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Show GROUND BREAKING AT EXPOSITION San Francisco,1" Oct. 1 1. The first actual construction work of the Panama-Pacific International exposition to be hold in 1015 was begun today when President Taft turned the first spadeful of earth at the fair s'te. The ships of the Pacific coast fleet riding at anchor In the harbor, Joined In tho celebration, and the line or March of tho military parade was thronged by enthusiastic thousands. The ground-breaking took place at the stadium In Golden Gato jmrk. which occupies a part of ihe site of the great fair. Tickets to the great grandstand grand-stand wore almost unobtainable, and hours before the ceremony was begun, there was not a squaro foot of unoccupied un-occupied ground in the big enclosure Many thousand poldiere, regulars and militia, and the crews of the warships in tho bay, led the way from tho president's hotel to the park. A battery of field guns from the Presidio was stationed on thehill overlooking tho stadium, and when the national colors were hoisted to the top of a tall flagstaff, the national salute of 21 guns was fired and echoed by the forts and warships. Immediately afterward aft-erward the president turned the first earth for the falrf and it will be pro-served pro-served among tho historical mementoes memen-toes of the state. The President, Gov. Johnson and Mayor McCarthy spoke at tho stadium and Mme. Lillian Nordlca sang, the chorus of the Pacific coast Saonger-buud Saonger-buud assisting. At the conclusion of the ceremony, all presont united in singing the national anthem. A feature of the celebration was the setting free of a hundred or moro carrier pigeons, gathered from all parts of tho Pacific coast, when the President lifted the earth-laden spade from the ground Tho birds, bearing tiny notes of announcement and fluttering flut-tering ribbons, will carry the news up and down tho coast. Daylight fireworks fire-works Supplied by San Francisco Chinese, ended the colcbration. |