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Show II i , SI Louis Sates Opeo i Portals of City Swing Wide j and People Are Bidden j N to Enter, h I I Secretary of War Tnt Delivered Address Ad-dress as tho Representative ' of Presidont. I I i ) kwtORLD'S fair grounds. I Sfiy ST. . LOUIE. April 30. j Y f Notwithstanding tho prediction of the Government forecaster, who prophesied rain for tho latter part , of tho day and lowering skies for th 1 1 morning, St. Louis put forth her beat ,nnd bravest effort today in honor of the opening of her jreat exposition. Tho momlnc- at least was bright. Hj The crowd was fully as large as that Hj "which tilled the grounds one year ago, .when tho Exposition buildings were H, Promptly at tho hour set the o flic era Hl and directors of the exposition, the H members of tho national commission H and the board of lady managers were H gathered at the Administration bulld- H Jng, where, as rapidly as possible, they H were formed Into a procession and H moved to the Plaza of SL Louis, where H' The formal exercises were conducted. H1 At the head of the column was a de- H .tachment of guards. Then camo the H Scouts' band, followed by the Philippine B I Qoouts, an imposing body of men, who H ' marched well. Bclilnd them and leading H j the ofllcers and directory of the cxposi- Hi I tlon, came Sousa'a band. Following tho H ofllcers and managers were the nation- H: ; al commission, and, last of all, were the H lady managers. H Foreigners in Line. H As the column from the Admlnlatra- H I tlon building entered the plaza, a long H I ( line formed of representative forclgn- H era. This column was also headed' by a HJ I detachment of the Jefferson guards, Hfii I followed by a baud. H i H At the head of the line, immediately Hj behind thcr music, were the members of H the representatives of foreign relations, H marching in the order of presentation of H I credentials to the exposition. H f Following these came representatives H of Governments having Ministers ac- H credited to tho United States Govern- H mcnt, and then a great number of other Hl . representatives of foreign Governments H ' and colonies, also In the same order. H This column presented by far tho gay- H est appearance of the day, for tho for- H eJgners made a great display of gold H lace and glittering ornaments, In great H contrast to the dark frocks which were H no prominent among the officers and H dignitaries of the exposition. H A third column formed of representa- H tlvco of the State and Territorial gov- H;i emmcls of the Union then came, .i' f, i At the base of the Louisiana monu- H ' j mcnt a small stand had been erected for H ' the speakers and scaus provided for the H, listeners. Th: assemblage was called H to order without delay by President D T It Franc! 3 of the exposition, who re- H questel the multitude to rise white tho H1, Rev. Fran); W. Gun&aulus of Chicago j , delivered the Invocation. 1 Dr. Guusaulus concluded his eloquent ' lnvooaticn with the Lord's prayer, in H i which tlw audience Joined. President H France, as tho chief executive of the exposition, then delivered an address. 1 He said in part President Francis Speaks. H "The Louisiana purchase exposition. Hj 1 held In commemoration of the acqulsl- B tlon of an empire by a deed of the pen, H (flutes the representatives, executive H,l and legislative, of the Federal Govern- 1 j , mcnt. and tenders most profound thanks H'' for the recognition extended and nc- B slslancc rendered. It acknowledges ob- M . A ligations to Slates and Territories and Hl 1 ' foreign countries for co-operation and contribution and makes Its obeisance to Hl" commissioners and exhibitor?. '"Open ye gates. Swing wide ye por- j( tals. Enter herein ye sons of men, and behold the achievements of your race. H'l Learn the lesson here taught and gath- ' cr from It Inspiration for still greater H accomplishments." H At the conclusion of hln address Pres- 1 . Ident Francis recognized William H. ThompEon, one of the committee on j grounds and buildings, who presented 1 Isaac S. Taylor, the director of works, Mr. Taylor delivered to President Fronci3 the keys of tho exposition and presented diplomas of merit to the chiefs of his staff. H! After the rendition of tho march "Louisiana" by Sousa's band, Presl-' Presl-' dent Francis transferred the exposition j buildings to Frederick J. V. Skiff, the l director of exhibits, the performance being emblematic of the fact that th .i buildings had been erected by the men I In charge of that portion of the work Hli nnd vere now ready and waiting. Mr. Hjj Skiff then delivered an address. H! . The grand choru3, "Hymn of the Tesl,"' v.oa then sung by a choir led by 1, 'I, Alfred Ernst. .I President Francis then introduced HII j ' Mayor Rolla "Wolla of Si. Louis, who T , , tpoke briefly extending to the people of Hl Q country a 'cordial wclcomo to tho H' St Louis exposition. H; Thomas H. Carter, president natlonaJ 1 commlenlon. theu p.poke on behalf of tho ;t body of which ho Is the head. Wj At the conclusion of Mr. Carter'a ad- I'f I dress President Francis introduced Sen- HT ' atur Bumham of New Ilampshh-e. Fol- 1 v lowing Mr. Bumham came Jamea A. j Tawney of Minneapolis, who spoke for . .i tho national Houco of Representatives. Hl. " For lhi domestlc exhibitors Edward i, K. PTarrlmaji, president of the Nov" j! ' 'il York commission, delivered an address, l - The speaker for the foreign oxhlbl- 1 , tors was Commissioner General M. La- Hi '' f Grave cf France. Hl' Tho chorus of "America" was then sung and Secretary of War Taft, as tho representative of the President of tho United States, dellverod tho last address ad-dress of the day. He spoke as follows: fol-lows: Mr. Chairman nnd Follow Citizens: Who ii ono ocea the expense and the effort and energy necessary to mako the expo-r-ltlon, the opening o which wo celebrated today, ll la natural to doubt whether the good Ja commensurate with tho cost. In lcti.i than a year thin city o( magnlflcont structures will havo dlcappenrcd, this collection col-lection of everything from overywhero will havo boon dissipated and nothing will remain re-main but tho site whero it was but tho memory of Us grandeur and beauty. Tho doubt is only evidence that wo do not feel as wo should tho meaning of this exposition exposi-tion Ic is a great milestone in tho progress prog-ress of tho world. Each nation Is hero striving to ohow It has handled and added to tho lalont confided to its care. This le the union of nations In a progrens toward higher material and spiritual existence. exis-tence. It Is tho measuring rod of that for which myriads of hands and myriads oJ brains havo beon ntrlvlng. Not alono In tho mechanical scicncco. but In tho flno arts, In education, In philosophy, in religion, re-ligion, are all of these steps of modern progress marked, and whllo tho liuildlnco arid tho machlnea and tho congresses and tho beauty and tho glamor and tho pomp of such a celebration and exposition i3 this shall pass Into a memory and every material mate-rial ovldonce disappear, tho measurement that they make of progress, noticed as it is in the history of tho world, becomo a benefit ben-efit to mankind, tho value of which cannot can-not be exaggerated. It rcducos the sizo of our world in that it brings all nations into ono small locality for a time, but it increases in-creases onormously the efficiency of thoso engaged In carrying on tho world'ij prog1 resfl by enabling each to gather tho benefit bene-fit of the other's' work. Speaking today on behalf of tho President Presi-dent of tho United States. I cannot but recall re-call the admlrablo and discriminating nd-dros.i nd-dros.i which ho delivered here a year ago upon tho historical and political Importance Impor-tance of that great purchase. Ho pointed out how it won when this Government be-pan be-pan and yet how qulotly successful had been its oporation until It seems now so natural as to Involve no surprleo or admiration admir-ation at all. I am sure I may bo pardoned If I invoko attention to the fact that wo havo at tills centonnary of tho purchase of Louisiana, entered upon anothor and a different kind of oxpansion, which involves the solution of other and different problems prob-lems from thoso nresented In the Louis iana, purchase- Thoy have beon forced upon us without our seeklnc, and they must bo solved with tho same sens of duty, the samo fearlessness and courago with which our ancestors met tho very stnrtlln probloms that were presented by tho addition of this wido expanse of territory ter-ritory of Louisiana, That thoy may not and probablv will not bo solved by conferring con-ferring Statehood upon tho territory is probable. Augura of 111 and ruin to follow from the oxpenso and tho solution of this problem oro not wanting, but thoy nover havo been wanting in the history of this country, and thoy never havo been nl-lowcd nl-lowcd to control the fearless grappling of new problems bj Americans, We have probably reached a period In tho great wealth and power which wo havo achieved as a nation. In which wo find ourselves burdened with tho necessity of aiding another people to stand upon Its feet and tako a short cut to the freedom and the civil liberty which wo and our ancestors an-cestors havo hammered out. For tho reason rea-son that thin centennial of the Louisiana purchase marks tho beginning of the great Phllipplno problem tho government of tho Phllinplno lands has felt Justified In expending ex-pending a very largo sum of money to mako the people who come hero to com-meroato com-meroato tho vindication tho great effort-of effort-of American enterprise and oxpansion understand un-derstand tho conditions which surround tho beginning of another. Thoao who look forward with dark foreboding to tho result re-sult of this now adventure baeo their prophesies of disaster on what they think )s tho weakness of tho American pcoplo. Thoso who look forward to its success base their Judgment and tholr optimism on what has already been accomplished In tho Islands and what they know tho American nation can do when an emergency emer-gency and an Inevitable necessity present themselves. Without being blind to tho difficulties or tho dangers, It gives mo the greatest happiness to know and to say that tho President of the United States, whom I unworthily rcprcsont today, is glad to tako his stand among thoso who bollcvo In the capacity of tho American pcoplo when aroused by tho call of duty to solve any problom of sovernmcnt, however new, which depends solely on tho clearheadedness, clear-headedness, the honesty and tho courage, tho genorosity and tho atlf-restralnt of tho American people. Roosevelt Preaaea Batton. Tho conclusion of the epeech of Secretary Sec-retary Taft was the signal for the opening open-ing of tho fair. In the White Houso at Washington. President Roosevelt was waiting for the signal which was to tell him that the proper moment had arrived to touch the golden key that would open the fair In earnest nnd set Its manifold machinery in full operation. opera-tion. Secretary Taft had not turned to re-sumo re-sumo his seat after concluding his speech before the signal had been flashed to Washington over the wires of the Postal Telegraph company. Instantly In-stantly there was a returning flash which started the mochlnory In Machinery Ma-chinery hall in operation. Strictly speaking, this was all that war, accomplished by tho Presidential touch on tho button at Washington. Operators hero were watching for the flash from the White House, and as quickly as it camo they touched tho keys which released the fastenings of thousands of banners that were secured se-cured to the staffs on the roofs of all the large exhibition palaces. Every banner apparently caught the same breath nf air and unfurled and floated out at once. Great Cascade Starts. Hundreds of thousands of eyes were focused on the lagoon basin. The first glint of white foam at tho summit of the inclines was greeted with a tremendous tre-mendous cheer, which deepened as tho great flood of water came splashing tumultuouBly down to tho lagoon below. be-low. Simultaneously with tho rush of the water, all tho bands burst forth at once Into the strains of "The Star Spangled Banner." Every man In the great crowd uncovered, and when tho last strnln of the ,martlal song had died away, the exorcises were llnlshed and the exposition proper had commenced. The first feature of the exposition waa the concessionaire parade. This was made up of all the different features fea-tures which will figure on the "Pike" during ithe life of the exposition. This procession, with its diverse unlquo attractions, at-tractions, gave much pleasure and delight de-light to the crowds, which cheered It most enthusiastically during the entire en-tire length of, its lino of march. |