Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1876-02-10
The Centennial Exhibition.

ment has money to give way uon
Won think that it would be mucn
bester tn send some of it to the
starving miners of the 11th District,
rather than waste it upon the fhiia
delphia show2-B"Netf".
That talk about giving to ''starv-
ing miners" is simply the talk of a
Demagogue, and we pass it by as un--
worthy of notice. But there is
something more in this vote of our
M. C. 1t was a vote to disgrace our
government in the eyes of Foreign
Nations.
This Centennial Exhibition is
National affair.
On the Sd of March, 1871, Con-
gress passed an act providing ''for
celebrating the One-Hundredth An
niyersary of American dndepend
ence by holding an International Ex-
hibition of arts, manufactures and
products of the soil and mine in the
City of Philadelphia, in the year
1876" and further, by San exhibition
of the natural resources of the coun
try. and their development, and OF
its progress in those arts which bene-
fit mankind, in comparison with
those of older nations" In further
ance of this action, some months la
ter, the President issued proclama
tion, in which he says:-"I, Ulysses
S. Grant, President of the United
States, in conformity with the provi-
sions of the act of Congress afore
said, do hereby declare and proclaim,
that there will be held, at the City of
Philadelphia, in the State of Penn
sylvania, an International Exhibition
of arts, manufactures, and products
of the soil and mine, to be opened
on the 10Th of April, Ammo Domini,
1876, and to be closed on the 18th of
October in the same year." And he
added: d commend the celebration
and exhibition to the people of the
United States; and, in behalf of
this government and people, l cor
daily commend them to all nations
who may be pleased to take part
therein" Officers were appointed to
take measures for the proper conduct
of the enterprise.
Thus started this exhibition; set
on foot by authority of the Nations
Congress. 1t was not intended to be
simply an American Exhibition;
it was to be an international Exhi-
bition," and in behalf of this plan,
you will notice that the Presi-
dent commends it ''to all nations"
And more fully to carry out this
idea, the Government sent out its in
vitations to sail nations to par
ticipate therein, that it might be
what its originators intended, an
international Exhibition"
Now let us see what a vote against
the Centennial bill implies. Most Of
the Foreign governments have ac-
cepted of the invitation extended
to them, and have signified their de
sire and intention to take part in the
exhibition. They are making their
arrangements to do so; have appro-
priated money and appointed Com
missioners to make efectual and
creditable their appearance at the
Exhibition. and thus expressed a
willingness to make it, what Con-
gress intended, great International
display of the products of the world
With these facts before us, how
would it have looked to Foreign ma
tions if our government had refused
to make this Centennial appropria-
ton? Have said to them, this is a
"Ring" enterprise, and we will have
nothing to do with it? 1t would
have disgraced our Nation before the
whole civilized world. Suppose our
NJ. C. should send out his invita-
tions asking the attendance of the
elite of Washington, civil and official,
to a dinner on a certain day, and |
when the time came he should disap-
pear, leaving his servants to enter
tain the company. How would it
look? The casesare parallel. And
therefore we say, as we said in the
beginning, a vote against the Cen
tennial bill was vote to disgrace the
United States in the estimation of
Foreign Nations.
Harper's Weekly comments on the
opposition to this appropriation, and
says:
"The House of Representatives, by
a vote of LAG to 130, has passed the
bill granting million and half of
dollars to the Centennial Exhibition.
This is result which every intelli-
gent person has expected. When the
Government of the United States in
vited foreign Governments to be rep
resented at the Exhibition, it became
by that act morally party in the en-
terprise, and this was, of course, un
derstood, as no foreign Government
would have accepted an invitation to
the entertainment of a purely pri-
vate company, and no such power
could imagine that the United States
Government was acting merely as
master of ceremonies uDon such an