Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-11
EDUCATION AT EXPOSITIO ION
Government Commissioner Reports on the
Results Accomplished.
COMPLIMENTS THE OMAHA HIGH SCHOOL
Exhibit of Nebraska Schools Calls
Forth Words of Commendation-
Up 10 Date and Thorough
u I'm Their Methods.

g.. I'm Their Methods.
WASHINGTON, Oct. s,-The report OF ].
g. Boykin, agent Of the Bureau Of Educa-
lion at the Transmississippl Exposition, has
been made public. The report says
The credit of first effectively proposing
an exposition to be held in Omaha is said
TO belong to Edward Rosewater, editor OF
The Omaha Bee He had been impressed
by the success Of the Worlds Fair at Chi
cago and by its advantages to that city, and
his belief that similar exposition would
have like effect upon Omaha had been
strengthened by the experience OF Atlanta
Ca, with its exposition OF 1895. conven-
tion had been called in 1895 to consider the
commercial condition OF the Transmiss!s-
sppi states, and 1t was expected that steps
would then be taken to extend the COM
mercial Importance Of that section. The
time seemed ripe to- Mr. Rosewater for ad-
vancing his ideas as to an exposition, and
he accordingly broached the subject to
number OF influential men of the city, and
published November 20. 1850 an editorial
in his paper earnestly advocating the idea
The proposition was taken up by the Trans
mississippi Commercial congress almost i'm
mediately afterward and the actual initia-
tion OF the exposition was the most inn
portant work accomplished by that gather
ing, its president Hon. w. ]. Bryan, intro
ducing the resolution.
After the adjournment of the congress
active steps were taken to make the sugges-
tion an accomplished fact. In January
1895, the Transmssissppi Exposition asso-
citation was formally organized and incorpo-
rated It's capital stock was fixed at 81, ,OOo,-
600, issued in shares OF $40 each. Efforts
were begun for securing congressional and
state recognition, and, incidentally, arpro-
priationS. The sundry civil bill passed by
congress and approved June 10, 1886, carried
an appropriation of 100000 for a govern
ment exhibit, and contained the usual pro-
visions as to notification and invitation to
foreign governments to participate and as
to the admission of exhibits free Of duty.
or the appropriation as it finally stood $62,-
800 was to be used for the erection of a
building and the remainder was to be for
the preparation and care Of exhibits The
government exhibit was to be controlled by
board of management, consisting of one
representative of each of the executive de-
partments and one each from the Smith
sonian Institution and the Fish commission.
The passage OF this bill made the exposi-
tion a certainty. In few months stock
subscriptions were secured in sufficient
amount to meet the provisos in the appro-
priation bill and in the articles CT incorpo-
ration and December 1, 1885, a meeting of
the stockholders was held aud a board of
fifty directors was elected. These, in turn,
formulated the permanent organization Of
the association and elected the following
officers Gurdon w. Wattle5, president;
Alvin Saunders, resident vice president;
Herman Kountze, treasurer; John A. Wake
field, secretary; z. T. Lindsey, manager de-
partment of ways and means; Edward Rose
water, manager department of publicity and
promotion; +. p. Kirkendall, manager de-
partment OF buildings and grounds; e. e.
Bruce manager department of exhibits; A.
L. Reed, manager department OF conc sssions
and privileges; w. N. Babcock manager de-
psrtment Of transportation.
The final decision to the location Of the
Exposition was reached March IT, 1897, and
.he cornerstone was laid with elaborate
ceremony April %.
Indian Congress-.
The Indian act of July l. 1898, carried an
appropriation of $4,000 to enable the secre-
tary of the interior to assemble representa-
tlves of different Indian tribes as part OF
the Transmssissippi and International Ex-
position. The purpose of this assembly was
declared to be ito illustrate the past and
present conditions of the various Indian
tribes and the progress made by education
and such other matters as will fully illus
trate Indian advancement in civilization"
In pursuance of this provision an army
pficer who had been acting as Indian agen
1t one OF the nearby reservations was desig
mated to take charge of the Congress.
hhOut ZOO Indians rpDrpSnntiDP ty-nD
tribes, were gathered and were located or
the north tract. They were lodged II
"tepees" and 'wickiups' Of their own con
struction and until the close OF the exposi
tion were maintained there from the funC
named in the appropriation. 1t was widel!
advertised that this assemblage would pre-
sent an opportunity to see the American
Indian as savage, and, as far as possible
primitive conditions were initiated in tn
encampment, both in dress and in mode o
living, though 1t was apparent that camp lif
was a novelty to many of the Indians par
ticipatng. One young Indian came one da
TO my space in the government building
and asked to see certain book OF photo
graphs in the Indian Office exhibit. Fl
looked through the book with interest an
finally showed me photograph Of himself
1t represented him as standing in front of
neat frame cottage by the Slde OF TWO
horse plow. all his own. In the picture h
was clothed in the orthodox civilized gart
but as he stood before me be wore a euIt 0
fringed and beaded buckskin and an elabo
rate feather bonnet. / asked which of tn
two was his usual costume and he reptile
that he had never worn paint and feather
before and he only did 1t then "to shoN
people what II was like This man ha
been a Carlisle student and in the encamp
ment were a number OF other pupils an
former pupils of the various government
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