Part 7

The main motive power, without which all the others would have been of no avail, was, indeed, mutual sympathy. When the treaty was signed the three negotiators, Barbe-Marbois, Monroe, and Livingston, who had known each other in America at the time of the war of Independence, rose, and, what is rare on such occasions, one of them was able to express in a single sentence the intimate feelings of the three. "The treaty which we have just signed," said Livingston, "will cause no tears; they prepare centuries of happiness to innumerable generations of human beings; from this day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank."

I do not think that there is another example in the history of the world of a cession of such vast territories thus obtained by the representatives of one of the parties to the applause and with the heartfelt consent of the representatives of the other.

The treaty giving away in full possession and forever Louisiana to the United States, allowing them to spread without meeting any foreign neighbors from one ocean to the other, adding fourteen States to the original thirteen, was signed one hundred years ago, "au nom du peuple Francais" in the year XI of the French Republic. The results have passed the most sanguine hopes, but they have not gone beyond the extent of our friendly wishes for the sister Republic of America. The representative of France comes to this spot that was French in former times with a feeling of admiration for what you have done, and no feeling of regret. He sees splendid development, arts, sciences, trade, and agriculture equally prosperous; he applauds your success, and expresses from his heart his good wishes for your grand exhibition of next year.

As for his own country, if she no longer holds those immense domains, she has, on the other hand, found other territories for the peaceful employment of her inexhaustible energy, with results which will forever redound to the praise of the Government of the Republic. And as for Louisiana itself, France rests satisfied with remembering that she could not have more friendly nor more sympathetic intentions. She remembers also, not without pride, that her sons first discovered and tilled the soil, first described it, and first drew a map of it; that one of her most famous writers first revealed to the world the springs of poetry that lay concealed as much under the fir trees of the Mississippi Valley as under the plane trees of Tempe; the diplomat and literary artist who made all those who had a mind and heart weep for the fate of Atala.

Seeing the results, my countrymen have never ceased to approve of the treaty signed a hundred years ago "au nom de peuple Francais." Eighteen hundred and three is the third memorable date in the relations between France and America. In giving the United States, according to the words of your negotiator, its place among the greatest powers in the world, 1803 did nothing but perfect what had been gloriously begun in 1778 and 1783.

Sixth. Music by the Marine Band, playing the Spanish "Himno de Riego."

Seventh. Address by the Spanish minister, Señor de Ojeda:

MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I greatly regret my inability to respond to the very flattering recognition of the part played by Spain in the early history of this territory. I wish I were endowed with the same eloquence displayed by previous orators, which it has been our privilege to listen to and admire. Still, had not the national glories of Spain been so brilliantly alluded to, were I able to recall them now with colors as glowing as the warmth their memory brings to my Spanish heart, I feel I could not raise to them a loftier or more eloquent monument than has been raised by those immortal works of Washington Irving, Prescott, Lowell, and Ticknor, which have made of Spanish tradition a familiar household patrimony of this nation.

I am sure you will agree with me in thinking that I could do no better, that I could not pay a higher nor more honorable nor lasting tribute to our share in the history of this continent than by invoking the testimony of your own literary genius and by referring now to that grateful recognition which moved the founders of this Republic to associate the revered memory of Isabella, the soul-stirring deeds of Pizarro, Cortez, and Ojeda, with the temple of your nationality.

If ever the engrossing conclusions of your wonderful actual prosperity, the intensity of your life, made one of your strenuous citizens forget what your present owes to your past, let him ascend the steps of your national capitol, let him pause before its majestic gates, and there he will behold, carved in bronze on the threshold of your proudest monument, the effigies and the names of those Spanish heroes who discovered, conquered, and pointed to you the way in which path you have so successfully followed.

As a guest, sitting now for the first time at the hearth of the American nation, I feel bound to respond to that high tribute made to Spain by publicly acknowledging here the enviable kindness shown by all classes of your people since I landed on your shores.

As the representative of the nation whose ancient and honored flag was the first to be reflected in the majestic course of the father of American rivers, I am happy to feel that my first official appearance before an American audience is associated in both your minds and mine with the commemoration of an event which, although involving far-reaching issues in the respective histories of three great nations, has not and never was darkened by the rankling memories which war and international strife always leave in their wake.

For, Mr. President, Spain, exclusively devoted to-day to the task of developing her immense resources, is happy to be associated with you in this peaceful celebration of a peaceful event. Believe me, Mr. President, the Spanish people will enter into this noble competition for the prizes of progress and civilization with that same stubbornness with which during seven centuries they maintained the heroic struggle which saved Europe and the Christian world from the baneful invasion of African hordes.

Spain will apply to the arts of peace, to the conquests of progress, that same and indomitable spirit which enabled her to enrich the Old World with a new one, over whose brilliant destinies she watches and ever will watch with intense and undying interest.

Spain hails with pleasure an opportunity like your future exposition will afford of showing her peaceful conquests in the domains of labor, and is especially bent on attracting toward her the benefits to be derived from this growing tendency of her people to an everlasting commercial, agricultural, and industrial interchange. She, more than over anxious to cultivate and strengthen her friendly relations with the world, could not but welcome with sympathy the announcement of this vast enterprise as a right step toward that blending of her material and moral interests with those of other nations, to that better understanding among them which she will indefatigably strive to attain.

You can therefore rest assured, Mr. President, that my country will contribute to the World's Fair and enhance with its varied exhibits its universal and historical features. I am, in fact, authorized to inform you that His Majesty's Government has decided to ask for the requisite appropriation as soon as Parliament assembles. Spain will appear before you, if not in all the splendor that the requirements of her wise, economical programme now forbid, at least in the manly garb of a nation meaning to show you and to show the world that her gloriously checkered career, instead of impairing our vitality, has retempered the ever-elastic steel of our national fiber and concentrated and directed all its latent energies toward the modern conquests of progress, labor, and civilization to which the city of St. Louis is now erecting a temple worthy of the city itself and of the auspicious event we are now commemorating.

And now, Mr. President, in wishing success to your noble undertaking, in thanking you and this city for its cordial hospitality, I beg to acknowledge also my gratitude for the numerous tokens and expressions of good will toward Spain which have been uttered during this solemn celebration and which I so fully appreciate.

I beg to salute reverently in that new-born flag of your exhibition and august emblem of peace and labor, a touching appeal to fraternity among nations. In that flag are blended the past and the present with the glorious colors of the three nations representative of St. Louis's early and contemporary history. Let us welcome its appealing and eloquent symbolism like the herald of an ever-cloudless future.

Eighth. "Hallelujah Chorus" from The Messiah.

Ninth. Benediction by Rev. Samuel J. Niccolls:

Almighty God, Heavenly Father, whose all-wise Providence did lead our fathers across the seas to this land, and Who hath given their children a goodly heritage, let Thy blessing rest upon their children. Let Thy blessings rest upon all the nations represented here to-day and upon the representatives. May we continue in the bonds of peace for all time. May the grace of God, mercy, and peace be with us. Amen.

Tenth. Centennial salute of 100 guns.

PROGRAMME

STATE DAY, MAY 2, 1903.

The civic parade assembled at 10.30 a.m. under direction of Col. Eugene J. Spencer, marshal of the day, and moved from the junction of Grand avenue and Lindell boulevard through Forest Park to the exposition grounds, where the parade was reviewed by the governors of the States.

At 1.30 p. m. the audience assembled in the Liberal Arts Building. The assembly was called to order by Mr. William H. Thompson, chairman of the committee on grounds and buildings, and the following programme was carried out:

First. Invocation by Rev. William R. Harper:

Our Father which art in Heaven, whose work for man no man knows, whose heart is full of wisdom, to Thee be our prayers directed. Hallowed be Thy name. Thou art the pure and the very great. May Thy peace be manifested to us in all Thy work.

Give us this day our daily bread, and for the following day. Forgive us our sins, as well as forgive them that sin against us. Take away all hatred and strife and whatever prejudice may hinder us from union and concord. Let us be under one bond of faith and peace.

Show us Thy kindness and so fill us with Thy goodness that our souls may be filled with the manifold delights of charity and good will. Let nations abide under Thy law, for Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen.

Second. Address by Mr. William Lindsay, of the National Commission, president of the day, as follows:

MR. PRESIDENT AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: This is the last day of the interesting and memorable ceremonies with which the great exposition has been inaugurated. We have had with us the chief representative of the people. The next day we had with us the diplomats, the representatives of foreign climes. To-day we have with us the toilers. We have had the governors of the sovereign States which make up this great Union. When I beheld the great cavalcade I felt that the time had almost come when the industries will solely be confined to working for peace and divorced from devotion to the implements of war.

It is not merely a question of a fair profit upon money that is uppermost before the people to-day. It is not the question of a fair return for labor. But it is the question of equitable distribution of the products of labor and of the surplus of capital. This is the great question; that is what involves the happiness of mankind, and the man who solves that question will rise in greatness to such a point that other statesmen, or even Presidents, will pale into insignificance.

This is labor day, and as such we should honor it.

And the governors. We had governors before ever we had a President. Each State represents yet a great residuum of power. In the hands of State are the life and liberty of the people. We must remember that the governors, representing the unit of the national power, have the first place in national precedence.

There is on the right of me the governor of the great Empire State of the Atlantic. There is on the left of me the governor of the great Empire State of the Louisiana Purchase. I need not introduce to you the governor of Missouri, but it is upon the programme, and hence I will say the words--I beg to introduce Governor A.M. Dockery, who will now address you.

Third. Address of welcome by Hon. A.M. Dockery, governor of Missouri, as follows:

The pleasing duty devolves upon me of extending a cordial greeting in behalf of the people of Missouri to you as the chief magistrates and representatives of sister States, who come with kindly messages and substantial evidence of the nation's interest in our stupendous undertaking. The work already completed and yet to be done could only be accomplished by a people known and respected as the incarnation of intelligent, ennobling enterprise.

The occasion which will bring us together is the precursor of the most marvelous exhibition the world has ever seen. The wealth, the ingenuity, the forethought, and the ability of all nations will contribute to this magnificent result. The masterful statesmanship of Thomas Jefferson builded better than even he could know when he purchased from the Emperor Napoleon this vast domain--the connecting link between the fair country skirting the Atlantic coast, which had only been recently emancipated from despotic rule, and the rich possession on our west, extending to the Pacific Ocean.

The Mississippi River marks the eastern limit of this priceless acquisition. Sweeping away to the west, the south, and the north, its area of 14 States and Territories embraces great cities, beautiful towns and villages, farms and gardens, mighty waterways, vast railway systems, and a wealth of gold, silver, and other resources which a wise Providence provided for His people. Can the mind of man conceive a more resplendent territory? And when it is remembered that the Louisiana Purchase States are only a part of the still more glorious whole, is it any wonder that the American people are proud of their country and true to their Government?

Nature, with regal prodigality, has lavished gifts on this fair land, and its people are especially endowed with those qualifications which can not fail to produce the greatest excellence in everything.

But to return to the coming exposition. Everywhere during this pageant of entertainment have we seen evidences of the progress of this enterprise so mighty in its conception as to be astounding. Sites have been assigned to each State and foreign country, and the result already accomplished is spread out before you in brilliant panorama. There is no longer any question about anything but the magnitude of the success of the undertaking. This has been made possible only by the intelligent cooperation of all the people, and to you, as representatives of sister States, I extend most grateful acknowledgment.

The selection of our own metropolitan city as the proper place in which to hold this exposition seems peculiarly fitting. Its very name breathes the spirit of its French ancestry to whom we are so greatly indebted, and its geographical situation is preeminently satisfactory.

To guard our shores, to make impregnable our southern border against foreign assault, and to enlarge the scope of our commerce and liberty was the controlling thought of Thomas Jefferson and his compatriots when the "Purchase Territory" was added to the American Union. Fifteen millions of dollars represented the purchase price, and by a happy coincidence which may not have been altogether accidental, $15,000,000 represented the basic sum by which this exposition first became possible--$5,000,000 contributed by the city of St. Louis, $5,000,000 raised by popular subscription, and $5,000,000 given by the National Government. Missouri has since appropriated $1,000,000, that her resources may be fittingly exploited, while your States have in turn liberally set apart amounts which will lend the magnificence of their products to the scene.

To-day closes the celebration incident to the dedicatory exercises of the exposition, and in the hour of greeting we are reminded that soon we must part for a time. The panoply of war in the execution of our regular and citizen soldiery has joined with the pomp and pageantry of civil life. Their commingling is further proof of the pride of the people in all the institutions of our country. Civilian and soldier have given the weight of their influence to make more impressive the scenes attendant on this display, and will be equally enthusiastic when the gates of the great exhibition are formally opened. Months will pass before that event, but in the meantime an army of the employed will perfect the scheme which, in its full fruition, will herald abroad the triumph of this wonderful exposition.

In conclusion, permit me to say, the welcome of every true Missourian is yours, and in parting a cordial adieu is wafted with the hope expressed for a safe return to your homes and to your people.

Fourth. Music by the Marine Band.

Fifth. Response by Hon. Benj. B. Odell, jr., governor of New York, as follows:

The past, with all of its achievements, with all its successes, is to us but an incentive and guide for the future progress of our country. America still beckons to the oppressed of all lands and holds out the gifts of freedom, and we at this time and upon this occasion should renew our adherence to those policies which have made us a great nation. The future is before us, and the patriotism and self-sacrifice of those who made the country's history so glorious should be an Inspiration to us for all higher ideals of citizenship. Through the golden gates of commerce pours an unceasing stream of immigration which must be amalgamated with American ideas and American principles.

The battles of the past have been for freedom and liberty, and the struggle of the future will be for their preservation, not, however, by force of arms, but through the peaceful methods which come through the education of our people. The declaration which brought our Republic into existence has insured and guaranteed that liberty of conscience and that freedom of action which does not interfere, with the prerogatives or privileges of a man's neighbors.

Capital and labor are the two great elements upon which the prosperity and happiness of our people rest, and when, therefore, aggregations of the one are met by combinations of the other, it should be the aim of all to prevent the clashing of these great interests. The products of toil are worthless unless there be some means by which they can be substituted or transferred for that which labor requires. The concrete form in which these transactions are conducted is the money power or the capital of the land.

Without work all of these fertile fields, these teeming towns, would have been impossible; and without a desire to benefit and elevate humanity, its onward progress would have been useless. To work, to labor, is man's bounden duty, and in the performance of the tasks which have been placed upon him he should be encouraged, and his greatest incentive should be the knowledge that he may transmit to his children and his children's children a higher civilization and greater advantages than he himself possessed.

Trade conditions which would permit to the toiler but a bare sustenance, the bare means of a livelihood, would be a hindrance to human progress, a hindrance not to be removed by all of the maxims of the philosopher or the theories of the doctrinaire.

Promise without fulfillment is barren, but when you can place before the mechanic the assured fact that the performance of his duty means success in life, and that his nonperformance means failure; when you can show him that this law is immutable, you have made of him a useful citizen and have instilled into his mind a firm belief that the freedom and liberty of which we boast is not an inchoate substance to be dreamed of and not enjoyed.

But this desired result can not be secured if combinations of capital, which produce the necessaries of life cheaper and better, are assailed as the enemies of mankind. There is always a mean between those who seek only a fair recompense and return for that which they produce and those who seek undue advantages for the few at the expense of the many. The laws which have been enacted, if properly executed, are sufficient in their force and effort to encourage the one and to punish the other, but in our condemnation let us not forget that with the expansion that has come to our country an expansion of our business relations is also necessary.

This growth has brought us into intimate contact with the markets of the world, and in the struggle that is always before us the competition of trade, if we are to hold our own among the world's producers, we should encourage, not hinder, those who, by their energy, their capital, and their labor, have banded together for the purpose of meeting these new conditions--problems which our individual efforts alone can not solve, but which require the concentrated force and genius of both capital and labor.

Incentive for good citizenship would indeed be lacking if these were taken from us--the opportunities for development, the opportunities for the young man to follow in the footsteps of those who have written their names in the history of our country as the great captains of industry.

Success will always follow perseverance and genius. Every heresy, every doctrine which would teach the young man of this country differently, is an insult to the intelligence of our people, and is in the direction of building up a dangerous element in American society which in time would threaten not only the peace and prosperity we enjoy, but our very institutions themselves.

When you have placed before the young man all of his possibilities, you have made it impossible to make of our Republic a plutocracy controlled by the few at the expense of the many. The individual should count for as much as the aggregation of individuals, because an injury to the one will lead to the destruction of the many.

The question of adjusting and harmonizing the relations of capital and labor is the problem before us to-day, and is one which will become more urgent in the future. Its solution must be along those lines of constitutional right which every citizen has been guaranteed.

Every man is entitled, in the prosecution of his work, to the broadest possible liberty of action and the protection of law--of that law which is the outgrowth of necessity and which seeks to encourage and not to oppress. Such recognition can always be secured if there is a determination upon the part of those charged with the responsibility of government to have it. And who is not?

Every man possessed of a ballot is responsible and has the power not only to formulate, but to criticise and punish as well. If the right be properly exercised, an honest and efficient administration of our affairs can always be secured.

The greatest solvent for political heresies, for doctrines which are antagonistic to popular government, is education. To the educated mind there comes a conception of duty which is not possible to the ignorant.

Sixth. Grand chorus.

Seventh. Benediction by Rabbi Leon Harrison: