The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1896-11-14
Our Centennial.

Tennessee Centennial and Inter-
national Exposition grounds and
buildings recently:
"Within the past ten years have
attended every exposition of inn
portance held in this country, and
in none Of them have seen so
evidences of an artistic and finan-
ciaI success as the one you Tonnes
scans are preparing for here in
Nashville.
"You may understand, candidly,
taat the people Of the Nerth and
West have only superficial idea
of what you have undertaken and
promise to carry forward. Follow
Ing so Glossy upon the Worlds Ex-
position, and receiving the support
of Chicago, the Atlanta Exposition
came at time when the people
were ready to accept 1t. What 1t
did in attracting attention to the
diversified resources, of the South
will be doubled by the coming cele-
bration of the hundredth natal day
of your States admission int the
Union.
"a picture that will linger in the
memory Of every visitor will be the
beautiful representation of the Par
thenon. While many were larger at
the Columbian Exposition, none
were more beautiful than the SIM
plicity of this idea you have barrow
ed from the Athenians. For a full
hour this afternoon we stood and ad-
mired its dignity. 1t appeals to
every lover of art in architecture,
and particularly to the Southern
people, to whom I should think 1t
will stand as a monument to their
ideas of beauty in construction.
" draw this conclusion from
observation Of other buildings sur
rounding. To every Northern visitor
the fancy of the Southland will be
found embodied lin their construc-
ton. Low, expansive, colonial in
style, with just enough decoration
TO bring out in bold relief every
part Of the immense halls, they are
typically Southern, reflective Of
Southern sentiment and properly
representative of people who built
them in honor to their Statehood.
ut was q happy idea, the group
ing Of the various buildings. It
struck me as being decidedly more
sensible than anything I have
seen in other cities. There can be
no good judgment in scattering the
Exposition over wide surface Of
territory. The average visitor to
an exposition likes to have things
just where he can get at them with
the smallest amout of bother and
this idea seems to have been fully
appreciated by the gentleman who
had the location of the buildings in
charge. The pretty lakes, excellent
drives, courts, terracesland fanciful
bridges l Noticed were arranged
with purpose to permit of fullest
appreciation. You will find that
visitors are not neglectful to take
notice of this.
~ am told that the women of
Tennessee are due all the credit tor
the building dedicated to their use.
You say 1t is SO? And yet they tell
us in the North that Southern
women are unprogressive, prefer
ring the dainties in dress and the
hammock to the more interesting
current event surrounding them.
We are told the women here dis
dain publicity and that they look
with suspicion upon the coming
monsoon OF usefulness opening to
them. And here in one of the most
| typical Southern cities / find dedi.
Gated to woman one of the prettiest
buildings which l have seen devot-
ed to her since the age Of woman in
the worlds new progress became
hers. Honor, indeed sould be the
reward of the wOmanhood of the
South for this manifestation of in
dependece. I'VE who reside in one
small territory have too limited an
idea of the great reources of our
country, and when the man from
New England States comes here
next year and sees what you people
can raise and manufacture; when
the bombastic Westerner from thu
prairies of Nebraska and Dakota
learns that in the South are more
things than he has ever dreamed of,
you may look back over all of your
work and feel that in honoriug your
State by holding this Exposition
you have accomplished what moth
| ing else would have done, not alone
for Tennessee, but the whole fav-
ored Southland