Birmingham state herald., 1897-05-02

Nashville, May 1.-The Tennessee Gen. tennial Exposition was thrown open to the world today under suspicious skies and impressive ceremonies. The day dawned cloudless and cool, after a rainy night, which threatened at one time to interfere with the festivities of the in- augura1 day. At o'clock the gates of the exposition were opened and the peo- pie began to arrive. By Il o'clock, the hour fixed for the exercises In the audi torlum, that building, holding 5000 peo- pie, was filled. The brief, simple, but impressive progrnmme was carried out before one of the most brilliant gather ings ever assembled in Tenneisss On the platform were the exposition oTlcefs and committees, Gov. Taylor and his staff the chief justice and associate Jus. ticss of the supreme court, members or the woman'5 board, the mayor of Nash vile, Uniteli Sta.4es SeTa tor w. B. Bate, Hon. J. w. Gaines and hundreds of prom inent citizens. President J. W. Thomas, at II o'clock, with historical gavei, rapped for order and Rt Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, co-adjutor bishop of Tennessee, offered prayer
 The opening cers monies were so simple and so plain that they were in perfect harmony with the methods of the dfrec- tor-general and his efficient committee,
 
 preSsive, and made a fitting prelude to one of the most memorable events in Tennessee's his ory. The opening of the exposition marks the Tooth year of the admission of the st ate into the ststerhood of commonwealGhs. The inaugural cere- monies a year ago were attended by mil15ary pageant that was significant of the proweSs of the Volunteer State, and after '.ns baptism of arms comes the sweet presence of aff ard science, and 1l.xr aarlrea hxp the absence of the ctdzen soldiery in uni- from, though every man present was a Soidter If called upon to protect his home in fair Tennessee, and to maintain che dfgrity of the Volunteer State. The members of both houses of the legisla- ture and their wives assembled at the Union street depoa' of the Nashville, Chaitta n9oga ard St. Louis railway at o'clock, ,N-and were conveyed in special trains to the ha ndsome ',eHminal station at the west side of t1le exposition park. The place of rendezvous was the admin istration building, whence the officials, legislators and distinguished guests, fn- cluding the goveI'Tl1r of the sltate. H0ns Robert l. Taylor Gen. 1gnacio Garfia.- sltmaster-general of the Republic of Mexico, and suite. escorted by vast concor.se of citizens. proceeded to the auditorium, which in a few m I'm er'ts was filled with abati. 1000 people, whdle 8 perfect sm ultltuds was unable to obtain admissions and corstented itself with Aat- en,ng to the inspiring strains of BellstAdt & Bellsnberg's superb military concert band, of Cincinnati. The ceremonies wera opened with prayer by Rt Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, ,co-adjutor bishop of Tennessee.
 After "America" had been played in a mos impressive mia nner, Maj J. w. Thomas, president of the Tennessee Ex- position company. arose and was. re- ceived with cheers and applause. He said: -i-' --s-
 MAJ. J. W. THOMAS ADDRESS.
 Ladies ard Gerltlemen: On June 1, 1896, these groun fs and the buildings erectsd thereon were dadicated to the honor and gi-ry of Tennessee, in commemoration of an eVen: which transpired on June l. 1796 and as a crlbuts to the men and wo- men who endured the hardships andi braved the dangers of fron'ter life in the wilderness west of the Alleghanies, that they mighE found this great common wealth.
 They loved the banner of our coun try, with it's little cluster of fifteen stars; and the lapse of 100 years has not impaired the honor, integrity or patriotism of the people of Tennessee; for we love the same banner, with its glorious constellation of forty-five stars representing forty-five sovereign states, which together consti- ute the greatest nation in the world.
 The objects of this Centennial exposi- ton are to commemorate the past pre- sent the advantages of the present and inspire hope for the future-the past, the present, the future of Tennessee-ob- jects so laudible that the enterprise has received the approval of the government of the United States, congress having appropriated $130, 900 that the general gov ernment might be properly represented by a grand object lessen, showing the progress of the nation during the past 120 years. It has also been approved by the authorities of the state of Tennessee, the legislature having appropriated $50, coo in order that the history, the products and the resources of the state might be properly presented. The county of Da- vidson and city of Nashville, realizing the honor and advantage of having this grand Centennial jubilee within their borders, have donated $150,000; and other cities, counties and states corp orations, firms and 10000 individuals have aug mented these appropriations and dona- tions until a grand total of $1,OOO,0OO has been expended in preparing for this ex- position. sI
 Men in all ages have celebrated great events by holidays, triumphal process sions, grand festivals and towering mon- uments, and as Tennessee was the first state admitted into the union formed from territory ceded to the general gov ernment, 1t is appropriate that we cele- bra te our Centennial anniversary by hav- ing great exposition, showing the world that we have kept pace with our sister states and other nations in the progress of the age-in all the triumphs and glo- ries of civilization
 While this celebration Is prompted by reverence for the past, 1t is also prompt ed by desire to so advertise and pro- claim our advantages that thousands from other states and other nations will come to see what we have accomplished and realize the marvellous wealth of our resources
 The past century has not been one of continuous peace and prosperity, but I there have been periods of differences