The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-03-06

I tel IN our DN t.i5 CAbG11ts va
riety and excelleRce CT her products.
It should be remembered the pro
posed exhibition is, by the act of con
gress authorizing it, invested with the
| character of a national celebration Oi
| the anniversary OF American indepen
| dence. and by the same authority has
been so proclaimed and commended to
| foreign nations by the president of the
| United States, and that the maximum
amount of capital to be raised was fixed
at 800, ,000, 900. It should be consid-
cred, to; the cost of labor and OF
material is greater In the United States
than in Europe. 1t is sumbitted, there
fore, that the amount to be apprOpria-
ted by congress should be proportional
with reference to these facts, and will.
Difference also to the degree .of aid
which experience has shown to be re-
quisite from the governments under
whose auspices the latest and most ex
tensive of such exhibitions have been
held. It is the desire of the commits
sion that " hatever appropriation is made
should be guarded by such wise pr0Vis-
ions, and administered under such gov
ernmental control as will insure its iu-
dicicus expenditure for the purposes
intended.
The recent almost unprecedented de-
preston in manufactures, trade and
finance, has interfered with the progress
of subscriptions to the stock of the cen
tennial board of finance and with the
payment of the iustallments due on
those already made. This state of af
fairs affords another imperative reason
for such action by congress as will pro-
vide sufficient aud timely appropria
tions to guarantee the success of the
national undertaking. Pennsylvania
stands pledged by an act of her legis-
lature for one million dollars, and the
city of Philadelphia for a half million,
to be expended upon a building to be
used by the commission as a gallery of
fine art, which building will be q very
imposing and beautiful addition to the
group, and will remain as a perpetual
memorial of the occasion. A copy of
the plans of this building is annexed
hereto.
The people of Pennsylvania, in addi-
ton to these state and municipal apprO-
priations, have subscribed to the stock
of the centennial board of finance about
81, 500, 900, which will go into the gen.
eral fund for the expenses of the work
of the commission as it progresses.
This provision for about three times the
quota apportioned to the state may be
regarded as fully counterbalsncing and
secular advantage to the state growing
out of the location of the exhibition,
and is as much es could be justly
claimed from her. In view of the ma
tional character of the celebration of
which the exhibition is the chief demon
strative element, notwithstanding that
opportunities have been given in all
states and territories by general adver-
tisement, the agency of national banks,
and in other ways, the amount of actual
subscriptions to date from such states
and territories indicates that from this
source the means could not be secured
in time for use in prosecuting the work,
If at ALL The commission has informa-
tion that preparations are in progress
throughout the country to make the
most creditable exhibits of the products
and industries of the nation, and that
this feature of the exhibition is assured
beyond any doubt. But as the enter
prise is regarded as national one there
is an unwillingness 10 contribute money
for the preparation and installation OF
the exhibition, which it IS regarded
as specially incumbent on the national
government to provide for. While
many of the states of the union are not
in a financial condition to contribute
money for this purpose, the citizens
thereof express the warmest sympathy
in the success of the enterprise, and
will give it their cordial support so far
as it is in their power. Steps have
been taken to secure a proper represen-
tation of the products of every state and
territory.
To secure the complete and satisfacto-
ry success of the exhibition in every de-
partment, it is absolutely necessary that
such appropriations be promptly made
by the national government as will en-
able this commission to work with
those advantages of government sup
port that have been enjoyed by the
managers of recent international exhi-
bitions in Europe.