Part 9

The outstanding obligations and contracts, including disbursements to November 1, 1902, amount to $6,931,853.41.

There is in the hands of the treasurer, November 1, 1902, the sum of $5,193,889.82.

Respectfully, W.B. STEVENS, _Secretary._

Mr. JOSEPH FLORY, _Secretary Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission._

ST. Louis, U.S.A., _November 26, 1902._

DEAR SIR: By direction of the Commission I respectfully call your attention to the following entry in the minutes of the proceedings at a meeting of the Commission held on October 2, 1902, as follows:

"President Francis was requested by the Commission to furnish a detailed statement of all outstanding contract obligations and other liabilities of the exposition for transmission to the President of the United States with the monthly report for the current month. He said the statement would be furnished the Commission as requested."

The statement referred to was not furnished to the Commission for transmission to the President of the United States with the monthly statement for the month of October. Presumably this default occurred because of your inability to have the statement prepared in season for transmission with that report. It is deemed by the Commission absolutely essential that the statement should be transmitted with the report for the month of November, to the end that it may be on file and available for examination by the President or by Congress.

You are, therefore, respectfully requested to furnish such detailed statement to the Commission at the earliest practicable date, to the end that it may be examined during the present meeting of the Commission.

The Commission desires that the statement should show the contract obligations for the several buildings, the names of the contractors, the dates fixed for payment, the amounts heretofore paid, and the date for final completion of each structure. Also all contracts existing requiring the payment of money for the acquisition of grounds and improvements to be made thereon, and for services rendered, or to be rendered, together with the amounts heretofore paid on the respective contracts, and the names of the contractors to whom payments have been or are to be made. In short, it is the desire of the Commission that the statement should give the substance of each and every contract for the payment of money made by the Exposition Company prior to November 1.

The Commission also desires that the statement should embrace an approximate estimate of the cost of all contemplated construction, improvements, and necessary expenditures connected with the exposition as contemplated by the plan and scope thereof heretofore approved.

The Commission deems the statement referred to necessary under the requirements of section 11 of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1901, which requires the Commission to give a general summary of the financial condition of the exposition.

The Commission will appreciate the courtesy of the statement in duplicate.

Very respectfully, THOS. H. CARTER, _President_.

Hon. D.R. FRANCIS, President Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, _St. Louis, Mo_.

ST. LOUIS, _November 26, 1902_.

DEAR SIR: I beg to acknowledge receipt of a communication dated November 26, signed by President Carter, requesting a detailed statement of the financial obligations and expenditures of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company up to and including October 31, 1902.

Respectfully, W.B. STEVENS, _Secretary_.

Hon. JOSEPH FLORY, _Secretary National Commission, City_.

ST. LOUIS, U.S.A., _November 26, 1902_.

DEAR SIR: I send herewith a statement of the disbursements and liabilities of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, which, I think, meets the request made by the National Commission.

Respectfully, D.R. FRANCIS, _President_.

Hon. THOMAS H. CARTER, _President National Commission, St. Louis_.

ST. LOUIS, _November 29, 1902_.

DEAR SIR: I send herewith the financial statement and duplicate duly certified in accordance with the request of the National Commission.

Respectfully, W.B. STEVENS, _Secretary_.

FEBRUARY 5, 1903.

DEAR SIR: Referring to conversation had with you this morning, relative to the detailed statement of disbursements and liabilities transmitted this Commission each month, I wish to say that the statement does not furnish all the information requested.

By reference to letter addressed President Francis by President Carter under date of November 26, 1902, on the second page of which you will note this Commission desires a statement showing the contract obligations for the several buildings, the name of the contractors, the dates fixed for payment, the amounts heretofore paid, and the date for final completion of each structure. Also all contracts existing requiring the payment of money for the acquisition of grounds and improvements to be made thereon, and for services rendered or to be rendered, together with the amounts heretofore paid on the respective contracts, and the names of the contractors to whom payments have been or are to be made, giving the substance of each and every contract for the payment of money made by the Exposition Company prior to November 1. If you could have the statement include the months of November, December, and January it would be appreciated.

You will also note that it is desired that the statement should embrace an approximate estimate of the cost of all contemplated construction, improvements, and necessary expenditures connected with the exposition, as contemplated by the plan and scope thereof heretofore approved.

This Commission will meet on March 10, and I will appreciate it if you will have the statement furnished at your earliest convenience.

Thanking you in advance for your kindness, I beg to remain,

Yours, very truly, JOSEPH FLORY, _Secretary._

W.B. STEVENS, Esq., _Secretary Exposition Company, Building._

ST. LOUIS, U.S.A., _February 19, 1903._

DEAR SIR: The information asked for in your letter of the 5th instant, namely, "A statement showing contract obligations for the several buildings, names of contractors, dates fixed for payment, amount heretofore paid, and dates for final completion of each structure," is being prepared and will be forwarded to you.

Respectfully, W.B. STEVENS, _Secretary._

Mr. JOSEPH FLORY, _Secretary._

The statements furnished by the Exposition Company following this correspondence did not seem to the Commission to be sufficiently explanatory of the financial condition of the exposition, and with a view of obviating this difficulty, and of insuring better results in the future, the Commission on March 13, 1903, appointed a special auditing committee, consisting of Messrs. Scott, Thurston, and Miller, to audit the books and accounts of the Exposition Company up to April 1, 1903. Mr. Scott, as chairman, was authorized by the following resolution to make the audit:

Copy of Resolution.

_Resolved_, That the special auditing committee heretofore appointed be, and said committee is hereby, directed to inquire into and report to the Commission at its earliest convenience the true situation concerning the financial condition of the Exposition Company in the matter of cash receipts from different sources, including receipts for admissions and concessions and other sources; also all disbursements of any nature made by the Exposition Company. They will also examine all advertisements for bids; also all competitive bids submitted by contractors under each advertisement, and compare the accepted bids with the rejected bids, and determine if the accepted bids are reasonable in comparison with the material and service rendered. They will also prepare a comparative statement showing all bids submitted, and a copy of all contracts as finally awarded.

It is the wish of the Commission that you, as chairman of the special auditing committee, proceed with as much expedition as possible to make the examination and secure the information as set forth in above resolution.

Owing to the magnitude of the work of auditing the books of such an immense enterprise, Mr. Scott engaged the services of Jones, Caesar & Co., expert accountants, of St. Louis, to make the investigation under supervision of the committee.

On June 23, 1903, the special auditing committee made a report to the Commission, and at various times thereafter submitted other reports of the financial standing of the Exposition Company, based upon the findings of the above-named firm of expert accountants, all of which are in the files of the Commission.

The last report of the expert accountants employed by the Commission, containing a statement of receipts and disbursements of the Exposition Company from date of its incorporation to date of April 30, 1905, together with a condensed statement compiled by said expert accountants, showing their estimate of the financial result of the exposition, which they state has been prepared from the accounts of the company to May 3, 1905, and from an estimate of future receipts and expenditures, furnished by the president of the Exposition Company, is herewith submitted as a part of this report as "Appendix No. 1."

The Commission was compelled from time to time to call the attention of the Exposition Company to the apparently excessive number of free admissions in comparison with the total attendance at the exposition.

On May 10, 1904, the Commission wrote to the Exposition Company, pointing out that for the first seven days of the exposition, with the exception of the opening day, the number of free admissions compared with paid admissions was in the ratio of 7 to 6. On several subsequent occasions the Commission insisted that prompt action should be taken to check the indiscriminate use of passes.

On May 24, 1904, the Commission adopted the following resolution:

_Resolved_, That Mr. Thurston, as a member of the judiciary committee present, call upon Judge Ferris, general counsel for the Exposition Company, and indicate to him the condition of correspondence with reference to free admissions to the fair grounds, and to suggest to him that in the absence of any disposition on the part of the Exposition Company to take notice of the protests of the Commission, he has been authorized to prepare the case for submission to the Attorney-General of the United States, with request that action be taken in the courts to prevent further violation of the law and rules as agreed upon by the joint action of the company and the Commission.

On the same day Mr. Thurston, in a conference with Judge Ferris, general counsel of the Exposition Company, brought the said action of the Commission to his attention and insisted that the Exposition Company should at once take immediate steps to put an end to the excessive and improper issuance of free passes. Mr. Thurston was assured by Judge Ferris that he would immediately consult with the exposition officials and endeavor to secure such action on their part as would meet the views and wishes of the Commission.

As there was no apparent cessation in the distribution of passes, the president of the Commission, on May 31, addressed the following communication to the president of the Exposition Company:

MAY 31, 1904.

SIR: Under date of May 26 Secretary Stevens transmitted to the National Commission what he denominated "The rules and regulations governing and restricting the issuance and use of passes," as adopted by the company and now in operation. This communication, with the rules referred to attached, was obviously intended as an answer to the communication of the Commission to the company on that subject under dates of May 10 and May 19.

I am directed by the Commission to call your attention to the following sentence contained in my letter of 19th, above referred to, to wit:

"Persons not entitled to admission to the grounds under article 5 of the rules and regulations can only be legally and properly admitted by the Exposition Company with the approval of the National Commission."

With that proposition the answer of the executive committee of your company takes issue by submitting what you evidently deemed a sufficient answer through rules and regulations adopted by the company and now in operation, without the approval of the Commission.

The Commission understands that the following issues arise from this letter and the correspondence to which it refers, to wit:

First. That the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company asserts and is exercising the asserted right to formulate and put into operation rules and regulations governing and restricting the issuance and use of free passes to the exposition grounds, without submitting such rules and regulations to the Commission and obtaining its approval thereof.

Second. That the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company asserts and is acting upon the assertion of its alleged right, through its officers and agents, to issue free passes to the exposition grounds without the concurrence or approval of the National Commission, expressed through general rules or regulations or otherwise.

In reply to these asserted rights, and the exercise thereof by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission denies the right of the company to promulgate and put into operation rules and regulations governing and prescribing the issuance and use of free passes to the exposition grounds without submitting such rules and regulations to the Commission, and without obtaining its approval thereof, and denies the right of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company to issue free passes to the exposition grounds without the concurrence or approval of the National Commission, expressed through general rules and regulations, or otherwise.

Upon the two issues here presented the Commission invokes the judgment of the board of arbitration, provided for in section 4 of the act of Congress, entitled:

"An act to provide for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States by holding an international exhibition of arts, industries, manufactures, and the products of the soil, mine, forest, and sea, in the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, approved March 3, 1901."

For convenience a copy of the correspondence referred to is hereunto attached.

Hon. John M. Allen and Hon. John M. Thurston, the members of the Commission appointed to act for this body on the board of arbitration, will hold themselves in readiness to meet the members of that board appointed by the company at their pleasure.

Yours, very respectfully, THOS. H. CARTER.

Hon. D.R. FRANCIS, _President Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company._

On June 14 the Exposition Company submitted certain rules and regulations governing the issuance of passes. The Commission gave due consideration to the proposed rules, and on June 25 returned them to the Exposition Company with certain modifications, which the executive committee of the Exposition Company refused to adopt. Whereupon, on July 7, the Commission, by resolution, demanded immediate arbitration on the matter and protested against the issuance of free admissions pending a decision by the board of arbitration.

Mr. Joseph Flory, secretary of the Commission since its organization, resigned from that office on July 1, 1904. Mr. Lawrence H. Grahame, of New York, assistant secretary, was elected as secretary to succeed Mr. Flory.

On July 13, 1904, the board of arbitration of the Commission and the Exposition Company finally met, and the question of free passes was discussed. Another meeting of the arbitrators was held on July 18, and rules and regulations governing the use of passes were drafted.

These rules were subsequently adopted by the company and approved by the Commission on July 20, 1904. The rules read as, follows:

_Resolved,_ That the rules and regulations governing free admission to the exposition grounds, prepared by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, governing the corporation are fixed and established by said company to read as follows:

The official badges of the officers and directors of the company, directors of divisions, and chiefs of departments of the exposition, duly approved by the board of directors of the company; the official badges of the officers and members of the National Commission, duly approved by said Commission; and the official badge of the board of lady managers, duly approved by said board, shall entitle the officers and members wearing the same to free admission to the exposition grounds.

Card passes for the entire period of the exposition will be issued to the following officials and their wives, to wit:

The President of the United States.

The Vice-President of the United States.

Members of the Cabinet.

Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Secretary to the President of the United States.

Members and officers of the National Commission.

The directors and officers of the Exposition Company.

The mayor of the city of St. Louis.

Card passes for the entire period of the exposition will be issued to the following persons, to wit:

Members of both Houses of Congress, and the chief officers thereof.

The Diplomatic Corps.

The diplomatic representatives of the United States abroad.

The governors of States, Territories, Districts, and dependencies of the United States, and the Commissioners of the District of Columbia.

Commissioners of foreign countries accredited to the exposition.

Commissioners of States, Territories, Districts, and dependencies of the United States accredited to the exposition.

Directors of divisions and chiefs of the departments and bureaus of the exposition.

The widows of deceased directors of the Exposition Company.

The members of the board of lady managers.

Members of the United States Government board.

The commander of the Jefferson Guards and his official aides.

The members and chief officers of the municipal assembly of the city of St. Louis.

The heads of departments of the municipal government of the city of St. Louis.

The chief of police and the chief of the detective force of St. Louis.

Limited admission passes will be granted, under such rules and regulations as the Exposition Company may prescribe, to the following classes of persons whose duties require their presence upon the exposition grounds, to wit:

The judges and jurors of awards.

Employees of the Exposition Company.

Employees of the National Commission.

Employees of the board of lady managers.

Officers and employees of the United States actually in charge of or connected with the Government exhibits, or otherwise officially engaged within the exposition grounds.

Agents and employees of foreign governments actually in charge of or connected with their exhibits or buildings.

Duly accredited press representatives.

Private exhibitors and their employees.

Concessionaires and their employees.

The term "employee" as herein used shall be construed as meaning only such persons as are actually and necessarily employed within the exposition grounds, and when in any case such employment ceases the pass shall be taken up and canceled.

A vehicle may be admitted to the grounds upon payment of 50 cents, but the driver and occupants thereof shall be subject to the general rules governing admissions.

_Provided,_ That all official vehicles and the vehicles of officers and directors of the Exposition Company, of officers and members of the National Commission, and the members of the board of lady managers shall, with the driver thereof, be admitted free upon presentation of official permit.

Any person entering the grounds upon a badge or card pass shall be required to deposit with the gate keeper a personal card with pass number thereon.

In exceptional cases the president of the Exposition Company may issue passes to persons not included in the foregoing classification, when such action is deemed for the best interest of the exposition.

Passes will not be replaced during the period for which same may have been issued. When a pass is lost, prompt notice should be given to the department of admissions in order that notice of same may be posted and the pass taken up if presented.

When an employee is discharged or resigns, a pass will not be issued to his successor until the original pass is returned to the department of admissions.

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition reserves the right to call in and revoke or cancel any pass at any time.

Passes are void and will be forfeited if showing any evidence of alteration or erasure. All passes are nontransferable, and will be forfeited if presented by any other than person named thereon.

Any person holding a pass may be required to prove his identity by signature or otherwise.

All passes will be issued subject to the conditions printed thereon.

All passes issued in conflict with the foregoing rules and regulations shall be recalled and canceled.

The Exposition Company shall furnish the National Commission a complete list of all card passes and a statement of all other passes issued prior to July 1, classified as to departments, divisions, and bureaus, as accurately as may be done from the books of the company, and hereafter the company shall keep an accurate record by departments, divisions, and bureaus, showing all passes issued by each under the foregoing rules, and shall furnish a copy of such record to the National Commission with each monthly financial statement, and such statement shall contain a list of all card passes issued during the month to which the financial report refers.

Prior to the approval of the rules and regulations governing free admissions to the exposition grounds, the president of the Exposition Company exercised a free hand in the distribution of passes.

On April 30, and during the month of May, 1904, of the 1,841,275 total admissions only 667,772 were paid admissions, thus making the free admissions substantially two-thirds of the total.

In June, 1904, the total admissions were 2,448,519, and of this number 1,382,865 were paid.

In July an improvement occurred. Of the 2,498,265 admissions during that month, 1,514,743 were paid. Thenceforward less than one-half of the total admissions were free. But notwithstanding the effort to check this abuse it was indulged to such an extent that the final totals make a remarkable showing, as follows:

Total admissions during the entire period of the exposition ....................... 20,066,537 Total paid admissions during the entire period of the exposition ................ 12,804,616

The total attendance and the paid admissions at the exposition do not compare favorably with those of the Columbian Exposition of 1893. The Columbian Exposition was conducted during a period of great financial depression, while the St. Louis Exposition was held during a period of remarkable prosperity. The Government aid extended to the latter was far greater in every respect than was given the former.

The method of advertising the exposition adopted by the company was a subject of constant and almost universal criticism, and complaints were made to the Commission and in the public press that exploitation of the fair was inadequate. On every possible occasion members of the Commission personally brought the matter to the attention of the exposition officials and suggested that steps be taken to give the enterprise wider publicity.

The Commission received communications and personal visits almost daily from persons interested in the success of the exposition, urging that some official action be taken to improve the existing advertising arrangements. So insistent became the demand for greater publicity that the president of the Commission addressed the following letter to the Exposition Company, suggesting the importance of properly advertising the exposition throughout the country.

JULY 20, 1904.

DEAR SIR: By direction of the National Commission, I respectfully call your attention to the apparent need for an extension and enlargement of the publicity feature of the exposition.

The zeal and efficiency of the press of the city of St. Louis has demonstrated what may be done in the creation of active interest by enlightened exploitation through the public press. Within the range of the general circulation of the papers published in this city all features of the fair have been made known; but, unhappily, the journals of this city, like those of all other cities, enjoy general circulation only in a limited area. Beyond the line of the special influence of the local press the extensive proportions and interesting details of the fair do not appear to the Commission to have been made known to the general public, to the extent or in the manner calculated to inspire the interest and secure the attendance warranted by the extraordinary merits of the great educational force here installed. In the opinion of the Commission this delinquency does not arise from any lack of devotion to the public welfare by the press of the country at large.