OHIO DAY AT THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION. On October 6, 1904, the Buckeyes from all parts of the United States celebrated Ohio Day upon the grounds of the Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri. The exercises were held in the afternoon and evening in the beautiful Ohio Building. The Ohio Commission, appointed by Governor Nash under authority of an act passed by the 75th General Assembly, consisted of Hon. William F. Burdell, President, Columbus, life member of the Ohio |
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State Archaeological and Historical Society; Hon. L. E. Holden, Vice-President, Cleveland; Hon. D. H. Moore, Athens; Hon. Edwin Hagenbuch, Urbana; Hon. M. K. Gantz, Troy; Hon. New- ell K. Kennon, St. Clairsville; Hon. David Friedman, Caldwell. Hon. S. S. Rankin, South Charleston, was the Executive Commis- sioner having personal charge of the building and the affairs of the commission during the period of the exposition. After an opening selection by the Philippino Band, Reverend Naphtali Luccock, President of the Ohio Society of St. Louis, (101) |
102 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. was introduced by Mr. Burdell and asked to invoke the Divine blessing. REVEREND NAPHTALI LUCCOCK: "Our Father's God from out whose hand, The centuries fall like grains of sand," We stand in this sunlit hour of privilege with grateful hearts for the splendid inheritance thou hast given us in the midst of the years. We thank thee for the happy memories which crowd our hearts, and for the great opportunities which open before us. Put thy blessing upon the commonwealth which we honor this day, and upon all the commonwealths of our Nation! The bless- ing of the Lord our God be upon us and the work of our hands establish thou it, through Christ! Amen. OPENING ADDRESS DELIVERED BY WILLIAM F. BURDELL, PRESIDENT OHIO COMMISSION. Ladies and Gentlemen - On behalf of the Ohio Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition I bid you welcome to these |
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Ohio day exercises. We are justly proud of our state and we like to get together and talk about her. The Ohio Commission with limited re- sources has done the best it could to provide a comfortable and hospitable meeting place for Ohio people visiting the Fair. I am delighted that such a goodly number of Ohioans lend their appreciative presence to this superb effort of this most progressive city. To mass the products of the whole world in one comprehensive grouping -to search the globe and find its rarest treasures - to place beside the |
best gifts of an indulgent Providence, the best efforts of intel- lectual man, is a work of stupendous magnitude. St. Louis has done this and has done it well. We look upon the world's eighth |
Ohio Day at the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition. 103
wonder, and the people of Ohio
congratulate you of St. Louis
upon your splendid success.
There is much in this land and much in
our time that should
make us grateful contemporaries. To live
in an age of accumu-
lated genius - to have the work of man
transcend man and
approach the unknowable - to see spread
out before us this grand
panorama of man's accomplishment, is a
privilege we do not fully
appreciate. By some propitious accident
of time, we rather than
our fathers, behold civilization's
supremest triumph. I do not
believe that those of our day will
witness a duplication of this
magnificent exposition. You, fortunate
men and women, who
visit St. Louis in this year 1904, see with your
own eyes and feel
with human senses this impressive
revelation of man's highest
attainment.
Ohio has had some share in the great
national development
which this exposition reflects. Ohio and
her sons have not been in
the rear of this splendid procession.
She and they have been
making records for political and
industrial America. Some pages
in our country's history belong to her.
Even now the tiller of
the Ship of State is warm with the hand
of that beloved and gentle
McKinley - of that masterful, yet
humane, Napoleon of modern
politics, Hanna - of that wise pilot of
our blackest night of finan-
cial stress, John Sherman -with the hand
of Hay, who makes
precedent for the whole world's
diplomacy, and Taft, who built
out of chaos a government for the
Philippine Islands.
Yes, Ohio has been and is conspicuous in
the larger affairs
of our country. There were times when
she seemed to dominate
and control them. Her sons were forceful
leaders, their eloquence
was persuasive, their judgment sound and
stable. If, in the grow-
ing power of this great West -in the
mutation of our national
life -if, in the future, the
man and the issues of another state
should seem ascendent in the councils of
the nation - if other
men of other states nearer the great
heart and brain of this grand
republic, should seem better fitted for
the responsibilities of gov-
ernment, there will be in Ohio no
resentment - no heart burnings.
We will sustain and strengthen them,
will follow on with them,
the splendid highway of our common
glory. And, in the tri-
umphal march of which this exposition is
but a halting place, the
104
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
East and the West, the North and the
South, proud of each other's
attainments, glorying in each other's
triumphs, will go on together
in that undying love of a common country
which, in surpassing
goodness, justice and power, is the
central sun of this western
hemisphere.
We will go on together, not content with
this splendid expo-
sition that seems today the acme of
human achievement, but with
the unsatisfied longing, the
unquenchable desire for better things,
with faces towards the light, with hands
ever guided by righteous
hearts, will raise stone upon stone--a
mighty monument of
national greatness.
I have alluded to the glories of this
great exposition. I now
have the pleasure of introducing to you
the man who, more than
all others, is responsible for the
success of this fair -the Honor-
able David R. Francis, President of the
Louisiana Purchase
Exposition.
HONORABLE DAVID R. FRANCIS:
Mr. President, Your Excellency,
Ladies and Gentlemen -
The exposition management is more than
pleased to see this repre-
sentative outpouring of Ohioans on Ohio
Day. You know, the
Government at Washington has not been
able to run for years
without Ohio's assistance; consequently,
no great exposition could
be successfully held without the
participation of Ohio. We are,
therefore, deeply grateful to the
Buckeye State for the assistance
rendered to this international or
universal exposition.
Ohio has a history of which every
citizen of the state should
be proud. There are many links which
bind Ohio to the Louisiana
Territory, and there are many reasons
why Ohio should participate
in this exposition; why the people of
the Louisiana Purchase
should feel grateful to Ohio. I believe
it was the same La Salle
who discovered the Ohio River and went
down that stream before
he went down the Mississippi and reared
the cross near the mouth
of the Father of Waters and named the
territory "Louisiana" in
honor of his King of France. From that
time on the hardy
pioneers who blazed the way in that
country have constantly forged
their way westward. They were
instrumental in bringing about
the purchase of this Louisiana Territory
and have been very
Ohio Day at the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition. 105
potential agents in building it up from
the time it was brought
under the dominion of the United States
Government.
I believe that Ohio's organization, as a
state, was about con-
temporaneous with the coming of the
Louisiana Territory under
the control of the United States
Government. I remember that
when this movement for the celebration
of this purchase was first
thought of, at the inception of the
plan, it was said that Ohio was
also preparing for a centennial
celebration commemorating the
one hundredth anniversary of the
admission of Ohio into the
Union. I think this was planned to be
held in Toledo.
The people of that state, with marked
and memorable mag-
nanimity, when they heard of the plans
made to commemorate
this Louisiana Purchase, abandoned their
plans for a centennial
at Toledo, and most generously united
with the people of the
Louisiana Purchase territory to
commemorate its transfer from
France to the United States Government.
That is additional
cause for gratitude for which the
exposition management cannot
make too frequent acknowledgement.
Not only that, but the management of
this exposition well
remembers the very efficient aid given
to this movement by a
lamented son of Ohio, whose influence
was potent in the national
councils, and who, from the time this
celebration was first men-
tioned, gave it encouragement. Upon
every occasion, whether
in the Senate of the United States or in
the councils of the State
of Ohio, he spoke a good word for this
exposition. We joined
with the people of Ohio in lamenting his
untimely taking off,
and upon this occasion, we desire again
to pay our tribute of
respect and affection to the memory of
MARCUS A. HANNA!
The other Senator from Ohio was likewise
friendly to this
exposition movement -I refer to Senator
Foraker - from the
time the suggestion was first made in
the National Congress. In
fact, all of the representatives of your
great state, if I remember
rightly, have given their support, in
critical times, to this work
as it progressed.
The Chief Executive of your
commonwealth, who favors us
with his presence today, and whose
acquaintance and friendship
I have been proud to claim for a longer
period than he has been
your Governor, has ever been a friend to
this Exposition from the
106 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
beginning of his administration. His
presence here to-day is the
second or third visit he has made. He
manifests what we trust
he cherishes, and what we would like to
see on the part of the
Executives of all the states, a
proprietary interest in this great
Exposition. It does not belong to one
state alone, but every mem-
ber of the sisterhood has contributed to
this international cele-
bration.
Here Ohio has erected a home in which
her sons and daugh-
ters feel as much "at home" as
they could if they were upon the
soil of Ohio.
Furthermore, many of the sons and
daughters of Ohio who
left the state of their nativity and
came West years ago have been
associated in the organization of this
celebration. They are repre-
sented on its Board of Directors, and as
I stated in the begin-
ning, no movement of a national
character in this country can be
successful without the aid of Ohio!
The exhibits of your state in our
Exhibit Palaces demonstrate
more forcefully than I can explain, the
resources of Ohio and the
progress that your state has made in
wealth, in culture, and in
everything that goes to make a great
commonwealth!
Your state has contributed Presidents to
the United States !
There is a long line of distinguished
sons of Ohio to which every
citizen of the state can point with
pride! Their descendants are
still exerting their influence
throughout the land! They are rep-
resentatives of that composite American
character which has made
this country what it is. And this Exposition, which brings
together people of Ohio and people of
Texas, the people of Wash-
ington with those of Maine, serves but
to make our Union the
stronger.
It is a beautiful sight to contemplate,
looking at these state
buildings, forty odd of them, erected
upon these grounds, the loca-
tions here bearing no relation to the
locations of the states in
the country. Here, as you observe, is
Ohio, further south than Mis-
souri. It is but a step from Ohio to
Mississippi! The strains of
the music participating in the
ceremonies of dedication on these
sites reminded us of the fact that no
differences exist between
the various sections of our country. The
strains of "Dixie" had
Ohio Day at the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition. 107
hardly died out on the Mississippi site
when we were saluted with
the familiar notes of "John Brown's
Body Lies Mould'ring in the
Grave" from the Kansas site. This
Exposition belongs to the
people, and to the entire people! When
the "Star Spangled Ban-
ner" is played upon these grounds
every man within reach of the
sound rises and doffs his hat! It is
such practices as these which
deepen and quicken the patriotism of the
American people!
The educational advantages of this
Exposition are not con-
fined to any one section. I am glad to
say that your state has
been so generously represented here. We
ask you to remain with
us as long as your affairs will permit;
to give the exhibits in these
palaces as thorough an inspection as
your time will allow; and
upon your return home to say to those
whom you left behind that
there is installed in St. Louis an
Exposition, held in celebra-
tion of a great event in our country's
history, which every Ameri-
can should patronize and which will be
of great benefit to all who
visit it because it here brings together
within a small area the best
products of all the civilized countries
of the globe; because it is the
occasion of the assembling here of
representatives of all the primi-
tive races, and because it will be, in
the judgment of most men,
the last universal exposition which this
generation will see! The
only criticism has been that it is too
big for any one individual to
properly inspect or comprehend! But that
should be no reason
why people should not visit it. When the
American people plan
to hold an exposition, they take no
second place in expositions,
as they take no second place in any
other line!
Furthermore, the great event which we
are commemorating,
and which was the greatest transfer of
territory in the history
of the world by peaceful negotiations,
could not be properly cele-
brated by an exposition second to any
which had ever been held!
There will be expositions in the future,
but, in my judgment,
they will be expositions along special
lines.
Permit me to thank you again for your
attendance here; and
on behalf of the Exposition management,
I desire to make
acknowledgement to the Chief Executive
of Ohio, for the very
able and faithful labors performed by
his Commission.
This characteristic structure has not
only been a home for
the sons and daughters of Ohio, but here
has always been dis-
108 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. pensed that genuine Ohio hospitality without which it would be a misnomer to call it the Ohio building. The exhibits installed by the Commission in our Exhibit Pal- aces speak for themselves. This Exposition, if it did nothing more than to inculcate into the people connected with it,-not only the local management but the people here representing the differ- ent states of the Union,-if it did nothing more than inculcate in them that patriotic spirit, that sense of national duty which prompts them to sacrifice personal interest, personal convenience, and also personal means, to promote the interests of our common country, that, indeed, would be compensation enough for all of the time, for all of the labor, all of the means, all of the sacrifice, which this International Exposition has entailed. I thank you for your attention. MR. BURDELL: Ladies and Gentlemen - It is with the greatest pleasure that I introduce the Honorable Myron T. Herrick, Governor of Ohio. GOVERNOR HERRICK: My Fellow-Citizens, Sons and Daughters of Ohio, and Gov- ernor Francis - I want first of all to express the appreciation |
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of this audience, made up largely of Ohio people, for the kind words Gov- ernor Francis has said of Ohio. We are, indeed, proud of the history of Ohio - prouder than we dare to say to you, Governor Francis! This is Ohio Day at the greatest of all expositions. We are assembled to add our testimony to the success of this wonderful exhibit, and to express our appreciation and devotion to the great event it is intended to signalize; and to pay tribute to the genius, energy, and superb nerve of the men and women of St. Louis who have |
made this the greatest of all expositions. Surely, there never |
Ohio Day at the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition. 109
was gathered in one place such an array
of proof of the
world's progress, such amazing omens of
the triumphs of peace,
as are seen on these beautiful grounds.
The ancient civilization of
the East is here in touch with the
modern life of the West.
Strange people from strange lands,
mingle and view each other's
advancement with amazement and mutual
benefit.
President McKinley designated these
expositions as "mile
stones to mark a nation's progress!"
The men of St. Louis
have laid this "mile stone" to
the everlasting credit of their
country and themselves. We Ohioans
extend to you our felici-
tations upon this splendid realization
which is possible only for
our country, and for few cities beside
St. Louis.
The evolution of the race toward higher
planes of life is here
pictured in stronger lines than the
imagination of artist or writer
can portray. Who can view the Philippine
exhibit of its people
and its products without a better
understanding of, and a greater
pride in, our most humane work in the
Orient? We gaze into
each other's faces with hope and
surprise when we look over the
magnificent display of the arts of
peace, and recognize the victories
of intelligence, skill, and purpose that
characterize every advance.
A scene like this marks the trend of a
fairer destiny. It is a
promoter of optimism. It extends the
horizon wherein human
genius does its real work. Think of the
former days of crude
endeavor in all fields of human effort,
and then of this exposi-
tion of inventive genius, and mark how
far advanced are the
standards of life. Each of us absorbed
in his own "day's work,"
awakes in amazement here to find that
the dream of yesterday
is the realization of to-day, the hope
of to-day is the fact of to-
morrow.
Progress is harnessing the forces of
nature and adapting
them to the desires of men. The air, the
sea, the earth, are filled
with energies, that are utilized for the
comfort and joy of the race.
These forces are taken from their
primeval relation, ordained by
a wise Providence, and fitted to the
service of home, of shop, of
farm and every avenue of human activity.
"Behold what God
hath wrought!" heralded the first
message of electricity, and
now again behold. There in the
laboratory, there the engine,
the telephone, the trolley cars, the
phonograph, these Alladin
110
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
palaces, blazing at night with electric
lights, everywhere, a step
forward, and a promise of loftier
triumphs still to come, and
one exclaims: "Behold what God hath
wrought," and again
behold what Governor Francis and his
valiant men have wrought.
This exposition is not only a
realization, but an inspiration.
Who can look on this scene and not catch
the harmony which the
Eternal Goodness has reposed in all
things, or fail to recognize
the potencies with which He has invested
all matter. Here one
sees them put into service, so
perfectly, so grandly, that one is
sure to ascribe it all to a Divine
purpose from the very beginning.
Such an illustration of human progress
as we have here is
a fit demonstration to celebrate the
event for which it was so
happily conceived, and that event, the
Louisiana Purchase, was
the crowning work and glory of a great
Democratic administra-
tion, presided over by a great Democrat.
It was men like him,
whose clear vision saw that an
untrammeled democracy was abso-
lutely essential to the first
development of this empire of freedom,
and who thus laid the firm foundation
for this Republic's future
greatness.
Within a century an empire has arisen
from a wilderness.
The tomahawk and scalping knife have
given way to the steam
plow and self-binder. Where the wigwam
stood the schoolhouse
stands. The free citizen of the town and
farm has taken the
place of the red man of the chase. No
area on this planet has
taken up the march of civilization with
a steadier tread than that
within the compass of the Louisiana
Purchase. In civic attain-
ment, in agricultural advancement, in
educational outlook, in
whatever adorns life with honor and
duty, this populous region
has stood in the forefront of the
republic in its onward march.
If there could be a miracle in the
evolution of natural destiny,
this great transition would be one.
When one looks into the future, and
extends the progress
of the past century forward, his mind
fails to comprehend that
were he to appear at the two hundredth
anniversary of the
Louisiana Purchase it would be with all
the bewilderment of Rip
Van Winkle. Here is the center of the
republic, and it will be
the center of civilization whence
mechanics, invention, science,
art and philosophy will abide for
countless years.
Ohio Day at the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition. 111
The fact that there are one million
eight hundred thousand
square miles of arable land west of the
Missisippi, and eight hun-
dred thousand square miles east of the
Mississippi, tells us that
when these lands which are becoming so
rapidly populated are
occupied, the center of the voting power
of the nation will be
on this side of the Father of Waters.
And what we see all about
us is an earnest that those foundation
principles of the Republic
will nowhere hold happier sway than in
this region beyond the
Mississippi.
Ohio has not the honor of belonging to
that grand galaxy
of states born of the Louisiana
Purchase, but it comes to rejoice
with them in the achievement of a
national spirit, which has made
them the pride of the Union. We do not
come as a neighbor, but
as a member of the family, to exult over
our own good fortune
as well as yours. First-born of the
Northwest Territory, dedi-
cated to freedom by the Ordinance of
1787, imbued with the first
fresh impulse of the Republic's highest
hope and devotion to the
task of transforming a wilderness into a
commonwealth, Ohio
comes to you proud of her past and
inspired by a memory that
inaugurated this drama of national
glory.
Ohio is the most cosmopolitan of states.
It indulges in no
provincial whims. It is proud of itself
for the same reason that
it is proud of the other states. Its
population began with a vigor-
ous blend of Puritan and Cavalier,
happily modified by the Con-
necticut Bourbon and Pennsylvania
Dutchman, a composite that
embraced the elements of sterling
manhood, and formed the basis
of self-reliant and aggressive
citizenship. Thus endowed, and
occupying the center of the Union, and
being the highway between
the East and the West, Ohio knows no
section, only a common
country, the principles of whose
government respond to all the
legitimate aspirations of mankind.
It is not surprising that in all this
magnificent empire build-
ing Ohio should look on with a feeling
of pride and kinship? I
say kinship, for Ohio is the mother -
and a mighty mother is she,
of this great middle west. Why, my
friends, do you know that
there are living in Indiana more than
one hundred and sixty thou-
sand Ohio born people, more than one
hundred and forty thousand
in Illinois, ninety thousand in Iowa,
ninety thousand in Kansas,
112 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
and more than seventy thousand in this great state of Missouri!
So, when I claim this maternal relationship with the West, I speak
of recorded facts. I have no fear of contradiction when I say
that there are living now in the great valley of the Mississippi,
more than three-quarters of a million Americans, who first saw
the light of day in my grand old State of Ohio. Our unusual
diversity of resources has trained Ohio men in a broad, catholic
university of life. She has sent her sons out into the world, not
trained in narrow lines, nor with the idea that any particular
staple is king, but that all the bounties of kind Providence are
given to man for his benefit and for the benefit of his fellew men.
Nearly two centuries ago John Law located here his visions
of wealth. It was a mirage of the brain spreading over the
horizon far beyond. Modern spirit has pushed through that
mirage to the solid shores, and changed that vaporous scheme into
a glorious achievement. No longer do those wild and desolate
scenes appeal to a laggard faith. What was then a daring vision
is now a civilization, as lasting as the earth, a civilization rich with
the resources of the soil, with the victories of commerce, with the
growth of cities, with the increase of schools and churches, and
with the happiness of homes.
Not with material blessings only is this mighty progress
attended. Here, with jocund spirit of aggression that animates
the western heart, will be solved, as nearly as this virile pro-
gressive race is capable of solving, those social problems that rest
on the bosom of society like a frightful dream. It is to be the
land of liberty, of opportunity, and of brotherhood. We philoso-
phically accept, with the characteristic of light-hearted Americans,
conditions as we find them, and with the instruments which we
have we strive earnestly to improve them. There is so much in
American life of materialism mingled with our higher ideals that
inequalities will continue to exist. Periods of depression and
discouragement will come in the future as in the past, when our
patriotism will be severely taxed and the obligations of citizen-
ship will rest heavily upon us; but the man of today gives promise
that his progeny, like himself and his ancestors, will be equal to
the strain; and this nation will not, therefore, die of material
opulence, as did Greece and Rome. These sentiments of equality
Ohio Day at the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition. 113
and justice, these ideals of opportunity
and fraternity, will more
strongly direct the new evolution, and
make rights and duties
inseparable.
This great Jeffersonian expansion
carried with it more than
an increase of territory; more, too,
than the conversion of a bar-
barism into a civilization. The
aggressive spirit of the republic
required an outing ground, a breathing
place, where, free from
dogma and social bondage of the Orient,
it could exploit itself
along the lines of ultimate ideals.
Horace Greeley's advice to
the young man, "Go West," was
given in a spirit of true philoso-
phy-go west, grow, evolve,
differentiate, and there, upon the
broad plains, along the shining rivers,
and on the liberty-loving
mountains, set up the standards of a
true, self-reliant, American
manhood. That is the doctrine of the
West. That is the secret
of its wonderful development.
This is the first centennial in honor of
the dedication of this
vast domain to the cause of American
liberty. The whole world
comes here to lay down its tribute to
the progress of a century.
Our theory of government, instead of
repelling any people, has
won the respect, if not the admiration,
of all nations. This has
been the accomplishment of the century
that has just passed.
The rich gifts brought here from all
lands testify to an alert-
ness of brain and a deftness of hand
that is marvelous, and we
rightly pride ourselves on these things;
but they have a deeper
meaning--they tell of the kinship of
nations, of the sympathy
among them, of a generous rivalry in
those things that raise the
standard of living; and they tell us
that, in different ways, we
are reaching out toward one object: the
happiness and elevation of
the race. This quest, involving the
exercise of the brightest intel-
lects and the warmest hearts, moves
along the path of peace, which
it ever proclaims as the trend of
national duty. That is one lesson
of this grand demonstration; and while
we may consistently boast
of our own advancement, we do not forget
that the world moves
with us and rejoices in our splendid
development.
The mission of every wheel, fibre,
energy, tint, and form,
that betters itself in the evolution now
going on, increases the
lustre of national life, and promotes
peace among nations. There
is a moral advancement in every triumph
of mind over matter,
Vol. XIV- 8
114 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
and its influence is felt in commerce,
industry, politics, social and
domestic life. This exhibit that now
awakens our wonder is a
protest against Goldwin Smith's
prediction of gloom and ruin
for American institutions. Our problem
may not be completely
worked out, but the omens along our
path, like those we see all
around us, fill our hearts with faith
and hope that the happiest
and grandest days of this republic are
yet to come. To that faith
our lives are devoted; in that hope we
press on.
And to you, men of Missouri and of the
Sunny South, at
whose portals we are standing, speaking
for the great mother
heart of our dear old state, which lies
but a day's journey beyond
your great river- speaking for her, and
for these Ohioans gath-
ered here today - I tell you that not
only have all the old wounds
healed, but that the scars have been
obliterated. We meet today
in this border state of that gigantic
disagreement, not as friends
merely, but in a closer, holier kinship,
under that flag that waves
above us; and we thank God that it
represents a united sisterhood
of states, standing as it does, for the
fairest opportunity that the
world has ever known.
MR. BURDELL:
During the panic times of '93 and '94,
there was one thing
that always flourished in the West -The
Ohio Society! They
tell me that no severity of weather, no
discouraging condition of
crops or business, could prevent an Ohio
Society from flourishing.
I have the honor of presenting to you, a
representative of the
Ohio Society of St. Louis, a man who has
rendered distinguished
service to his country in both civic and
military life. I name the
distinguished and honored son of Ohio,
the Honorable John
W. Noble, of Saint Louis.
HON. JOHN W. NOBLE:
Ladies and Gentlemen - The purposes for which this man-
sion was erected by the State of Ohio
are being satisfactorily met
in all ways, but its use at no time will
be more important or
interesting than today. The presence of
Ohio's chief magistrate,
his staff, its civil officers and
multitudes of its people mark this
Ohio Day at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. 115 event as one gratifying to its pride and destined to be remem- bered in its annals. When in 1901 the Auxiliary Committee of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, which was composed of members |
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of the Ohio Society of St. Louis, was invited by the legislature to Columbus, to address it upon the proposition of making an appropriation for such building, the opportunity was gladly accepted. The money was voted. Governor Nash favored the measure, and the present beautiful house is the result. The site is also fortunately good and is due in great measure to the earnestness and judgment of the Ohio Executive Commissioner and his associates who demanded an advanced and prominent location. Indeed Ohio has received from the President, archi- |
tect and officers of the Exposition Company as to its buildings worthy consideration at all times. The suggestions made at the time the appropriation was urged, that seemed to be most germane to the subject and persua- sive, and which are now being proven correct, were, that this Exposition, universal in name, would certainly prove to be all the name implied, and here would be exhibited the products of land and sea, and of every state and all nations; that here would come in vast multitudes the people of all sections and every clime, and among them all there would be none prouder of the land of their birth, because of its origin, of its progress and of its worth and power than the sons of Ohio; and none who would more enjoy meeting together on Ohio's ground, as it were, and there renew- ing old ties of affection and loyalty to her and our common coun- try; that Ohio could not have become the great commonwealth she has grown to be, but by having bred a race which could not all be content to remain within her borders, but many by force of character had to seek and find place for their energy and intel- |
116
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
ligence elsewhere; that natives of Ohio
were numerous in almost
every other state, and nowhere were more
abundant, proportion-
ately to population, than in Missouri,
the locality of the Exposi-
tion and the states adjacent thereto;
that they would be all coming
to the fair and quite as much to see
what Ohio was doing or had
to show and to say, as for any other
pleasure. It was also appar-
ent, it was urged, that a great
commercial state would find it
worth while to secure such world-wide
notice as could be here
obtained for the products of her fields
and factories; and that
such an enlightened and generous people,
who had received much
from the early pioneers who had come to
plant the state and sus-
tain it in its infancy and growth, would
gladly give a hand to
Ohio's sons and daughters struggling
elsewhere with less advan-
tage; and that she would be pleased to
set forth her accomplish-
ments in the arts, in her educational
system and her scholarship;
and present her worthy and ever
increasing roll of men and
women, distinguished, and many
pre-eminent as statesmen, as
teachers, as authors, as soldiers, as
merchants and as farmers,
and in every vocation and station of
life.
These were the purposes advocated for
the establishment of
this beautiful house, the Ohio
headquarters. Are they not being
most gratifyingly fulfilled? What Ohioan
can pass from the
palaces of this Exposition with Ohio's
exhibits of her manufac-
tories, varied industries and the
liberal arts; of her mines, of her
electrical appliances, machinery,
agricultural products and fine
arts, and of her educational system; or
view the names of the
presidents, statesmen and soldiers in
the United States Govern-
ment Building, and not turn at last
proudly to this central place,
to this high seat from which Ohio seems
to preside over all the
world besides, and where she smilingly
welcomes them, as she
does, today, and not here gladly join in
her praise, whether he
resides in Ohio yet, or dwells in some
other state? We feel that
"our state" holds a high place
throughout this great Exposition
and one worthy of her history and her
fame.
It is also peculiarly appropriate that
we should have set apart
a day for these exercises. The history
of Ohio and that of the
domain in the Louisiana Purchase are
closely and interestingly
Ohio Day at the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition. 117
related, and indeed the settlement of
Ohio and the northwest
caused our acquisition of the Louisiana
territory.
The expeditions to, and conquests of,
Kaskaskia, near St.
Louis, and the British post of
Vincennes, by George Rogers Clark,
aided by Governor Patrick Henry, gave,
at the negotiations for
the treaty of peace at the close of the
Revolutionary War, the
support necessary to the claim of the
United States, through the
charters of Virginia, and of the other
colonies, to obtain the
relinquishment by the English Crown of
all right to the domain
west of the Ohio River. By the Ordinance
of 1787 this was
organized into the Northwest Territory
extending to the Missis-
sippi River. Upon the adoption of that
ordinance the settlement
begun at the mouth of the Muskingum,
("The River of the Elk's
eyes"), and its junction with the
Ohio, ("the beautiful river"),
on April 7th, 1788, was so rapid that
the wilderness soon was
peopled to such degree, that the state
with its present bound-
aries was admitted to the Union in 1802.
Its people, with those
of the other portions of the Territory
bordering on the Ohio
River and partly on the Missisippi, was
of the stock of those who
carried to a successful issue the war of
Independence. An outlet
for their products by the great
waterways was essential to their
prosperity, and they demanded in
unmistakable terms that the
National Government should free from
foreign control the mouth
of the Mississippi, or they would resort
to any means within her
power to remove all barriers there and
enforce their natural
claims to untrammeled intercourse with
all parts of their own
country and with other nations. There
was no one more con-
versant with the needs of these people
or more sympathetic with
their sacrifices, or more appreciative
of the justice of these claims,
nor any more desirous, both from
principle and the necessities
of the young Republic to avoid war, than
the then President of
the United States, Thomas Jefferson.
Washington had in his
early military career been engaged west
of the Alleghanies, and
comprehended as well as, if not better
than, any of his fellow citi-
zens and made widely known the beauty
and exhaustless resources
of the great region so secured by the
treaty of 1783. Jefferson
had himself formulated, in great part,
the Ordinance of 1787,
118 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
which was only second to the Declaration
of Independence in its
announcement of principles essential to
good government and
to the peace and progress of a free
people. And although the reso-
lutions first adopted were enlarged and
advocated by Nathan
Dane, and the ordinance was passed while
Jefferson was absent
abroad in the service of the country,
its principles had his hearty
approval; and he was eager upon his
return to cooperate in their
support and extension by all means
within his control. And when
he became President and the West
demanded free navigation of
the rivers, commissioners were sent to
France to negotiate for the
free passage of the Mississippi, and
succeeded, even beyond their
expectations, in obtaining title to the
vast region of which that
great river formed the eastern border.
As the success of George Rogers Clark,
the pioneer soldier,
wrought out by such apparently
insufficient means had secured
to our country the great Northwest, so
now the necessities of the
greatest commander of European armies,
Napoleon, led him to
grant to the United States for a
comparatively small pecuniary
consideration the Louisiana Purchase.
Thus the behest of the
flatboatmen of the Ohio found result in
the acquisition of the
farther west, reaching from the Father
Waters to the Rocky
Mountains. The Northwest was to the
purchase as cause to effect.
The homogeneous particles of the whole
gathered into coherence,
solidity and strength as a star, a
world, from nebulae. The fiat
of the divinity that shapes our ends,
brought the two great regions
of the west together at the Mississippi,
that divides but does not
separate them, and here today we feel
the heart of the nation pul-
sating; beating in mighty rhythm, with
the force of daily increas-
ing health and strength. Ohio comes to
this celebration with
the consciousness of having with the
purchase an almost coin-
cident birthday, and certainly a united
interest and common des-
tiny with the states that have arisen
and the one that is soon to
come from this vast domain.
Ohio headed the column when the young
Republic began
its forward march to broader fields and
greater endeavor. On
each day's advance her force has been
effective to clear the way
to win the battles for the right. At
each night's bivouac her pre-
sence has given assurance of response
and safety, and her bugles
Ohio Day at the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition. 119
send forth today no uncertain signals of
her purpose to keep the
faith of her own deliverance, and still
higher advance for all men
the principles of public education,
religion, liberty and justice to
which she even before her birth was
dedicated by the wisdom and
virtue of the fathers.
The history of the realms of the
Northwest and of the Louis-
iana Purchase is replete with adventure,
romance, sacrifice and
success. The one whose soil was from the
beginning by the votes
of the southern states themselves,
ordained to be free from slavery,
has so supported the cause of human
freedom that the other now
likewise enjoys it; and all the states
rejoice that they are united
in heart and hand, and stand among the
strongest and most influ-
ential of the nations.
We are one people, from New England,
Virginia or Florida,
the State of Louisiana and Texas to the
Pacific, and Alaska and
the lakes. Each succeeding territory
that has been formed, each
state as it has been admitted to the
Union, from the days of the
Colonies to this hour, has been
inhabited and filled substantially
with the same stock of American people.
The Territorial Acts
and the State Constitutions have each
been molded and made in
all essential particulars the same as
those of the earliest ones.
And the means of communication enable
the Governor of Ohio or
of the State of Washington to visit and
participate in services such
as these of today with as much
convenience almost as to go from
his own home to the capital of, or any
other city within his state.
Alike in language, in the constitutions,
the laws and the pursuits
of business, the customs of home, and
the love of our common
country, when now a new territory is
suddenly thrown open as
was Oklahoma, sixteen years ago, or the
other great states
admitted from 1889 to 1903, the
population begins its career, it is
true, with hardships and sacrifices, but
with the immense advan-
tages of rapid transportation; the
postoffice at hand, the tele-
graph from the former home, and all the
aid that an advanced
experience and all the help that vast
improvements in the means
of living and a more abundant facility
of education can bestow;
and above all with the protection and
support of our National Gov-
ernment, so generous and so powerful.
120 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
As a citizen of Missouri and of St.
Louis it is a great per-
sonal pleasure for me to be associated
with the representatives
and people of Ohio this day. Missouri
welcomes Ohio as sister,
yes, even as mother. The memories of my life embrace an
acquaintance with many who were the
pioneers of these now great
commonwealths, Ohio the fourth and
Missouri the fifth in the
Union in population. Let us not now
forget our obligation to
those brave patriotic men.
The pioneer, as has been written of the
greatest of them all,
* * * went forth to battle, on the side
That he felt clear was Liberty's and
Right's, * * *
* * The uncleared forest, the unbroken
soil,
The iron bark that turns the lumb'rer's
axe,
The rapid that o'erbears the boatman's
toil,
The prairie hiding the mazed wander's
tracks,
The ambushed Indian and the prowling
bear,
Such were the needs that helped his
youthful train:
Rough culture, but such trees large
fruit may bear,
If but their stocks be of right girth
and grain."
The march by states from the west coming
successively into
the line of the Union is about complete
and the advance into the
field where nations are contending has
begun, not for war, nor
with jealousy, nor with greed for
wealth, dominion or power, but
for the advocacy of the liberty of the
individual, the practice of
humanity, the elevation of the people of
all the world to greater
comfort and higher thought, and to hold
high to view and vindi-
cate the principles of our American
Christian Republic. Let us
rejoice that to the duties of the past
Ohio has been ever true, and
resolve that to the demand of the future
she will bring like full
measure of morality, loyalty and
justice.
OHIO DAY AT THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION. On October 6, 1904, the Buckeyes from all parts of the United States celebrated Ohio Day upon the grounds of the Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri. The exercises were held in the afternoon and evening in the beautiful Ohio Building. The Ohio Commission, appointed by Governor Nash under authority of an act passed by the 75th General Assembly, consisted of Hon. William F. Burdell, President, Columbus, life member of the Ohio |
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State Archaeological and Historical Society; Hon. L. E. Holden, Vice-President, Cleveland; Hon. D. H. Moore, Athens; Hon. Edwin Hagenbuch, Urbana; Hon. M. K. Gantz, Troy; Hon. New- ell K. Kennon, St. Clairsville; Hon. David Friedman, Caldwell. Hon. S. S. Rankin, South Charleston, was the Executive Commis- sioner having personal charge of the building and the affairs of the commission during the period of the exposition. After an opening selection by the Philippino Band, Reverend Naphtali Luccock, President of the Ohio Society of St. Louis, (101) |