The San Francisco call., 1910-06-05
SAN FRANCISCO
To WIN BATTLE
FOREXPOSITION
Thursday Next Will Be the Big
Day Before Congressional
Committee
This City Asks for No Federal
Appropriation, but Moral
Support Only

Thursday Of this week is the big
issue. according to a telegram received
yesterday at exposition headquarters
from C. S. Aiken, publicity manager at
present in Washington attending to
the needs of San Francisco. At the
time indicated the strenuous fight that
IS being made by New Orleans and San
Francisco for the honor of celebrating
the opening Of the great Panama canal
viii be settled and the local enthusi
asts say that II will be settled in favor
Of San Francisco.
California's congressman, according
10 Aikens report. have addressed COM
municatiOns to the foreign affairs COM
mittee asking its support for San
francisco as the site for the 1915
exposition.
San Francisco, the city which recon
structed itself magnifcently in four
years. asks no appropriation from the
government of the United States. All
st asks is the moral support of the
government. The city feels capable of
handling all financial matters itself,
whereas all its rivals for the honor ask
that congress appropriate at least
81. 600. 000
All that san Francisco asks is an
authorization to permit the president
10 invite foreign governments to par
ticipate in the exposition to be held in
this city in 1915 to commemorate the
completion and opening of the Panama
canal. The city of New Orleans, which
also desires the exposition, proposes to
raise SI.200.O00 among its own citizens
end $4,000. 600 by z special tax to be
voted upon in connection with 4 con-
stitutional amendment TO be submitted
20 voters of Louisiana at the election
TO be held next November.
In justice to the people of Louisiana
they ought to know whether congress
viii desi gnate New Orleans as the
place for an international exposition
TO commemorate the opening of the
canal, 50 that they may be able to vote
inteIligently upon this constitutional
amendment If they are not TO have
the exposition in all probability they
will not want to burden themselves
with the $4,000 600 special tax, for the
money could not be used for any other
purpose than that of the exposition.
In the second place. prompt action
at this session is urged because the
time is short to make a successful ex-
position Both Chicago and st. Louis
began too late and had to postpone
their opening q year beyond the CEN
ten8ry celebrations they were COM
memorating. Then, too, it is conf
IDENTIFY believed that the canal will be
completed before 1915, which makes
81 all the more important that work be
commenced forthwith if the compile
tion Of the canal and opening of the
exposition are TO be contemporaneous.
The west has never had a great in
6ernational exposition. There have
been several expositions, but they were
generally local in character, and they
were always successful There have
been four great international exposi-
tions held IN this country-the first at
philadelphia on the Atlantic seaboard
IN 1875; the second on the Mississippi
siver at New Orleans in 1885; the third
in Mississippi valley region at Chica go
in 1898: the fourth at st. Louis on the
Mississippi river in 1904. They all re-
ceived large government aid. New
Orleans by act of congress received a
loan OF 1000, 600, subsequently $500, 600
was appropriated for government ex-
hibit there, and in 1885 $350,OO0 addi-
tiOnal was appropriated to pay debts
Of the exposition New Orleans was as
much the center Of population then as
today. Statistics show that expositions
depend for patronage largely upon
nearby population. Fully 1000, ,00C
active, prosperous, pleasure loving
white people live in San Francisco and
its near vicinity. New Orleans has not
half this number within so miles Cal
dfornia and the west have peculiar at
fractions which will draw pleasure
seekers, independent Of the exposition
Yosemite valley, big trees, Del Monte
Lake Tahoe, Mount Shasta, gold mines
the oil fields, reclamation projects