The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-12-21
GROUND BROKENATS7.kOUES
Work of Construction of Exposition Buildings Formally Begun
Amid Booming of Cannon and Other Nosss-Weather
Intensely Cold and Speeches Made Inside.

OF. LOUIS, Dec 2O.-The governors
Of four Louisiana purchase states
Minnesota, Nebraska, Arkansas
and Nissouri-seyeraI members of con
gress and the Worlds fair commits
sjoners and other invited guests,
among them General John c. Bates.
commanding the department of the
Missouri, We're present and participated
in7the ceremonies attending the break
ing Of ground today on the site of the
Worlds fair in Forest park The ex-
ercises at the site where the thermom-
eter registered around zero, consisted
OF an invocation, addresses and the
breaking of ground on the site of the
education buildings by the officials of
the Exposition company. municipal au-
thOrities and invited guests.
Speaking by Governor Francis. Con-
gresham James a. Tawney of Min
nesOta and Governor Jefferson Davis Of
Arkansas, and music by Rimour's band
was the programme at the Coliseum,
where several thousand persons were
present. A banquet at the Southern
hotel in the evening completed the
days programme.
This day was selected for the import
of the formal transfer of Louisiana
territory to the United States. Tie
day was a holiday in ST. Louis and
throughout Missouri. as well as in
most of the purchase states, whose
governors issued proclamatiOns asking
for a general observance Of it as Lou
isiana purchase flag day.
Prepared For the Event.
Great preparations for the event had
been made by officials of the World 5
fair, but owing to the unusual sever
ity of the weather it was decided to
abandon some of the most striking fea-
lures, including the parade, and sub
stitute others. The open air exercises
attending the ground breaking were
transferred to the Coliseum.
At the appointed time directors and
officers of the Louisiana Purchase EX-
position company, General John c.
Bates. commander IF the department
Of Missouri; Major Henry K Hunter.
Fifteenth United States cavalry, and
other army officials, governors of
states and guests assembled at the St.
Louis club Carriages were taken and
the party was driven to Forest park.
where the ceremony of breaking
ground was carried out. A huge fire
had been built on the structural site
of the educational building to soften
the soil.
The Husky Shovelers.
Arriving at the site. the party WELD
ed the shovel in this order: President
David r. Francis, Treasurer w. H..
Thompson, Secretary Walter 3. Ste
vens. General Counsel Blair, Director
of Exhibits Sl1iff, Director OF Works
TAYLOR. Chief of the Department Of Ed
ucation Rogers and the architect of the
educational building, vice presidents Of
the exposition company, members OF
the executive committee, representa-
tives Of the Worlds fair national COM
mittee and the board Of lady managers
and chairmeu of each of the standing
committee of the company As this
mart of the ceremony was being carried
ont. battery A, Missouri National
Guard. fired a salute of sixty guns, di-
vided into nine groups Of three minute
intervals. as follows.
Twenty-Five for the thirteen original
states and those created from them
fourteen for Louisiana purchase states
one for Florida, one for Texas, three