or be ac-
corded space In the buildings or proceed
lngs. They must come in, if at all, under
the flag of the State in which they are, stu
ate, and under the direction and control of
the State Commissioner, who in turn is d.
reeted and controlled by the National Com
mission. s.aJ
The United States Centennial Commission
was organized little more than year ago
under aud by authority of an act of Con
gress, approved March 9, 1871, and entitled
Ian act to provide for celebrating the one
hunaredth anniversary of American indie
pendence by holding an international Exhi:
| oItlon OF arts, manufactures, and products of
the soil and mine in the city OF Philadelphia.
and State Of PENNSYLVANIA. in the year eigh-
teen hundred and seventy-six." The first
i IF fhesn mob
en- exhibition OF American and foreign arts,
products, ami manufactures shall BIZ held,
under the auspices of the Government of the
United States, in the city of Phiadelphia.
in the year eighteen hundred and seventy
six" The second, third, and fnmth see.
tons provide for the appointment of one
commissioner and one alternate commi;-
| Sioner from each state and Territory "by
the President of the United States on the
nomination of the Governors of the States
and Territories respectively thus compos-
ing commission truly national, "whose,
functions shall continue until the close of
the exhibition f.
You say that the city of Philadelphia :. is
now trying so hard TO humbug the people of
the whole world into spending million or
two of dollars within its limits in tie year
1876 rs spectators and participants in a
grand National Centennial Celebration of the
Adoption OF the Declaration of Indepen.
dence." The extracts from the act herein
quoted conclusively show that the city Of
Philadelphia has. aud can baye, nothing b,
do with the Centennial Exhibition, save that
the great buildings TO contain the articles
exhibited will be located in her beautiful
palk, four hundred and fifty acres of which
sh, has generously rendered for the purpose
| II is true thai Philadelphia hotel, store, and
lshopkecpers generally will doubtless re;tl
more pecuhiary reward from the exhibition
; Than any other people. but that is an inci.
; dent in>eparahlc from the place OF the gath
: eriDg together Of amy large number of PEG.
pie. As we'll might the people of Virginia
: have refused to attend The last annual State
Fair ut Richmond, and with fully rs much
propriety could you have assailed the great
Baptist Memorial Celebration which was re.
Gently held there. Richmond shop, hotel
!, aud storekecpers doubtless picked up many
dollar from the visitors to each, anu Rich.
mopd is II city having i'll proportion to her
; population fully Us many Radical aud Re
publican clubs and people, both white and
black. dfihe Richmond Conservative papers
tell the truth, which do not doubt,J in
) favor of social equality as has Philade]phia
or any othcrc city Oh this continent, With. pos.
-ihIy. the exception of the chief city of South
Carolina.
But why do YOU say that the city OF fhiu.
| deIpha is trying hard to bumbug the people
of The whole world into spending million
or two Of dollars there, &c.! Why llse the
!, term {" humbug" at all which, to say the
. least of it, is not a refined one. Did Rich
mond humbug the people of Virginia into
J spending large sum of money there at the
) last State Fair? Did she humbug the visit
orS to and participants in the great Baptist
Memorial Celebration 1t seems TO Inc that
in either celebration It would have been
grossly wrong and unjust for any paper to
have assailed the one OF the other because oil
the location. If there was any humbugglpg
as a,s L Was DELIBERATIONS and the organza-
I tions thew belonged to should bear the
blame. if any. And so in the case OF the
I great Centennial Eyhibition-if there Is any
humbugging ia the matter it has been done
not by Philadelphia. but by the. United
States Centennial Commission, with whose
i every act no paper in Virginia OF stiincient
importance to have an eXchinge list has any
excuse for being unfamiliar. The tommis'
| sion is amenable to criticism.
| Since its organization, the United States
Centennial Commission has. without one
dollar Of compensation, performed almost
beruIean labors 1t has raised more thar
80 OOs 900, only two hundred OF which |:
I subscribed .hy Eirginians lone hundred OF
i the two was subscribed by John s. Barbour
ESQ, and the other hundred by General FL
II II, Hurt. of Halifax county. II is now pro
ceediug to obtain further subscriptions, th,
minimum estimate of cost at the exhibition
being $4,000, 900. 1t has commenced tht
preparation of the beautiful site, 10 gene
rou,ly donated by the city OF Philadelphia
it has offered large premiums for pluns o
Exhibition buildings, open to the competi
? ton of all the architects of the world, ant
on the 18th Of the ensuing mouth the plan
will all be in the Office of the Commission a
, Philadelphia. It has its agents abroad, u
: Vieuna and elsewhere, aud throughout tht
5 United S,a.es, soliciting articles for eXbibi
tioa. 1t has under anxious discussion {
: plan, rapidly maturing, for bringing to th'
Z exhibition all that is worth seeing in India
: China, Japan, Persia, and Rounania. Tht
slorehonScs OF the fabulous Fast will be laiC
, under contribution, and cmpticd Of whatever
can add to the attrac,ireness of. the great cN
| hibilion to be held 10 the great West. L
/ will soon become the duty CT the President
+ of the United States to issue his proclama
tfion, through the Department Of State, ;iu
| nouncing that - provision bias been made fol
the erection of suitable buildings and for tht
c.cclusice control by the Commission" OF the
/ exhibition. The same proclamation will gel
forth " the time OF the opening Of the exit
bilion and the place where it will be held:
!" And he slulll furnish to the diplomatic &c
representatives. of all nations copies OF tbt
sinr together with such regulations as may
/ be adonted by the Commission for pubiica'
, finn in their respective countries.