Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-05-07
PRESENTS BUILDINGS
PRESIDENT FRANCIS HANDS
OVER EXPOSITION.
ST. LOUIS PROUD OF IT
People Included in Louisiana Pur-
chase Territory Felt 1t a Patriotic
Duty to Commemorate First Gen.
fury of Their Connection With the
Union-T. II. Carter Also Speaks.

81. LOUIS, Mo, May LIN present
ing the buildings of the Louisiana pur-
chase exposition to the president for
dedication, David R. Francis, presl-
dent of the exposition, said in part:
'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 life under the enduring institu
tons formed 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 it to its present prestige and
power.
"They felt it 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 imortant 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
comprised within the purchase select
ed st. Louis as the scene of the cele-
bratiOn.
THE people of this city, grateful for
the honor conferred, promptly accept
ed it and cheerfully assumed the i'm
mense responsibility it entailed. The
century just closed, uneGuaIly as it
was in every line of progress, fur
nished no more striking evidence of
the advance of civilization than the
development of the development Of
the Louisiana territory. A celebration
in such an age and in such a country,
to be fit, 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.
"a scheme so ambitious in the in
ception, naturally had comparatively
few advocates, and encountered many
antagonists and more dOubters. 1t
could not be accomplished without the
recognition and aid Of the general
government, which for a time it
seemed impossible to enlist. 1t was
deci led that the amount required to
launch an undertaking so cOmprehen-
sive should be the same as that paid
for the empire which Jefferson pur-
chased-$15, 100000. Congress said to
st. Louis, when you have secured
, twO-thirds of that sum we will provide
the remaining third The conditions
were accepted and fulfilled.
! after three years of struggle the
sinews had been secured,-the first
step accomplished. Two years have
since elapsed. During that period
the work has been pushed in every
state and territory and possession of
the United States, and in every civil
/ lied country on the earth and what
you behold here today in physical
shape, we submit as the product of
five years Of labor.
st Louis, with an ever widening
sense of responsibility, and an ever
growing appreciation of the opportu-
nifty, 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 real
izing sense Of the mighty task it has
undertaken and mindful of the limita-
lions of human capabilities, with
singleness of purpose and with per
sonal sacrifice for which it neither
asks nor deserves credit, has striven
to meet the expectations of those
whose trust it holds.
ITO the president of the United
States, to the accomplished represen-
tatives of foreign countries, to the
| chief executives of the sovereign
| states, to the senators and represen-
i tatives of the national congress, to the
great concourse of visitors here con-
gregated, we extend greeting. If you
are pleased with what has been accom-
| plished, your approval is aboundant
reward for the labor we have per-
! formed. We bear in mind, and trust
you do not overlook that this celebra-
ton is of no state, Of no section, but
/ of the entire country 1t is our hope
and our expectation that every Sec
I
fact every community, will cherish a
proprietary interest and lend helpful
aid to this worthy undertaking, to the
end that it may prove as nearly as
may be commensurate with the cOun-
! try and the country whose achieve
ments and advancement it is designed
! to commemorate.
the beautiful picture whose out
lines you now behold, will, to adopt
the smile of the chief designer, when
completed, compose a song that will
! reverberate around the globe.
And now, Mr.. President, it is my
pleasing privilege and high honor to
present to you for dedication the
buildings OF the Louisiana purchase
exposition. May a high standard Of
citizenship and a broader humanity
and the mission of the country whose
worthy representative you are, be sus-
tanned and fostered and promoted by
the uses to which these structures are
devoted. May the happiness of man
kind be advanced and bToadened by
the lofty purposes that inspired thiS
undertaking, and moved our own and
complishment."
Thomas H. Carter, president of the
day, said:
"One hundred years ago today the
government Of the United States &C
quired sovereignty over the vast terri