The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-03-28
The Centen NAL Conference.

AT the conference held in this city on
Wednesday between Governor Bigler, the
financial agent of the Centennial commemora-
observation was made by one of the latter
which we desire especially to emphasize.
After the agent had submitted his report Of
the private contributions that had been made
in this city-soms Of them quite munifcent,
and aggregating, as near as may be, one hun
dred and twenty thousand dollars-one of the
gentlemen present. Mr.. William B. Ogden
said:-"Our foremost duty is the raising Of
money There has been one avenue followed
up pretty well by Governor Bigler, aud that
avenue has an end We must enlist the
masses of the people. Thus far we have
failed in doing SO, with all the aid the news
papers have accorded u.s. because somehow
the machinery has been wanting" We agree
to this, but with regret rather than self COM
placency are bound to express something
OF a doubt as to the aid the newspapers have
given. 1t has been the pleasure and pride
(and we shall not relax till the work be done
and the victory won) Of the HERALD to give
this great memorial enterprise earnest and
persistent support. But with ours journalistic
sympathy seems to have found limit. We
say no more on this head, hoping for a differ
ent expression hereafter on the part of those
who ought to feel as we do and have the same
interests as we have, for we should be sorry
that any word Of ours should hinder it.
Our duty is to help to put the popular ''ma-
chinery' in motion, without which we con-
cede enterprises Of such pith and moment are
always more or less in danger of mishap.
The liberal contributions which have been
made in New York by individuals, when ana
lyzed, make very prominent the material, and
what in the highest and best sense of the
word, may be termed the sentimental aspects
Of this subject Let us refer to the former
first
Of the amount thus far subscribed nearly
one-fourth or twenty-six thousand dollars, in
round numbers, is by the proprietors of hotels
and express companies, who, with every pos
sible allowance for patriotic impulses, no
doubt clearly see their interest in its success.
So palpabe is this to our eye, as we have said
over and over again, that our wonder rather
is that more Of this sort of cooperation has
not been rendered and secured. We have
not at hand the hotel statistics of
this cosmopolitan community, but sure
are we that the fifteen first class
establishments that have come forward
leave large residuum unrepresented. There
is not a hotel in the length and breadth of
this island or in our suburban communities
INCLUDING such one as Newark) be it large
or SMALL modest or ambitious what is called
first or any other class, that will not be taxed
to its utmost capacity by the influx Of
strangers in the now sure event of Centennial
success. The very fact that the large pro-
prietors see this so clearly ought to make its
impression on those who, while they may be
able at the outset to contribute less, are sure
to have their share Of accruIng benefit.
The fact too, seems to be at last well ascer-
tanned that Philadelphia will have its hands
full enough without undertaking what we
have always contended would be huge folly
the construction of special hotel accommoda-
ton tor the occasion. What they have may be,
and no doubt will be enlarged, but nothing
new and special can be expected. The mass
of visitors from distance-supposing the
railway facilities to be such as we believe they
will-must find an abiding place else
where, and no doubts that the overflow
will be mainly in this direction.
Not meaning in the slightest degree to dis
sincere pleasure to the higher impulses which
these individual contributions show are opera
tive Of course we shall not commit the
indecorum Of specifying names or classes Of
names which have been given under these
high motives. They are obvious enough to
any one who will look at the list. There are
those here who have conceivable material
interest in the matter men raised far above
the influence Of any other sentiment than the
purest and highest, who love their country
and It's institutions, not only as they are, after
all their trials and agonies, but as they we're
when the foundations of the Union were laid,
and the social as well as the political COM
munion was perfected, and before the sharpest
trial came. They, many of them, are
scholars in the history of the better days of
the Republic and old fashioned enough to
believe that there is a duty to the classic past
which it becomes their prosperous present to
discharge. There are, let us hope-tor if we
did not we might despair--hundreds and thou
sands here in New York who feel exactly in
this wise, but shrink from seeming to pro-
trude themselves as voluntary contributors to
this great work. II is they who constitute
the masses-the not insensible though modest
masses-who will respond if sought out and
properly appealed to.
1t is in order to reach such as these that
the machinery" Of popular meetings must be
resorted to; and what more opportune time
for it than the coming joyous season, when
the icy bonds and the commercial perplexites
! which almost with canal tension have