Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-31
A "SEQUICENTENNIAL"
EXPOSITION

DIV ihteIiidtioild ehPo@i'Ao"o o>
u a familiar thing these days,
especially in the United States,
where so many large cities are
ambitious to draw a great crowd
from all the ends of the earth as
we'll as from all the states in the
union to see the sights of the big
show and spend their money for
the benefit Of the local merchants
and citizens of the place where the
exposition is to be given. Gen.
orally they are put over" by the
people most benefited by them.
That is to say they get up a COM
mittee in the city where the ex-
position is to be held and they
raise by local subscription a large
sum-sometimes several million
dollars-to put up buildings and
paw for advertising the show. But
that is generally only a drop in
the bucket of the cost of these
huge shows. After they have
raised all the money they can in
this way the mex step is to get
Uncle Sam to donate a million or
two. and a congress, generous to a
fault with the taxpayers money,
is usually quite ready to kick in.
If there is any hesitation shown,
the congressman from the state
where the show is to be pulled off
know how to overcome it. They
resort to the practice known as
log rolling" That is a simple
and efficient method in legis-
lative enactment. 1t merely means
that you vote for the appropria-
ton we are asking or we won't
vote for one that you want. 1t
would be better described by that
vulgar old adage. scratch my back
and I will scratch yours"
A fat federal appropriation hav-
ing been voted, the process of
gathering honey for the local hive
is by no means ended. Then each
of the states in the union find that
influential business men have been
seen" by other influential bust
ness men in the exposition city
and induced by some means to
bring pressure on their home state
legislature for an appropriation for
a state building and a state ex-
hibit at the big exposition. Most
Of the states fall in and the aggre-
gate of their contributions comes
to a vast sum.
These international expositions
are ure expensive affairs. We
are in doubt as to whether they
pay anyone who contributes to
their cost outside of the local bust
ness men in the city where they
are held. So far as foreign ex-
hibitors are concerned just now
congress is busy as a colony of
bees in building an embankment
through the tariff against any for
cign goods coming into this coun-
try.
In the last of the dye industry.
they want a straightout "embargo"
against foreign competition. In
many other industries they have
put on rates that will act as an
embargo, because on one will pay
them. It would seem to be a bad
time to ask any foreign nation to
spend their money sending an ex-
hibit of their goods to the United
States.
These remarks are called forth
by the fact that the city Of Phila-
delphia is now making plans and
getting ready a local organization
to put on a 'seouicentennial' expo
sition in celebration of the one
hundred and fiftieth anniversary of
the declaration of independence.
which takes place in 1926. Edward
w. Box, of the Ladies Home Jour
nal and a muitimillionaire, has
been selected as the president Of
the home organization and Edward
T. Stotesbury. another rich man IF
the Quaker City. has been chosen
chairman of the finance commit
tee. They will probably make a
go of it. But if anyone thinks the
Philadelphia people are slow in
getting the way creased for a touch
on the United States treasury it
may be said that already they have
got a resolution through both
houses of congress giving the ap-
proval of the federal government
and efficient method in legisl.
to the exposition. That is the first
step toward getting a big federal
appropriation for the exposition.
The appropriation is not men,