page_title: Edward A. Burke
section_title: Cotton Centennial
hierarchical_section_title: Edward A. Burke / Cotton Centennial
context_page_description: Edward Austin Burke or Burk, was the Democratic State Treasurer of Louisiana following Reconstruction. Burke later fled to Honduras after it was discovered that there were misappropriations of state treasury funds. While in Honduras Burke became a major land owner and held government positions within Honduras' nationalized railway systems. He remained an exile until his death nearly four decades later.
context_section_description: In 1882 the National Cotton Planters Association proposed the idea of a "World Cotton Centennial". The organization called on New Orleans and other southern cities to bid for the honor of hosting the event. The proposal was not well received by southern cities still recovering from the aftermath of the Civil War. In order to stir up more publicity for the idea the National Cotton Planters Association in 1883 succeeded in having Senator Augustus Hill Garland of Arkansas introduce a bill in the US Senate to encourage the holding of a World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in 1884. This bill was approved by both houses of Congress. With public sentiment improving, a committee was formed. Commissioners and alternate commissioners from several states were to be appointed by the President. A governing body of thirteen directors was provided, six of whom were named by the President on the recommendation of the association and seven by him on that of a majority of the subscribers in the city in which the event was sponsored. With the future of the event becoming more of a reality, funding within the city of New Orleans started to grow. Burke's newspaper, the Times-Democrat was the first to pledge $5,000 towards the exposition. When $325,000 in pledges had been achieved the committee directors offered Burke the position of the exposition's director-general with a salary of $25,000. Burke initially refused, stating that his duties as both a newspaper editor and state treasurer would not allow enough time. Burke finally accepted when the committee directors appealed to his southern pride by hinting that they might have to include in their search — a Northerner. He refused the salary of $25,000, but accepted a salary of only $10,000 a year, which he directed should be invested in exhibition stock, to be later presented to the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Louisiana. Burke, once in command, proceeded to expand the idea of a merely local or even national exhibition into one which should embrace the entire world. With less than the needed funding, he began the erection of a building costing $325,000. While meeting much opposition to his plans, Burke, nevertheless forged ahead. Franklin C. Morehead, the perennial president of the National Cotton Planters Association and editor-publisher of its official chronicle, the Planters Journal, was appointed to travel and interest state governments, manufacturing firms and foreign countries. Burke went to Washington in May, 1884, and succeeded in having a bill in Congress passed loaning $1,000,000, to be paid from the receipts of the exposition, if there were any surplus over expenses. The sum of $100,000 was also granted to the exposition fund by the Louisiana Legislature, for Congress had tied up its loan by a restrictive clause making the fund available only when $500,000 had been raised from other sources. Finally by August, 1884, a total of one million and a half was in sight. Of this amount $5,000 was to be given to each state and territory to be expended under the direction of its governor by a commission nominated by him and appointed by the President of the United States. These state exhibits thus came to be the strongest feature of the entire exhibition. The space allotted in advance for these state exhibits was soon found to be inadequate for the elaborate displays which resulted from the momentum given to this feature by the $5,000 appropriation, and it became necessary to erect a second building as large as the first. The publicity from the exposition propelled Burke into a second term as state treasurer in the election of 1884. With great fanfare the exposition opened on December 16, 1884. Despite the generous donation from Congress, cost overruns and an aura of funding misappropriations contributed to the financial failure of the exposition. Burke, foreseeing the inevitable, resigned his directorship three weeks before the enterprise was forced to an early closing on June 2, 1885.
caption: Central Building of the World Cotton Centennial
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