The Savannah morning news., 1903-05-01
WITH GREAT P0MP.
Continued from First Page.

7
that his voice could not be heard
twenty feet from the rostrum. He in
troduced Cardinal Gibbons, who de-
liVered the following invocation;
1--WE pray Thee. o, God of might,
wisdom and justice, through whom au-
thority is rightly administered, laws
are enacted. and judgment decreed, as
sist with Thy holy spirit of counsel
and fortitude the President of these
United States, that his administration
may be conducted in righteousness and
be eminently useful to Thy people over
whom he presides by encouraging due
respect for virtue and religion, by
faithful execution of the laws in JUS
tice and mercy, and by restraining vice
and immortality.
Let the light of Thy divine wisdom
direct the deliberations of Congress,
and shine forth in all their proceedings
and laws framed for our rule and gov
eminent so that they may tend to the
preservation of peace, the promotion Of
national happiness, the increase OF in
dustry, sobriety and useful knowledge,
and may perpetuate to us the bless
ings of equal liberty.
MAY this commemorative exposition
TO which the family of nations are gen.
erously contributing their treasures of
art and industry, bind together the
governments Of the earth in closer ties
of fellowship and good will, and of
social and commercial intercourse. May
it hasten the dawn of the reign of the
Prince of Peace, when national con-
f1icts will be adjusted not by hostile
armies-but by permanent courts of
arbitration.
May this international exhibition
inaugurated in the interests of peace
and commerce, help to break down the
wall of dissension of jealousy and
prejudice, that divides race from race,
nation from nation, and people from
people, by prOclaiming aloud the ou-
blime Gospel truth that we are all
children of the same God, brothers and
sisters of the same Lord Jesus Christ,
and that we are all aspiring to a glo-
rious inheritance in the everlasting
kingdom of our common Father"
Following the invocation of the Car
dinal United States Senator Thomas
H. Garter of the national commission,
who acted as president of the day, was
introduced. He spoke in part as fol-
lows:
President of the Day Spoke.
zone hundred years ago to-day the
government of the United States ac-
quired sovereignty over the vast terri
tory of the Mississippi river which has
since been known to the geographical
nomenclature of the world as THE
Louisiana Purchase" Beyond the riv-
er the boundaries and the resources of
the territory were i'll defined, and but
vaguely comprehended. The purchase
of 1000, 600 was pronounced eXhorbi-
tant, the free navigation of the Missis-
sippi being the only part of the prop
erty deemed worthy of serious conSid-
GRAFTON. The transaction was regarded
by many as a violation of the consti-
tuition and a menace to our form of
government. The grave doubts of
President Jefferson were only resolved
into action by his patriotic desire for
national supremacy over the river, and
his prophetic faith in the possibilities
of the mysterious country beyond 1t.
The revelations of a century have most
amply justified his faith.
when the treaty of cession was con-
cluded President jefferson represented
less than 100000 of people. During
these ceremonies President Roosevelt.
the executive of over eighty millions
of freemen will dedicate the buildings.
The magical story of local development
puts to shame the creations of fiction.
The contented and prosperous inhab-
itants of the Louisiana Purchase to-
day substantially equal in numbers
three times the total population of the
United States in 1900. The conquest
of space, forests, streams and deserts
and the founding of cities and states
in waste places within this territory,
marks an advance unsurpassed in the
history of human endeavor.
I'm conformity with a special act of
Congress- the President has invited all
the nations to cooperate with us in
properly concentrating the masterful
achievements of a century in this new
country.
Those best informed will, by unani-
nous consent, yield to Hon. David r.
Francis, president of the company. the
highest measure of praise for the or
ganization of the exposition and the
construction of the buildings he will
now present to the President of the
United States for dedication.
Francis Presented the Buildings.
After the rendition of 1.-The Heavens
Proclaiming," by the chorus of 1000
voices, David r. Francis. president of
the Fair Association, delivered an adj
dress, in part as follows, presenting
the buildings of the fair:
The people of the Louisiana Pur-
chase are proud of their membership
in the Federal Union. They are CRATE
full for the benefits that have flowed
from a life under the enduring insti-
tutions framed by the founders of the
republic. They congratulate their
brethren on the position our country
occupies among the nations of the earth
and felicitate themselves on the part
they have performed toward raising 1t
to its present prestige and power.
They felt ii a patriotic duty to fit
tingly commemorate the completion of
the first century of their connection
with the American republic, and the
rounding out of an important epoch
in the life of the republic. In the dis
charge of that duty this exposition
was conceived. The inhabitants of the
fourteen states and two territories COM
prised within the purchase selected st.
Louis as the scene of the celebration.
The people of this city. grateful for
the honor conferred, promptly accepted
it, and cheerfully assumed the i'm
mense responsibility it entailed. The
century just closed, unequally as it was
in every line of progress, furnished no
more striking evidence of the advance
of civilization than the development of
the Louisiana Territory. A celebra-
ton in such an age and in such a
country, to be flt should be upon a
scale in keeping with the best and
highest, and should be planned upon
lines broad enough to take in every
people and every cline.
est. Louis, with an ever widening
sense of responsibility and an ever
growing appreciation of the opportun-
ity, has, up to this moment, risen to
the full measure of the duty assumed.
The management of the exposition has
never despaired, but with a realizing
sense of the mighty task it has under
taken, and mindful of the limitations
of human capabilities, with singleness
of purpose and with personal sacrifice