Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission Part 67

Up to this time the plans outlined by the members of the Commission, such as sending representatives abroad to interest the women of foreign countries in the exposition, and other "suggestions" made by the board, designated by the president of the Commission as legitimate exposition work, had been rejected by the company. The members of the board of lady managers, therefore, were now of the unanimous opinion that they would be most seriously embarra.s.sed and their services rendered ineffective and inoperative unless an appropriation could be secured from Congress to defray the cost of meetings and other necessary expenses. If they failed to secure funds of their own, their power and influence in connection with the exposition would continue to be limited and indefinite.

Pursuant to the recommendations of the National Commission, therefore, as expressed at their meeting December 16, 1903, a new legislative committee was appointed on December 18, to take the place of the one created under the resolution of May 2, 1903, with instructions to the members to proceed immediately to Washington, which they did on January 5, 1904. The history and successful result of their work is given by the chairman of that committee in her final report.

At the meeting of the board of lady managers, held at its rooms in the Administration Building, March 1, 1904, before the regular order of business was taken up, Mrs. Andrews asked for and obtained unanimous consent to speak to the members of the board, and said:

In view of what has transpired at Washington since our last meeting, the extent of which only members of our legislative committee realize--for almost to a man the lower House was opposed to the appropriation, and it was only by arduous, strenuous, and n.o.ble work of our president and the members of that committee that the results were attained--I offer the following resolution:

_Resolved_, That the thanks of the board are due, and are hereby tendered, to the members of the legislative committee for securing an appropriation to defray our necessary expenses and thereby achieving the honorable emanc.i.p.ation of the board.

_Resolved_, That the board extend a vote of thanks to itself for the wisdom manifested in the selection of Mrs. Daniel Manning as its president, who has so fully enlisted the best efforts of all the members of the board and who has begun her work by showing that deeds rather than words are of special value.

The resolution was adopted by unanimous rising vote.

On the following day President Francis addressed the board as follows:

I am very glad to have this opportunity to talk to you. I desire to congratulate you upon your getting the appropriation from Congress for $100,000. I was very willing, indeed, as all the members of the executive committee were, to do what we could toward securing the money. After your worthy president waited upon the executive committee and was informed of our plan to ask a loan of $4,500,000 from the Treasury, she in turn informed us that the board of lady managers had decided to ask for $100,000 for their own use, we very readily came to an agreement to the effect that we would join forces and see what we could accomplish with Congress. As you are aware, it is a very difficult matter to get money out of Congress at best, and when the Government had already spent about $1,250,000 for its own exhibit, and when we had promised that we would not apply to Congress or appeal for any additional aid, the circ.u.mstances under which we made that deal or presented that bill were especially trying, and I think we all deserve to be congratulated upon the outcome.

When I went to Washington I found your president at the Capitol with Mrs. Montgomery. They had all worked a.s.siduously and had made considerable headway in the Senate--in which body it was our plan to introduce the bill in the shape of an amendment to the urgent deficiency bill.

While the matter was pending in the Senate the question of this $100,000 was brought up. We very promptly a.s.sured the ladies that this amount would be added to our bill asking for a loan of $4,500,000. We preferred, of course, that we should not be expected to repay it. However, the bill was presented and pa.s.sed and this $100,000 is to be paid over to the board of lady managers upon their order, and for such purposes as they may elect. The bill does not provide definitely out of which of our payments this $100,000 should come. The bill provided that we should get the money in four installments of $1,000,000 each, and a final installment of $600,000 not being payable until May.

The bill does not provide out of which payment your $100,000 shall be paid, but I wish to say, on behalf of the Exposition Company, we are willing and ready to pay that whenever you ladies request that it shall be paid. We do not know what plans, if any, you have made or in what manner you are planning for the disburs.e.m.e.nt of that money. * * *

Now, with regard to your money, I am not going to give you any gratuitous advice, but only wish to a.s.sure you that it is the intention of the company--that the company is ready to give that money to you in any form you may desire it. It will be given to you in any installments you may designate or it will be set aside in its entirety to be used for no other purpose than to honor requisitions of the board of lady managers.

In other words, it is possible for us to do this, and we will do it to your satisfaction, and we will draw up a letter of instruction and set aside as a special credit in the Treasury the sum of $100,000 in accordance with our bill of Congress, approved blank date. The auditor will draw his warrants without the approval of the treasurer of this company, but merely upon the requisition of the board of lady managers. The $100,000 would be set aside in the treasury of the company and you would have a written instrument and the treasurer would have orders to honor checks made upon that $100,000 in satisfaction of requisitions approved by the board of lady managers.

Of course, as I said before, if you wish to take that money out and put it in some depository in St. Louis or elsewhere it is at your disposal. You could get a check for a portion of the money or all of it if you wish. Our only obligation in connection with that $100,000 now is to repay it, as we have no intention or desire to avoid that part of it.

Now, if you should take the money out and put it in some depository in St. Louis or elsewhere to your credit you would be put to the expense of organizing an auditing system, the same as we have been.

I am willing, speaking on behalf of the company, to give you the benefit of the auditing system without your incurring any additional expense, and, if you wish, in order to make you doubly secure, I will get a letter from the treasurer stating that he has, in accordance with the instructions of the president, set aside $100,000 for the use of the board of lady managers, and that the $100,000 can only be drawn by checks signed by your treasurer and countersigned by your president.

I only say this as a suggestion, because we all have become interested, but if you choose to ask us for $25,000 of the money, or for all of it, we will give it you.

Now, with regard to other expenses you may incur or have incurred--I find in my report made to me to-day, which was made at your request--we have paid you up to this time for mileage and per diem in attending board meetings $16,856. That includes the $3,000 for which no vouchers have been turned in as yet. You can keep that, with or without vouchers as you please. If you want your business in the proper shape, however, it is more businesslike for you to turn in the vouchers. However, that lies with you.

Now, previous to the appropriation of the $100,000 the executive committee had appropriated $15,000 for the furnishing of the Woman's Building, which building, as you know, cost us $100,000.

Of course, you could have gotten a building erected that would have answered your purpose as well and cost less than $100,000, but under the terms of our contract with the Washington University that amount was paid out of the rental fund of $750,000 which we paid for these buildings as they stand.

Besides that $100,000, we promised to give you $15,000 for the furnishing of that building. When we made that promise we did not know you were going to get $100,000 from Congress which we would have to pay back. * * *

Now, in view of what I have said, we feel that we will give you the $15,000 for your building if you insist upon it; that is, we have made the appropriation of $35,000 for the creche. The $15,000 toward the equipment of the Woman's Building, under the circ.u.mstances--it seems to me, we should be relieved of that $15,000. I thought when I returned from Washington that the financial worry had been met, but I have realized within the past forty-eight hours that we can not open the exposition within the nineteen and one-half millions. We will not go back to Washington, however. We are economizing in every possible way. * * *

An official communication was received by the president of the board of lady managers stating that in the draft of the contract between the Exposition Company and the Treasury Department--

It is provided that from the first payment of $1,000,000 there shall be set aside by the Exposition Company $100,000 to be paid to the board of lady managers according to the provisions of the act and for no other purpose whatsoever.

The attention of the Exposition Company was called to this provision, and on March 5, 1904, the two following letters were received:

ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, _Office of the Secretary, March 5, 1904._

MADAM PRESIDENT: I am directed by President Francis to inform you that the executive committee has approved the requisition of the board of lady managers for $100,000, made available to said board from the Government loan by special act of Congress, as set forth in the resolution adopted by the board March 3, 1904.

Acting in accordance with the instructions of the executive committee, the president has this day deposited, out of the Government loan, the sum of $100,000 with the treasurer, Mr.

William H. Thompson, said sum to be drawn out by the board of lady managers in accordance with the resolutions adopted by the board; that is to say, to be "subject to draft of the treasurer of said board, countersigned by the president of the board."

Very respectfully, WALTER B. STEVENS, _Secretary._

The PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF LADY MANAGERS, _Administration Building._

ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, _Office of the Secretary, March 5, 1904._

MADAM PRESIDENT: I have this day received by deposit from the Government loan the sum of $100,000, made available to the board of lady managers by special act of Congress. This sum will be held by me subject to draft of the treasurer of the board of lady managers, countersigned by the president of the board of lady managers.

Very respectfully, W.H. THOMPSON, _Treasurer._

To Mrs. DANIEL MANNING, _President Board of Lady Managers._

The following is the provision made in the urgent deficiency bill, which was pa.s.sed on February 18, 1904, which secured to the board of lady managers a sum sufficient to enable them to meet any obligations which they might a.s.sume in the conduct of their partic.i.p.ation in the affairs of the exposition:

_Provided_, That of said sums $100,000 shall be paid by said Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company to, or on the order of, the board of lady managers of said exposition for such purposes as said board of lady managers shall approve, and at such times as said board of lady managers shall request the same.

FINAL REPORT OF THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE.

Immediately after the election of Mrs. Daniel Manning to the presidency of the board of lady managers, on December 16, 1903, a new legislative committee was appointed to succeed the one that had been created by Mrs. James L. Blair, the former president. The committee was composed of Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs.

Coleman, and Mrs. Buchwalter, chairman, and instructed to endeavor to procure from Congress an appropriation of $100,000 for the use of the board, in order that it might be enabled to perform in a proper manner the purposes for which it had been brought into existence.

It had become evident that the Exposition Company would require a much larger amount of money than was then at its command in order to inaugurate and successfully continue the World's Fair.

The men who had engineered the magnificent undertaking to this point in its development reasoned that, as they had already expended a sum far beyond that ever given any other similar project, they might not find a ready response to a request for further gifts. They were so confident of ultimate success, however, that they did not hesitate to ask Congress for a loan of $4,500,000 in order to conduct the affairs of the exposition.

The legislative committee of the board of lady managers appealed to the Exposition Company and asked that the company add to the amount of the loan for which it desired to negotiate the further sum of $100,000, to be set apart for the exclusive use of the board of lady managers. Receiving the promise that this fund should be included, the members of the legislative committee went to Washington to aid in every way in their power the pa.s.sage of the bill providing for said loan.

Upon the arrival of the committee in Washington, on January 5, the members found they had undertaken what eventually proved to be a most arduous task against great odds. They found the most deep-seated, persistent opposition to granting another dollar to the fair, and were told President Francis had been advised to defer his trip to Washington until the latter part of January, as it would be hazardous to attempt the pa.s.sage of the bill until the strong feeling against it then existing had abated.

Many members of Congress strongly advised the legislative committee to ask for a special appropriation, but it had been agreed that one appropriation should cover the requirements of both boards.

Mr. James S. Tawney, of Minnesota, a member of the House of Representatives, and chairman of the committee for this and similar appropriations, when in St. Louis had listened with interest to the representation of the subject setting forth the needs of the board of lady managers, and kindly had promised his good offices in helping to advance their cause. He promptly granted an interview when informed that the committee had arrived in Washington, and, while most courteous, did not disguise the fact that there were grave dangers ahead for the loan to the Exposition Company, which had been made a part of the urgent deficiency bill. He examined the budget which had been prepared, giving careful scrutiny to each item, and, after some suggestions and minor changes, a budget was submitted to him which was afterwards used.

On January 29 President Francis went before the Senate committee, and on February 1 appeared before the House committee, on behalf of a loan for the Exposition Company.

During the long interim preceding the arrival of President Francis and those aiding him, those of the committee who had remained in the capital were untiring in their efforts to make friends for the bill, and as their cause was heartily indorsed by their respective Senators and many members of their State delegations, they became most hopeful of ultimate success.

The unceasing energy of the members of the legislative committee was admirably aided by the president of this board, who had been untiring in her efforts to make friends for the bill, and had used these efforts in a masterly manner. Her large acquaintance among, and knowledge of, men of affairs in Washington, and her clear statements as to the way in which this board had been created, and her convincing argument that the work of the board must of necessity be most inadequate and inefficient by reason of lack of funds, gained many advocates for the bill, and to her is due the credit for the success of the work which the committee was appointed to do. She was always at work, unresting, unhasting, and, although weary and worn with the interminable delay, neither she nor any member of the committee left any honorable means untried in order to secure what was so vitally necessary to the very existence of this board during the exposition.

As the result of the combined efforts some who had affected indifference became interested, and some who had previously stoutly declared unalterable opposition finally yielded, not only working and voting themselves in favor of the bill, but persuading others to do so. It was naturally a source of great satisfaction to the members of the legislative committee that the strongest and most influential men of both Houses gave recognition to the urgent claims which the board of lady managers had upon Congress. It was these men who insisted upon the incorporation of the specific clause providing for their $100,000 as an amendment in the loan bill. This was eventually done, and the amendment remained there until the pa.s.sage of the bill, thus becoming a part of the law governing the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

A brief description of the manner in which the loan bill was brought before Congress may be of interest.