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Show What flic Great Fair Commemorates. In Honor of Centennial of the Louisiana'Purchase From France in 1803. t Exposition Had Its ; Inception Six Tears Ago, and Has Cost Millions. ST. LOUIS, Mo., April 30. The Louisiana Purchase exposition, expo-sition, comprising a comprehensive comprehen-sive collection and exhibition of the world's peoples, products, Industries, Indus-tries, modes of living, diversions, transportation trans-portation facilities; in fact, a complete universal concentration of arts, manufactures manu-factures and products of the soil, mine, forest and sea. had lt3 Inception In 1833 and was completed in April, 1904. The I exposition commemorates tho centennial centen-nial of tho purchase from France, in 1803, by tho United States of tho vast strip of territory stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Dominion of Canada, Can-ada, and extending from the Mississippi river to tho crest of the Rocky mountain moun-tain range, and since known as the Louisiana Purchase Territory. The entire Mississippi valley originally origi-nally belonged to Franco by right of discovery and exploration. In 1763 Spain acquired the Louisiana territory after the treaty o peace at Paris, when Franca, which had ceded Louisiana to Spain under the secret treaty of 17C2, gave up all her other possessions In North America to Great Britain. Spain held tho territory for thirty-seven years, returning It to France on the demand de-mand of Napoleon Bonaparte, through the secret treaty of St. Ildefcnso, October Octo-ber 1, 1S00. Napoleon Avas then First Consul of France. The hostile attitude of tho Spaniards toward Americans navigating the Mississippi resulted In agitation which led President Thomas Jefferson to undertake tho purchase of the city and Island of New Orleans, In order to control the mouth of the Mississippi. Mis-sissippi. Robert R. Livingston, United States Minister to France, and Jamos Monroe, afterward President of the United States, were accordingly commissioned com-missioned to conduct the negotiations for this transfer. Instead of tho sale of the Island of New Orleans alone, Napoleon Na-poleon proposed tho sale of the entlrd Louisiana Territory for 515,000.000 in order to secure funds for the equipment of his armies. The representatives of tho United Slates at once accepted tho offer and tho treaty was signed at Paris April 80, 1S03. The formal transfer of tho territory ter-ritory took place at New Orleans December De-cember 20, 1S03. and for upper Louisiana, Louisi-ana, at St. Louis, on March 10, 1S04. The newly purchased territory cm-braced cm-braced 1,000,000 rquare miles, and Is now divided Into the following fourteen States and Territories: Louisiana, Arkansas. Ar-kansas. Missouri,, Oklahoma, Indian Territory. Kansas. Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa. Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming" and Montana. Move for Fair Begun. In the fore part of 1S.9S an editorial was published in a St. Louis paper to tho effect that tho centennials of the great events In the history of the United Unit-ed States were not all over and predicting predict-ing that the greatest was yet to be held the centennial of the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory. This editorial was taken up In the press and commented upon, resulting In organized agitation by the Missouri Historical society. Thus waa tho World's fair movement begun. Congress passed a bill June 4, 1900, Ill II i i in , promising Government support and ?5,-000,000 ?5,-000,000 appropriation if the citizens of St. Louis raised $10,000,000. On January 12, 1901, it was announced that the St. Louis popular subscription list, by the i sale of stock, reached 5,000.000, and on January 30, 1901, nn ordinance was passed by the Municipal Assembly au-thbrlzlng au-thbrlzlng tho Issuance of pity bond3 to the amount of 55,000,000. The bill appropriating ap-propriating J5,000,000 was passed. President Pres-ident McKInley Immediately signed the bill, and on March 12, 1901, appointed the national commission of nine mem-bors. mem-bors. It was then decided to open tho exposition oru April 30, 1903. Subsequently Subse-quently the opening was postponed one year. Ofllcers were elected, tho company was Incorporated nnd the slto for tho exposition waa chosen in Forest Park, a vast natural park In tho southwestern border of St Loula. At tho opening, excepting In a few minor details, tho Louisiana Purchase j exposition stands practically completed at a co3t of almost 550,000,000. The Unltod States Government's total appropriation amounted to 37,063,000, and In addition tho Government recently recent-ly loaned to the Exposition company 51,600.000, .making a grand total of ?11,-663,000 ?11,-663,000 secured from the national Government. Gov-ernment. Tho State, municipal and other appropriations of this country made a total of nlmost 57.000.OCO, and to this Is added the $10,000,000 from St. Louis and her citizens. The balance of tho total cost of the exposition was expended ex-pended by tho other nations of the world. Great Ivory "White Palaces.-The Palaces.-The architecture of this universal exposition ex-position la majestlo in the great Ivory whlto exhibit palaces, historical In the foreign and State buildings, anl universally univer-sally cosmopolitan and unique In concession con-cession structures. The main picture comprises ten great palaces, arranged in fan shape In their location. Surmounting a hill, and 200 feet from the top of the building to ihe level of tho exposition grounds below. Btands festival hall, overlooking the cascade garuena. rneso tnree cascades arc the largest waterfalls ever con-atructed, con-atructed, and ninety thousand gallons of water a minute pour down In three magnificent torrents, at night being Illuminated Il-luminated by electricity. At their bases stretches the lagoon, which winds Its way through the main portion of the exposition pictures and traversed by gondolas. The cascade garden? are aeml-clrcnlar In form, sloping gradually from festival hall to the main level of the grounds. Each side of this crescent-shaped crescent-shaped hill is flanked with a wide stairway, stair-way, and lt3 crown, surmounted by festival fes-tival hall, Is covered by the colonnado of States. The court of honor stretcheB from the main entrance to the lagoon, containing monuments typically commemorative com-memorative of tho Louisiana purchase, chief of which Is the Louisiana Purchase Pur-chase monument, 100 feet high, with shaft seventeen feet in diameter, surmounted sur-mounted by the statue of liberty, facing the city of St. Louis and looking out to tho world, a guiding star to the sculptural sculp-tural groups symbolical of the twelve f-tates and two Territories formed from tho Louisiana purchase, which are located lo-cated at the other end of the court of honor, in the colonnade of States, surmounting sur-mounting the crescent-shaped hill and flanking festival hall, one of tho most ornato exposition structures. The exposition gates open at 8 o'clock In tho morning and the large Industrial pnlaces at 9 o'clock to remain open to the public until sunset. At night myriads myri-ads of electric lighting devices will 11-lumlnato 11-lumlnato the grounds, and visitors will be permitted to enjoy the exposition until un-til 11.30 o'clock, when the gates will be closed. The exposition will not be open on Sunday at any tlmo during the entire period. On Decembor 1st, seven months after the opening, tho exposition will have ofllclally terminated, and the Louisiana Purchase exposition will have passed Into history as probably the greatest and most comprehensive exposition that the world haa ever known. |