Ohio History Journal

Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.    123     OHIO DAY AT PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION.   JULY 18, 1901: Never was the "Rainbow City" more radiant, attractive or active than on "Ohio Day," July 18, 1901, when thousands of Buckeyes made pilgrimage from their native state to Buffalo and proudly participated in the ceremonies and festivities of the formal dedication of the Ohio Building.     OHIO BUILDING. The Ohio Building, one of the finest and most admired state edifices on the ground, naturally was the center of life, apart

from the hours of the exercises in the Temple of Music. The architect is Mr. John Eisenmann of Cleveland, Ohio. It is pure white and stands out conspicuously among all state and foreign buildings. It is 100 by 80 feet in extent, with a 20 foot colonade

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124       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.   running entirely around it and adding materially to the ground space that it covers and to its majestic effect. Its style of archi-

tecture is Grecian. On the ground floor of the building are the offices for the Ohio Com- mission. There are also a woman's reception room, furnished handsomely with specially made oak furniture, and a gentleman's writ- ing room, equally complete in appointment. The main feature of the ground floor, if not the building, is the assembly-room, an apart- ment 60 by 30 feet in extent; although it will accommodate 200 people without much crowding, it was far too small for the

crowds of Ohioans who thronged the building on its dedication day. Adorning the walls are pictures of President McKinley,

the late John Sherman, Senator Hanna, Senator Foraker, Ex-Governor Bushnell, Governor Nash and other of Ohio's fav- orite sons. The wall and ceiling decora- tions are unique with oriental plants ris- ing from urns of Egyptian design. Gold- leaf figures artistically in the color scheme of the decorations in this room. On the second floor are spacious living rooms for the custodians of the building and a private room for the entertainment of distinguished guests.  Hon C. L. Swain is in active charge of the building

while Mrs. C. L. Swain gracefully fills the position of house hostess. Miss Georgia Hopley is a permanent resident as the accomplished correspondent of the daily papers. There are three pianos, scores of comfortable chairs, cool breezes, pictur- esque and fairy like views from the broad porticos, and in fact everything to make the visitor feel at home and long to stay. The building is most brilliant at night. It is lighted with actey- lene gas, which gives a peculiar whitish light, a contrast to the rich yellow of the incandescent lighting of the other buildings, which makes the Ohio Building stand out preeminent.

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Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.       125

 

 

PUBLIC CEREMONIES.

The dedication day was in keeping with all else, bright and

balmy. The clerk of the weather must have been an Ohio man

or the descendant of one, for he could not have furnished a kind-

lier sun or a gentler air. The Bison City was in gala attire and

the Exposition, arrayed in all its "purple and fine linen," was in

its jolliest and gayest mood.

To the credit of the people from the Buckeye State it may

be said that their celebration of the day that had been set apart

for them was more general and more enthusiastic than that of any

other State at the Exposition. Men prominent in State and na-

tional affairs were there as well as the soldiery and the common

every day citizen, all bent upon one mission, that of swelling the

attendance of Ohioans and assisting to make the day a memorable

one. Pride was apparent on the face of every wearer of the

Buckeye and red ribbon.

The formal exercises of the day began with the starting of

the parade from the ₇₄th N. Y. Regiment Armory in the center

of the city. The pageant, semi-military and semi-civic in char-

acter, was confined almost exclusively to Ohioans, although there

was a sprinkling of local people, city and county officials and

members of the Pan-American committees. The Eighth Ohio

Regiment, one of the best appearing bodies of citizen soldiery that

has ever paraded Buffalo streets and famous as being the "Presi-

dent's Own," constituted the military division of the pageant.

The civic division was made up as follows: Carriages containing

Gov. Nash of Ohio, President John G. Milburn of the Exposition

Company, Senator Marcus A. Hanna, Hon. Frank H. Baird of

Buffalo, the Governor's staff, the speakers of the day, the Ohio

Pan-American Commissioners and city officials.

The Eighth Ohio Regiment, the advance guard of the par de

and the official escort, arrived at the Lincoln Parkway entrance

at 11.20 o'clock and marched into the grounds, preceding Gov.

Nash and the other dignitaries. Near the Triumphal Causeway

the regiment dressed to the right and presented arms as the dis-

tinguished guests alighted from the carriages and marched to the

magnificent Temple of Music. Thousands of people who had

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126       Ohio Arch, and His. Society Publications.   gathered about the Esplanade to witness the arrival of the parade cheered lustily as the guests marched to the Temple. At the doors of the Temple the guests were welcomed by Director- General Buchanan, His Honor Mayor Diehl, Treasurer Williams, Harry Hamlin, H. H. Seymour and others. The only guest ex- pected by the officials and who failed to appear to the disappoint- ment of the multitude was Senator Foraker. The Temple of Music was packed with a brilliant and enthu- siastic audience. To the inspiring strains of martial music the Ohio Commission, Honorables W. S. McKinnon of Ashtabula, S. L. Patterson of Waverly and C. L. Swain of Cincinnati es- corted Governor Nash and his party upon the platform. The dedicatory exercises began almost immediately. Hon. W. S. McKinnon, chairman of the Ohio Commission, called the

assemblage to order, and introduced the Hon. Daniel J. Ryan of Columbus, chair- man of the meeting, who spoke briefly, acknowledging his pleasure at such a general outpouring of Ohioans. He also expressed cordial good will for the suc- cess of the Exposition. Bishop B. W. Arnett of Wilberforce University deliv- ered the invocation, after which the 65th N. Y. Regiment Band played a selection. Mme. Generva Johnstone-Bishop of Mar- ion, then sang "The Holy City" in a man- ner which elicited the applause of the

vast audience. The formal address of welcome was delivered by Director-General W. I. Buchanan. The address was short but appropriate and in a very few words Mr. Buchanan voiced the sentiments of every citizen of Buffalo in welcoming most heartily the citizens of the Buckeye State. He reminded the Ohioans that 123 years ago last Monday, following a ban- quet, which is one of the peculiarities of Ohio, civil government was established in their State. The people of the State made a good beginning and had kept up their record until to-day. It is generally understood that when anything in connection with civil government is required, all the people of this country have

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Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.              127

 

to do is to call on Ohio men and they can supply it. Mr. Bu-

chanan remarked that that he had the distinction in his boyhood

to run barefoot and tramp down hay in a haymow           and walk

one and one-half miles to school in winter in the Ohio valley.

He said he retained most pleasant recollections of his boyhood

in Ohio. It was a great pleasure to welcome so many citizens of

that State. He expressed the hope that all would thoroughly

enjoy their visit and assured them of a most cordial welcome by

the Exposition and the people of Buffalo.

 

GOV. NASH'S RESPONSE.

Gov. Nash made the response to the welcome. His speech

was short and enthusiastically received.

 

"It is said that there is a word in the Japanese language," began the

Governor, "which is spelled O-h-i-o, and which means good morning.

Mr. Director General, the people of Ohio are here present to say good

morning to you. I also desire to express our sincere appreciation of

the splendid words the director general has uttered in regard to our

State. While we of Ohio are proud of our State, we cannot forget

that the State of New York is larger and older than Ohio. When we

think of the things which have come to us in the last year, our memo-

ries go back to the pioneers who built Ohio, who were the most patri-

otic, most deserving and most splendid people, who came from New

England, from Pennsylvania and from New York, and for its contri-

bution to the builders of our State we always shall feel grateful to New

York.

"We are proud of Ohio and its industries, its commerce and its

men; so are you similarly proud of your great State of New York.

But there is one thing of which we are prouder than we are of our

riches; our splendid men. I am sure that you of New York are glad

that Ohio has given to the Nation William    McKinley as President

(cheers), just as we of Ohio are glad that you have given to the coun-

try a Vice President in Theodore Roosevelt. (Cheers.) We should re-

member our sole allegiance is not due to Ohio only, nor to New York

alone, but that we are only two of the forty-five States which make up

this great Nation.

"Mr. Director General, we thank you for this great exposition

which you have built here in Buffalo. Ohio desires in a small way to

show its appreciation of what you have done. She has erected a building

here, where, we hope, many thousands of our fellow citizens and of

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the citizens of all the states and the republics to the south of us may

spend many pleasant hours and may find rest and comfort. It is my

duty to turn our building over to the Pan-American, and in doing so I

express the sincere hope that your exposition may have the great success

which always should accompany efforts so earnest, so able and so mag-

nificent and wonderful in results as are those made by the officials of

the exposition and the citizens of Buffalo. I thank you for your attention

and I again wish you great success."

 

PRESIDENT MILBURN.

Gov. Nash's brief speech was applauded enthusiastically.

President John G. Milburn then accepted the Ohio Building

in behalf of the Exposition. He referred earnestly to the very

cordial encouragement and effective co-operation which had been

given to the Pan-American by the State of Ohio from the incep-

tion of the exposition project. He assured the Ohioans that their

assistance and their presence on their day was greatly appreci-

ated. It was only through such sympathy and co-operation as

had been extended by Ohio that the great purpose of the Pan-

American, the making better known to the people of South and

Central America of our people, and the making of them better

known to the people of this country, the bringing together of the

Americas, could be accomplished.

"Those of us engaged in this work," said Mr. Milburn, in

conclusion, "are sincerely grateful and the day will never come

when we will forget how Ohio stood by us and helped us to ac-

complish what we have done."

 

 

OHIO THE FIRST CHILD OF THE NORTHWEST.

The Hon. Charles W. Baker of Cincinnati followed with an

eloquent address upon the topic, "Ohio, the First Child of the

Northwest." He said:

"The fair fame of Ohio, as you may have observed, does not rest

merely upon the natural productions of her soil or the very many and

versatile results of her skill and labor.

"Ohio produces men--men of action. Men who can work and

plan. Men who can talk and think and fight; and it would hardly be

a full and fair description did I not add, men who can and do hold office

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"It has been so ever since Ohio became a State, nearly one hundred

years ago; for Ohio was not long in getting into the Union after it was

once well started, and she has had a great deal to do and say about

things ever since.

"Virginia used to be called the Mother of Presidents. Virginia

will have to be content with the title of grandmother now, for the other

distinction has passed from her. Ohio has assumed it.

"Nor are we without hope that the years of the future will still

justify this distinguished and distinguishing title.

"It is said at home that we have several very able men on both

sides who look not upon the mention of their names in connection with

the Ohio succession reproachfully.

"Did not the Twelfth Amendment forbid, we might furnish both

the President and Vice President.

"That inhibition is not nearly so forbidding that I should indulge

in such suggestion, however, as is the preamble of the Constitution,

which says that one of its objects is to 'insure domestic tranquillity.'

There would be no domestic tranquillity in Ohio, I mean constitutional

domestic tranquillity, with such a ticket. The most amiable of hopes

would not underwrite such an insurance.

"In New York you are said to have similar congestion and plethora.

Speaking as an Ohioan, I beg to say to you of New York, that when the

long roll is called and counted, the Ohio man will be in the first place,

and you may have the second only because the Constitution says we can-

not have them both.

"But, ladies and gentlemen, there are a great many persons in

Ohio who do not hold office, and, although they may be perfectly willing

to do so, are not particularly concerned about it as the chief end of life.

"They are represented in the material things you see about you,

that in this exposition stand for Ohio's industries and endeavor.

"Ohio was the first fruits of the Ordinance of 1787. That ordin-

ance was not merely the political creation of a Congress enactment, but

a solemn perpetual covenant between the thirteen Colonies and the people

of the Northwestern Territory, that slavery and involuntary servitude

should be forever prohibited within its borders, and, in its own language,

'religion, morality and education being essential to good government

and the happiness of mankind should forever be encouraged.'

"This vast Northwest, that in the ambiguous text of the treaty ceding

it, extended 'up into the land throughout from sea to sea, west and

northwest,' radiated between the Ohio River and the lakes, to the

Mississippi,and was destined within fifty years to form six great States,

of which Ohio was the first, as she was the fourth after the thirteen

Colonies, to be admitted into the Federal Union.

Vol. X-9

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"She was settled by a commingling of people, a part entering from

the Northeast, type and descendant of the best Puritan blood of New

England, the other strain of migration entering from the South, bringing

the warm and chivalrous traits and characteristics of the cavalier, whose

ancestors had peopled Maryland and Virginia, while flung across her

central border as if to reinforce and fuse these varied elements, New

York and Pennsylvania lent Dutch and Huguenot, producing in the

amalgamation as great and strong and mighty a race of people as ever

trod the globe.

"It is not surprising that Ohio, like some central, shining sun,

scattering light and heat and life, has sent in drifts and masses westward

and north and south and back again and eastward, men and women

who have won distinction in every field of opportunity and endeavor.

She has given Governors and Senators to other States, and judges and

statesmen to supreme courts and national assemblies. Her soil has been

the birthplace of Presidents whom other States have presented to the

Nation, as her own sons have been lifted to that high office by the

suffrage of their countrymen. She consecrated the brain and blood and

bodies of 500,000 sons to God and glory to preserve the Union, as she

gave the great commanders of that heroic struggle to country and to

history.

"Her artisans and mechanics have filled the earth with implements

and evidence of skill and genius. They invent them and then teach

mankind to build, as well as use, them.

"Her wood and iron-working machinery fills the markets of Russia

and the East. She sells her oil to India. Her wagons trek the dusty

roads of Africa, as her plows and reapers plant and gather the harvests

of Australia.

"Go into any field of industry the wide world over, and on the

simplest, as well as upon the most intricate and delicate machinery

utilized, you will find the stamp of Ohio.

"Nature intended it should be so. Her valleys are beautiful and

prolific, the fairest the sun e'er shone upon; redolent with the fragrance

of the wild grape and cherry that still bloom and blossom beside culti-

vated orchards, and green and yellow with wheat and cornfields nodding

in the sunshine, keeping time to the music of the harvest. The Miamis,

fertile and picturesque, stretch away into the Scioto and Muskingum,

and these melt again into the Hocking, the Mahoning and the Tuscara-

was, that in turn touch the Cuyahoga and the old black swamp, fountain-

head of the Sandusky and the Maumee.

"Ohio is still among the first of all States in the production of

wheat and corn and other cereals, in grapes and fruit, in tobacco,

flax and hemp; in cattle and sheep, in hogs and horses, in every product

of the soil, Ohio is Arcadian. She is like some vast cornucopia filled

to the overflow with abundant harvests.

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Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.              131

 

"Her hills, like her valleys, are prodigal in natural resources.

Not Alpine in height, but Apennine in beauty; full of coal and lime

and iron, of building stone and granite. They need but labor and the

torch to start the smoking furnaces that pour out steel and iron in

endless torrent; to pile mountain high the diamonds that are black that,

put to crucible, with eager fire drive wheels and shafts and gearings

that crown human industry and give light and heat and fuel; to rear

aloft architrave and column upon foundations of stately edifices and

business blocks.

"We bore beneath the wheat and corn, and oil and gas and salt

bubble and burst surfaceward.

"Yonder upon the eastern border is a clay deposit that, aside from

tile and brick, deftly fashioned in the potter's hands, makes famous

Ohio's potteries.

"In our own city of Cincinnati the genius of a gifted Ohio woman

fashioned wares that in exquisiteness of blended color, fused and welded,

and in fineness of texture and finish, make Rookwood as famous and

as artistic the world over as Wedgwood, Majolica or Delft.

"Ohio stands the great connecting Isthmian way between all the

States. It was so of old, when the national pike joined the West to

the East. It is now, when the slow locomotion of wagon and stage

coach has given way to the iron horse speeding upon steel rails.

"All continental lines of travel cross her territory. Converging

as they come from eastern terminals, they traverse Ohio upon closely

drawn and almost parallel lines, and then diverging like loosened tan-

gents, they spread abroad from Texas to Oregon. All States pay tribute

to us. We levy tax on traffic and gather toll from trade as the com-

merce of the world crosses our borders. Little wonder is it that men

go forth from Ohio, carrying the dear old State in their heart of hearts.

Little wonder is it that in every city of any size in this Union, and in

many, very many smaller towns, there are Ohio societies that foster

and minister to the love and pride they bear her memory and her greatness.

"But I must not prolong this recital.

"New York may call herself the Empire State; Ohio is imperial, too.

"Pennsylvania may style herself the Keystone State; Ohio is key-

stone and arch.

"Alabama's name means 'Here we rest;' but Ohio is the abiding

place of all that stands for life, for home, for hope, for happiness.

"Those of us who were born on her soil, together with her adopted

sons and daughters, voice that triumphant outcry of devotion: 'Thy people

shall be my people, and thy God, my God. The Lord do so to me and

more if aught but death part thee and me.'

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132        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

Mrs. Bishop sang again. Her glorious voice was heard first

in Handel's "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" and then in

"Comin' Thro' the Rye."

 

"THESE ARE MY JEWELS."

Hon. Emmett Thompkins, Congressman-elect from the 12th

Ohio District (Columbus) delivered an address replete with most

interesting historical and statistical information:

 

"Out of the days devoted to the exposition of the arts and the

products of the two Americas, this one is dedicated to Ohio, in order

that we, her citizens, should have special opportunity to make man-

ifest her worth to others and among ourselves to rejoice over her achieve-

ments and her status, and to hopefully contemplate, and find inspiration

for, the future. Ohio is a great State. One of the greatest of all the

States. That may sound like vanity and boastfulness. It is not. I have

heard many who never lived there, but who knew what they were talking

about, say the same thing. If such others so speak, why should it be

vanity or boastfulness for me to speak as they do? There are many

reasons for this conceded greatness, and reasons readily found and easily

understood.

"Location has had much to do in bringing about her present condi-

tion. It secured for her that sturdy and healthy pioneer population which

was richly capable of laying the civic and industrial foundations of the

commonwealth and the later population, descendant from these pioneers

or admitted from other places, which has builded wisely and well the

superstructure now resting so firmly and gracefully upon these foun-

dations.

"Many of the New Englanders at the close of the Revolution and

the establishment of the Union were content to stop where they were

and seek no further. The trials of the long struggle for independ-

ence had wearried them, and the magnitude of their achievements filled

their cups, so that they neither sought nor desired acquisition of ter-

ritory or change in conditions. Indeed, many of them believed and

urged that when the thirteen Colonies passed into the Union under the

Constitution the ultimate had been attained; that expansion of terri-

tory or migration of the inhabitants to outside fields were neither toler-

ated nor contemplated by the instrument and the spirit of the federation;

that the Appalachian range was the western boundary for all time,

and that whatever lay beyond should be the uninvaded home of the

Indian and the undisturbed lair of the wild beast. In short, they denied

the right and propriety of growth or change. Even to this day there

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Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.            133

 

are a few choice spirits who appear to think the same way, but hap-

pily for the country, they are growing fewer.

"To the contrary, there were many New Englanders of other

moods, notions and spirit. They looked across the lines marking the

narrow geographical area of the original Union. They were active,

progressive, expansive. They had climbed to the top of the Alleghe-

nies and from this lofty crest beheld the mighty West. They saw the

vast and unexplored forests, the undulating plains, the sweeping rivers,

the plunging waterfalls and curling brooks, the fertile valleys and ore-

filled hills, the changing skies and moving seasons lying between them

and the western line of the continent, and their souls were filled with

ambition and thrilled with hope. These people organized different land

companies, one distinctly known as the Ohio Company, and receiving

large grants at low prices and much encouragement from the general

government, they moved away from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and

Connecticut, sturdy men and women they were, and crossed the moun-

tains, threaded their way through unmarked forests and floated upon

the bosom of great rivers and their tributaries to stop at last within the

territory of what is now the State of Ohio. They stopped because they

had found that which they sought. These New Englanders settled prin-

cipally in the northeastern part and obtained lands which are still called

the "Western Reserve," and others in the southeastern part upon the

shares allotted by the Ohio Company obtained by it from the United

States. About the time of this invasion by the New Englanders,

another movement looking to the formation of Ohio had taken place.

That vast area stretching from Kentucky to the British Possessions had

been ceded by the State of Virginia and constituted what is known as

the "Territory Northwest of the Ohio River." This passed under civil

control in 1788, when Arthur St. Clair was inaugurated governor thereover

and upon this event great interest was aroused and Virginians, who were

always expansionists, left their native heaths and moving to the North-

west peopled the Symmes Purchase and the Virginia Military Survey,

where Chillicothe, our first State capital, is located.

"By these we see that the pioneers of Ohio, the first settlers,

they who laid the sills, who gave form and quality to our common-

wealth, were the sons and daughters of sturdy, conservative and wise

New England, and the sons and daughters of the brave, powerful and

dashing Virginia. Could origin have come from richer or more fruitful

source? Could any territory have been opened and settled by better

stock? Ohio was the chosen ground of these adventurous and progress-

ive pioneers because she lay in their path. The early descendants of

these New Englanders and Virginians, leaving the ancestral cabins and

seeking other fields, in time covered the whole territory, and thus

meeting and mingling they combined the best qualities of the different

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sections. Marriages between them were common, and as a result there

is not a day in the year nor a place in Ohio when and where you can

not find some person whose ancestors upon one side were from New

England and upon the other from Virginia.

"New England and Virginia! The leaders in the American Revo-

lution, the authors of the Declaration of Independence, the vigorous

advocates of the constitutional prohibition of slavery and the establish-

ment of the equality of all men before the law; ambitious, alert, pro-

gressive, wise and patriotic they mingled their blood, brawn and brains

upon the waiting and fecund soil of Ohio.

"The example set by these pioneers became effective and many

others left the East and Southeast to make their homes in the new and

wondrous land. Some, no doubt, had fixed their destination farther,

others no farther, but be that as it might have been, when the immigrant

reached Ohio he was attracted by her inducements, and there he stopped

and pitched his tent. Ohio is and always has been the gateway between

the East and the farther West. All immigrants and travelers passing

from one region to the other cross or touch her borders. The early

emigrant with his yoke of oxen, the later with his horses and "Quaker"

wagon, and the still later riding in the swiftly moving steam-drawn car,

seeking the "land of the setting sun," had to see Ohio, and seeing her

was caught by her charms and lingered with her.

"By reason of our location, so it appears, we have had opportunity

to arrest and hold the immigrant, domestic and foreign, and as a result

our population is composed of the best order of Americans and the best

classes of foreigners and their descendants, and all combine to give us

a citizenship unsurpassed in quality and in character.

"While location has had much to do in bringing about the present

condition of Ohio, there are other reasons to be considered, as supple-

mentary to and co-operative with location, and without which location

would have availed but little, and one is the material richness of the

State. No other like amount of surface in the whole Union contains

such variety of soil, forest and fruit trees, crops and stock, and equal

opportunity for profitable industrial enterprises.

"Old as she is, compared with other States, Ohio still has nearly

3,000,000 acres of timber-land, and among the trees growing thereon

can be found the oak, hickory, beech, poplar, sycamore, ash, chestnut,

cedar, elm and walnut, all sound and useful, and besides, not to more

than mention them, the dogwood, whose blossoms warn the farmer that

corn planting time has come, and the buckeye whose trunk made good

sugar-water troughs and a cradle for the baby in the early days, and

whose nuts furnished the nickname for our State.

"Of fruits there are raised all kinds, except such as grow only

in tropical climates, and if we have many summers like the present I

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Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.              135

 

would not be surprised to see plantations of bananas, oranges and cocoa-

nuts growing there. In the year 1899, there were 315,486 acres of apple

trees yielding 11,077,213 bushels; 30,309 acres of peach trees yielding

146,636 bushels, and 3,178 acres of pear trees yielding 73,236 bushels.

In all, 348,973 acres of apple, peach and pear orchards yielding in the

aggregate 11,297,083 bushels of fruit, and 1899 was a bad year, too.

There are not included in the official record the number of acres or the

yield of plums, apricots, cherries and quinces. By the way, and I came

near overlooking them, there are grapes growing in Ohio-all kinds.

In 1899 there were 13,629 acres of vineyards, which produced 31,127,743

pounds of this luscious fruit, out of which 489,060 gallons of wine were

pressed and the balance were consumed by us, the small boy, the birds

and bees and yellow jackets.

"Compared to the sweeping and far-reaching prairies and plains

of the distant West, Ohio can not be called a distinctly farming district,

yet in 1899 out of her 19,471,926 acres owned and taxed, 10,239,866

acres were under cultivation, and 5,849,010 acres in pasture, and the

balance was forest and other land. Upon that acreage which was devoted

to farming and pasture, there were owned in stock and produced in

crops in that year 551,923 horses; 1,253,945 head of cattle and milk

cows; 1,339,113 hogs, and 2,176,716 head of sheep, from which were

clipped 13,017,052 pounds of good wool.

"There were harvested 41,469,703 bushels of wheat; 185,710 bush-

els of rye; 173,206 bushels of buckwheat; 33,296,912 bushels of oats;

751,633 bushels of barley; 1,972,059 tons of hay and 749,225 tons of

clover; and there were dug 9,203,633 bushels of Irish potatoes, and

husked 111,159,200 bushels of corn. There were gathered 94,013 bushels

of sweet potatoes; 669,475 pounds of broom corn (we sweep a good deal),

and 861,809 bushels of odoriferous onions. Of sweets there were not

a few, for there were yielded 250,245 gallons of sorghum molasses:

983,667 gallons of maple syrup, and the busy bees gave us 1,052,616

pounds of honey.

"But these are not all that came from our farms that year, and it

was not a highly productive year, either. The dairies gave us for the

market 40,590,560 gallons of milk; 5,861,896 pounds of butter and

15,293,536 pounds of cheese. How many pounds of butter and cheese

and how many gallons of milk were consumed at home, there is no

method of ascertaining.

"The poultry yards that year presented and had officially recorded

60,376,116 dozen of eggs, and, no doubt, as many dozen escaped the

eye of the statistician. These statements when assembled challenge for a

moment our credulity and stagger the comprehension, but they are true;

and all is not told, because, no doubt, many of the products of the

farm have never been reported.

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136        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

"Great as are the agricultural and farming interests in Ohio, when

the soil so used is appraised for taxation at $599,678,045, there should

be added for our consideration before we can have an accurate notion of

what the worth of her ground is, the valuation of lots and lands lying

within towns and cities. Such lots and lands are appraised for taxation

at $674,526,676. And do not forget that real estate, as a rule, is

appraised for taxation at but 60 per cent. of its true value. Therefore,

it is fair to assume that the total value of real estate in Ohio in 1900 was

$2,125,672,860. Thus it is seen that mother earth, from whose bosom

we came and to whose eternal embrace we must return, has been won-

drously generous to us and to our neighbors. She is man's best and

most steadfast friend. Let us not abuse or neglect her. Let us cherish

and nourish her virtues, so that everywhere within our borders she shall

wear a golden crown and be clothed in the richest and fruitfullest raiment.

"I trust that figures have not become tiresome. Before we can

comprehend the material wealth of our State it is necessary to consider

them; and to them already given must be annexed a few more, and I

crave your indulgence.

"One of the most important factors in the wealth of a nation or of

a state is the employment of labor. The larger portion of the male popu-

lation of a district is devoted to manual toil. The 'hewers of wood and

carriers of water' constitute, probably, four-fifths of that population,

counting all departments; and it is absolutely essential to the welfare of

the state that these men be engaged in fairly and justly remunerative

work, because when labor is prosperous and contented then, and only

then, all is well. It is to be regretted thatwe have no law compelling

manufacturers to report to the several executive departments of the

government the number of persons employed, their wages, and the

amount of capital invested in their enterprises, together with the pro-

ducts thereof. The statistics at hand for 1900 are such as have been

derived from voluntary reports and by such inspection as our officials

had the time to make. In the year 1899 there were inspected 3,782 shops

and factories, and the factories and shops reporting to the Commissioner

of Labor Statistics were 2,362, employing 149,388 persons, to whom

were paid $67,555,815.29 in wages. The amount invested in these estab-

lishments was $256,453,091, and the value of the goods manufactured

$305,061,085. The steel industries reporting to the same department

were 71, with a capitalization of $17,895,472, employing 21,314 hands,

paying them $12,673,188 in wages and producing $72,708,924 in goods.

This report seems meagre, indeed, when we realize that the chattel

wealth of the State exceeds one billion of dollars, and that in iron alone

there were blasted and sold on the market in one year 13,620,700 tons

of pig iron.

"The coal business cuts an important figure. Of the 88 counties

in the State, 30 are coal producing. In 1899 there were 1,113 mines

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Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.              137

 

operated; 28,028 persons employed, price of mining 66 cents per ton,

and 15,908,934 tons of coal were dug from the mines and sold on the

market. There is but one other State in the Union that can equal this

showing.

"Railroading demands notice. Railroads are the great developers

and civilizers. They open the country and carry prosperity and educa-

tion along with passengers and freight. Show me a State with but few

railroads and I will show you one where the people are ignorant and

lazy, and where the thistle and the briar reign undisturbed. But show

me a State with many such roads and I will show you one where the

people are intelligent and thrifty and where the land yields its utmost.

"In the year 1900 there were 87 companies operating steam rail-

roads in the State of Ohio, with 13,254 miles of track therein; with

$306,904,600 of capital stock, paying for that year $6,367,746.04 in

dividends, using equipment costing $573,674,616.86, earning for their

shareholders $86,049,117.88, employing 67,834 persons, distributing in

salaries and wages $37,190,857, and carrying 27,364,106 passengers and

123,639,177 tons of freight, and turned into the public treasury $2,187,232

by way of taxes on property, and $383,218 more by way of exactions for

the mere privilege of doing business therein. All in the State of Ohio

and all in one year.

"Within the last few years a 'new Richmond' has entered the field.

It is the interurban railroad, operated by electricity. In every direction

these lines are reaching out and binding the country with the town, and

town with town, in quick communication. How many miles there are

already constructed I can not tell, because such companies are not yet

under the supervision of the Commissioner of Railroads, but the record

shows that 33 new companies were organized last year with capital aggre-

gating $10,352,000, and more are to follow.

"Banking has an important place. In the year just named we had

259 National banks, with total assets of $62,128,039, and State banks

and Savings societies, with valuation for taxation amounting to

$18,558,494. And it is fair to assume, although there is no way of

finding out exactly, that the deposits in these various banks and private

banks not reported, amounted to a billion dollars.

"So much for the material wealth of Ohio. That wealth which has

form, substance, weight and lasting qualities, but with all these she

would be 'poor as winter' if there was not something besides. That some-

thing can be supplied from social, moral and mental conditions. It

requires the educated mind, good morals and pure social qualities to

get the best out of material things. Have the people of Ohio such minds,

morals and social qualities? 'By their fruits ye shall judge them" "In

the year 1900 there were organized 317 benevolent and other social cor-

porations, and 98 churches, and 22 colleges and libraries. It can not be

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138        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

ascertained with exactness how many churches, schools and libraries

there are in Ohio, but they are on every hand. We have four universi-

ties sustained by the public funds, and there must be more than 20 pri-

vate colleges. The school-houses are always in sight, and the State

appropriated $1,764,939 last year for their support, and there is not a

boy or a girl in all Ohio under 16 years of age who is not compelled by

law to go to school, and none so poor that he or she can not have books

and other necessaries, because the State will furnish them when there is

any need.

' 'Thereby abideth faith, hope and charity, but the greatest of

these is charity.' No State is kinder to or more thoughtful of her unfor-

tunates and afflicted than Ohio is. She has seven hospitals where the

sick in mind find care and comfort, and last year she gave $1,504,000

for their support. The deaf mutes, who can not voice their gratitude

nor hear the laughter of their playmates, are not left in ignorance; nor

are the blind from whose minds the glorious shapes and colorings of

the earth are shut out, suffered to remain in total darkness, for Ohio has

erected a noble institution of learning for each of them and appropriated

last year for the support of the former $145,000 and to the latter $85,000,

"To him who bore the heat of battle in his country's cause and is

now old and infirm, his State extends a generous hand and leads him

to a beautiful Soldiers' Home at Sandusky, where with his old com-

rades in arms he can pass his closing days in comfort and in honor.

"Nor are the orphans of such men forgotten, because at Xenia

there has been established a large, comfortable and even magnificent

home for the orphans of soldiers and sailors. Besides these, there are

57 children's homes supported by taxation, and in every county and in

every city there may be found hospitals, nurseries, homes and retreats

for the infirm and the tender. Glorious State, none is more charitable

to and thoughtful of her unhappy ones.

"But these mentioned are not all. There are other sources from

which she draws her greatness. Ohio was organized as a State on the

29th day of November, 1802. She then had a population of 45,365, as

determined by the census of 1800. By the last census this population

had grown to 4,157,545, which is a million more than inhabited all the

colonies when they struck for freedom. This population, mighty as it

is, is tranquil, peaceful, and law-abiding. This condition rests upon the

deep, underlying and all-pervading spirit of patriotism. The love of

country- divine--eternal - which engenders respect for and obedi-

ence to law and public order. It glowed in the embers upon the first

settler's hearth; it was heard in the ring of the ax as the pioneer sunk

it deep in the trunk of the shuddering oak; in the song he sang as he

thrust the plowshare into the teeming earth; in the stories he told when

night shut down, and with his children they sat in the cabin and read

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Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.               139

 

each other's faces by the light of the flickering knot; and from him,

fastening itself with unyielding hold upon each generation, through all

the intervening years with their vicissitudes, trials and tests, untarnished

and undiminished and only stronger, purer and sweeter, this spirit of

patriotism has come to us and is with us this day.

"Ohio has sent her sons to every battlefield where the liberty of

men or the relief of the oppressed was at issue. In the great Civil War

where liberty and the Union were at stake, she sent 310,654 volunteers

to the front. These brave sons were at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, the

March to the Sea, at Nashville, at Chattanooga and at every spot where

the stars and stripes fluttered and the cannon thundered. And under

countless heaps of earth, all over the land of the South, by the side of

the weaving pine, beneath the mountain's frowning top, at the riffled

brook, by the lily-covered pond, they are sleeping on and on, waiting for

the final trump which shall marshal them for the Grand Review before

the Throne on High.

"What State in that mighty struggle equalled her in the commanders

furnished? Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, McPherson and the McCooks!

Where can their peers be found? The very sounding of their names

starts the war spirit and urges us to victorious combat. Their fame will

live as long as men inhabit the earth, and their praises will be spoken

wherever tongues articulate.

"In the late War with Spain, where the relief of the oppressed was

all we sought, Ohio paid her full share. Ten regiments marched forth

from the farm, the shop, the store and the office. Some were at Porto

Rico, some at Santiago, and the others chafing under the restraints of

the camp were all anxious to fire a shot. The first fully equipped and

ready for battle volunteer regiment in the United States to reach the

camp of mobilization was the First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which

pitched its tents at Chickamauga.

"Not in war alone has Ohio acquired fame and honor. Her sons

have left their deep impress in all the higher walks; in oratory, states-

manship, finance, at the bar, in the pulpit, and in art and letters. Who

could surpass the versatile Corwin, the scholarly and magnetic Garfield,

the rugged and convincing Wade, the edifying and classical Cox, when

listening thousands, rapt and eager, broke into echoing applause?

Whence came wiser statesman than Harrison, Hayes, Stanton and

Brough; greater financiers than Chase, Sherman, and the Rockefellers;

greater lawyers than Peter Hitchcock, the elder Ewing, Rufus P. Ran-

ney, Matthews, Swayne and Waite, and greater preachers than Ames

and Simpson? In the presidential chair Ohio has placed the two Harri-

sons, Grant, Hayes, Garfield and McKinley; in the cabinet, Meigs,

McLean, Corwin, Stanberry, Ewing, Taft, Dennison, Stanton, Chase,

Sherman, Foster, Day, Hay, Delano and Cox; on the Supreme bench of

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140         Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

the United States, Chief Justices Chase and Waite, and Associate Jus-

tices Swayne and Matthews - distinguished all. To art she gave Powers

and his chisel, and to letters, Howell and Reid.

"To-day her sons are dwelling in every clime and every State and

territory in the Nation, sent thither to expend the strength and utilize

the genius drawn from their native soil, and they are doing it. Go

where you may-no matter how remote the spot-there you will find

the Ohio man and find him counting for something. In the Senate of the

United States and in the House of Representatives her sons are found

speaking for other and younger States; in State offices throughout the

West, North and Southwest, Ohio "boys" are filling places of the highest

responsibility, doing honor to themselves and to their native State.

Way over in the Philippines, in our new possessions, with thousands of

leagues on sea and land between him and his home, Ohio's noble son

was, on the 125th anniversary of the Declaratoin of American Independ-

ence, inaugurated as first civil governor of the Archipelago. There in

the Orient, among the oppressed and the ignorant, amid the gloom of

four hundred years of unrelenting tyranny, the torch of enlightenment,

civilization and liberty was raised by the strong, kind and just hand of

William H. Taft, to go down in darkness no more forever.

"To the highest legislative body in the Union now, as in the past,

we make contribution to the ablest, most prominent and most effective

of its membership, from both the leading parties. And with all these,

ample in his strength, whose every artery is filled with romping blood

and every fibre thrilling with vitality; in the noonday of his accom-

plished manhood, trained and well poised, Ohio has given to our coun-

try and to the world, one of the three greatest of all presidents, that

profound statesman, superb soldier and gentle Christian, William

McKinley.

"I have stated some but not all the reasons for Ohio's greatness.

It may be proper to add that her financial integrity has never been ques-

tioned from the days of "wildcat" banking to the gold standard, and her

credit is so good that she can borrow all the money needed at 3 per cent.

Her total State debt is but $450,000, bearing that rate of interest. More

than half of this will be paid next year, and the balance one year later.

So that by this day in 1903 Ohio will not owe one cent. It is fair to

mention another thing. Critics and reviewers say that all Ohio men are

politicians, and say, besides, that politicians are dishonest. They may

be half right. We may be all politicians, but the truth is that while

our State officials receive smaller salaries than are paid in States not

so large or so rich, but one breath of scandal or formal charge of crime

against State officials has ever stained her record in all her life. They

are, have been, and will be honest.

"And now the tale is told, and poorly told. More and better things

could be said and better said. The field is a fruitful one and large.

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Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.              141

 

More than a century of civilization and nearly a hundred years of state-

hood make a long stretch of time and offer unaccounted opportunities

for growth and development, and these have not been neglected. 'Tis

a mighty transition from the cabin of the pioneer to the mansion of

the day; and this evolution hath been wrought slowly, steadily, and

securely. The mind leaps the intervening years since the smoke of the

lonely fire curled through the gloomy forest and pauses to contemplate the

wondrous work of time and its generations of men. We proudly pon-

der over what has been accomplished and from the noble fabrics now

erected catch hope and inspiration. Let us go on waxing stronger, richer,

and better; and here and now dedicate our lives and aspirations to the

purpose of filling the years to come with achievements still greater than

those which glorify the present."

 

SENATOR MARCUS A. HANNA.

Senator Marcus A. Hanna was the last speaker and he re-

ceived an ovation. The plaudits that greeted him surpassed the

welcome accorded any other figure of the day. The genial and

good-natured Senator was in "fine feather" and entered most

heartily into the spirit of the occasion. His beaming features ex-

panded in a merry smile as he waited for an opportunity to be

heard. He spoke "off-hand" in his characteristic terse and force-

ful manner.

 

"I presume I would please this audience," said Senator Hanna,

"after Mr. Tompkins's lengthy and able speech, by simply adding bully

for Ohio and let it go at that. (Laughter.) I want to say a word about

this exposition and its practical results, however, even at the expense of

your patience. On behalf of all Ohio, I want to thank the President of

the Pan-American Exposition Company, the Mayor of Buffalo, the citi-

zens who conceived the idea, and the Board of Directors who carried

it out, for making the exposition a success. I was here at the ceremo-

nies on Dedication Day. When I returned to Cleveland, it having been

advertised that I was here, I was asked what I thought of the exposi-

tion. Well, I had been here only one day-only one day, remember-

and I replied that you had a very nice Midway. (Laughter and cheers.)

"My text to-day is 'The Commercial Relations of the American

Continent,' and we must not lose sight of the important, in contempla-

tion of the purely pleasureable. We must not lose sight of the business

side of the exposition, while 'flying the goose.' Coming at a time when

the commercial interests of the American people are becoming awakened

to the needs of the hour, coming at a time when the United States has

first taken its place in the front rank of commercial supremacy, the Pan-

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142        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

American Exposition is destined to do much good. At this time, the

United States, the big brother, stands ready and willing to give its foster-

ing care to its sister republics in the South and Central Americas, and

all that is needed to result in a growing trade between them is some point

of contact."

 

Senator Hanna referred to the fact that the producing capac-

ity of the United States has exceeded the capacity of the country

to consume its own product. The country must look for new

markets. The country has neglected its opportunity in the West-

ern Hemisphere. This is the chance. This exposition gives the

United States an opportunity to improve its relations with South

America. At the exposition, this country meets South America

as business men on change.

Senator Hanna quoted figures to show that during the last

decade relations with South America, instead of increasing, had

gone back. Why? For the want of contact.

 

"You can't do business with a country 100 miles away unless you

can establish some point of contact. To transact business, you must

have means of communication. Under present conditions, and I am

not advocating a merchant marine for political reasons, our goods must

be shipped to South America on foreign bottoms, going first to Europe

and from there carried to the point of destination on some regular line

of steamships.

"At this Pan American Exposition we should say to our friends

from South America, join with us in the establishing of regular steam-

ship lines between our ports and yours, join with us in the establishment

of regular ports of entry, join with us in the establishment of banks for

exchange where credit can be given so that we will have the ambition

to trade with you and good will come to us both. We should ask our-

selves whether it is fair to neglect this opportunity to trade with South

America. We consume what they raise. There is a ready market there

for our goods. What we need is the machinery of trade that I have

referred to. Whenever we have the contact, we have been able to secure

the trade. (Applause.) You can no more stay the commercial progress

of the United States than you can stem the current of the mighty Niagara,

flowing past your doors. Let this Pan-American Exposition mark the

beginning of the movement when the people of the United States shall

see to it that nothing shall stand between the strengthening of relations,

political, social, commercial and friendly, between the United States

and the South American countries."

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Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.       143

 

Prolonged applause followed the close of the Senator's stir-

ring and patriotic address.

 

OTHER FESTIVITIES.

The distinguished guests of the Ohio party were tendered a

luncheon at the Stadium, after the services in the Temple of

Music. There were present at the table, Governor George K.

Nash; Senator M. A. Hanna; Hon. John G. Milburn, President

of the Pan-American Exposition; Hon. William I. Buchanan,

Director-General of the Exposition; Hon. Daniel J. Ryan, Ex-

Secretary of State; Hon. W. S. McKinnon, Chairman Ohio Pan-

American Commissioners, and Mrs. W. S. McKinnon; C. L.

Swain, Secretary Ohio Commission, and Mrs. C. L. Swain; Hon.

S. L. Patterson, member Ohio Commission; Hon. John A.

Shauck, Supreme Court of Ohio and Miss Helen Shauck; Hon.

Frank H. Baird, Director Pan-American Exposition; Col. C.

Barton Adams, Assistant Adjutant General (Ohio); General

Edmund G. Brush, Surgeon General; Colonels Charles A. Craig-

head, William H. Morgan, Jerome S. Burrows, Melville M. Gil-

lette, Aides-de-Camp on the Governor's staff; Captain William

Winder, U. S. Navy; Lieut.-Com. William E. Wirt. Lieut. Arthur

Devale, Lieut. Frank R. Seman, and Ensigns Nelson H. Young

and George F. Glass, Ohio Naval Reserve; Lieut. Col. Charles C.

Weybrecht, Majors Ammon B. Critchfield, Frederick S. Marquis

and Frank C. Lee and Capt. Frank C. Gerlach of the 8th O. V. I.;

Hon. L. C. Laylin, Secretary of State and Mrs. Laylin; Hon.

Emmett Tompkins, Congressman, 12th Ohio District; Hon. C.

W. Dick, Congressman, 20th Ohio District; Hon. John

Eisenmann, Architect Ohio Building; Hon. A. I. Voris, State

Insurance Commissioner; Miss Georgia Hopley and Mrs. Andrew

Squires, Ohio Lady Commissioners to the Exposition; Mrs.

Genevra Johnston-Bishop; Judge U. L. Marvin; Mr. Amor

Sharp; Mr. Andrew Squires; John H. Scatcherd; Mr. H. M.

Shellhamer; Hon. E. O. Randall, Secretary State Archaeological

and Historical Society and others.

There were no formal speeches but "after the Walnuts and

the Wine" Senator Patterson arose and in a few fitting words in

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144       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.   behalf of the Ohio Commission presented Governor Nash, as a souvenir of the occasion, a beautiful silk flag of the State of Ohio.

Mr. C. L. Swain, on behalf of the Ohio Commission, made a similar presentation to Mr. Milburn, President of the Ex- position. This flag was designed by Mr. John Eisenmann, architect of the Ohio Building, and was adopted by the Ohio Commission.   It is proposed to ask the forthcoming legislature to ap- prove it as the flag of the State. The triangles formed by the main lines of the flag represent the hills and valleys as typified in the state seal and the stripes the roads and waterways.

The stars, indicating the 13 original states of the Union, are grouped about the circle which represents the original northwest territory and that Ohio was the seventeenth state admitted into the Union is shown by adding four more stars. The white circle with its red center not only represents the initial letter of

Ohio, but is suggestive of its being the "Buckeye State." The proportions and symmetry of the flag are such that it may be shown in any position without affecting its symbolism. At 7 P. M., Governor Nash, Senator Hanna, Director General Buchanan and a number of gentlemen in the Ohio party, includ-

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Ohio Day at Pan-American Exposition.       145

 

ing the Ohio Pan-American Commissioners, were the guests of

Hon. Frank H. Baird at dinner at the Tower Restaurant. At

the same hour in the Ohio Building were held reunions by the

Kenyon College graduates on the grounds and by the alumni of

Ohio Wesleyan University. Following the dinner at the Tower,

Governor Nash and escort witnessed the dress parade by the

"President's Own" regiment and later the electrical illumina-

tion from the esplanada. The party then returned to the Ohio

Building where they enjoyed the elaborate fire works display,

also making a short visit to the Park Lake front while the pyro-

technic display was in progress. At 9.30 was held a general re-

ception at the Ohio Building, at which the Commissioners acted

as hosts and mesdames McKinnon and Swain and Miss Georgia

Hopley as hostesses. A large number of Ohio people were pres-

ent, including not only the distinguished Ohioans, but also many

of the foreign Pan-American Commissioners. It was the most

successful social function that has thus far been held at the Ex-

position. Certainly Ohio was handsomely treated at the Pan-

American and no less certainly did Ohio make a favorable im-

pression upon the splendid Exposition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vol. X-10

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