The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-07-06
HARDING TO. BE
 AT MISSOURI CENTENNIAL
One Hundredth Anniversary of State of Missouri to the Union to Be Celebrated August 1O-Million to At tend.

Kansas City. Mo-, July 5.-Mis- souri will celebrate her tooth birth day as a State on August 10. Proud of her record, her growth and her
 progress, she is making plans to com
 memorate the event by a monster
 centennial celebration to be held in
 connection with the State fair at Se-
 daha from August to August 20.
 It was on August 10, 1921, that
 Missouri was admitted to the Union
 as State. And assurances have been
 received that on August 10 this year
 President Warren G. Harding will be
 the guest of honor of the Missouri
 Centennial Exposition and deliver an
 address in sthe amphitheatre in Se-
 dalia. It is expected that General
 John J. Pershing, Rear-Admiral Rob= ert E. Coontz, General E. H. Crowd
 CT and other prominent Missourians
 will also attend on that day.
 Two hundred and thirty-nine years ago, on April g, 1882, the French voy- ager and explorer La Sale, having slowly made his way up the mighty
 Mississippi, Father of Waters and crossed westward through the Ozark country, claimed what is now Mis- souri in the name of the King of France. The territory / was part of Louisiana" and it was sold to the United States on December 20, 1S03- | In 1894 Congress divided the territory into upper and lower Louisiana, and in 1872 Missouri was organized as a | territory with an Assembly and Gov ernor.
 In ISIS Missouri applied for admis- sion as a State, but two years of bit
 ter controversy followed during Decision" and the famous Missouri Compromise" Finally after three years of cease1ess effort Missouri won her Statehood.
 The centennial exposition com
 memorating that event will be fea- tured by ''The Pageant of Missouri g which represents in fifteen episodes the growth of Missouri from iron tier community to a great sovereign State
 Tc Strike Centennial Coin. The pageant will depicit all the inn | portant episodes in Missouri history with great scenic settings, wonderful lighting effects, and with more than 5000 characters taking part, attired | in the costumes representative of the l various periods of Missouri history.
 ready begun, while a corps of thirty
 scenic artists are at work on the pageant settings
 Invitations have been extended to all native Missourians and former residents to return to Missouri for coming from all directions - one | from as far away as Los Angeles, to | bring the Missourians 'fback home.'' There have been f1fty-two Cover
 nors of Missouri. They have approxi-
 mately 1000 living descendants. All | have been asked to be special guests
 of the exposition on. Descendants Day.. August 9.
 Two hundred and fifty thousand l centennial half dollars will be struck | off by the United States mint at Washington in commemoration of the | event. These coins, of the regular
 size and value, will be cut from a
 special die. On one side will be the | State seal of Missouri, while. on the other side appears a pioneers head,
 with the inscription: Missouri Gen. | tennial-1S21-1912." The coin was
 designed by Robert Aitken, of New
 York City, and the pieces will be is-
 sued as change at the ticket windows
 at the expositioni
 In addition to the historical fea-
 lures and exhibits there will be many
 other attractions, including horse ! races, an aerial circus, auto races and special exhibitions of fireworks. | / Sedalia is busily preparing for the entertainment of visitors. Every home in Sedalia, from the most humble to the most palatial, will be
 thrown wide open for the entertain
 ment of visitors says Mayor F. F.
 Hatton, of Sedalia. More than a mill lion are expected to attend the event.