Robert W. Woodruff
Library
EMORY UNIVERSITY
Special Collections & Archives
HON. LEVI P. MORTON,
Governor of the State of New York
J^eport
OF THE
P>oard of Commissioners
Representing tl)e of Nev Morl$
Cotton states
AND
International Exposition
Atlanta, Georgia
1395
WYNKOOP HALLENBECK CRAWFORD CO
STATE PRINTERS
ALBANY AND NEW YORK
GOLD MEDAL AWARDED TO THE STATE OF NEW YORK FOR THE ERECTION OF BUILDINGS
ON THE GROUNDS AND FOR MOST EFFICIENTLY PROMOTING
THE INTERESTS OF THE EXPOSITION.
Chapter 54.1
★
AN ACT to provide for the representation of the State of
New York at the Cotton States and International
Exposition at Atlanta, Georgia, in eighteen hundred and
ninety-five.
Became a law May 31, 1895, with the approval of the Governor. Passed,
three-fifths being present.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follozvs :
Section i. The Governor of the State shall forthwith appoint
in writing, filed in the office of the Secretary of State, four persons,
who, together with Mrs. Levi P. Morton of Albany, New York,
Mrs. A. Howard Townsend, President Colonial Dames of America
and Regent of Mount Vernon ; Mrs. Donald McLean, Regent New
York City Chapter Daughters of American Revolution; and Mrs.
Henry B. Plant of New York City, whose appointment as such has
been requested by the Board of Women Managers of the Cotton
States and International Exposition, shall constitute a Commission
to provide for the representation of the State of New York at the
Cotton States and International Exposition to be held at Atlanta,
Georgia, September eighteenth to December thirty-first, ■ eighteen
hundred and ninety-five. It shall be the duty of such Commission
to encourage and promote a full and complete exhibit of the com¬
mercial, industrial, educational, and artistic interests of the State,
9
IO NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
and to provide and maintain during the Exposition a building for
the official headquarters of the State and for the comfort and con¬
venience of its citizens.
§ 2. The Governor shall forthwith appoint a suitable and com¬
petent person, who is a resident of the State, to be Secretary of the
Commission. He shall be removable at the pleasure of the Governor
and shall receive a salary not to exceed one hundred and twenty-
five dollars per month. The Secretary shall keep the records of the
Commission, conduct the correspondence, and perform such other
duties as may be assigned him by the Commission. The Commis¬
sion may provide such clerical assistance as they deem necessary,
but no salaries in consequence of this act shall be paid for a period
longer than three months after the close of the Exposition.
§ 3. The Commission shall, immediately after their appointment,
and upon the call of the Governor, meet at the Capitol in the City
of Albany and organize as a board by the election of a president
and vice-president. Three members of the Commission shall be a
quorum for the transaction of business. The members of the Com¬
mission appointed under this act shall serve without compensation,
but their actual necessary expenses, while in the actual discharge
of their duties, shall be allowed and paid to them out of any sums
apportioned therefor, upon the audit of the Comptroller. No
member of the Commission, nor the Secretary, shall be personally
liable for any debt or obligation created or incurred by him as such
commissioner or officer.
§ 4. The Commission shall make a report of its proceedings
from time to time to the Governor and within three months from
the close of the Exposition shall make a final detailed report to be
transmitted by him to the Legislature.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
II
^ 5. The total expenditures to be incurred under the provisions
of this act shall not exceed the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars,
and for the purpose of paying such expenditures, the sum of twenty-
five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is
hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the treasury not other¬
wise appropriated, to be paid by the State Treasurer upon the
warrant of the Comptroller, issued upon the requisition of the
Commission, signed by its President and Secretary, accompanied by
estimates of the expenses for the payment of which the money so
drawn is to be applied.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
I have compared the preceding with the original law on file in this office,
and do hereby certify that the same is a correct transcript therefrom and of
the whole of said original law.
State of New York,
Office of the Secretary of State.
JOHN PALMER.
Secretary of State.
OFFICERS AND MEMBERS
OF THE
New York State Commission.
JAMES EDWARD GRAYBILL, President,
229 Broadway, New York City.
IviRS. LEVI P. MORTON, Vice-President,
Albany, New York.
FRANK M. BAKER, Treasurer,
Owego, New York.
ALGAR M. WHEELER, Secretary,
Buffalo, New York.
WILLIAM W. SNOW, . . . Hillburn, New York.
JAMES SWANN, . 11 Cotton Exchange, New York City.
Mrs. DONALD McLEAN, „ . . New York City.
Mrs. HENRY B. PLANT, . . . New York City.
Mrs. SAMUEL SPENCER, . . . New York City.
I 2
JAMES EDWARD GRAYBILL,
President New York State Commission.
MRS. LEVI P. MORTON,
Vice-President New York State Commission.
Report
*
To his Excellency, Honorable Levi P. Morton, Governor
State of "New York, Albany, N. Y.:
SIR: The Commissioners appointed under Chapter No. 841 to
represent the State of New York at the Cotton States and Inter¬
national Exposition at Atlanta, Ga., 1895, have the honor to submit
to you as directed by the provisions of said act, a full report of
their action, together with a statement of the expenditures made
in conformity thereto.
The first meeting of the Commissioners was held at Albany,
N. Y., in the Governor's Room, on July 1st, 1895, and an organi¬
zation was effected by the election of the following officers:
Mr. James Edward Graybill, President.
Mrs. Levi P. Morton, Vice-President.
Mr. Frank M. Baker, Treasurer.
Mr. Algar M. Wheeler, Secretary.
(By Appointment of the Governor.)
Mrs. A. Howard Townsend having informed the Governor and the
Commission that other duties and engagements would prevent her
accepting the appointment as Commissioner, and having tendered
her resignation, the Governor appointed Mrs. Samuel Spencer, of
New York City, to fill the vacancy.
A special committee, consisting of President Graybill and Com¬
missioners Swann, Snow and Baker, was at once appointed to visit
17
i8
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Atlanta for the purpose of selecting a site for the State Building,
and they were also authorized to take the necessary steps for its
erection.
The special committee, on reaching Atlanta, ascertained that
owing to the lateness of the season (it was then July 7), and the
fact that the representatives of other States had selected all the
available sites, no satisfactory place remained, and the Commis¬
sioners were compelled to ask of the Piedmont Driving Club the
privilege of erecting the State Building on a location upon their
grounds, adjoining the Fine Arts Building of the Exposition, which
privilege was cheerfully granted.
The temporary headquarters of the Commission was established
at the Gilsey House, New York City, on July 16th, 1895, and the
Secretary placed in charge. The necessary committees were at
once appointed, "to encourage and promote a full exhibit of the
commercial, industrial and artistic interests of the State, and to
provide and maintain during the Exposition a building for the
official headquarters of the State and for the comfort and conven¬
ience of its citizens."
The months of August and September were not conducive to
successful work, either in New York or Atlanta, but they were
marked by great activity on the part of your Commission. An
architect, Mr. C. N. Hoar, of New York City, was selected, and his
plans and designs approved as the most appropriate and desirable.
As the Exposition was to open September 18th, the time was
limited within which to complete the structure and to prepare
exhibits.
The great desire of the women members of the Commission to
make a display of Colonial, Revolutionary and Historical articles
as an educational feature, occasioned their appointment as a
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
19
" Colonial Committee" (Mrs. Donald McLean, Chairman), with the
result that a remarkably fine collection of rare and valuable articles
of this character was made and exhibited.
Your Commission, while giving due consideration to the means
for most effectively preserving the dignity of the great State of
New York, and keeping in view the desirability of maintaining and
extending the commercial supremacy of the Commonwealth of which
they were the representatives, had another and no less important
purpose in mind. They regarded this first great Industrial Expo¬
sition held in a Southern State to be a most fitting and opportune
occasion to put forth special efforts to strengthen and cement the
bonds of union between the people of the interested States, and
to promote and increase the feeling of affection for our common
country and its emblems by acts that would testify our sincere
friendship and brotherly love for the Southern people, and give
visible tokens of our interest in their personal and public pros¬
perity and welfare.
It was deemed advisable and expedient in the construction of
our State Building, to make it of a more durable and permanent
character than is usual or customary in structures of this kind.
This was accomplished with but little additional cost, and at the
close of the Exposition it remains permanently upon the site
selected,—a constant reminder to the Southern people of the warm
and generous feeling of friendship and interest felt by the people
of our State towards the citizens of Atlanta and the people of the
South.
The Exposition was officially opened by the Honorable Grover
Cleveland, President of the United States, who, from his summer
home at Buzzard's Bay, put in motion the powerful machinery by
means of the electric wire. The exhibitors and visitors to the great
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
industrial display were warmly welcomed by the Honorable W. Y.
Atkinson, Governor of Georgia; Honorable Porter King, Mayor of
Atlanta, and other State and Exposition officials, whose congratulatory
addresses were marked by the most liberal, fraternal and patriotic
sentiments. A memorable feature of the occasion was the eloquent
oration of a colored man, Booker T. Washington, Principal of the
Colored Industrial School at Tuskegee, Ala., whose address appears
in full in this report.
The effects of the Atlanta Exposition have been large and pro¬
ductive of great good. It has promoted trade, increased commercial
and social intercourse between the citizens of different States and
caused a widespread circulation of money among a deserving people,
and given them ideas of the wealth, strength and power of other
States, and of the country generally, that could otherwise have been
obtained only by years of travel and an expenditure of money
beyond the means of the thousands who were present.
We are profoundly impressed with the value of similar exhibitions
as a powerful factor in strengthening and uniting our country and its
citizens, and we do not hesitate to recommend that our Legislature
be urged to appropriate small amounts upon similar occasions, and
hope and believe that all of the States will do likewise, in order
that widely-separated citizens may more frequently come together, to
know, to understand, and to appreciate one another. The strength
and prosperity of our Union can in no manner be more greatly
increased than by the encouragement and success of these exhibitions
and the necessary education of those attending which follows.
In conclusion, your Commission expresses the hope that it has
fulfilled its duties with satisfaction to yourself and the people of
the State of New York, which was the especial aim and purpose
of its ambition and efforts. From the inception of New York
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
21
State's participation m the undertaking until about the month ot
February last, one or more of your Commissioners devoted almost
their entire time to the successful carrying out of the task com¬
mitted to their charge.
EXPOSITION SEAL
Tl)e Origin of tl)e Atlanta Imposition
• ★
THE triumphal success and prosperous results accompanying
and following the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago
inspired the citizens of Atlanta, Georgia, with the idea
that a great Industrial Exhibition, centrally located in the growing
and revitalized South, would mark an important era in the history
of the country. Atlanta, as the capital of the Empire State of the
South; as a great and rapidly-increasing commercial metropolis and
railroad centre, and as the abiding place of active, energetic, pushing
men and women, justly regarded itself as the proper place for
holding an Exposition which should reveal the rapid progress being
made in the heart of the New South in the arts and industries
which accompany the onward march of civilization. Atlanta was
made famous by the Civil War, and especially by the stirring
strains of that popular song, " Marching Through Georgia." It
derives its cognomen of the "Gate City" from its location, which
makes it the natural entrepot for an extensive tributary section and
also the spot at which converging lines of railroads meet. The
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
2 3
town is situated over a thousand feet above tide-water, is well
paved, well drained, and consequently healthy. Its ground plan is
circular, with the business district as an actual no less than a
trade centre. The Piedmont region, in which it stands, is high,
rolling country, and on clear days the mountain peaks to the north
and west of the city are visible.
More than one hundred miles of street railway are in operation,
and the trolley system is in general use. In addition to the
trolleys there is genuine rapid transit on two or three of the
steam lines which traverse the city. Thirteen railroads radiate
from Atlanta in every direction.
The total valuation of Atlanta is about $80,000,000, and the
amount of business transacted exceeds $160,000,000 annually.
Yet, little more than fifty years ago, the germ of the Atlanta of
to-day was a little hamlet, whose name of Marthasville was un¬
known, except in its own immediate vicinity. In the last year of
the Civil War the embryo city was practically destroyed by the
contending armies of Sherman and Hood. No doubt the then
inhabitants looked upon the ravages of war with sorrowful hearts;
but the "calamity," as they deemed it, was a blessing in disguise.
Like Chicago, Atlanta arose from its ashes at the close of the
war, and entered upon an uninterrupted era of peaceful prosperity.
It not only grew and prospered, but the former listlessness and
supineness were replaced with a spirit of activity and energy that
has kept pace with the march of improvement and has made
Atlanta one of the foremost cities of the Union, a model to its
neighbors, and the metropolis of the South.
With all these advantages, natural and acquired, it is no
wonder that the citizens of Atlanta were the first to realize the
advantages and possibilities that would follow in the wake of a
great industrial exposition which would show to the civilized world
the results of awakened enterprise and ambition in the New South,
and give some idea of the marvelous developments that the future
has in store.
2/1 NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
The credit for originating the idea is justly given to Colonel
W. A. Hemphill, of the Atlanta Constitution, and he was ably
seconded by Captain Evan P. Howell, proprietor of that bright
and enterprising newspaper, who gave the project his earnest and
cordial support. A meeting of citizens was called to consider the
subject, and a favorable determination was reached. An organ¬
ization was perfected and subscriptions started. Two hundred and
thirty-eight thousand dollars ($238,000.00) was speedily pledged, a
permanent organization formed and a charter obtained. While it
was not expected to be of the size and scope that it finally attained,
the idea and plans met with such general approval and hearty
co-operation that the efforts of the promoters resulted in the par¬
ticipation of nearly every State in the Union and of many foreign
countries. Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Chili and the Argentine
Republic promptly took steps to gather exhibits for the proposed
Exposition, and many of the European nations had displays occu¬
pying a very large area in the Manufactures and Liberal Arts
Building. One of the special objects of the promoters was to
foster trade between the South American countries and the Cotton
States, as well as to show to the North, and to European nations,
what are the products and facilities of the Southern States, and to
extend the commercial relations and markets of the entire country.
Considering the conditions from which the Exposition grew, the
obstacles which were overcome (some that must have appeared in¬
surmountable in such times of general business depression), it was
one of the most remarkable successes in the history of famous
industrial exhibitions.
JAMES SWANN,
New York State Commission.
Action of fl)e Nev ^Ior^ Cumber of Commerce
*
AT a regular monthly meeting of the New York Chamber of
Commerce, held at the Rooms of the Chamber, in Nassau
street, New York City, on the third day of October,
1895, Henry Hentz, Esq., Chairman of the Executive Committee
of the Chamber, stated that, during the Summer recess, the Ex¬
ecutive Committee had received a delegation of prominent citizens
of Atlanta, Georgia, who had visited New York in order to interest
the citizens of the metropolis in the Cotton States and Industrial
Exposition, which opened during the previous month. Mr. Hentz
further stated that, as it had not been practicable to call a special
meeting of the Chamber, the committee had adopted the following
preamble and resolutions :
Whereas, The citizens of Atlanta, Ga., have organized the Cotton States
and International Exposition, to be opened on the 18th day of September next;
and,
Whereas, The Government of the United States has given to this Exposi¬
tion its recognition by appropriating $200,000.00 to pay the expenses of an
exhibit made by the Government under the supervision of its officials; and,
Whereas, Many of our sister States have made appropriations of money
and appointed Commissioners to represent them at the Exposition; and,
Whereas, The New York State Commissioner, recently returned from
^Atlanta, Ga., reports that the grounds and buildings already indicate that, in
magnitude, the Exposition will be second only to that recently held in Chicago;
and,
Whereas, The commercial interests of the entire country would be promoted
through a better mutual knowledge of the resources and industries of each
section, and of the South American Republics, whose exhibits will be a feature
of the coming Exposition in Atlanta; and,
27
28
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Whereas, A better understanding of financial conditions will be promoted
by the personal intercourse between the business men of our several sections;
therefore, it is
Resolved, The Executive Committee of the New York Chamber of Commerce,
pending the general meeting of the Chamber, which will be held in October
next, approve the action of our State Legislature in making provision for the
representation of our State, and of the action of his Excellency, the Governor, in
appointing Commissioners to the Cotton States and International Exposition.
Resolved, further, That we earnestly urge our citizens to visit this Ex¬
position, and we hope that the representatives of our commercial and industrial
interests will avail themselves of this opportunity to make such exhibits as will
be creditable to the resources and activity of the State of New York.
The action of the committee was unanimously approved and the
resolutions were ordered to be entered on the minutes of the
Chamber.
WILLIAM W. SNOW,
New York State Commission.
Architectural Features of tl)e Cotton States and
International exposition, Atlanta, (ia.
★
IT would seem as though nature had designed the site of the
Cotton Stated and International Exposition, Piedmont Park,
for the purposes to which it was dedicated. The one hundred
and eighty-nine acres within the Exposition enclosure stretch over
numerous hills of gentle acclivity and vales of unsurpassed loveli¬
ness. The landscape gardening, rich in the profusion of foliage
and flowers, formed one of the most pleasing attractions. " Clara
Meer," a beautiful artificial lake, navigable for electric launches
and gondolas, was to Piedmont Park what the " lagoons " were to
Jackson Park at the World's Columbian Exposition.
It was with much foresight and wisdom that the solution of the
architectural problem and the designing of the buildings was
placed in charge of a skilled and competent person by the Ex¬
position officials. They selected as supervising architect of the
Exposition Mr. Bradford L. Gilbert, one of New York's most
prominent members of the architectural profession. His treatment
of the Exposition, as covering the whole scheme, was governed by
three important features—the actual requirements, the guaranteed
appropriation, and the various locations of the sites for the
buildings.
The general architectural motif adopted was that of the early
Romanesque. While each of the buildings had a certain depend¬
ence upon the other, the style of treatment selected afforded great
scope and variety of design, yet retaining an individuality of its
own, appropriate for the purpose for which each building was
erected. When the statement is made that all the buildings were
31
32
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
contracted and erected, of permanent material, for less than the
cost, for instance, of the Electricity Building at the World's Co¬
lumbian Exposition, the problem and the results will be better
appreciated. All attempts at producing wrong impressions by
either architectural or constructive methods, by the use of fancy
detail work or the imitation of more pretentious buildings, such as
those of the Columbian Exposition, was strenuously avoided
throughout. Southern material was utilized for the construction.
Above the masonry foundations the entire superstructure was
composed of Georgia pine. The exterior of the buildings, with
several exceptions, was covered entirely by yellow pine shingles.
The voussoirs forming the arches and recesses, as well as the
various label and belt lines, were constructed of the same material.
The entire artistic effect of the exterior was gained entirely by
bold constructional outlines, a graceful contour, and the appearance
of solidity and massiveness. The wall spaces were utilized to
emphasize this effect, the various openings being grouped in con¬
formity with this general scheme. Several of the buildings were
constructed of "staff"; but when it is explained, for instance, that
the Woman's Building, with less than one-chird the dimensions of
the Electricity Building, cost more than three times as much, it
will readily be understood that the adoption of " staff," as in the
case of the Chicago Exposition, was out of the question. The
Woman's Building was a possibility only on account of the interest
and indefatigable zeal of the women of the South, who gave both
their money and time to accomplish the result desired in this
building.
The Government Building, designed by the assistant supervising
government architect; the Woman's Building, designed by Miss
Mercur, and the Fine Arts Building, designed by Mr. Downing
(excepting, of course, the various booths and minor buildings,
covering possibly all known types of architecture), were the only
buildings which were not placed in charge of Architect Gilbert.
Consequently, the general scheme adopted covers the Liberal Arts
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
33
Building (the largest on the grounds), the Agricultural Building,
Machinery Hall, the Negro Building (contracted with, and erected
entirely by, negroes), the Auditorium and Police Headquarters, the
Georgia State Building, the Mining and Forestry Building (itself a
forestry exhibit, being constructed of over thirty specimens of
Southern wood in their natural condition), the Chimes and Clock
Tower, the Main Entrance and Administration Building, and the
Pennsylvania State Building (sheltering the old Independence Bell), and
the Exhibition Building of the Southern Railway Company. The two
latter were designed and carried out with a somewhat classical motive.
The fact that the World's Fair, with all its marvelous attractions
and beautiful buildings, did not have a single appropriate public
entrance, caused considerable comment. There were no striking
architectural features visible until one had passed through the turn¬
stiles. The supervising architect of the Cotton States and International
Exposition designed the beautiful main entrance to harmonize with
the architecture of the main buildings, and considering the fact that
Atlanta has its cognomen as the "Gate City of the South" for its
inspiration, he designed the grand entrance according to this idea,
which, combining the Administration Building, formed a composite
design, combining portions of Blarney Castle in Ireland, Warwick
Castle and the Bloody Tower in England, St. Michael's on the coast
of Brittany in France, and the Rheinstein in Germany. It provided
for offices, carriage entrances, ticket booths, workmen and employees'
entrances, turnstiles, etc., sufficiently ornate, and affording a pleasing
first impression to all visitors.
The general color scheme was suggested by the natural back¬
ground of " greens and brown," formed by the luxuriant foliage of
the stately oaks which formed part of the original site, as well as by
the undulating character and general contour of the ground, which
varies several hundred feet within the boundaries of Piedmont Park.
The buildings were stained a natural wood gray, while the roofs were
similarly colored a neutral moss green. The label moulds, belt lines
and cornices were emphasized by being painted a dull white.
34
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
The following schedule shows the size and cost of the various
Exposition buildings, outside of the item of land grading, water pipes,
drains, etc., not covered by the general contracts, as estimated under
the direction of the trustees for the bondholders :
Buildings.
Size.
Cost.
Transportation Building
126 x 413 feet,
$ 16,000
00
Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building .
206 x 356 "
46,000
00
Agricultural Building
158x304 "
32,000
00
Machinery Hall
118 x 304 "
0
0
0^
00
Negro Building
112 x 276 "
10,000
00
Auditorium
135 x 200 "
15,425
00
Fire Building
50 x 205
8,000
00
Georgia State Building
81 x 151 "
8,000
00
Minerals and Forestry Building .
110 x 250 "
17,000
00
Chimes Building
200 ft. in height,
6,000
00
Main Entrance and Administration Building .
50 x 440 feet,
10,000
00
Art Building
100 x 245 "
16,000
00
Woman's Building
124 x 134 "
30,000
00
United States Government Building
180 x 260 "
49,760 57
Electricity Building
262 x 80 "
00
These buildings were all contracted for below the appropriation
made for this purpose, and completed within the limited time of ten
months and below the architect's approximate estimate of cost. They
included many special features not originally requested, and covered
a much larger area of ground than the officials asked for.
In recognition of what had been accomplished, the Board of
Directors unanimously adopted and forwarded to Mr. Gilbert a set
of highly complimentary resolutions, in addition to awarding him a
gold medal and diploma for " beauty, utility and economy of design
and construction of the Exposition Buildings."
NEW YORK STATE BUILDING.
(New York Day.)
New ^Ior^ ^fafe gaitding
-— ★
TO the left of the main entrance the most prominent feature of
the Exposition grounds is the New York State Building. It
is situated upon a rising plateau between the Piedmont
Driving Club House and the Fine Arts Building, and commands an
unobstructed view of the whole of the grounds.
The use of the land upon which the building is erected was
donated to the State of New York by the Piedmont Driving Club
of Atlanta, and is an evidence of that cordial courtesy which was
so freely supplemented by the continued graceful acts of this Club
during the continuance of the Exposition.
The architect, Mr. Charles Norris Hoar, of New York City, one of
the young and rising lights of the advanced school of architecture,
has, in this building, endeavored to combine those three qualities
which Vitrurius has laid down as being indispensable in a fine building
—stability, utility and beauty, and while not able, by reason of space,
to retain that accurate proportion which is so pleasing to the eye in
the dimensions, still has succeeded in producing a structure which,
both in its interior and exterior, aptly recalls the early architecture
of Manhattan Island, while modern improvements have not been
overlooked.
Recognizing the appropriateness of the occasion, the main portion
of the building is constructed of stone quarried on the Exposition
grounds; the upper portion, including the graceful colonial roof,
pierced by prominent dormer windows, is of Georgia pine, and brings
to mind the memories of the Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam, both
in its color and tone.
The building proper is about seventy-five feet deep, with a
frontage of about eighty-eight feet; is two stories in height, and is
surmounted by a strictly colonial roof. The second story and roof are
37
38
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
covered with stained shingles. French windows open from each floor
upon a broad veranda, extending across the whole front of and almost
entirely around the building, thus giving a promenade of over six
hundred feet, from which a most beautiful view may be had of the
park and surrounding country; and now that the transfer of this
building by the State of New York to the Piedmont Driving Club has
been completed, the New York State Building will be the welcome
home under whose hospitable roof the citizens of Atlanta and their
guests will for many years recall the days of the Exposition and the
interest taken therein by the Empire State.
The veranda is supported by Doric columns, the centre being
broken by a wide porch, immediately above which is a round staircase
tower terminating in a dormer cap. The tower continues from the
entrance floor to the roof, and is about eleven feet in diameter,
surmounted by a flagstaff from which was continuously floated the
emblem of the Empire State. The main entrance is through this
tower and opens into a large reception room. Immediately above and
outside the entrance or doorway is an artistic wood panel of richly
carved relief work, representing the coat-of-arms of the State of
New York.
The plan of the building consists of a central reception hall,
twenty-six feet by thirty-one and one-half feet, with a grand circular
stairway leading to the banquet hall above. Opposite the main
entrance is a large open tiled fireplace, with elaborate carved
quartered oak mantel. The wall is wainscoted six feet high, the
ceiling is of wood, and the walls covered with burlaps. On either side
of the reception hall are parlors sixteen feet wide by twenty-six feet
long; the one to the right is for women, to the left for men, with
entrances through wide openings ornamented with Doric columns ten
feet high, Each parlor has a large open fireplace and hard wood
cabinet mantel, with terra vitria and blue rift tiling, and wrought iron
andirons and fittings.
These parlors, like the reception hall, have six feet wainscoting,
and the walls and ceilings are covered with burlaps. Back of each of
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
39
these parlors is a dressing and toilet room. Directly in the rear of
the reception hall are located ample office rooms for the use of the
Commission and for the care-taker of the building. The office and
dressing rooms are decorated with Japanese matting on walls and
ceilings. The second floor contains a large unbroken hall sixty-four
by twenty-six feet, designed for a ball or banquet room. Over the
stairs leading up from the tower, and opening into the ballroom, is an
elevated gallery for an orchestra, which opens out upon an exterior
balcony, and commands a fine view of the whole grounds. All of the
rooms are furnished in natural Georgia pine. The building is lighted
with electricity, the electroliers being of elaborate and beautiful
workmanship ; all the metal work and hardware is in wrought iron.
In the staircase tower are windows of handsome leaded glasswork,
with the coat-of-arms of the State used as a central motif.
The general treatment of the exterior is on colonial lines. The
roof shingles are stained a dark green, the second-story shingles a
rich brownish red; the columns, railings, etc., of the verandas and
the trim of the house are painted a cream white, which, with the
natural color of the lower stonework, makes an effective color scheme.
The plans were chosen from several designs submitted in competition.
On Wednesday afternoon, July 23d, Mr. Hoar was given the
order to prepare, in the quickest possible time, the working drawings
and specifications. By working day and night, he and his assistants
had the plans and specifications completed, in duplicate, and delivered
at the Commissioners' headquarters on the following Saturday
afternoon Mr. F. W. Snow, representing the Commission, started
for Atlanta with the plans the same afternoon and had them in
the hands of the Atlanta builders the following Monday. The
contract was awarded to Messrs. Gude & Walker, of Atlanta, for
nine thousand five hundred and twenty-seven dollars and fifty-nine
cents ($9,527.59), and the work was begun about the 6th of August
and the building completed by the middle of September. All the
fittings were from New York firms. Messrs. J. & R. Lamb, of New
York, furnished the leaded glass work ; the mantels, tile work and
4°
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
fittings for fireplaces were furnished by Messrs. Kitland & Andrews ;
the electric light fixtures are the work of Messrs. Eugene Kulinski
& Company ; the. coat-of-arms was carved by William Parker,
and the hardware furnished by W. K. Norris ; the draperies were
from Mills & Gibb, and the rugs from A. L. Tuska. The
Rochester Lamp Company furnished the building with a number
of handsome parlor and banquet lamps, ornamented with artistic
shades ; also a number of small oil stoves.
The furniture was of a substantial character and of oak. On
the walls of the reception rooms were hung pictures of Governor
Morton and of some of New York's most prominent buildings, many
of which were furnished by the Jackson Iron Works, showing the
rapid progress that has been made in the use of iron for buildings.
Most of the New York daily and weekly papers were kept on
rile, which was greatly appreciated by the visitors. A register was
kept, and there were nearly ten thousand whose names appear
upon the book. Messrs. Strich & Zeidler, of New York City,
placed several of their pianos in the reception rooms, and their
representative, Mr. Thomas Stoll, was in constant attendance and
untiring in his efforts to entertain the many visitors to the building.
These pianos were a source of great interest to the thousands
who saw and heard them, and the electric automatic attachment
attracted unusual attention and commendation. The thanks of the
Commission is certainly due this firm, as well as to their repre¬
sentative, for their generous contribution, which in no small degree
contributed to the success of our State Building.
During the life of the Exposition the New York State Building
attracted much attention, and under its roof were held many in¬
teresting festival gatherings.
Tfye Woman's J^ailding
*
ONE of the prettiest structures on the grounds is that erected
after plans by Miss Elise Mercur of Pittsburg, and is the
Woman's Building. Miss Mercur is one of only three archi¬
tects who show their work here in rivalry to that of the general
architect, Bradford L. Gilbert of New York, who designed all the
main buildings with these three exceptions: Walter T. Downing of
Atlanta, was the designer of the art building; Charles S. Kemper, a
government architect, made the United States building, and this one
was planned by the young woman of Pittsburg. It is beautifully
placed and is stocked with all manner of interesting matters. Its
dimensions are 128 by 150 feet, with an airy and handsome hall, and
a dome that rises ninety feet above the floor. The pictures are in a
fireproof room. In the basement a kindergarten is in daily operation,
and a hospital is a part of the enterprise. Some of the exhibits have
been crowded out of this edifice into an annex.
Among the objects of interest is a large collection of portraits of
authors, to each of which is appended a verse, letter or other piece of
manuscript; colonial relics by the score,—old clothing, old uniforms,
old fans, old weapons, old flags, old household utensils, old spoons ;
fine old embroideries from the Walters' collection, gorgeous embroid¬
eries made by Hindu women at the Lutheran Mission in Guntut;
Elizabeth Dudley's sampler made in 1736, queer old combs, old blue
china, musical instruments, some of them richly ornamented ; foot
stoves, powder horns, colonial money, old newspapers, Dolly Madison's
spectacles, cups and saucers and plates of pleasing design from the
Brooklyn Society of Mineral Painters, sculpture by Clio Hinton
Huneker, flowers, plants, rugs, furniture, pictures, some paper dolls
made by Catharine L. Monroe of Brooklyn, who has done probably
43
44
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
as much to increase happiness in the world by that exhibit as the
people upstairs who hold suffrage conventions in the talking room ;
Mme. Pompadour's buhl table, Cincinnati pottery, made by Louise
McLaughlin ; beryls and garnets from Connecticut, Mrs. Lena Sittig's
(of Brooklyn) inventions in bicycle goods, Laura Linton's collection of
bituminous minerals; bedclothes fasteners, invented by Mrs. A. E.
Birdall of Brooklyn ; a finger shield, invented by Mary A. Connelly of
Brooklyn ; a model for figure, by Adaline J. Miller of Brooklyn;
polishing liquid, made by Helen Ryan of Brooklyn, and gymnastic
exercises devised by another Brooklyn woman, Julia Strong. Some
of the states and cities have rooms of their own that are furnished
and kept with taste, and are inviting to the weary wayfarer. The
Russian Cottage industries occupy a considerable space, with their
quaint clothing, their lacquers, textiles, carving and metal work and
the attendants are in full native costume. They are trying to get up
cottage industries in the South, too, and there is no reason why they
should not thrive, as they do in Russia and Ireland. There is a large
library of works written by women. The Dyer collection of Indian
relics is larger than it was at the Chicago Fair. It is interesting
because it is unspoiled by civilization, and these weapons, dresses and
utensils are an expression of the maker's ideas of art. There is an
old lap organ, worked like an accordeon, and the precursor of the
melodeon and cabinet organ. The assembly room in this building is
large, cool, rich and low in tone and is ornamented with tapestry
representing a sleeping nymph.
SECTION OF WOMAN'S BUILDING. COLONIAL EXHIBIT.
Woman's Wor^ at fl)e Exposition
★
THE Atlanta Exposition of 1895 was °f great value in indi¬
cating, rather than demonstrating, the progress made by
woman, industrially, professionally and intellectually, in the
present decade.
In the first place, it showed that the women of the South were
competing closely with those of the North in almost every field of
mental and social progress. Among the patents and inventions
exhibited, the Southern women were well represented, the proportion
being about the same as the proportion of the population of the
districts contrasted. In one instance, that of Miss Cleckley of South
Carolina, the unusual fact was disclosed of a woman displaying
remarkable talent as an inventor, designer, manufacturer and
merchant.
In regard to the quality of inventions, they did not average as
high as those of men. This, however, was to be expected. The
male inventor creates an improvement in the place where he passes
most of his time, or where he is employed. It is the same with the
female inventor; but most of her time is passed in the domestic
circle, and most of her patents are upon things relating to the
household. Thus Mrs. E. C. Hoyle, of New Orleans, was represented
by two of her inventions; one, a simple and ingenious flour and
batter mixer; the other, a handy contrivance for cooking eggs so as
to be perfectly uniform in appearance.
In industrial art the display of exhibits was very choice and quite
extensive. They showed that art industries were spreading all over
the country, that schools and classes had become very numerous, and
that the South was making exemplary headway in this important
branch of skilled industry.
47
48
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
In repousse work, china painting", art pottery, wood carving,
pyrography, fine embroidery, carpet designing and Venetian iron
work, there were many exhibits of beauty, originality and praise¬
worthy technical skill. The splendid list compiled by Mrs. Theodore
Sutro of New York, for the Committee on Music and Law, showed
that over one thousand American women had succeeded, to a greater
or less extent, in writing musical compositions, and that both the
number of composers and the quality of the work was steadily
increasing.
The list of women inventors, as compiled by the Committee on
Women's Patents and Inventions, revealed the surprising fact that
over five thousand American women had made inventions worthy
of being recognized by the Government. Other lists showed women
to be entering on the fields of theology, medicine, dentistry, law,
trained nursing, veterinary surgery, typewriting and stenography
in rapidly increasing numbers. The movement is not uniform,
being a maximum in the cities of New York, Philadelphia and
Chicago, and being a minimum in the Gulf States. This inequality
is merely temporary, as the interest taken by all the visitors at
the Exposition, by the Commissioners and committeemen from
other States, and by the press in general, was so great that it is
fair to assume that the movement is now progressing as strongly
in that part of the country as in the Northern and Central
States.
The Women's Congresses were a noticeable and important feature
of the Exposition. They were held every day during" the continuance
of the Exposition, and brought forward several hundred distinguished
or talented women from all parts of the country. The audiences
were large and appreciative, and the proceedings were of such
attraction to the public that they were reported by a great many
papers of wide circulation. They gave evidence of woman's growing
social independence, of her increased culture, of the spread of the
higher education, and of the popularity of the movement which has
raised her to her present position.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
49
It is but just to record the high courtesy and the charming hospi¬
tality shown by the women of Atlanta to their guests. The tax upon
their energy was very great, and the pressure of their duties must have
been multiplied two or three fold ; nevertheless, the women of Atlanta
received and treated all with a kindness, tact and generosity which
will never be forgotten by those who attended the Exposition.
New *Ior^ Cit^ Room in fl>e Woman'*} gaitdincr
★
THE general attractiveness of the Woman's Building at the
Atlanta Exposition was the subject of much gratifying-
comment. This condition of affairs was due in no small
degree to the successful management of the New York City Board,
whose President, Mrs. Joseph Bradley Reed, assisted by the other
ladies who represented the several committees, made the New York
City room in the Woman's Building the great success it was.
The New York City room was situated on the main floor of the
Woman's Building, to the right of the main entrance, and had a
frontage of thirty-five feet two inches, and a magnificent bay window
three feet deep, forming four French windows. The room covered an
area of nine hundred square feet, the floor being of polished Georgia pine.
The color scheme of the room was delft blue and white. The
beautiful decoration of ceiling and side walls consisted of a white
field covered with a most exquisite delft blue design, which was
relieved through the centre by a border three feet in depth of plain
blue, which was covered with delft plaques designed by Mr. Valkmar,
representing some of the colonial residences of America. This
beautiful decoration was the generous gift of Joseph McHugh & Co.,
household decorators of Forty-second Street, New York City, and it
may be mentioned here that all the furnishings and decorations of this
beautiful and artistic room were the gifts of the generous New
York merchants.
One of the most attractive features was the beautiful stained glass
windows, a gift designed especially for the room by J. & R. Lamb of
New York City. They were in delicate delft blue and white tones to
correspond with the decorations of the room, and the subjects
presented were from old and new New York, consisting of the
5°
ALGAR M. WHEELER,
Secretary New York State Commission.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
53
coat-of-arms of New York City, High Bridge, the harbor of New York,
the Statue of Liberty, Trinity Church, and the old Treasury building
in Wall Street. The central transom over the main window was partic¬
ularly attractive, giving a view of New York from the Bay, with Gov¬
ernor's Island in the foreground, and a fine view of Brooklyn Bridge.
The New York Woman's Board sought to represent in their city's
room a luxuriant and artistic drawing-room. Nothing was used in the
furnishings that would be out of place in such an apartment, and
apparently nothing was forgotten which cultivated taste could suggest.
The furnishings were of polished hard wood, upholstered in blue and
white, including chairs of various designs, Chippendale cabinets
holding all such dainty exhibits as miniatures, laces, etc., taberetts,
stands and curio tables, pedestals and divans. A handsome colonial
clock was presented by Tiffany & Company, and Vantine & Company
were generous in their gifts of bric-a-brac, teakwood tables, and
stands. The floors were covered with four magnificent Oriental rugs,
the gift of Sloane & Company, Stern Bros., Lord & Taylor, and Wise
& Company. The art features of this room included the original model
of the Fremont Statue, for which Mrs. Clio Hinton Huneker, one of
the exhibitors, received the $10,000 prize. Mrs. Huneker also had on
exhibit the bust of Paderewski, and one of Mrs. James Brown Potter.
Another original and attractive feature of this room was the potted
plants and fresh cut flowers that were sent two or three times a week
by Seabrich & Wadley, the New York florists, without expense to the
Woman's Board.
Mme. Le Prince, President of the New York Mineral Painters'
League and the Mineral Painters' Club and the Ceramic Art
Association, furnished some beautiful work in the line of ceramic art.
This large and magnificent exhibit caused amazement and surprise
from many visitors at the Exposition, who scarcely realized that such
artistic and beautiful work could be done on china in America by
women. Some of the most exquisite designs in table service and
ornaments of all sizes, kind, and decoration, could be favorably
compared with any work from foreign countries. Lamp and candle
54
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
shades of exquisite orchid designs were prepared expressly for this
room by the Misses Heath, of Fifth Avenue. The cabinets were full
of rare and artistic work of all kinds, done by women. The library of
miscellaneous books, written by New York women, collected by Mrs.
Fannie B. Merrill, chairman of literature of the New York Board,
contained some six hundred volumes. Many of these volumes, in
fact almost all of them, were copies presented by the authoresses
themselves. It is the first library of the kind ever collected. Mrs.
Theodore Sutro, chairman on music and law, collected many essays
and books on music by women, and biographies of women musicians;
also photographs of composers and musical instruments. In collecting
this exhibit Mrs. Sutro discovered that many songs, the words and
music of which were written by women, were published under a name
not indicating the sex of the author. This collection was truly a
wonderful one. We little realize how much of the beautiful music we
listen to are the thoughts and dreams of women. Mrs. Sutro, in her
large and varied correspondence in this line of work, discovered
manuscripts of great value, and in this one exhibit we feel that her
committee were repaid for the great industry and energy displayed,
by opening up the field for women composers. Mrs. Sutro's collection
on law was not as large as that of music, for this branch of women's
work is still in its infancy, but there was enough to excite interest in
this new field, and to encourage women to enter the legal profession.
Mason & Hamlin donated a white-and-gold organ, seen at the
Columbian Exposition, which occupied one corner of the room.
This firm not only sent this beautiful organ to be exhibited in
our room, but, at their own expense, supplied an organist, giving
daily afternoon and evening concerts of two hours each. Aime
Dupont, of New York, the celebrated Parisian photographer, sent
an elegant collection of photographs of all the prominent women
singers, including those singing at the Metropolitan Opera House
during the present season. There was also an album containing
the photographs of the New York State Commission, the New York
City Committee and a number of prominent New York women.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
55
The visitors' register, a gift from Bigelow & Company, was of
black seal, lettered in gilt, on the cover, "New York City Room."
The inner lining was white moreau silk, and the gilt-edged pages
were of the heaviest cream satin paper.
The effect of the harmonious arrangement of these elegant and
beautiful exhibits was heightened by banks of delicate and luxuriant
pillows piled high on divans and spacious window seats. Outside the
windows were Southern palms, and within the women of New York
extended a gracious welcome to all who came, thus contributing to
cement the fraternal relations that bind the Union into a harmonious
and patriotic nation.
The twenty-fifth of November was selected as " New York Day,"
and the Chairman of the New York City Woman's Board extended
to the people of Atlanta one of the prettiest courtesies that marked
the Exposition. It consisted in the formal opening of the New York
City Room in the form of a reception, and a cordial welcome was
given the many guests who responded to the invitation. The
Chairman and her associates were assisted in receiving the throng
of visitors by many prominent citizens of Atlanta and the State
and city of New York, among the latter being Mayor William L.
Strong. It may properly be said here that the Mayor was the only
representative of the sterner sex asked to aid in the reception by
the ladies in charge, and, having accepted the distinguished honor,
acquitted himself of its responsibilities in his customary cordial and
graceful fashion. For the benefit of our women sympathizers, we
may be permitted to add that this was one of the largest and most
brilliant receptions given in the Woman's Building during the entire
continuance of the Exposition.
This room was in no sense the work or outcome of the New York
State Commission, being purely a city affair, undertaken and con¬
ducted by the interested ladies. The State, however, assisted them
in a small way, by contributing to the care of their room and its
contents at a time when the expense and labor became a severe tax
upon them personally.
56
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Exhibits Placed in Nev ^Iorl^ Citv Room
An exhibit of fresh cut roses to be used as decorations for the
New York City Room. Seabrich & Wadley, florists, Fifth Avenue.
White-and-gold organ. Mason & Hamlin, New York.
A complete exhibit of Ceramic art. Mme. Le Prince, President
The Mineral Painters' League, Mineral Painters' Club and Ceramic
Art Association, 800 Carnegie Hall, New York City.
Bust of Mrs. James Brown Potter; bust of Paderewski ; a model
of the Fremont statue. Mrs. Clio Hinton Huneker, Carnegie Hall,
New York City.
A Shadow, with easel containing miniatures. Miss Dayton, New
York City.
Hand embroidered doileys, etc. Miss Florence Hobert, New
York City.
Hand embroidered doileys, tea tray covers, etc. Miss Candee.
A library of six hundred volumes, written by New York women.
Mrs. Fannie B. Merrill, Herald Square.
Collection of music and law, photographs and musical instruments.
Mrs. Theodore Sutro.
Mrs. Lena Sittig, chairman of the committee on Woman's Inven¬
tions, found her collection had grown so enormously that what was
first intended as an exhibit for the New York City Room had to be
assigned to a separate and distinct space in another part of the
building, and although a member of the New York City Board her
exhibits could not be placed there.
The corridor of the Woman's Building was a hive of live industries.
Spaces ten by nineteen feet were arranged and assigned to exhibitors,
and one of these New York City occupied for its beautiful collection
of leather etchings.
Much credit is due Miss Ella M. Powell of Atlanta, for her enthu¬
siastic and energetic work in New York City during the winter of
1894-5, in interesting and enlisting the aid of the New York women
who so creditably carried out their work.
MRS. SAMUEL SPENCER,
New York State Commission.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
59
At the close of the Exposition all the furnishings and decorations
that were collected by Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Northrop remained in
Atlanta, a gift to the women of that city, or to be used for theii
benefit, as they deemed best.
Donations
The following is a list of what was collected and donated, and
by whom:
Wall and ceiling decorations, Jos. McHugh & Company, Forty-
second Street, New York City.
Stained glass windows, Messrs. J. & R. Lamb, Carmine Street,
New York City.
Six hardwood carved chairs, Chippendale cabinet and curio table,
Horner & Co., West Twenty-third Street, New York City.
A large vase and teakwood table, Vantine & Company, Broadway
and Eighteenth Street, New York City.
Gilt chair, Bloomingdale Bros., Fifty-ninth Street and Third
Avenue, New York City.
Ebony chair, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Arnold, 49 West Sixty-eighth
Street, New York City.
Colonial clock, Tiffany & Company, Union Square, New York City.
Tapestry panel for wall decoration in delft blue and white, subject,
"Fisher Girl," Douthitt & Company, Fifth Avenue and Thirtieth
Street, New York City.
Tissue paper shades for lamps and candles, Misses Heath, Fifth
Avenue, New York City.
An India rug, Sloane & Company, Broadway and Seventeenth
Street, New York City.
An India rug, Lord & Taylor, Broadway, New York City.
An India rug, Jos. Wise & Company, Eighty-second Street, New
York City.
An album containing the photographs of prominent society women
in New York City, Aime Dupont, Fifth Avenue, New York City.
6o
N£W YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Desk register, Ehrich Bros., Sixth Avenue, New York City.
A Chippendale cabinet, R. H. Macy & Company, Fourteenth Street
and Sixth Avenue, New York City.
A Chippendale cabinet, Flint & Company, West Twenty-third
Street, New York City.
Fifty dollars in cash, Mayor Strong, New York City.
Invention*} b% New <Ior^ Women
LIST OF PATENTS
1. Portable Bath T ub,
2. Bedclothes Fastener,
3. Peerless Ironing Board, .
4. Car Fender,
5. Peerless Bicycle Skirt, .
6. Duplex Bicycle Skirt,
7. Ducks Back Waterproof, .
8. Vulcanized Air, .... . .
9. Straw Sewing Machine, ....
10. Velvet and Ribbon Renovator,
11. Condensed Milk Cup,
12. Waste Needle and Pin Bottle,
13. Woven Wire Baby Carriage,
14. Baby Jumper,
15. Trunk Protector,
16. The Acme Pillow Sham Holder,
17. The Splint Pillow Sham Holder,
18. Rattan Pillow Sham Holder,
19. The Rattan Bolster Holder,
20. Sewing Table,
21. The Perfect Washer,
22. Napkin Ring and Holder combined,
23. Blacking Receptacle for Blacking
Stand,
24. Baking Pan,
25. Composite Matter to Save Fuel,
26. Marble Shooting Toy, ....
27. Exercising Machine,
28. Typewriters' Erasing Shield,
29. Snow Plow,
30. Coin Controlled Opera Glass,
31. Combined Paper Weight, Calendar
and Musical Watch,
32. Sewing Machine,
33. Street Sweeper,
34. Method of Teaching Embroidery and
Kindred Arts to the Blind, .
35. Finger Shield, .
36. Hand-made Lace Curtains,
37. Balcony Fire Escape,
AND PATENTEES.
Miss S. C. Neal, New York.
Miss E. Birdsall, New York.
Miss Mary J. Day, New York.
Miss Marguerite Maidhoff, New York.
Mrs. Lena Sittig, Brooklyn, N. Y.
6 6 66 66 6 6 66
6 6 6 6 66 6 6 i :
66 66 6 6 66 6 6
Mrs. P. C. Hooper, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Mrs. Bessie Winterbottom.
Mrs. Constance A. Smith.
Mrs. Rose Barton Guille.
Mrs. McClinchie.
Lillie E. Durham.
Carrie V. Thompson.
Sarah J. Van Duzer.
6 6 6 6 6 6
6 6 6 6 6 i
6 6 6 6 6 6
6 6 6 6 6 6
6 6 6 6 6 6
6 6 6 6 6 6
Matilda A. Pophoff.
Gertrude M. Rockwell.
Harriet Carter.
Elizabeth M. Velsor.
Julia Strong.
Belle B. McCulloch.
Harriet L. Frazier.
Clara E. Patterson.
Ella N. Gaillard.
Harriet R. Tracey.
Mary S. Kjettstrom.
Marie J. C. Stockman.
Mary A. Connelly.
Mrs. J. Roberton.
Mrs. Thaddeus A. Smith, New York.
New 3cl)oot of Applied Design
ic
THE exhibit of the New York School of Applied Design for
Women, 200 West Twenty-third street, New York City,
contained designs from the various departments of the
school, namely: Wall paper, silks, rugs, book-covers, illustrations,
architecture; also flower studies by pupils of Paul de Longpre.
Many fine silks were exhibited from Vantine, Cheney Brothers
and C. H. Bently, manufactured from students' designs, as well as
wall papers, the designs for which had been made by pupils of this
school and sold to Warren, Fuller & Co., Beck, Nevkins, Haviland
and other well-known wall paper firms.
The illustration department contributed a fine collection of pen
and ink drawings and illustrations from many of the leading magazines
and papers, which were drawn by pupils under the instruction of Mr.
Daniel Beard. Two calendars for 1896 were exhibited, one of par¬
ticular interest to patriotic societies, called the " Revolutionary
Calendar"; also several books, recently published, the covers for
which had been designed by students.
The best exhibit made by the school, however, was the architec¬
tural work, which contained plans for a forty-thousand dollar hospital,
erected in San Francisco, in 1894, from plans drawn by students; a
cottage for the Misses McWilliams of Brooklyn, at Twilight Park,
Catskills; a cottage for T. D. Lange of New York City, at Twilight
Park, with a frontage of one hundred and ten feet; a stone house,
colonial style, for Mr. Benedict of Bethlehem, Pa., and monumental
designs for the National Art Foundry Company of New York City,
to be used on Southern battlefields.
62
MRS. H. B. PLANT,
New York State Commission.
National T^eaow of Mineral Painter^
★
THE National League of Mineral Painters, composed of a
federation of clubs, is announced as follows: "The object
of the National League of Mineral Painters is to associate
and centralize the members of the various and widely-scattered clubs
of mineral artists throughout the United States, and thereby promote
intercommunication in order that comparison of method may tend to
the improvement of the art of mineral painting and lead to the
gradual development of a National School of Mineral Painting."
The exhibits of porcelains for the decoration of the New York
City Room of the Woman's Building were received from the members
of these clubs throughout the United States. These were collected
and consigned to New York City, where they were first exhibited,
afterward being sent to Atlanta.
The clubs exhibiting were :
The New York Society of Keramic Arts.
The Brooklyn Society of Mineral Painters.
The Porcelain League of Cincinnati.
The Detroit Keramic Club.
Jersey City Keramic Art Club.
Chautauqua Keramic Art Club.
Bridgeport League of Mineral Painters.
The society sent six hundred pieces of porcelain, which were
placed in the cases and cabinets and upon the walls of the room,
valued at $15,000.
Seven awards were received upon this exhibition. Mrs. E. Dean
Gardner, Chairman of Exhibit Committee, was in charge of this
collection.
Colonial, I^evolafionar^ and Historical I^oan
Exhibit of New ^Ior^ sSfate
committee :
Mrs. Donald McLean, Chairman.
Mrs. Levi P. Morton, Mrs. Samuel Spencer, Mrs. H. B. Plant.
PORTRAITS.
Life sized portrait of Washington, by Stewart.
Presented by P. Warren Nash, Esq., of New York, to
Tompkins, Gage & Perry, proprietors United States Hotel,
Saratoga, and loaned by these gentlemen to the Exposition.
Portrait of Mayor Livingston.
Portrait of Governor Stuyvesant.
Portrait of Mayor Clinton, of New York.
Owners, City of New York. Loaned by the Mayor and
Aldermen of the city.
Portrait of Hon. Martin D. Hardin.
Owned and loaned by Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth, of
Saratoga Springs, N. Y. Martin D. Hardin was Secretary
of State of Kentucky with Governor Shelby; he was Major
in the Regiment of Col. Allen, General Harrison's Division
in the war of 1812 ; he was United States Senator about 1818.
Portrait of Mrs. Elizabeth Logan.
Owned and loaned by Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth, of
Saratoga Springs, N. Y. Mrs. Elizabeth Logan, daughter of
General Benjamin Logan, of Kentucky ; her second husband
was Porter Clay, son of Henry Clay.
66
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES 67
MINIATURES.
Ivory miniature of Mary Norton, niece of DeWitt Clinton.
Loaned by Mrs. Mary Clinton LeDuc.
Ivory miniature, painted by the elder Jarvis, of Alexander Ming, who
crossed the Delaware in the boat with Washington and participated
in his first inauguration ceremonies.
Propertv of and loaned by his grand-niece, Mrs. Adelaide
L. Ming Southwick.
Copy miniature of Judge John McLean, first judge of Steuben county,
New York.
Loaned by Donald McLean, Esq.
COLONIAL RELICS.
Loaned by Mrs. A. Van Rensselaer Wells, of Sing Sing, N. Y.
A piece of the wedding lace of Joanna Livingston, wife of Lt.
Governor Pierre Van Cortland, May 28, 1748.
Very old lace heirloom of the family of Gilbert Livingston, now in
possession of his great-great-granddaughter, Annie Van Rensselaer
Wells.
Slippers of Catherine Van Cortland, wife of Abraham Van Wick
and daughter of Pierre and Joanna Van Cortland.
Stockings of Joanna Livingston, wife of Lt. Governor Pierre Van
Cortland, worn at her wedding, May 28, 1748.
Vest of Brig. General Van Cortland, worn in colonial days.
Sword belt worn by Brig. General Phillip Van Cortland, during
the Revolution.
A piece of ribbon on which was suspended the badge of the
Society of the Cincinnati, worn by its first Treasurer, Phillip Van
Cortland.
Dress of Ann Van Cortland, who married Phillip Van Rensselaer,
mayor of Albany, worn at a ball given by her uncle, Peter Stuyvesant,
in New York City, 1786.
68 NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
OLD SILVER.
Old toddy set (sugar scoop, sifter and tasting spoon). Salver. Sugar
Tongs.
Originally owned by Mrs. James Brickett, wife of General
Brickett, of Revolutionary fame.
Tea Spoon.
Originally owned by Mrs. James Brickett, wife of General
Brickett, of Revolutionary fame. Present owner, Caroline
Brickett Stewart, of Yonkers, N. Y., great-great-grand-
daughter of General Brickett.
Colonial Punch Ladle, dated 1756 (bearing patch of silver), curled
whalebone handle.
Loaned by Mrs. Charles W. White, New York City.
Silver spoon, over one hundred years old.
Original owner, Goodwin family, of Boston; present
owner and loaned by Miss M. Van Buren Vandepoel, New
York City.
Spear-handled spoon, two hundred years old.
Originally belonging to the Pinkney family, of Maryland,
present owner and loaned by Miss Van Buren Vandepoel.
Table spoon, marked P. D., 1769, and crest.
Originally belonging to the daughter of General Joseph
Dwight, who commanded part of the troops at the battle of
Louisburg, 1745, descended in direct line to present owner,
and loaned by Mrs. Susan Ridley Niebuhr, New York City.
Silver tea-pot, part of the first service made of silver mined in the
United States. The metal was taken from Cliff mine and sent in
heavy bars to present owner, Mrs. R. Ogden Doremus, as a
wedding present. The service was made from her own design,
each piece surmounted with the American eagle.
Loaned by Mrs. R. Ogden Doremus, New York City.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
69
Sugar bowl and cream jug. (Latter without handle.) Period of
George II.
Old English muffineer, period of George III.
Old English sugar bowl, lid surmounted with British lion.
Old English salver.
Loaned by Charles A. Gould, Esq., New York City.
Silver drinking cup, originally owned by General John McLean.
Loaned by present owner, Donald McLean, Esq.
Silver cup, one hundred and ten years old, bearing initials "E. C. to
A. C.," grandson and granddaughter of Governor Clapp, of colonial
period.
Loaned by present owrners, Mr. and Mrs. Allen Richard
Boyd, great-great-grandchildren of Ebenezer Clapp.
Silver spoon, part of a service made for Margaret Frelinghuysen, and
bearing her initials and date, 1751, on her marriage to Rev.
Thomas Romeyn.
Loaned by Captain Henry Romeyn, U. S. A., Fort
McPherson, Atlanta, Ga.
MODERN SILVER.
A loving cup, presented by the Empire State Society Sons of the
American Revolution to the Regent of the New York City Chapter,
Daughters of the American Revolution, on April 19, 1895, bearing
etched autographs of the officers of the society.
Loaned by Regent N. Y. C. C., D. A„ R., Mrs. Donald.
McLean.
SNUFF BOXES.
Snuffbox carried through the Revolution by General Brickett
Loaned by Mrs. Caroline Brickett Stewart.
Silver snuffbox belonging to Alexander Llamilton.
Loaned by Miss Mary Hammond.
7°
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Old snuffbox.
Loaned by Mrs. Donald McLean.
Doll's silver snuffbox, over one hundred years old.
Loaned by Mrs. Janvier LeDuc.
Silver snuffbox, belonging to Joseph Adams, of Boston.
Loaned by Miss Ellen J. Pond.
JEWELRY.
Watch and chatelaine, blue enamel and pearl setting, presented by
Robert Burrage Norton to his wife, Mary Clinton, 1798.
Loaned by present owner, Mrs. Marie Clinton Le Due.
Small watch, set in pearls ; date 1809.
Loaned by present owner, Mrs. Alexander Le Due.
Wedding ring of Chief Justice Ambrose Spencer and Mary Clinton
Norton, 1799.
Earrings, date 1 702.
Breastpin, set in brilliants, one hundred and fifty years old.
Breastpin of hair and gold, initials M. N.; one hundred years old.
Bracelet, presented by H. R. H. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, to
Mrs. Marie Clinton Le Due, i860, bearing her initials.
Loaned by present owner, Mrs. Marie Clinton Le Due.
Gold chain, with jeweled watch seals. Inherited by the Countess in
direct lines from Barnes Cox, granddaughter of the younger brother
of Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
This younger brother was a drummer boy in Washington's army at
Valley Forge; it was considered wise to send him home to escape
the rigor of the winter; the boy wept when he learned the decision,
and Washington is said to have observed : " These are the purest
tears of patriotism shed during that memorable winter."
Jeweled and enameled watch with gold embossed carnelian chatelaine,
presented to the Countess di Brazza from her brother-in-law, direct
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
71
descendant of Braccia di Mentone, the celebrated condottierre of
the middle ages, whose ashes now rest in an antique velvet
embossed casket in the form of a relic.
Buckle of the period of Marie Antoinette.
Loaned by the Countess di Brazza Savorgnan.
Old silver watch worn throughout the Revolution by General John
McLean.
Old English watch, bearing the rose, thistle and shamrock of the three
kingdoms, owned by General John R. McLean of the Revolution.
Loaned by Donald McLean, Esq., New York City.
Gold shoe buckle of General John Brickett, who commanded a section
of troops at the battle of Bunker Hill, and was president of the
court martial which tried Benedict Arnold.
Present owner and loaned by Mrs. Caroline Brickett
Stewart, great-great-granddaughter of General Brickett.
A ring bearing the crest of the Vandepoel family, left by will by
Judge Isaac Vandepoel to President Cleveland and afterwards
given to Miss M. Van Buren Vandepoel.
Loaned by Miss Van B. Vandepoel.
Hair bracelets, with topaz and pearl clasps, originally owned by Mrs.
Roger Nelson, wife of Gen. Roger Nelson, of the Revolution.
Loaned by Miss Bessie Maulsby McLean, New York City.
Blue enamel heart locket, originally owned and worn by the Empress
Josephine. Presented by her to Prince Murat, who in turn pre¬
sented it to Colonel McLean. Prince Murat, Napoleon Achilles,
was the son of Joachim Murat, King of Naples, and Caroline
Bonaparte. He married Catherine Dudley, a niece of General
George Washington.
Loaned by present owner, Dr. Malcolm McLean, New
York City.
Cairn-gorn earrings, two hundred years old.
72
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
LACES.
Old Valenciennes lace, over two hundred years old.
Piece of very old Denselle de Bruges.
Sixteenth century lace.
Old gimpure, sixteenth century.
Loaned by Miss Van Buren Vandepoel.
Antique laces loaned by the Countess di Brazza for the historical
exhibit of New York.
Point de Paris jabot or shirt frill worn by the Emperor Napoleon First;
the Empress Marie Louise carried it to Parma when she became
Duchess of that province, and left it in her will to her Grand
Mistress of ceremonies. This lady left it to her daughter, who left
it to her daughter, its present owner. All this is substantiated by
the document which accompanies it. This lace is of the finest
quality of bobbin lace, and for sale.
Three pieces of Mecklin, used as jabot and cuff frills by Napoleon the
First, from the same source as the above, also authenticated and
provided with documentary evidence. The yellow marks are the
coffee stains made by the great man.
A very fine piece of Argentan, period, the French Regence, or Louis
XV.
Point de Angleterre. Bridal veil, one period, Louis XV. Made in
Brussels. Design, palm leaves, birds of paradise and three panels,
each containing (on a pedestal) Apollo playing the harp. A very
beautiful specimen in most perfect order. It is calculated that it
took at least 5,000 bobbins to weave the scarf, and several women
years to complete it.
Two large panels of lace, sixteenth century.
One old altar piece.
One panel of lace, with old Dutch cap.
Dutch cap, trimmed with blue embroidery and ruffle of starched lace.
Loaned by Mrs. Cuthbert H. Slocomb.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
73
Lace cap, worn by Alexander Hamilton as an infant.
Loaned by Miss Hammond, New York City.
Lace collar, brought from England by the Ashley family in 1635.
Afterwards worn by Thankful Ashley, daughter of Colonel Samuel
Ashley, of the Revolution.
Loaned by present owner, Miss Carolyn A. Pond, New
York City.
DOCUMENTS.
An order signed by Washington, Trumbull and Bradford.
An autograph letter of LaFayette.
Loaned by Mrs. William Story, of Lawrence, Long Island.
An autograph Christmas sermon written by the first Episcopal minister
ordained in America, Rev. Phillip Shelton, 1785.
Loaned by Rev. C. W. di Lyon Nichols.
Original sermon by the first Bishop of Massachusetts.
Loaned by Rev. Dr. Emery, of Newburg, New York,
President Historical Society of Newburg.
A letter written to the granddaughter of General Brickett, in 1814.
Loaned by Caroline Brickett Stewart.
BOOKS.
Bailey's Dictionary, date 1770, originally owned by Capt. John Strong,
of the Revolution.
Acts passed by the Second Congress of the United States, date 1 791.
owned by descendant of Dr. Jonas Fay, author of the Vermont
Declaration of Independence.
Loaned by Mrs. Ida Strong Hickcox of Brooklyn, New
York.
Old Dutch Bible, printed in Amsterdam, Holland, in 1738, brought to
America by Thomas Romine.
Loaned by Capt. Henry Romeyn, U. S. A.
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
PICTURES.
Water color of Elizabeth Townsend Van Vredenburgh.
Water color of Colonel Van Vredenburgh, who served in the Revolu¬
tion.
Loaned by Mrs. William Cummings Story.
Silhouette Cobert Halstead, M. D., of Elizabeth, New Jersey, 177^>
with his coat of arms.
Photographs of the City of New York in 1679, representing " Old
Church in the Fort," the first church erected on the Island of
Manhattan, the stone being furnished by John Ogden.
Loaned by his granddaughter, Mrs. Albert B. King, New
York City.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Sword, over one hundred and fifty years old, was owned by Colonel
Vivian Pinckney, who crossed Lake Michigan in the first steamer
that ever crossed to the West from Detroit to Green Bay. Colonel
Pinckney took with him part of the troops of the Oneida Indians
to make a settlement in the West. This sword was also carried in
the war of 1812.
Loaned by Miss M. Van Buren Vandepoel, New York City.
Silver medal, to commemorate the opening of Erie Canal, incased in a
box made from the first wood carried over the canal on the
Pioneer, 1826.
Stone from the grave of Francis Scott Key, author of the " Star
Spangled Banner," written during the war of 1812.
Loaned by Mrs. Donald McLean, New York City.
A British bayonet, captured by the Americans on the day of the
evacuation of New York by the British.
Loaned by Mrs. Dunlap Hopkins, New York City.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
75
Old English "stays," worn by Mrs. Isabella Guy Coruth, of New York
City, in 1776.
Loaned by Mrs. Ida Strong Hickcox, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Black porcelain pitcher, date 1730.
Loaned by Mrs. Ida Strong Hickcox, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Two colonial plates, bearing the shields, date, 1783.
Loaned by Miss Ethel Douglass Southwick, New York
City.
Sampler, worked by Sarah Bennett, of Long Island, in 1792.
Loaned by her granddaughter, Mrs. Susan Ridley Niebuhr.
Paper holder, worked in 1757.
Loaned by Rev. Dr. Emery, Newburg, New York.
Ivory fan, over one hundred years old, with initials "M. N.," presented
to Mary Morton.
Loaned by Mrs. Marie Clinton LeDuc.
Piece cedar column of Maides Dutch church, built in New York in 1 729.
Loaned by Dr. Malcolm McLean.
Old embroidered pocket book, carried through the Revolution by
Captain John Alexander, who fought at the battles of Lexington
and Bunker Hill, and embroidered by his wife, Thankful Ashley.
Loaned by their granddaughter, Mrs. Joseph A. Pond,
New York City.
Piece of British officer's coat, taken by Colonel Samuel Ashley at
Ticonderoga, where he commanded a regiment of 1,080 men,
which he raised, and whose bounty money he advanced.
Loaned by Miss Ellen J. Pond, New York City.
Wax doll, brought from England one hundred years ago.
Loaned by Mrs. Janvier Le Due.
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
COATS OF ARMS AND CRESTS,
The seal of Sir Richard Nichols, the first English Governor of New
York, who named New York and Albany, and established the
Episcopal form of worship in New York.
The coat of arms of John di Lyon, first Earl of Strathmore and King-
ham, who married Lady Jane Stuart, daughter of Robert the Second.
Loaned by a direct descendant of the above, the Rt. Rev.
di Lyon Nichols, of New York City.
The coat of arms of John Ogden, the planter of colonial times on Long
Island, 1642.
Loaned by a direct descendant, Mrs. Albert R. King.
The Bradford coat of arms.
Book of coats of arms, published in 1800 in England.
Loaned by Mrs. M. W. Wooten of New York City.
The McLean coat of arms.
Loaned by Mrs. Donald McLean.
A new genealogical album—filled in.
Loaned by Mrs. Charles Avery Doremus.
MRS. DONALD McLEAN,
New York State Commission.
Formal Opening of tl)e imposition
★
ATURE was in one of her best and happiest moods on the
morning of the eighteenth of September, 1895, the day fixed
upon for the opening of the Exposition. The streets of
Atlanta were thronged, and at an early hour a moving mass of human¬
ity was on its way to the grounds where the formal opening was to
take place. The city was in holiday attire. The business houses were
festooned with gayly striped bunting and the national colors. The
Governor's mansion was panoplied with the stars and stripes, with the
great seal of the State of Georgia nestling in their folds.
The parade was under the direction of Colonel W. L. Kellogg, who
was Marshal of the Day. The Regulars from Fort McPherson and
several regiments of State troops were in the line, and Governor
Atkinson and his staff, the Washington Artillery from New Orleans,
the Atlanta Artillery and the Governor's Horse Guard were noticeable
features of the pageant. A regiment of colored troops brought to the
minds of the onlookers some reflections upon the changes that have
taken place during the eventful third of a century that is now buried
in the past.
When the order to march was given it was promptly obeyed and
Colonel Kellogg appeared at its head with his staff, consisting of
Colonel W. G. Obear, chief-of-staff; Colonel James W. Austin,
Colonel Usher Thomason, Colonel Peter Riley, Colonel Eugene
Hardeman, Colonel Frank West, Major E. L. Higdon, Captain George
S. Obear and Captain John Miller.
In the place of honor at the right of the line came the Fifth United
States Infantry, preceded by its fine regimental band. Captain Carter
was in command, and the following companies were represented:
79
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Company B, Captain Carter; Company A, Captain Randall; Com¬
pany G, Captain Romeyn ; Company C, Captain Forbes; Company
D, Captain Woodruff; Company E, Captain Bowen, and Company H,
Captain Bailey.
The historic Washington Artillery of New Orleans, in command of
Colonel John B. Richardson, came next with four batteries and a band
of musicians.
At this point in the procession Governor Atkinson and his staff
appeared. The Governor had just risen from a sick bed, where for
days his life had hung in the balance. This was his first public
appearance after his struggle with death, and the people manifested
their pleasure at his recovery by continuous cheering. Following the
Governor came Colonel John S. Candler, accompanied by Captain
George S. Lowman, Adjutant Clarence Everett, Captain C. G. Bradley,
Captain A. J. Childs and Lieutenant W. J. Blalock.
The Fifth Georgia Volunteers, preceded by the regimental band,
came next, including the Atlanta Zouaves, Captain Amos Baker; the
Hibernian Rifles, Captain W. D. Ellis; the Atlanta Rifles, Captain Joe
Nash; the Griffin Rifles, Captain A. J. Burr; the Marietta Rifles,
Captain S. F. Sandford; the Barnesville Blues, Captain John T.
Howard; the Atlanta Reserves, Captain W. C. Moss, and the Fifth
Regiment Gun Platoon, Lieutenant C. H. Plyer.
The Third Georgia Volunteers, in command of Colonel Usher
Thomason, followed. The Colonel was accompanied by Captain Von
der Leith, Captain Shannon and Captain Craige of his staff. The
Clarke Rifles of Athens, Captain J. H. Beusse ; the Congers Volun¬
teers, Captain Irwin, and the Hill City Cadets, of Rome, Captain
Stewart, made up the regiment.
Then came the Atlanta Artillery and the Governor's Horse Guard,
followed by the second battalion of colored troops and the Lincoln
Guards of Macon, both under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel F.
H. Crumbley.
The military was followed by a long procession of carriages
occupied by the officers and directors of the Exposition, distinguished
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
81
visitors, the Woman's Board, State and foreign Commissioners, the
United States Government Board, and the Chief and Commissioners
of the Negro Department. Gilmore's N. Y. band met the procession
as it approached the gates and led it into the park with the
strains of inspiring music.
After the Auditorium had been crowded to its utmost capacity,
Victor Herbert charmed the audience into quietude with music
composed for the occasion. When the last strains of the " Salute
to Atlanta" and the applause which followed it had died away,
ex-Governor Rufus B. Bullock, the Master of Ceremonies, rose
and said:
" This is the greatest hour in the history of Atlanta and the South.
We have assembled to officially open the greatest achievement that
has been the result of Southern enterprise. It is now my pleasure to
introduce Bishop C. K. Nelson of the diocese of Georgia, who will
invoke God's blessing on the work of our hands."
Bishop Nelson arose with out-spread hands, and while the audience
reverently bowed, invoked the Divine blessing upon the enterprise
which typified prosperity and peace in the appended eloquent invo¬
cation:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
O Almighty God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, we bless
Thy holy name for all Thy goodness and loving kindness to us and to all men;
for peace in our borders, for prosperity in our land, and for manifold comforts
in our homes. To Thee we owe the wisdom to plan and the capacity to direct
this undertaking. Grant, we beseech Thee, that in the power to get wealth,
in inventive genius and in skill to labor, men may recognize Thy gifts and
acknowledge the praise which to Thee belongs.
May every success and every use of the means which Thou dost provide
serve as tokens of Thy favor, lead men to perceive and know their dependence
upon Thee, and to show forth their gratitude in a holy, humble and obedient
walk before Thee all their days. Let not pride come nigh to hurt us, nor
vanity cause us to forget Thee. Prosper, we pray Thee, every effort here
made which may improve the condition of mankind and preserve peace and
concord among the nations of the earth.
6
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Protect of Thy mercy all these Thy servants from sickness, from sad
casualties and from every evil to which they may be exposed. Keep them
under the protection of Thy good providence and make them to have a
perpetual fear and love of Thy holy name.
Bless our rulers, the President of the United States, the Governor of this
State and all others in authority, and so rule their hearts and strengthen their
hands that they may punish wickedness and vice and maintain Thy true religion
and virtue. Let the trust which this people hath confided in Thee never be
lost Qr weakened by deceitful philosophy, by grossness or sensuality, by avarice
and fraud, but may the bonds which have hitherto kept us in the enjoyment of
liberty, in the exercise of reason and in the putting forth of energy be sustained
by Thy guidance for the benefit of Thy people, and to Thee, O Father, with
Thine only Son, our Saviour, and the Eternal Spirit, be ascribed all glory,
honor, might, majesty and dominion, henceforth and forevermore. Amen.
Next on the programme came the "Exposition Ode," written by
Frank L. Stanton and read, at the author's request, by Mr. Albert
Howell, jr. The ode was worthy of the occasion, as a perusal of its
harmonious lines will attest:
EXPOSITION ODE.
I
Behold to-day the meeting of the lands
In pride and splendor; from far foreign strands
Great State with State clasps hands !
Here, on this Southern soil, supreme and free,
Meet now no hostile bands ;
But all flags wave where one of Liberty
Shakes stars down like the sands !
And from sky-cleaving towers
Time strikes the thrilling hours
Of golden promise for the years to be !
II
Behold to-day these towers, these temples ! Yet,
More than the starriest dome or minaret
Near skies of azure met,
That which shall live while ages roll along—
Too glorious to forget—
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
States once at war, in union high and strong,
Whose sun shall never set!
And be this picture wrought
Upon the age's thought ;
How of man's sorrow God makes heaven's own song !
III
Here, though a city opens wide her gates,
This is no day of cities, but of States
Supreme and crowned with progress ! Here all Time
Gathers its glories in the Georgian clime,
And sea to sea replies,
And from the farthest skies
The answering bells in one glad chorus chime :
' No North, no South—but a vast world sublime ! "
IV
Here where the cannon thundered, lo ! the white
And royal rose of Peace, in living light !
See ! how above the black breath of the guns
Flashes the splendor of serener suns !
Behold the fields, once desolate, renewed
With loftier life ! The lordly land imbued
With statelier spirit ! Cities (where the clods
Were trampled red by the avenging gods)
With skyward pointing steeples ! Every leaf
Is tinctured now with glory—not with grief !
And the new South, brave-risen from the past,
Wears on her brow the diadem at last !
v
She speaks for peace and progress : She would say
To all the world: " Behold the morning's ray —
The black night rolled away !
Behold where Freedom with her scepter stands—
Behold her and—obey ! "
And with her richest jewels in her hands
She welcomes worlds to-day !
And not one breathing clod
But sends a prayer to God
To bind the Nations close with kindred bands !
84
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
VI
She calls from fields where glad the toilers reap—
From hills thick-veined with treasure—o'er the deep
Where all the brave ships keep
Their foamy way in commerce with the world—
Where wild the sea-winds sweep :
" Let not the sails far from my shores be furled—
Let not the captains sleep
Till o'er the billows white
Shall flash the welcome light
Of my glad shores in splendid peace impearled."
VII
Unto the North she cries : " Thy sister I ! "
Unto the East : " Above us bends one sky ! "
Unto the West: "In union live or die !"
And for that closer union still she pleads—
Ready with heart and hand and noblest deeds,
In peace—in strife—
For death—for life,
Loyal to follow where Love's banner leads !
VIII
Sing it, ye seas, whose billows kiss the sky !
Sing it, ye mountains, from your summits high !
Sing it, ye dells and far melodious vales !
Ring it, ye bells that echo on the gales !
Sing of a loftier and larger life !
Sing of a world united after strife !
Sing of the light that dawns upon the blind !
And be this clay, this hour
Pregnant with that high Power
Which closer brings the UNION OF MANKIND !
Then came President Collier, whose unflagging energy had made
the Exposition project a success, and who now reaped a deserved
reward in the ovation accorded him by the vast audience. He was
introduced by Governor Bullock in the following words of eulogy,
which were but a righteous tribute to the man, the citizen, and the
Exposition executive:
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
85
"To the untiring industry, the sleepless nights of vigil, and the
executive ability of its Director General, the success of the Exposition
is attributable, and it is with pleasure that I introduce the man who
has built the Exposition—President Charles A. Collier."
President Collier's speech wTas as follows :
The Cotton States and International Exposition owes its existence to a
movement which was inaugurated at the most inauspicious period for such an
enterprise to be found in the record of many years. Eighteen months ago the
practical problem for almost every community seemed to be how to save what
it had rather than how to acquire new elements of strength. The whole
country was in a state of depression and anxiety; business was almost stag¬
nant; the pulse of industrial life beat low; capital was apprehensive and
reluctant; labor had scant employment and diminished wages. The clouds
which had darkened every material prospect a year before still hung low over
the land, and he was accounted either Utopian or over-bold who ventured to
propose any great undertaking. Fortunately for Atlanta, however, she had
among her sons many whose faith in her and in the country had remained
unshaken, even by the severe conditions that then prevailed, and in confident
anticipation of a better day soon to come, they suggested and set on foot the
movement which has led up to this event. The courage, the zeal, the defiance
of difficulties, the indomitable energy which has ever characterized this people
were exhibited in scarcely higher degree when they so rapidly rebuilt Atlanta
from the ashes of war than they are in the history of this Exposition. With a
unanimity such as few communities have ever displayed in any cause, they
have stood by the enterprise from its very inception to this good hour. With
a liberality that was royal they have contributed to it; with an enthusiasm and
pertinacity which have advanced their already well-earned reputation for
proclaiming the achievements and prospects of their city they have heralded
and chronicled its glories.
But the unanimity, the ardor and the liberality of Atlanta alone could never
have made possible what we behold to-day. To the co-operation of many
States and cities, to various foreign nations, to industrial, scientific and social
organizations, to individual enterprise and inventive genius, to thrifty manu¬
facturers and merchants, far and near, to artists and artisans, to the tireless
devotion and exhaustless ingenuity of a host of heroic women, to the powerful
aid of the press and the generous favor of the Federal Government, we must
86
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
attribute the variety and splendor of this exhibition. The occasion demands
a special acknowledgment of our debt to the press, that agency whose power
to promote or prevent, to bless or to blight is incalculable. The newspapers
throughout the United States have given their cordial and incessant support to
our undertaking. They have made common cause in behalf of this Exposition;
they have advertised it to the world and won for it a fame and a favor which
could never have been acquired without their ardent and persistent advocacy.
To the Federal authorities we are also greatly beholden. When the endorse¬
ment and aid of the Government were sought there was a response which
proved that though we are divided geographically into States and sections, we
are in heart and purpose an indivisible people. When our petition went before
Congress party lines disappeared and the clangor of sectionalism was silenced.
We found friends in every party group, and from every section of the Union.
The people of Atlanta—of Georgia and of the South—will hold in lasting and
grateful remembrance that demonstration of sympathy by their brethren of the
North and West, and stand ready to prove that they are not to be outdone in
generous deeds. One of the noblest possibilities of this Exposition is that it
may bring into more complete accord the citizens of every part of the Republic.
We hail with pride the symbols of the nation's strength, and the evidence of
the wise and beneficent direction of its authority which are here displayed.
The advancement of the race and the adoption of truer ideals have enabled
us to profit inestimably by that expanding force in our civilization—the genius
of woman. The part it plays here is large, and the use it has made of this
opportunity will unquestionably conduce to the fuller recognition of woman's
righteous claims, and a fairer estimate of the value of her work. The way for
women who must needs struggle with the world will be widened by the
triumphs of feminine capacity and skill which are here arrayed.
In justice to ourselves, as well as to them, we have invited the co-operation
of our negro fellow-citizens. They have accepted the responsibility of a
department of their own, and have filled it with proofs of the progress they
have made as freemen. They were employed largely in the preparation here,
as they are in almost all our industries, and they will share largely in the honors
and practical benefits of the Exposition.
While the city which originated it, and enlisted the support necessary to its
realization, will naturally be its chief beneficiary, the effects of this great
industrial demonstration will be confined to no city, to no State, nor to any
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
87
one nation. The converging lines of influence and effort which are embodied
in this enterprise, connecting it with every source from which they come, will
convey far and wide its invigorating stimulus, its useful lessons and practical
results. Who shall compute the still further possibilities which may spring
from the impressions and investigations of the multitudes who will come hither
from every part of this country and from other lands ? We have established
here a great practical school, filled in every one of its many departments with
object lessons of progress in the arts and sciences, and with illustrations of the
most improved applications of power for the profit, comfort and delight of
man. From the inevitable comparison of methods and products thus instituted,
frotn the competition of theories and systems, from this battle of ideas we may
confidently expect beneficent and far-reaching results. It does not derogate
from the national and international character of the Exposition to say that
perhaps the greatest revelations will relate to the resources and possibilities of
the Cotton States. When our own people are just beginning to recognize the
magnificence of nature's endowment in the fields, the mines, the streams and
the climate of this region, it is not strange that the outside world has been slow
to gain full and accurate knowledge concerning these sources of health, hap¬
piness and power. Both our own people and the outside world will know far
more about the South at the close of this Exposition than they know on this
opening day. Revelations will spring in our own familiar walks. A new
beauty will light scenes on which we have looked long with undiscerning eyes,
and we will realize as we never did before that ours is indeed a goodly heritage.
It is no exaggeration to say that the industrial development of the South would
have halted far short of its present status but for the Atlanta Cotton Exposition
of 1881. Its effects were immediate and immense, and have no doubt con¬
tinued far beyond the lines by which we define them. The spirit of the South
was quickened, and the fourteen years that have passed since that Exposition
have witnessed a marvelous development in this section. Great as this has
been, there is every indication that we stand now at the opening of an era of
industrial achievement which will make what has already been accomplished
seem small indeed.
It is right, therefore, that this occasion should wear the splendors of a
jubilee. It is worthy of the flags and music and the general joy by which it
is brightened and graced. There is good reason for the gathering of this
happy host. We rejoice at once over a victory and a prophecy. Those upon
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whom has lain the burden of preparation for this event may look back with
pardonable pride to the day when a little band of patriotic citizens resolved
that Atlanta should have the greatest exposition, save one, this hemisphere has
seen. It has been no easy task to reach the height we hold to-day. There
have been times when difficulties thickly beset us, when progress seemed slow,
and the end we aimed at very far off, but not once did our faith fail or our
purpose waver. Helping ourselves to the very best of our capacity, we found
others willing and mighty to aid us. Best of all, a kind Providence has dis¬
pelled the gloom that lay over the whole land when we put our hands to this
task. The work begun beneath the frown of adverse fortune has reached its
completion under the smile of heaven upon our common country. Everywhere
plenteous harvests, reviving commerce, restored confidence, industrial activity,
capital busy in new enterprises, labor abundantly employed and reaping
increased rewards, all sections of the country welded closer together in the
bonds of common interest and the ardor of broad patriotism. Surely, we have
a propitious hour for the beginning of this great triumph of peace to which we
have invited all mankind,
Mrs. Joseph Thompson, the indefatigable President of the Woman's
Board, was then introduced by Governor Bullock in the following short
but happy speech: "The sweetest of women, the truest of mothers,
and the queen of polite society in her own community, this woman
whom I am going to introduce to you has given two years of energetic
work to the development and elevation of her sex."
Mrs. Thompson was warmly welcomed by the audience. She said:
It is not without sincere appreciation of the honor done me on this occa¬
sion, added to a solemn awe, that I realize that I stand here to-day as the
representative of the Board of Women Managers to speak a few words in
their behalf about woman's part in this great Exposition. Addressing myself
first more especially to this Board, let me congratulate the women upon the
dawn of this day, so anxiously anticipated by them, which proclaims to the
world the results of their long-cherished plans.
That your noble purposes and the able manner in which you have presented
them should have attracted the approving and even applauding attention of
good people everywhere and won for you the zealous co-operation of so many
capable women, not only of our city and State, but throughout the length and
breadth of this great land, is not to be wondered at; nor that we cannot
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
89
restrain expression of the obligation that we owe them for all that they have so
wisely and ably contributed to the success of our great undertaking that I have
now the honor to announce to the world. For to-day the Cotton States and
International Exposition opens its gates to the millions who will pass through
them to witness its great attractions.
Here, summit-crowned on every side, are seen in their perfection of execu¬
tion and design the splendid structures within whose spacious halls are wonders
of man's inventive genius and power; the glowing canvas of the painter and
the sculptor's chiseled forms of beauty; within them, too, are gathered rich
contributions of every nation, illustrating in all their varied departments the
commerce of the world.
But in the midst of all this our eyes turn with loving pride to our own
building, situated in the very heart of these beautiful grounds, from whence the
vital currents of woman's genius may radiate in all directions, kindling hope
and aspiration in many weary hearts and awakening them to the dawn of a
brighter day than ever gilded the horizon of their dreams.
Exquisite in design and finish, its architect a young woman whose work
proves the truth of Froude's declaration that " architecture is the sublimest
expression of human genius." Its interior decoration, too, the work of women,
while over its inviting portals and resting on columns classic are the enduring
words, " Woman's Building."
Within its walls you will trace her steps from the lowly part she played in
the primitive civilization of the race to the exalted position she now occupies
as man's co-worker; from the lofty genius of Rosa Bonheur to the daintiest
confection of rare old Southern housewifery; while in a widening circle of
development she stops not at the homeliest convention nor most exquisite of
embroideries and laces, carried to such perfection that they deserve to rank
among the fine arts.
Here, too, shall be evolved, from interchange of views, in the congress to
assemble, the best means for the dependent and working classes of women in
all the trades, arts and professions that can offer them employment, and for
every good plan that can perfect their moral, physical and intellectual well-
being—" consummation devoutly to be wished."
Nor is the exhibition of woman's work in this Exposition confined to the
Woman's Building. The annex, rendered necessary for requirement of space
far beyond our original calculations in our main building, contains some of the
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
most instructive and interesting exhibits of woman's work. Nor are the pro¬
ducts of her genius and industry confined only to these buildings, but, acknowl¬
edging no limitations, she worthily fills a place in every department, occupying
enlarged space with her displays befitting each in the Fine Arts Building, the
Manufactures and Liberal Arts, and our own State Building. Indeed, we
are filled with amazement as we now witness the growth and extent of our
department from the modest commencement and really imperfect conception
of the vastness of our enterprise when first we entered upon it.
Near at hand and under our guardianship is the " Creole Kitchen," in
which is illustrated the delicious cookery peculiar to our extreme South, and
more particularly to pleasure-giving and pleasure-loving New Orleans.
The model schoolroom, too, with its economy and convenience of design
and interior equipments, is among our most valuable object lessons, offering to
ambitious struggling teachers of the suburban districts practical suggestions in
every branch of preparatory school work.
I feel especial mention should be made of the collections of colonial and
historical relics presented by the distinguished orders of the Daughters of the
Revolution and Colonial Dames from the various States, and especially of
Georgia; well calculated, indeed, to rekindle the fires of their patriotism and
awaken new interest in their illustrious ancestry.
And last, but not least, the building now under way and soon to be com¬
pleted and to contain ever-to-be-remembered objects of interest—a labor of
love in its inception and erection—by the " Daughters of the Confederacy,"
and who, not wanting in loyalty and devotion to this now happily united
Union, would thus perpetuate the heroism of those near and dear to them, and
the story of whose valor and devotion, though to a lost cause, will never die,
but to the common glory of this now united country will forever illumine the
pages of its history.
I cannot, however, longer delay expression of the thanks of the Board of
Women Managers to the Directors of this Exposition; for, however much we
have declared for ourselves, we could not have succeeded without their ever
generous and prompt support. We may be pardoned special mention of the
patience with which the president has borne our many complaints and the
kind encouragement he has always given us. Perhaps it is not amiss to say
that if there be those of the sterner sex who would oppose woman in her efforts
for development and improvement, as is demonstrated in our work, they should
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
91
stand rebuked in the unanimity of our gallant Board of Directors in so nobly
encouraging and aiding the Woman's Board, for the "new woman," who is
represented here by this board of women, is neither the antagonist nor the rival
of man, but his co-worker and helpmeet along broader, nobler and diviner
lines, for as her powers and faculties have freer scope and larger growth, his
burdens lessen. Thus united in exalted purpose, there are no limits to their
sublime achievements.
For not to him, nor her, but "to them" is given "dominion and power."
"Then comes the statelier Eden back to men."
I must also, in behalf of the Woman's Board, return their thanks to the gen¬
erous public, which has so freely responded to our many calls. We acknowl¬
edge the pleasant debt we owe the beautiful and distinguished President of
the Woman's Board of the great World's Fair at Chicago—Mrs. Potter Palmer.
Her example has been an inspiration to us in all our work, while the potent
evidence of her sympathy and interest in our behalf has been most gratifying.
I wish I could find words sufficiently strong to express our appreciation of
that most powerful and necessary factor to the successful completion of any
public enterprise—I refer to the press. On every hand we have felt our
department emphasized and strengthened by the prominence they have given
it. North and South, East and West, they have been constant and helpful to
us, especially our own home papers, who have placed their columns and their
best talent at our disposal.
For the noble women of the Board of Women Managers who have so loy¬
ally sustained me, and made pleasant, duties that otherwise might have been
burdensome, and ofttimes disagreeable, my heart will always treasure grateful
and loving remembrance.
While it may seem invidious, where all have done so well, I must mention
the constant and devoted service that Mrs. Felton has given us. All have felt
the value of her sage counsels, and all accord her praise.
Never were the important duties of secretary more ably rendered than by
Mrs. Steele. The close attention and the thorough business methods which
have characterized her department have been the admiration of all. And not
forgetting her whose busy brain and loving heart are always at the service of
any movement in the interests of her sex; who from being one of the initial
promoters of the Woman's Department, from then until now has always held
her talents and energies at its command—Mrs. Kate Waller Barrett.
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
There can but come to everyone at some moment the suggestion of sadness,
as the thought occurs that most of the beautiful buildings will even in a short
time be removed and there be left only the memory of the splendid pageant.
I should feel compensation most inadequate for all that you have done, and
for all that you hope for in the future, did I not confidently believe that the
Woman's Building will not share this common fate, but, securely resting on its
firm foundation in all the years to come; ever be the treasure house of your
intellectual and artistic stores—a museum of the beautiful and useful in all the
wide realm of woman's work, the place of her frequent assembling, where
pleasant association and intellectual development shall go hand in hand; here
will always be found all that shall still further promote her in every sphere of
life, awakening the dormant powers within her, and encouraging and stimulat¬
ing the boundaries of their thoughts and lives. To such high purpose we
dedicate the Woman's Building, and for continuation of such benefits and
blessings we inscribe over its ever-welcome portals: Esto perpetua.
Professor Booker T. Washington, of Tuskegee, Ala., was introduced
by Chairman Bullock, who said: "We have with us to-day the repre¬
sentative of negro enterprise and negro civilization. I have the honor
to introduce to you Professor Booker T. Washington, principal of the
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial College, who will formally present
the negro exhibit."
Professor Washington was greeted with applause, and in the ensu¬
ing quarter of an hour made a speech that has given him a national
reputation. It will be found in its entirety further on.
It had been expected that Governor Atkinson would deliver the
address of welcome in behalf of the State of Georgia, but his recent
and severe illness had enfeebled him to such an extent that he was
unable to make a public speech. He was present on the platform,
however, and spoke by deputy in the person of Mr. George Brown,
Solicitor-General of the Blue Ridge Circuit.
With a feeling reference to the Governor's recovery, and after some
words of welcome, Mr. Brown said:
The Georgia whose fathers signed with yours the immortal Declaration of
Independence, who mingled their blood with yours at Lexington and at Bunker
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
93
Hill, who illustrated the heroic courage of American citizenship at Valley
Forge and at Yorktown—to this Georgia we welcome you and we give you
this message to carry back to your homes and to the listening ears of your
children. Tell them that the warm tides of patriotism still ebb and flow in the
hearts of the Southern people. Tell them that the wounds of the war have all
healed, that we have accepted the terms of the surrender in perfect good faith,
and while we teach our children, as they kneel at night around their mother's
knee, in the retired and sacred precincts of our peaceful homes, that the
Spartan courage of the Southern soldier, as half-clad and half-fed he marched
without a murmur into the very jaws of death, is a sacred and priceless inherit¬
ance, yet we tell them that they were born under the protecting aegis of
freedom's flag which to-day proudly floats over us — that this indissoluble union
of States, cemented by the blood of martyred patriots, is the common heritage
of every child born upon American soil, and we bid them rejoice that this great
constellation still keeps on in its course in the skies. To see this happy and
reunited country engaged with all the nations of the earth in the friendly rivalry
of peaceful pursuits, is a scene worthy of the gods. Surely Mercy and Truth
are met together, Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other. Truth
shall spring out of the earth and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Time would fail to speak of our resources, the wonderful fertility of our soil,
the untold wealth of our forests and of our mines, the remarkable salubrity of
our matchless climate, or the infinite possibilities of our hopeful future. But
you would not have me close without some reference to the progress we have
made in material wealth and in all the elements of nadonal greatness. One
of the most striking examples of the conservative strength and patriotism of
any modern republic was furnished to the world when France, with 40,000,000
people, paid a war indemnity to Germany in two years of 5,000,000,000 francs,
every dollar of which was paid by her own people, and, more remarkable still,
twice as much was offered to the government by the peasantry of the country
as was necessary to discharge this enormous penalty. What think you, then,
of the ten millions of people composing the Southern Confederacy, with two
thousand millions of property confiscated and destroyed, crushed by defeat,
with homes in ashes, with lands devastated and laid waste, with a labor system
of a century suddenly swept away, with fields a stranger to the hand of the
husbandman for four long years, and yet these war-worn veterans, sanguine
where the most hopeful might have despaired, with a courage as sublime as it
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
is rare, go to work to reclaim this mighty waste, and in less than twenty years
they make one crop that is worth the magnificent sum of $400,000,000. The
golden-hearted heroes of the South plowed like they fought, and they made a
land devastated by the torch and baptized with their blood to blossom like the
flowers of spring. Our own State of Georgia has increased in taxable property
more than 100 per cent. Our capital invested in iron works and foundries has
increased in the last decade more than 250 per cent., and our cotton mills
have increased in the same time more than 100 per cent. In spite of the most
terrible panic that the country has almost ever witnessed, 800,000 spindles,
representing 200 mills, have been added to the cotton factories of the South
within the last twelve months, and the number has increased in the Southern
States 90 per cent, in the last four years.
We serve the world with notice now that the time is soon coming, and is
almost at hand, when every lock of the fleecy staple which the honest hands
of our people can produce will be woven into forms of beauty and usefulness
on the same soil on which it grew. When our first Exposition was held in
1881, the cotton-seed industry was unknown; to-day we have thirty-four mills
in Georgia alone, consuming annually 250,000 tons of raw material worth
$2,500,000, and there is one corporation in the United States engaged in this
industry that is capitalized at $30,000,000. We have taken the children of
our former slaves and given them an equal chance with our own sons and
daughters in our public schools. Georgia pays annually nearly $450,000 for
the education of the colored children of the State, raised by taxation, twenty-
nine-thirtieths of which is paid by the white people of the State. As an
evidence of the absolute justice and fairness with which we have treated
our colored citizens, we point you with pride and satisfaction to the exhibits
contained in their building, which will demonstrate that they have not only
accumulated wealth, but have made wonderful progress in the field of letters,
and have advanced in all the arts and many of the sciences. I do not over¬
draw the picture or deal in extravagant phrases when I tell you that our people
are prosperous and happy, and that they ask nothing from the Government
except a fair field and no favor; that we have coal and iron enough to keep
the fires in every furnace on earth perpetually burning; that the product of
our cotton fields will cause the smoke to ascend from the factories of every
civilized nation on the globe forever, and whiten the waters of every sea with
its sails. We have marble enough to build all of earth's structures, and granite
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
95
enough to pave every street in Christendom. Our water power will turn all
the machinery on earth, and our forests are as inexhaustible as the boasted
lands of Norway and Sweden. Our orchards are laden with golden fruit, our
vineyards are groaning beneath the burden of the ripe and mellow grape, and
our presses are bursting forth with new wine. Our flocks are fattening upon a
thousand hills, and our lowing herds return at night to barns that are filled
with plenty. As one of the humblest of her citizens, I say "God bless old
Georgia to-day." We are proud of her history in peace and in war. We love
her for the sacred dust that we have confided to her bosom, for the imperish¬
able memories of her past, for the glorious opportunities of her present, and
for the boundless hope and promise of her future. We ask no higher fortune,
we have dreamed of no greater destiny than to be permitted to concentrate all
that we are, all that we may have, and all that we hope to be in this life to her
service. Let me express the sentiment of a great Irish lawyer and patriot,
who lived and died in this fair city: " Land of my birth where the loved sleep,
folded in the embraces of your flowers, would to-day it were my destiny to
add to the floodtide of your glory, as it shall be mine to share your fortunes;
and when my few years shall tremble to their close may I sleep beneath your
soil, where the drip of April tears shall fall upon my grave, and the sunshine
of her skies shall warm Southern flowers to blossom upon my breast."
The address in behalf of the city was delivered by Mayor Porter
King in the following words:
'(Mayor Porter King represented the city in the opening exercises.)
Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Board of Directors of the Cotton States
and International Exposition Company, Ladies and Gentlemen: As the official
representative of the city of Atlanta and in her name and on her behalf, I
throw wide open our gates to the assembled multitude. I bid you, and those
to come after you, a cordial and hearty welcome to a progressive, healthy,
clean and happy city. Breadth of comprehension, liberality of spirit, a lack
of narrowness, and indomitable energy, pluck and determination are the dis¬
tinguishing characteristics of this people. Our city has grown to her present
splendid proportions, with all that is necessary to the happiness and enjoyment
of life, through the wisdom, the courage and the industry of her men and the
helpfulness of her glorious women. I could point to her magnificent public
buildings; our State Capitol, bearing the distinction of having been erected
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
within the original appropriation, and a part of it being turned back into the
treasury; the Equitable Building, with its many stories of marble, pressed brick
and tile; the splendid storehouses occupied by our merchant princes, the
numerous hostelries and grand and beautiful church buildings, with their lofty
spires reaching heavenward, where congregations of all denominations worship
God according to the dictates of their own consciences. Our public-school
buildings, too, are numerous and commodious, models of convenient and
tasteful arrangement. And our private homes, with their modern houses and
lovely lawns, are only less dear and attractive than the charming people who
have builded them.
We bid you come and see all these things, and share them with us. Nay,
more, we invite your attention to the lavish manner in which nature has heaped
upon us her blessings. Our elevation, more than a thousand feet above the
sea level, and our salubrious climate are direct gifts of nature's God. They
insure to us health and the absence of the enervation of a torrid summer and
the dread of a frozen winter. All the trees of the forest, all the grasses of the
field, all the crops and the fruits needful for man and beast, grow in this favored
clime. You have only to walk upon our streets to witness the splendid paving,
taken from the mountain of granite that is planted but little beyond the con¬
fines of our city limits.
Welcome! Thrice welcome! to all these blessings! Share them with us
during your stay, and make such stay as long as you can. We remember that
you, too, have cities and homes that are dear to yourselves, and an unworthy
people you would be if your own hearts did not beat a little faster and there
was not a flutter of loving excitement when your own dear homes are called
to mind. For the time, make our city and our homes your own, love them as
nearly like your own as you can • and, believe me, we welcome you with a
sincere and hearty greeting.
The occasion of this gathering is one that will prove memorable in the
annals of the country. It is the second largest exposition ever given in America,
and certainly the largest ever seen in the South. Our people are a brave and a
courageous people, and of this sufficient demonstration is given in the outcome
of this dav. It took bravery and courage to enter upon the enterprise of an
International Exposition when the whole Union was suffering from the throes
of financial depression such as have been but seldom experienced, and these
were the qualities which animated Atlantians when they came together to
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
97
inaugurate this movement. The first meeting was a success, the leaven took,
ths spirit spread; first a few, then more, then the city, then the State, and then
the National Government loaned their aid and encouragement, until large and
ample proportions were assured; and we now have with us our friends and
brethren from all climes and countries.
It is the hope and purpose of Atlanta, by this Exposition, to show to the
world what manner of city she is, with her cosmopolitan population of one
hundred and ten thousand souls; to demonstrate her breadth, her liberality,
her thrift, her morality and her good-will; and to learn more of the good traits
and characteristics of the other cities and countries in the world. She knows
there is commingled good and evil in all human institutions, and, by a closer
contact, she expects to learn more of the good. She desires to cultivate a
feeling of friendship and brotherly interest with all the counties, cities, states,
and nations which have generously taken part in this Exposition. And while
she expects a benefit by the establishment of new ties, friendships and relation¬
ships, she is not so selfish as to expect or desire that these benefits shall be
solely her own. The bringing of the people together from their widely-
scattered homes, with their diversity of products, customs and interests, can
but benefit all. If any should see here aught of the beauty or attractiveness
we know so well and become induced to make it their hnme, such would be
Atlanta's peculiar gain.
She is not unmindful of the great progress she made after her Cotton
Exposition in 1881, the first time in the world's history that the possibilities of
the growth and manufacture of this great Southern staple were made known.
She remembers, too, that she is not only the centre of a great producing
section, but as well of a manufacturing people, and she would encourage and
stimulate manufacture in every possible way. The worthiest tribute to this as
a place suitable for manufacture is that two of her largest cotton mills have,
within the year, doubled their capacity : and, if home plants are thus enlarging
their business from their earnings, we believe others will come when they see
and know these facts for themselves.
While material prosperity is greatly desired, and while Atlanta expects to
continue near the front in the advance progress of the cities of the world, she
knows that there are ends above and beyond piles of brick and mortar, and
more to be sought after than the riches of a Croesus. She believes in the
mental and moral elevation of her people, and encourages every agency having
7
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
this object in view. She again bids you come and welcome, and pledges her¬
self to join with you in the promotion of all elevating, refining and ennobling
undertakings. For well she knows
The immortal mind, superior to his fate,
Amid the outrage of external things,
Firm as the solid base of this great world,
Rests on his own foundation. Blow ye winds !
Ye waves, ye thunders, roll your tempests on !
Shake, ye old pillars of the marble sky
Till all its orbs and all its worlds of fire
Be loosen'd from their seats ; yet, still serene,
The unconquer'd mind looks down upon the wre£k ;
And ever stronger as the storms advance,
Firm through the closing ruin holds his way,
Where Nature calls him to the destin'd goal.
Hon. Emory Speer, Justice of the United States Court for the
Southern District of Georgia, was the next in order. He was the
orator of the day, and all that needs to be said is that he was worthy
of his high reputation and equal to the great occasion.
Judge Speer said:
This is, indeed, a happy day for our country. Cold and dull must be the
nature of that man who is insensible to these convincing proofs gathered that
the world may see the advancement of our people on all the paths trending
toward a more perfect civilization. The spectacle is, indeed, auspicious. The
astounding manifestations of the energy of modern nations exalt while they
amaze the understanding. They elevate and enrich the imagination, and yet
it is impossible for that lively faculty to conceive the complete reality of the
wondrous and imperial display. Such is the ennobling panorama this exhibi¬
tion of the possibilities of the young and potent nation will place before the
sentient and observant mind, inconceivably significant of mightful national
life, and weighty beyond estimation in its lessons of patriotic duty to the people
to whom, according to their several ability, as in the parable of the talents,
these potentialities for the advancement of mind have been entrusted by the
Master.
The substantial magnificence and beneficent humaneness of this vast
undertaking was possible only to the resolution and activities of a free people.
An autocrat might rear these magic structures and might gather this vast
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
99
assembly. An arctic island on the borders of Finland, in summer a heap of
mud, in winter a frozen marsh, accessible only by pathless forests and deep
morasses, within a year was filled with a population of 300,000 men, whom
the Czar Peter had forcibly assembled to establish a new capital. These he
brought from the vast plains of central Russia, the sandy deserts of Astrakhan,
the fertile meadows along the Don and the bleak promontories which project
into the Caspian. Wharves, harbors, streets, palaces and fortresses were
created at the will of the despot, as if he possessed the necromantic lamp of the
Arabian story. Said Voltaire: " The whole was a force upon nature. Neither
the inundation which razed his works, nor the sterility of the soil, nor the
ignorance of the workmen, nor even the mortality which carried off about
200,000 men in the beginning of the undertaking, could divert him from his
firm resolution." Thus the material victories of autocracy have been won,
without regard to the agony inflicted upon its subjects. Thus St. Petersburg
was completed. But that stately abode of bureaucracy and despotism is not
more beneficent to the people whose simple ancestors died under the knout for
its construction than one of those fantastical palaces of ice which annually
glitter on the wintry banks of the Neva.
Not so with creations such as this of a free people. They are enlivened
by the benevolence of great and generous men. They are encouraged by the
fostering hand of sympathetic popular government. They are symptoms of
vigorous national life. They are attended with warm demonstrations of con¬
cern by a people unpracticed in the arts of dissimulation. Whether the
sagacious people of the British Isles provide and perpetuate the lucent glories
of the Crystal Palace ; or the brilliant Frenchmen, while the soil of the republic
is yet scarred with hoof-marks of the Prussian Uhlans, by gigantic expositions
demonstrate their unimpaired power; or grateful America lavishes her own
bounty, and becomes trustee for a willing tribute from mankind in reverence
for that sailor philosopher, whose genius and constancy discovered half the
habitable globe ; or these typical Georgians consecrate their disinterested lives
to demonstrate to all men the strength of Southern character and the plenitude
of Southern resources and the adaptability of our country as a home for
unimagined millions of prosperous and happy people—in any event, it is a
creation of the people's prophetic intelligence of their resplendent public
virtue, nourished into generous activity by the kindly hand of popular, consti¬
tutional government.
IOO
A'EIF YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Here the liberal and inspiring purpose is the advancement of our country.
It kindles the imagination of the projector when the bright conception dawns
upon his teeming fancy. It reminds the capitalist that economy in its broadest
sense is a distributive virtue. With free hand then he makes his wealth a
willing servant of public honor. It animates the genius of the architect, and
his airy fancies become a thing of beauty and joy forever. It gives precision to
the trained eye, and power to the nervous arms of the artificers. It musically rings
in the trowels of the masons. It crackles like rifle fire in the hammers of the
carpenters. Every detonation of the blast which swiftly sinks the foundations
of the great buildings to the bed rock sweeping down from the mountains is a
salvo of triumph to the civilization of a great people. Over the fair
and mighty structures streams the ensign of a nation's hope and a nation's
honor. Beautiful flag of the republic ! All the fairest conceptions of
government, of social order, of human accomplishment—all that promotes the
perfectibility of man are typified by thee. Law and progress are thy color
guard. Their reviving and assuring presence is borne on every zephyr that
woos the mountain and tempers the vale, and brings life and strength to the
increasing millions to whom thou art an inspiration and a joy. But not to
them alone.
" Humanity with all its fears
With all its hopes for future years,
Are all with thee, are all with thee."
Here o'er the mountain waves of the ocean have been brought the treas¬
ures of other lands. From the Gulf of Mexico to the Straits of Magellan our
sister republics proudly come, bringing with willing hands of the bounty the
God of nature has bestowed upon them. Comes the Argentine Republic, her
territory greater than all central and western Europe, stretching from the
Atlantic to the summits of the Andes which guide the mariner who sails the
distant Pacific, in latitude exceeding our own, whose beautiful city is the Paris
of South America, and whose gallant people have twice captured invading
British armies larger than those surrendered by Burgoyne at Saratoga and
Cornwallis at Yorktown.
Venezuela comes. If she has not captured armies, has she not captured
one more terrible than " an army with banners ? " From the llanos of the
Orinoco, where the coffee and the cocoa are shaded by the scarlet erythrinas,
making a scene of brilliant beauty as entrancing as the garden of the Hesperides,
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
101
she brings her rich and varied products. The average yield of her gold mines,
$3, 700,000 per annum, has excited cupidity, but the integrity of her soil is the
anxious concern of every American patriot.
And Costa Rica, extending from Nicaragua, which holds the keys of the
commerce of the world, to the undulating savannas of Panama, from her gigantic
forests may bring Brazil wood, india rubber, mahogany and ebony. There
may be found all the fruits of the tropical and temperate climes growing in
luxuriant profusion. There the snow-clad peaks of Iraza, Turrialva and Pico
Blanco may reflect the tropical sun upon a flora comprehending every growth,
from the shrinking Alpine violet to the gorgeous splendor of mighty forests,
gay with birds of brilliant plumage, rich with priceless products and gently
stirred by the odor-laden breezes of the Pacific ocean and the Caribbean sea.
Salvador, the smallest but most densely peopled of the republics of Central
America, contributes her interesting quota.
And what shall we say of our gallant neighbor, the Republic of Mexico,
who in the same century overwhelmed the armies of Spain and the imperial
forces of Napoleon III. Indeed, hers was a marvelous civilization when
Cortez landed on her shores, and to-day thousands of the original Aztec type
may be seen among her people. Her administration is conducted in her beau¬
tiful capital, 7,500 feet above the level of the sea, hard by where the storied
lakes Tezcuco and Cualco mirror on their sparkling water the surrounding
mountains. Rich in all the precious metals, and richest of any in argentiferous
products, in recent times over half the silver of the world has been supplied by
Mexico. Up to 1880 she had afforded to the world $2,990,000,000 of silver
and $120,000,000 of gold. Her supply of copper and iron is simply inex¬
haustible. Cerro de Marcado is an entire mountain of magnetic iron. Coal,
marble, gypsum and alabaster are plentiful. Her territory stretches across
seventeen parallels of latitude. Her virgin forests abound in every variety of
rare and precious woods. They afford 114 species of trees and cabinet woods;
seventeen kinds of oil-bearing plants and more than sixty medical plants are
among her products. She is rich in maize, wheat, tobacco, cocoa and coffee.
It is not uncommon for her haciendas to rear twenty or thirty thousand head
of oxen. Sixty million pounds of sugar are produced in the State of Morellos
alone, and the product of her pearl fisheries in the Gulf of California rivals the
fabled pearls of Ceylon. The noble cathedral in the City of Mexico is the
largest church in America. The floating gardens of Chalco and Xomilcho
102
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
bring the choicest fruits and flowers to the markets of the capital. Bound to
us by great railroads, and even more closely by the magic wires of the tele¬
graph, we welcome, thrice welcome the proud sons of the land of the Monte-
zumas.
But there is one whom we would gladly welcome, and who is not here—
beautiful island of Cuba, queen of the Antilles. The dim religious light of her
hoary cathedral falls softly o'er the sacred ashes of the discoverer. Rich and
rare in all her products, in coffee, sugar and tobacco, in the pineapple, orange,
banana, the mahogany, ebony and palm. Her coast line is indented with har¬
bors. The altitude of her plateaus and mountains tempers with delicious cool¬
ness the soft breezes of the tropics, and she has ever been and is now endued
with the abounding sympathy of the people of this land of freedom. May I
not now paraphrase the language of Daniel Webster, spoken in the House of
Representatives of the brave Greeks when they were driving the unspeakable
Turk from that land "where the mountains look on Marathon and Marathon
looks on the sea " : "I will not say, sir, that they will succeed—that rests with
heaven—but for myself, if I should hear to-morrow that their last phalanx had
sunk beneath the Spanish sword, their last city had gone down into ashes and
that naught remained but the wide melancholy waste where Cuba once was, I
should reflect with the most heartfelt satisfaction that I have asked in the
name of seventy millions of freemen that you would give them at least the
cheering of one friendly voice."
These are our sister republics. They have imitated the example our fore¬
fathers gave. The great powers of Europe, and some not so great, have par¬
celed out the continent of Africa. It is nearly all within the sphere of influence,
as it is called, of one or the other of the European nations. Almost the whole
of Asia is under European control. Even now certain great powers threaten
to divide the empire of China, and to assail the insular kingdom of Japan, the
genius of whose brilliant and heroic people has placed them in the first rank of
the forces of civilization. It is the plain duty of our own nation to see to it
that the " sphere of influence " of European nations shall not further extend to
any foot of the soil of that continent discovered by Columbus. We owe it to
the traditions of our glorious past, as well as to the peoples who from us have
caught the inspiration of popular government. We owe it to the countless
millions of self-respecting and freedom-loving people who are to inherit America
when we are gathered to our fathers. " America for the Americans" should
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
be the animating principle of every administration which wields from Washing¬
ton the moral power of the American people. Nor should we for this reason
withhold the due meed of honor and admiration to those great European powers
which in their own way and on their own soil are contributing to the advance¬
ment of mankind. To the Spanish crown we owe the discovery of America.
Side by side the Light Infantry under Hamilton, and the Corps de Elite of the
French army swarmed over the palisades at Yorktown. The great Frederick,
the last of the great kings, refused passage through Prussian territory to the
Hessian mercenaries hired to subjugate our fathers and devastate our land.
Of Italy it may be said that her sons have surpassed any other people in
many departments of human endeavor. In sculpture and architecture one
may point to Michael Angelo; in painting to Titian, Correggio and Raphael;
in statecraft to Machiavelli, to Cavour and Mazzini; in generalship to
Napoleon and Massena; in poetry to Tasso and Dante; in discovery to
Columbus. Nor should America encourage any feeling save that of amity and
pride for England, after America the strongest friend of civil and religious
liberty on earth—land of old and great renown, where freedom broadens slowly
down from precedent to precedent.
It is well to meet at this great Exposition the people of these and other
lands. In the French Exposition of 1849 it was held by the minister of com¬
merce inadmissible and injurious to admit the products of other nations. No
policy could be more short-sighted. It is exclusiveness in her own and
ignorance of other lands that has reduced China to the degrading position she
now holds. International expositions are amongst the most beneficent means
for the advancement of the neople, Society in this has its accounting. It
takes stock of its assets. A nation like a business house must know how it
stands. It must make its exhibition to the world. When the solvency of Jay
Gould was questioned by the magnates of Wall street he called them into his
business office and spread before them the millions of value in his securities.
There is an old adage that " seeing is believing," and the exposition appeals
directly to the sense of sight. It constitutes a compendium of the accomplish¬
ments of a people. It focuses the intelligences of observant men until the
truth of a nation's power is not only made clear to all present, but through the
cumulative testimony of the witnesses becomes unquestioned by all the world.
The exposition is to the student of manufactures and the practical arts what
the luminous and eloquent commentaries of Blackstone are to the student of
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
law. It was remarked by the celebrated James Otis, when he received a copy
of that work, that if he had possessed it when beginning his studies it would have
saved him seven years of arduous labor. It is most judicious to profit by a
close contemplation of the works of others. The German emperor at Kiel
turned away from the festivities, incident to the opening of his canal to go
aboard our own splendid ship, the New York. This he did, not only to enjoy
the artistic hospitalities of that fine officer, " Fighting Bob," but for the benefit
of the imperial navy, to examine from main truck to stoke hole every feature of
our gallant cruiser, "which walks the waters like a thing of life." So, too,
Herreshoff and Watson, the builders of the Defender and the Valkyrie, stood
four mortal hours in the broiling sun of the Erie basin when the rival yachts
were docked, neither bestowing a glance upon his own creation, but scrutinizing
the work of the other. No doubt they wished their eyes were what Sam
Weller called " patent double million magnifyin' gas microscopes of hextra
power."
Besides, who can doubt the educative effect of such proofs of human
advancement as this Exposition. A lad can walk through these halls and
acquire knowledge of which Sir Isaac Newton or Sir Francis Bacon were igno¬
rant. He may behold dainty products of all lands for which Lucullus might
have sighed in vain. He may watch the noiseless operations of engines a Watt
or Stephenson could not even conceive; models of ships which would have
been deemed impossible by Nelson or Rodney, by Bainbridge or Decatur;
arms and munitions of war the mention of which Marlborough or Frederick,
Wellington or Napoleon would have pronounced the dreams of a madman.
" Homekeeping youths," said Shakespeare, " have ever homely wits." The
powers of the brain are like the fire in the flint. A collision with bright steel
of other minds is essential to evoke the sacred spark. This Exposition, care¬
fully studied, will be a liberal education for thousands who attend it. To be
attained, knowledge must be sought, and what joy it imparts! What matters
to the ignorant man the clear and lucent glories of the dawn, the zephyrs
which attend it, and scatter incense to delighted nature! What the mysterious
dome of heaven inlaid with patines of pure gold; what the rolling billows of
the deep and dark blue ocean; what the mighty grandeur of the storm, the
life-giving breeze, the green fields, the placid intelligence of domestic animals.
" A primrose by a river's brim
A yellow primrose is to him,
And it is nothing more."
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
But to him whose mind is stored with knowledge every suggestion of nature
brings its joy and fills his heart with images of indescribable beauty and
ineffable charms.
But the utility of this Exposition to our State and our section is especially
significant, and especially opportune. The prophecy of the generous Bishop
Berkeley, the friend and associate of Oglethorpe, has been completed:
" Westward the course of empire takes its way,
The four first acts already past;
The fifth shall close the drama with the day—
Time's noblest offspring is the last."
The young and strong civilization of the West has reached and appropriated
the golden shores of the Pacific. It found a foothold along the Atlantic, from
the bleak and icy rocks of Labrador to where the tepid waves of the tropics
break over the fantastic coral and the gleaming sands of the Florida Keys. It
thronged the mountain passes which divide the Atlantic slope from the great
valley of the Mississippi. It appropriated the alluvial plains and mighty
forests of that garden of the continent. Across the Father of Waters it
pursued its way, toiled up the tilt of the continent to serrated summits of the
mountains which are the ridge pole of America, and thence downward to the
golden strand of the Occident. It assimilated all the healthy blood that came.
But the old Anglo-Saxon stock has ever predominated. The advancing wave
was fringed with the fierce wildness of the frontier. Westward has been the
inspiration of our history, and since the westward shore is reached, the tide of
strong and resourceful men, " strong-backed, brown-handed, upright as the
pines," must pour backward through many channels to the fruitful and opulent
land which in their westward progress they had passed with but a glance. There
were grave reasons which diverted this army of civilization from the soil of the
Southern States. Slavery was here, and the toiling masses from other lands
could not, or would not, compete with the slaves. But when slavery had been
abolished, the obstacles to healthful immigration were scarcely less insurmount¬
able. What was termed the " negro problem "—that is, the dcubt entertained
by multitudes as to the effect of the presence of the negro upon the life and
advancement of the Southern people—was ever present. There was riever the
slightest danger of continued negro control in the local affairs of a Southern
State. Those who apprehended it had done well to consider that of all the
American Union, the Southern people present the largest percentage of the old
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Anglo-Saxon stock. Of the white men of Georgia perhaps 90 per cent, are
descended from men who were patriots either actively or in sympathy with the
American Revolution. Even now there is but 12^ per cent, of foreign blood
in the population of this State. They had done well to consider the imperious
and commanding nature of the Anglo-Saxon race. They might have reflected
that the twelve provinces of India, with one hundred and fifty feudatory States,
an empire of one and a half million of square miles, and peopled with two
hundred and forty millions of dark-skinned men, are under the absolute control
of men of our race who inhabit a little island on the other side of the world.
And yet the people of British India had an ancient and famous history
when the Roman legionaries first landed on the savage shores of Britain.
They were overcome by a handful of men of our race, and are wisely directed
on all the paths of modern progress by the English Government as readily as
it controls a parish in Yorkshire or Kent.
The Anglo-Saxon as a race has never mingled its blood with a darker
people. From the Penobscot to the Altamaha, the white men landed on the
eastern coast of the continent. Everywhere they found numerous and often
powerful Indian tribes. For two or three centuries their increasing numbers
lived in almost constant intercourse with the aboriginal inhabitants of America.
These are gone. They have left everywhere the monuments of their existence
here. Their memory will last as long as Yonah and Currahee shall redden
with the " rosy blush of incense breathing morn," or catch the purple shadows
as the setting sun irradiates the heavens with the splendor of his evening smile.
Their names are on our rivers and we cannot blot them out. The Chattahoo¬
chee, as it glances "down from the hills of Habersham and out of the valleys
of Hull," the Tugalo, the Turora, as they swiftly flow to join the brimming
Savannah, the Hiawassee and the Toccoa, as they bear the crystal waters of
Georgia mountains to the rolling volume of the Tennessee, the Throneteeska,
as it pours its turbid current to the gulf, suggest legends of mighty tribes, whose
heritage was Georgia's soil. But not a drop of the Indian's blood flows in
the veins of the white men who succeeded him.
1 here declare that the so-called " race question "• does not exist.
The Indian was a nomad. The negro has the strongest local attachment,
and will remain, but as a race unto himself. Nor do I mean to suggest that
force or violence in any form will be essential for white control of the local
affairs of these States. The representative people of this State, and I believe
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
107
of the South, will never tolerate such a demoralizing and cruel policy. It
would recoil on them and their children, even unto the third and fourth genera¬
tion. The same influences which affect men elsewhere will ever prevent the
solidarity of the negro vote here. Every intelligent Southern man understands
this, and a Northern man who comes here soon ascertains the fact for himself.
This is a fortunate fact for the negro and for the country. Our theory of
government does not contemplate voting on color or other class lines.
There are millions of colored people who live and who will live among
many more millions of white people. Why shall any one forge a race issue ?
Honest and decent men will accord to the negro that just measure of favor as
a member of society the laws afford him, and which his conduct deserves, and
the long processes of time will determine whether his presence is a benefit or
injury to himself and to the land to which he is now as warmly attached as his
white neighbors? No process of reasoning, no fertility of conjecture, no
empirical legislation will afford another solution of the so-called question.
Why agitate it then ? Its unnecessary discussion, as I have already said, has
withheld from the resources of these States the developing hand of the indus¬
trious white man, whether farmer or artisan, who, earning a bare support
elsewhere, could in this genial clime win an abundance of which he never
dreamed. It is more cruel to the negro than it is detrimental to the white men,
for the prejudice it awakens causes the idle, ignorant and lawless to become
his suspicious enemies. It is, indeed, a source of alarm to those industrious
and respectable negroes whose intelligent labor and self-denying habits have
supported their families, educated their children and added millions annually
to the taxable values of these States. The true policy of our people is to
ignore the question and drench with vitriolic contempt the narrow, intense,
infinitesimal creatures who forge the issue and disturb the good feeling between
the races to advance their political ends.
There is one thing since his emancipation the South has ever guaranteed
to the negro; that is, no matter what his trade or occupation, the privilege of
earning his living. It is a common spectacle upon structures of every character
to behold numbers of white and negro mechanics working side by side. I
have regretted to learn that this is not true in the Northern States. I was
informed by the president of a technological school from Philadelphia, a man
of great intelligence and great benevolence, that they yearly turned out num¬
bers of colored youths trained, skilled in the trades they had mastered, but
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NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
that if one of these men should be employed as a skilled laborer upon any
work every member of the trade union would quietly gather up his tools and
quit the job. No such feeling has entered here. The opportunity for techni¬
cal education is the greatest benefaction his friends can bestow on the negro.
The skill of the graduate of an industrial school is his capital. He has been
taughf to appreciate the dignity of labor. He is not striving for the unattain¬
able. He is a useful citizen from the start. He begins his lifework on a solid
basis. How incomparably superior is his condition to that of one of his race
who is trained for a profession where he must depend upon the patronage and
slender means of his own people, or of one who has merely acquired a fatal
facility of speech. If it be said that the argument would restrict the genius
of the Afro-American orator (though why "Afro" I do not know), let him
bear in mind that it took 300 years for the white people of America to
bring forth such orators as James Otis, Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry.
A poor man should make sure the means of a livelihood before he
attempts excursions in the domain of art. Let him remember the epigram¬
matic language of our sagacious president, " It is a condition and not
a theory that confronts us," and the certain comforts of a good home
and an ample support are worth more to him than all the orations since
Demosthenes thundered in Athens or Cicero charmed the crowds of the
Roman forum.
The truth is, after making due allowance for our disadvantages, the world
should awaken to the fact that no other land lighted by the sun in its diurnal
progress around the world affords such attractions as a home for men with
lives before them as do these Southern States of the Union. It is demons¬
trable beyond question. Here the observant traveler will see on one farm the
luxuriant beauty of our royal staple, the dark, rich green of the Indian corn,
the golden glory of the ripening grain of every kind, the sweet yams, Irish
potatoes, peas, hay, ground-peas, sorghum, watermelons, apples, pears, figs,
pomegranates, grapes, plums and other crops and fruits all grown in perfection
in the same soil Of late years the Georgia peach, for its flavor and its beauty,
commands the market. Georgia is especially fitted for small farms. In the
mountain county of Habersham, where is my summer home, there are a num¬
ber of Swiss and Germans. They were very poor when, a few years ago, they
purchased small holdings of 3and on what was known to be a barren ridge.
They planted the grape, and while many of them were in danger of starvation
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
until their vines became productive, I do not know now anywhere a more
thrifty rural community. The income from wine and grapes of a man who,
with his wife, does the whole work of the vineyard and the farm, his slow beast
an ox without the pride of ancestry, is annually $1,500 to $2,000 net. These
industrious people are all living in great comfort. These are object lessons
which might be gathered from every county of what may be accomplished in
this genial clime under circumstances the most unfavorable. At this moment
the rivers of Georgia flow idly over admirable locations for water powers which
would turn the spindles of the world. The mountains of north and the swamps
of south Georgia are luxuriant with a great variety of rare and beautiful hard
wood. The Georgia pine is famous throughout the world. There is scarcely
a farm in the State which has not a copious water supply, even for the hottest
season of the year. The authoritative figures of the cotton exchanges and
other business associations bear out and sustain all I have said with regard to
the productiveness of the South. Texas is the first and Georgia the second as
cotton States. In 1893-4 Georgia produced 1,125,000 bales, Texas and the
Indian Territory 2,059,000 bales. The total crop of that year was 7,550,000
bales, and it will be remembered that in 1818 the entire crop of this country
was but 200,000 bales. But while the production of cotton has wonderfully
increased, its consumption has increased proportionately. In 1893-4 the total
consumption for the United States was 2,319,388 bales, of which consumption
718,515 bales were taken by the spinners of the South, and in the consumption
by Southern factories Georgia is only surpassed by North and South Carolina.
The consumption of cotton throughout the world has doubled since the year
1870. The average annual increase in consumption is 245,000 bales of 400
pounds each. Of all the cotton grown in the world, the United States pro¬
duces 72-10 per cent. It should ever be borne in mind that cotton is a quick
money crop. It is incomparably the chief article of export from this country.
It was the foundation of our national credit and enabled us to redeem our
national debt after the Civil War. American cotton is held in higher esteem
than any grown elsewhere, and it may be marketed at a less cost. I have not
spoken of that beautiful grade of cotton known as sea island, which is grown
in South Carolina and on the coast of and more latterly, with great results, in
many of the inland counties of Georgia. Indeed, the chief sea island cotton
market of the world is the beautiful and thriving city of Valdosta in southern
Georgia, 150 miles from the sea.
I IO
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
But a shipload of cotton goods is infinitely more valuable than a
shipload of raw cotton, and the cotton manufacturers of the South are
increasing rapidly. Some of the largest cotton mills in the Eastern
States are moving their plants to the Southern States. Successful mill
companies in Georgia and Alabama and the Carolinas are now spending
$28,000,000 in increasing their equipment and building new mills. In
1880 the South had 180 mills, with 660,000 spindles and 14,300
looms. A careful compilation in 1894 shows 405 mills, 2,700,000 spindles
and 62,000 looms, with $97,000,000 of capital invested. These figures
were made in March of this year by Mr. John C. Latham, of the New
York Cotton Exchange, who, I believe, is an acknowledged authority. I read
in the New York Herald of the 8th of this month a statement from that valu¬
able publication, the Manufacturers' Record, of Baltimore, that during the past
three months there have been projected in the South seventy-seven new cotton
mills, with 300,000 spindles—a greater number than were ever projected dur¬
ing a similar period. Most of them are under construction or are contracted
for. The Herald concludes : " It is no longer doubtful that the South is
destined to become the leading manufacturer as well as grower of the great
staple. The rapid extension of the textile interests of the South and the phen¬
omenal activity prevailing in iron and coal matters, coupled with the increasing
demand for farm lands for settlement by Western people, is bringing about an
unusually healthy condition throughout this entire section." I once heard that
distinguished New Yorker, the Hon. Abram S. Hewitt, an expert on the subject,
declare that iron could be made cheaper in Alabama than in any other iron
producing country.
Our great lines of railroads are now in the hands of men who have some¬
thing to lose, and not everything to gain. They know that the safety and
profits of the hundreds of millions they represent depend on the broad and
even development of our country, and in sympathy with this purpose our
people will accord them their ungrudging support.
The truth is, the South is beginning to think more of its interests and less of
its rights. We have more earnest workers and fewer grandstand performers.
The most important fact of all is that our people have at length learned the
inexorable necessity of raising their own food crops. This was always easy.
An immense acreage in cotton had a delusive charm which for years they
could not resist. They bought their corn and meat, and when the cotton crop
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
in
was sold and the cost of production paid, no profit remained to the farmer.
This is no longer true.
The great packing houses like that of Armour have commenced to order
meat from Georgia farmers. The estimate furnished me a day or two ago by
the largest commission house in Central Georgia states that since 1891 the
sale of corn from other states has decreased seventy-one per cent, and meat
eighty-five per cent. The estimate is taken from the books and railroad
delivery records of the house. These figures are most significant and demon¬
strate that our people almost entirely depend for support upon their own farms,
and yet the trade of the cities has largely increased. The Mayor of Columbus
wired me on the 1 ith instant that the jobbing trade of that city had increased
five hundred per cent in ten years, and is now $4,000,000. This does not
include the manufacturing trade. The retail trade has doubled in ten years.
The Secretary of the Board of Trade of Macon informs me that the commerce
of that city has increased fifty per cent., and Augusta, the second largest
interior cotton market in the world, Memphis being the first, has increased its
trade twenty-five per cent. In 1884-5 ^ received 131,400 bales of cotton, in
1894-5, 211,951 bales. Its cotton factories have increased from four to nine,
and the capital invested from $2,200,000 to $4,000,000. Savannah, the
second largest cotton and first naval stores market in the world, shows the
following surprising figures: In 1872 Savannah's commerce by water was
$72 ,348,000, and in 1892 over $150,000,000, an increase of more than one
hundred per cent. And what shall we say of this glorious city, the finest type
of Southern progress ? Such an one the Master must have had in mind when
he exclaimed: "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a
hill cannot be hid." I might enlarge on the inspiration its sturdy people gather
from its bracing clime, their indefatigable industry, their broad and liberal
talents, the cordial welcome they give the stranger within their gates, the
exemplar of municipal activity and municipal virtue it affords. It is American
to the core. Its every expiration is a hurrah. Within the structure of the
majestic church of St. Paul's in London there is a simple inscription in honor
of an architect, Christopher Wrenn, who is there sleeping—" Si monumentum
requiris, circumspice." " If you would behold his monument, look around
you." This was an inscription to the mighty dead. It is equally appropriate
to the mighty living. If you would behold the monuments of this proud Georgia
city, the pride of the State, look around you.
I 12
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
While our winters are bracing and invigorating, our streams are never
frozen. The death-rate throughout the entire State is fifteen and a fraction to
a thousand, and among the white people even less.
Moreover, the people of Georgia respect and enforce the laws. I have
had the opportunity to know the truth. I say, with absolute sincerity, what I
have repeatedly asserted elsewhere, that I never knew a failure of justice in a
Government case, or in a suit by or against a non-resident, because of the
failure of duty on the part of the jury. The jurors, composed as they are
from the best class of Southern manhood, have invariably done their duty
regardless of every consideration save the evidence and the law. Of course
there have been seasons of great political excitement, when even good men lose
the tolerance and mental equipoise which characterizes the majority of our
people, but in this respect there has been great improvement. When in the
annals of time was there ever heretofore presented the spectacle we daily see
where men, who but a few years ago exerted their energy of mind and body to
disrupt and destroy the Government, who were defeated, and not only find their
effort condoned, and themselves restored to all the rights of citizenship, but
actually for nearly a quarter of a century are entrusted with the duties of
governing. Representatives and Senators, members of the Cabinet, justices of
the Supreme Court, judges of the Circuit and District Courts—in fact, offices of
every class of trust and responsibility connected with the Government have
been confidently and wisely entrusted by the nation to Southern men who were
Confederate soldiers. If there is any parallel in the history of the world for
this trustful magnanimity, it has wholly escaped my attention. Such condi¬
tions would only be possible to a generosity of a Government responsive to the
hearts of a noble people. Our Government has lavished upon Southern har¬
bors and Southern public buildings millions of the people's money. We may
see hard by its noble contribution to this Exposition. It has come swiftly to
our aid when pestilence threatened our borders. It has afforded the most
graceful recognition to the undoubted loyalty of the Southern people. Of those
gallant vessels, which proudly bear the stars and stripes on the waters of every
ocean, the Montgomery, the Raleigh, the Atlanta, are sister ships with the
Minneapolis, the Cincinnati and the New York.
Our Southern people know and appreciate these facts, and let no military
staff of other nations, when it is taking into account the military power of this
American Union, fail to estimate the full fighting strength of the men who
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES 113
wore the gray and the sons of their blood. When on a memorable occasion,
not long ago, the President of the United States proclaimed that he would
reply to an insult to the American flag with the guns of the American fleet,
they who cheered him until the pictured ceiling of the Capitol quivered with
their plaudits were men who had worn the gray and rallied to the battle-riven
banners of the Confederacy. Sir, when the time shall come, and come it must,
when America will need the help of all her sons, the men who wore the gray
and their sons will be no laggards then. With fiery swiftness of Jackson's
corps as it swept through the woods at Chancellorsville, with the cool courage
and deadly aim with which they held the slopes at Kennesaw, with the con¬
stancy and heroism when starving and shivering they manned the lines at
Petersburg and with the rebel yell smiting the sulphurous air of battle, true
comrades they will bear the gorgeous ensign of our country far into the ranks
of the foe as will the Grand Army of the Republic and the gallant youth of the
North. But our mission is to speak of the methods of peace and not of war.
Surprising as the statement may seem to the uninformed, people of the South
are distinctively a religious people. They are a temperate people and are
friends of temperance. They remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, and
in the enforcement of the law they make it exceedingly uncomfortable to per¬
sons who have not its fear in their eyes. The students of the late war will
recall how many battles take their names from the churches of a pious rural
people—Shiloh, Bethel, New Hope, Ezra, and a multitude of others. No man
will long hold a representative station in the politics of this State if he is either
immoral or intemperate or lawless. In the country the entire population
assembles when there is preaching at the unpretentious church, and woe be
unto those "biggity " youths who attempt to attract attention by misbehavior
in church. The next session of the grand jury will certainly present them for
disturbing a congregation of persons lawfully assembled for divine service, and
the prisoner may as well plead guilty for conviction is certain. So, too, with
keeping open a tippling house on the Sabbath—that true American, Theodore
Roosevelt, may study Georgia methods. So with the pursuing one's ordinary
avocation or running freight trains on the Sabbath day. The church people
are resolute friends of law and order. But they are noted for their tolerance
and liberality of spirit. Denominational bitterness is unknown. The magnetic
and Rev. Sam Jones illustrated this before a great and enthusiastic Georgia
congregation. " I hope," said he, " to see all denominations racing on the
8
114
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
way to salvation. I hope to see the Methodists, and the Episcopalians, and
the Catholics, and the Presbyterians as if on trains on parallel lines of railroad,
the sacred engineers with hands on the throttles and the sanctified firemen
shoveling in coal to speed the happy passengers as the crowded trains glance
along the gleaming rails, and the dear old Baptists, with bands playing and
colors flying, with shouts of joy and hope, coming swiftly up the river on a
steamboat." Indeed, the Georgians had early religious exemplars of the
loftiest character. While Oglethorpe was in charge of the first colony there
came to Georgia three clergymen of the Church of England whose names and
memory are known and honored throughout the world. Of John Wesley, the
eldest and most influential of these, I may say in the language of Macaulay :
" He was a man whose eloquence and logical acuteness might have made him
eminent in literature; whose genius for government was not inferior to that of
Richelieu, and who, whatever his errors might have been, devoted all his
powers, in defiance of obloquy and derision, to what he sincerely considered the
highest good of his species." It is computed that in his ministry of fifty-three
years he traveled 225,000 miles and preached 4,500 sermons. Nothing caused
him to deviate a hair's breadth from his prescribed course. A lady once asked
him : " Mr. Wesley, supposing that you knew you were to die at twelve o'clock
to-morrow night, how would you spend the intervening time ? " " How ?
madam," he replied ; "why, just as I intend to spend it now. I should preach
this evening at Gloucester, and again at five o'clock to-morrow morning. After
that I should ride to Tewksbury, preach in the afternoon and meet the societies
in the evening. I should then repair to Friend Martin's house, who expects to
entertain me, converse and pray with the family as usual, retire to my room at
ten o'clock, commend myself to my heavenly Father, lie down to rest and
wake up in glory."
The Rev. William Bacon Stephens, in his history of Georgia, says that
John Wesley, in the parish of Christ Church, Savannah, had established a
Sunday-school fifty years before Robert Raikes originated his noble scheme of
Sunday instruction in Gloucester, England, and eighty years before the Sunday-
school, on Mr. Raikes' plan, was established in the city of New York. The
little band of thirty persons who, on Sunday evening after service, used to meet
at the rector's house in Savannah, were the founders of the Methodist church,
and their influence has spread from age to age and nation to nation, until the
name of Wesley is now known and cherished all over the Christian world, and
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
ii5
the earth has been girdled by the love feast of his followers. Of Charles
Wesley, the second of this triumvirate, it may be said that the lyrical power
and sweetness of his hymns contributed incalculably to the great religious
movement in the last and present century. What Georgian has not felt the
charm of this lyrical rapture? Who has ever attended an old-fashioned
Georgia camp-meeting without feeling his soul stir within him, especially at
night, as the outburst of song worship rolled away in waves of melody through
the aisles of the forests, or swelled up to heaven in thunders of triumphant
adoration ? But the third, George Whitefield, possessed a heart that kindled
other souls with the fire of his own conviction and awakened them to a higher
consciousness of religion and duty. He was a born orator, and the most suc¬
cessful and wonderful preacher that England or America ever saw. When
shut out of the churches of London he preached on Kensington common to
multitudes that no church could hold. He received in one week a thousand
letters from persons convicted by his sermons. In Lady Huntington's chapel
he was listened to with admiration by the most noted men of his time. The
elder Pitt, the terrible cornet of horse; David Hume, the historian; Robert
Walpole, who for so many years controlled the policy of England, and the
Earl of Chesterfield. Of Whitefield Lord Bolingbroke said: " He is the
most extraordinary man of our times. He has the most commanding eloquence
I ever heard." It is related of him that he preached at St. Bartholomew's
fair, and the mountebanks and Merry Andrews, and the acrobats, stiltwalkers
and theatrical booths were deserted to hear Whitefield preach the Gospel, and
multitudes who seemed foredoomed to Newgate and Tyburn were plucked as
brands from the burning. The Bethesda Orphanage, founded by him in
Savannah, still exists, and his name in the New as in the Old World
" Is as the precious odor shed
On consecrated Aaron's head."
Who can doubt that the presence in Georgia of 151,500 Methodists and
163,000 Baptists is due to the impetus to religious thought imparted by these
inspired missionaries of Christ ?
We are trustees for humanity; the trust is free government, and the benefi¬
ciaries of that trust are our fellow-men everywhere. For myself, I do not
doubt that the American people will be worthy of their trust. It is true that
never in the past did there meet so many different races in so broad an arena.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
It is true that multitudes of those who seek our shores to better their condition
have no conception of the character of our Government, and, therefore, no
devotion to the institutions of freemen, and this is one of our greatest dangers.
Our responsibilities are tremendous, but we must, in the future as in the past,
see to it that the American stock which made the country shall dominate its
institutions and direct its policy and work out its destiny on the lines our
fathers marked. The people must remove certain malignant excrescences, the
growth of the last half century, which have well nigh poisoned the whole
body politic.
Municipal corruption, another evil peculiar to our country, can only exist
by the indifference and lack of public spirit of the people affected by it. An
immense proportion of the citizens of our towns are honest, and, if they were
not inert, bad men could never hold control. But when good men are indiffer¬
ent and inactive, when short-sighted considerations of business or personal
ease control them, the worst man in the community is usually selected to rep¬
resent it in the eyes of the world. And what a reproach to a people and to
what tyranny does it subject them. We hear much of the dangers of organized
labor, but to me when we see the appalling power of organized capital it seems
altogether just and proper that the men whose labor is the foundation of all
our prosperity shall themselves organize that their consolidated energies may
by lawful methods protect their rights or advance their interests. So rapid has
been the development of corporate power in modern times that the laws are
wholly inadequate to control its excesses. Indeed, that statesman who will
mark out a system of public law which will prevent the unholy rapacity of
injurious trusts, and clothe in the stripes of the felon the wreckers of railroads,
which will wisely and righteously adjust the difference between capital and
labor and compel obedience to the adjustment, will be honored in future gen¬
erations like Columbus, who discovered America, and like Washington, who
saved it.
Let us afford the procedure which will enable the people to ask redress for
gigantic modern abuses our fathers could not foresee, and all will be well with
the Republic. Whether it be the plaint of the widow against a conspiracy of
wreckers, who would reduce her and her children to pitiable beggary, or the
protest of a brakeman against the tyranny of his superior, or the prayer for
relief of a taxpayer to whom ruin is imminent from municipal corruption, or
corporate greed, or the just appeal of the corporation itself when its business
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
ii 7
and its existence are threatened by rascally legislation or by the passion or
prejudice of the hour, in any event the law should point out the avenues of
justice. "Justice," exclaimed Sheridan, "I have now before me august and
pure. The abstract idea of all that would be perfect in the spirits and aspirings
of men where the mind rises, where the heart expands, where the countenance
is ever placid and benign; where her favorite attitude is to stoop to the
unfortunate; to hear their cry and to help them; to rescue and relieve, to succor
and to save; majestic from its mercy, venerable from its utility; uplifted with¬
out pride, firm without obduracy; beneficent in each province; lovely though
in her frown." With this no more is needed and the Republic is safe. We
have seen the strife of our forefathers with savage Indians and they prevailed.
We have seen them unite in sacred rebellion against a sullen monarch and a
tyrannical parliament. We have seen the regulars of a venal ministry lay
down their arms before the homespun soldiers of America, and the veterans
who conquered Napoleon swept down like grain before the sickle by the devas¬
tating fire of our citizen soldiery. Division came in our own councils, civil
war ensued. We have seen the massy columns of the Union in battle array
confronting the gray lines of the Confederacy.
" The thunder clouds close o'er them, which, when rent,
The earth is covered thick with other clay,
Which her own clay shall cover, heaped and bent,
Rider and horse—friend-foe—in one red burial blent! "
Then came gentle peace, and with its sweet presence no relic of the struggle
in the tender heart of the people, save the sacred duty of keeping gieen the
memories of our hallowed dead.
" How sleep the brave, who sink to rest
With all their country's wishes blest!
When spring, with fingers cold,
Returns to deck their hallowed mold,
She there shall dress a sweeter sod
Than fancy's feet have ever trod.
There honor comes, a pilgrim gray,
To bless the turf that wraps their clay—
And freedom shall awhile repair
To dwell a weeping hermit there."
And if we had succeeded and destroyed the Union, what then ? Two
powerful Anglo-Saxon nations with all the hatred and resentment resulting
from separation after internecine strife could not have confronted each other
118 NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
across the imaginary line without frequent wars and the most exhausting
preparation for them. The resources of the people would have been con¬
sumed by the expense of a strong military government. Modern forts must
have bristled on every coigne of vantage on the border, modern iron-clads and
batteries of incalculable cost must have guarded our harbors and our coasts.
Steeped with suspicion and rankling with revenge, the great American people,
divided into hostile sections like France and Germany, would have waited for
the signal to " loose the dogs of war." No other condition could have been
possible for the proud and resolute people of America. The blood-stained
annals of our race prove this to be true. Militarism here, as on the continent
of Europe, would have for years withdrawn the able-bodied population from
the pursuits of industry and the charms of home, and our young men, instead
of pursuing productive occupations, would have wasted the best years of their
lives in military servitude. The sergeant and the corporal would have been
substituted for the professor and the preacher. Destructive taxation would have
reduced the people of this land of comfort and freedom to the level of the
pauperism of Europe. Oh, my countrymen, we should be grateful to God
that He spared us the calamities I feebly picture. How unwisely, I need not
say, we marched down into the valley and shadow of death, but He who rules
the destinies of nations was with us. His rod and His staff did comfort us,
and He has restored our souls, and is even now leading us through green
pastures and by the waters of comfort. And here and now, not before our
enemies, for thank God we have none, but before the people of the habitable
globe, He spreads the table that all may come and see and know the bounties
and benefactions He has showered on this favored people. And shall we not
be worthy of His loving kindness, His care for our past and His provision for
our future? Yea, we shall say with the psalmist of old, " Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house
of the Lord forever."
When Judge Speer had concluded his oration, President Cleveland,
who had been waiting for the signal by telegraph at his home at Buzzard's
Bay, Massachusetts, touched an electric button and started a current
which set in motion the machinery in all of the Exposition buildings at
Atlanta. It was exactly 5.54 P. M. when the wheels began to revolve,
and the first gun of the Presidential salute announced that the Chief
Executive of the United States had formally opened the Exposition.
\Spedat Da^s at fl)e exposition
*
ANY of the states and larger cities of the Union had special
days. On these occasions their citizens and representatives
assumed charge of the administration of affairs, and usually
attended in large numbers.
Four of these days were devoted to the State of New York,—-the
reception extended to the Governor of the State, and Manhattan,
Brooklyn and Buffalo days.
As this record would be incomplete without a description of these
days, we first give an account of the
Vi^it of Governor Norton and Part^
Friday, September 21st, was an eventful day at the Exposition.
Governor Morton, escorted by his Staff, accompanied by a Legislative
Committee and officials of prominence, visited the Exposition, and was
royally received by the Exposition officials, and escorted to the State
Building where President Graybill, on behalf of the Commissioners,
turned over the State Building to the Governor, who in a few chosen
words accepted the Building and complimented the Commission upon
the work they had done. After this an informal reception was held at
the State Building, then the party was escorted to the grounds of the
Piedmont Club and entertained.
Governor McKinley of Ohio, being in attendance at the Exposi¬
tion, a committee was appointed to invite him to attend the reception
given Governor Morton. Governor and Mrs. McKinley were most
cordially greeted, and remained with the party for some time.
In the evening a dinner was given by Governor Atkinson in honor
of the visiting Governors at the Jackson Club. Never was there a
more distinguished gathering in Atlanta than on this occasion, there
119
I 20
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
being present Governors Morton of New York, Mclntyre of Colorado,
Woodbury of Vermont, McKinley of Ohio, Werts of New Jersey, and
many other prominent citizens of the nation.
Saturday being the day set apart as the "Blue and the Gray Day,"
Governor Morton participated in the exercises at the Auditorium.
The party, after seeing the sights of the city, left for the North
Sunday afternoon.
Accompanying the Governor were the following:
Colonel Ashley W. Cole, Private Secretary of the Governor; Colonel
Selden E. Marvin, Military Secretary ; General M. O. Terry, Acting
Chief of Staff; Hamilton Fish, Speaker of New York Assembly;
Edmond O'Connor, State Senator and President pro tem of the New
York Senate; Senator Jacob A. Cantor, Democratic leader of the
State Senate; Senator Frank W. Higgins ; Senator F. D. Kilburn ;
Charles W. Hackett, Chairman of the Republican State Executive
Committee; James A. Roberts, Comptroller; Fred C. Schraub, Com¬
missioner of Agriculture ; James M. E. O'Grady, Chairman of the
Cities Committee of the State Assembly ; B. B. Odell, jr., member of
Congress; Hon. J. M. Dickey ; Senator Charles W. Stapleton ; L. F.
Goodsell, Member of the Assembly ; Otis H. Butler, Member of the
Assembly ; George W. Hamilton, Member of the Assembly; Colonel
John S. Kenyon, Clerk of the State Senate; Hugh Hastings, State
Historian; Colonel A. E. Baxter, Clerk of the Assembly ; Colonel
John Jacob Astor; General Benjamin Flagler, Chief of Ordnance;
General H. T. Noyes; Colonel James and Colonel Agnew of the
Governor's staff; Garrett J. Benson, Sergeant-at-Arms of the New
York State Assembly.
/lanftatfan Da^
The celebration of November 25th (Evacuation Day) as "New
York Day" was rendered inadvisable by the wishes of the Mayor
and a committee of the citizens of New York City, who desired to
celebrate the day as "Manhattan Day." The State Committee
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
121
yielded the day set apart for New York State, and it was observed
as "Manhattan Day."
The Commissioners decorated the State Building for the occasion
in a very handsome manner, and tendered their services to make the
day a successful one. The general attendance was large, being
reinforced by the visiting Brooklyn delegation.
The programme was as follows :
Morning.
Parade from Aragon hotel to Exposition Grounds,
headed by the Mayor of New York City, escorted
by Squadron A, Major C. P. Roe commanding.
Address of James E. Graybill, President of the New
York Commission, tendering to Mayor Strong and
visiting delegations the hospitalities of the State
Building.
Prayer by Rev. Dr. D. Parker Morgan, Chaplain of
Squadron A.
Address of Welcome, by Mayor King.
Address of Welcome, by President Collier.
Response, by Mayor Strong of New York.
Oration of the Day, by Hon. Seth Low.
Music, by Sousa's Band.
Afternoon.
Welcome of Mayor Strong and visiting New Yorkers to
the New York State Building, by President Graybill
of the Commission.
Reception, by Mayor Strong.
Reception at New York City Room in Woman's
Building.
Evening.
Fireworks in front of New York State Building.
Reception and Banquet at Kimball House.
122
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Troop "A" of New York paraded on Brooklyn and Manhattan
Days, and attracted great attention. There were nearly a hundred
mounted men who brought their horses with them from New York.
Their mounted band was a novelty in Georgia, and it was constantly
the centre of an admiring crowd of spectators. The Governor's Horse
Guards (of Georgia) entertained them at an old-fashioned Georgia
barbecue, with appropriate speeches, etc.
^roo^t^n Da^
The New York State Commissioners tendered the use of the
State Building for November 23d, and decorated it handsomely
with flags, bunting and flowers for this occasion. An immense
throng of Brooklynites filled the Exposition Auditorium. On this
occasion very interesting exercises were held. A brilliant pro¬
gramme was rendered. Mayors of Brooklyn and Atlanta shook
hands and citizens of the two great rivals of New York mingled in
friendly intercourse together. It was an interesting gathering, and a
day which will ever be remembered in striking contrast to our coming
thirty years ago; this day we came with messages of good will and
best wishes. Brooklyn came not to spy out the land, but to take
friendly possession and shake the hands of the hospitable people who
have builded the South from the ashes of war.
Early in the morning the Brooklyn party left the Aragon hotel and
were driven to the Exposition grounds in carriages and tallyhos.
Squadron A, the famous troop of New York, acted as escort to the
party and the military procession to the grounds attracted large atten¬
tion, and thousands lined the sidewalks and cheered the cavalrymen.
The Auditorium was filled long before the arrival of the official party.
Thousands of New York's red badges were to be seen. The platform
was decorated with the official banner of the city of Brooklyn; smaller
banners were distributed throughout the audience and decorated the
building.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
123
Colonel William C. Redfield, chairman of the Committee on
Exercises, opened the meeting, and was greeted with great applause.
As soon as silence was restored Sousa's band played the March
Atlanta, composed by Mrs. Flora M. Stuart of Brooklyn, and dedicated
to Mrs. Joseph Thompson, President of the Woman's Board.
PROGRAMME.
Opening Remarks, Mr. Timothy L. Woodruff, Chairman
Brooklyn Citizens' Committee.
Address of Welcome, Porter King, Mayor of Atlanta.
Response, Charles A. Schieren, Mayor of Brooklyn.
Salutation, Mr. C. A. Collier, President C. S. & I. E. Co.
Reply, Frederick W. Wurster, Esq., Mayor-elect of
Brooklyn.
Poem (Will Carleton), read by Mr. William Berri.
Oration, Hon. St. Clair McKelway, editor Brooklyn
Daily Eagle.
Remarks, Mr. Murat Halstead, editor of the Brooklyn
Standard- Union.
Closing Address, Mr. William Cullen Bryant, Brooklyn
Daily Times.
Music.
At the close of the exercises a grand reception was held in the
New York State Building, which was largely attended.
BROOKLYN TO ATLANTA.
Will Carleton.
(Read at the Fair by Mr. William Berri.)
Maid of the hills, amid the festive glee,
Thy sister city standing by the sea,
Hath sent a hundred messages to thee.
Hath sent them in her children's hearts and hands,
Through sun and storm, along the metal strands,
That wed the Southern to the Northern lands.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Hath sent them far as words and actions may—
This more than regal present to repay ;
The glowing minutes of a Southern day.
We pull the gilded latch-string of thy door,
Still feeling, as these temples we explore,
That North and South are gone forever more !
Our hearts amid thy splendors beat the same
As when, with magic tongue of silver flame,
Into thy midst the peerless Grady came.
As 'gainst these skies his monument we view,
We feel the fervor of his voice anew ;
We know that all his winsome words were true.
Maid of the hills that once with spirit brave,
Rose like a star above the tossing wave,
Stood phoenix-like upon a fiery grave.
With labor's wreaths across thy forehead grand,
With nature's opulence on every hand,
Thou art a symbol of the Southern land :
The stronger for thy fiery second birth ;
Still gaining from and adding to the worth
That crowns the chief republic of the earth.
A nation that will never seek repose ;
That day and night must struggle as it grows ;
With kindred nations for its subtle foes.
A nation whose munificence extends
Where'er to earth the sky in mercy bends ;
And hath the race of heroes for its friends.
A nation formed of nations strong and vast,
Whose joy of kindred unity shall last
The longer for the sorrows that are past.
Queen of the Hills, amid this festal glee,
The island princess standing by the sea
Hath sent a thousand messages to thee.
And let them always ring from shore to shore,
And brood the valleys and the hilltops o'er ;
That North and South are words, but nothing more
Till half a hundred stars of brightest sheen
Shall typify, around our old thirteen,
The greatest land this world has ever seen !
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
125
I^affalo Citt E,x.l)ibit
It having been represented to the Commission that the city of
Buffalo desired to make an exhibit of her material interests at the
Exposition, and not being- able to procure space in the Exposition
Buildings, upon application from its representatives, that city was
offered space on the upper floor of the State Building. An excellent
display was made including photographs of public buildings, views of
the harbor and lake, maps of the city and county (Erie), diagrams and
tables of statistics showing the population, progress, prosperity and
prospects of the city, also pictures illustrating the electrical power
development at Niagara Falls and other matters of interest. This
exhibit was in charge of Mr. R. C. Hill of Buffalo, who manifested his
appreciation of the New York Commissioners' action on behalf of the
city of Buffalo by assisting them in many ways, co-operating with
them in the care of the building and the entertainment of visitors.
The effort to bring about a " Buffalo Day " celebration was not
entirely futile, for with the co-operation of Captain J. M. Brinker,
Professor F. Vogt of the High School, Major Wheeler, and a party of
Buffalo ladies and gentlemen, including a number of the public school
teachers, suitable exercises were held in the Buffalo Exhibit Room of
the New York State Building on December 24th, and the praises of
the Queen City of the Lakes were spoken and sung most
enthusiastically.
The Buffalo Citizens' Committee adopted a most hearty vote of
thanks to the Commission for assistance received and space accorded
in making the city of Buffalo's exhibit attractive and successful, and
similar resolutions of thanks were voted by the Buffalo Common
Council.
The exhibit of four stuffed buffaloes in the Electricity Building
was greatly admired as they were remarkably fine specimens, and
prepared and exhibited in the very best style and manner. Buffalo
was the only one city in the country making a separate and distinct
exhibit, and attracted general attention to that enterprising and
progressive portion of New York State.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
TI>e Columbian §eU
During the ceremonies of Brooklyn and Manhattan Days, the New
York Commissioners had the famous Columbian Bell, which was in
Atlanta on its journey around the world, brought to the knoll in front
of the State Building and rung with appropriate ceremonies by two
young ladies,'—Miss Julia Hancock of Atlanta, representing the South,
and Miss Anna Holt Wheeler of Buffalo, N. Y., the North. They
each received a souvenir of the occasion and the applause of the
visiting delegation, who seemed to appreciate the novel incident.
T1>e Atlanta 3^stem of Awards
★
I. After careful consideration of the merits of various systems of
award, it is decided to recognize four degrees of merit:
{a) Honorable mention will be made of a large number of exhibits,
good in their various departments and worthy of recognition, either
because of the processes involved in their production or because of the
results attained.
(b) Medals in bronze or in silver will be awarded for high
degrees of merit. It is impossible in brief general phrases to indicate
the qualities which constitute " merit" in exhibits so diverse as those
that will here be brought together, but in each department the jury
will decide what is entitled to the bronze medal and what to the silver
medal.
(<r) In addition to the three classes of distinction already named,
which are open to all exhibits, there will be a limited number of
exceptional awards. The diplomas in this group will declare that the
recipient is entitled to a gold medal. These will be bestowed upon
exhibits of pre-eminent worth and widespread importance, and they
will be bestowed in order to call the attention of the country to note¬
worthy indications of mechanical, industrial, intellectual and artistic
progress. For example, inventions of far-reaching significance; public
works of widespread influence; new and noteworthy educational
establishments; improvements in the production of staple articles;
advances in the arts of transportation; contributions to the enjoyment
of life (parks, museums, etc. ), will be considered.
For the judgment of these exhibits a board of highest award will
be constituted, which will include the chairmen of the various depart¬
ment juries, and, in addition, a certain number of men who are quali¬
fied to pronounce upon the industrial and intellectual progress of the
127
128
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
country. To the highest board questions of difficulty and importance
respecting awards in other grades may be submitted from time to time,
if occasions arise when their counsel is desired.
2. The awards in all grades will not be made because of the general
reputation of the exhibitors, or because of what they have shown
elsewhere, but because of the excellence of what is set before the
juries in the exhibition at Atlanta. Any exhibitor may, if he chooses,
for any reason whatsoever, withdraw his exhibit from competition.
Exhibits not thus withdrawn will receive the attention of the juries.
3. The awards in every grade will be publicly announced and will
be certified by diplomas. In the three highest grades the diplomas
will state that the recipient is entitled to a medal. Bronze medals
will be supplied without charge by the authorities of the exhibition,
but because of the costliness of the silver and gold medals the recipi¬
ents (according to usage elsewhere) will be expected to pay for them
a sum not exceeding actual cost thereof. Every effort will be made
to secure the prompt delivery of medals and diplomas. The preparation
of these tokens does not rest with the juries nor with the commissioner
of awards, but belongs to another part of the administration. If any
unexpected delay arises in the production of the medals and diplomas,
temporary certificates will be issued, properly authenticated, which
will serve for the moment to indicate the successful exhibits.
4. The awards will be made, not by individual judges, but by
juries distributed into different sections, according to the classification
originally adopted in the administration of the Exposition, already
made public. The attendance of experts in all the main departments
of the Exposition, residents of different sections of the country, who
are fitted by their high character and attainments to command the
confidence of the exhibitors and of the public. Thus far only citizens
of the United States have been appointed, but if it is found desirable
to associate with them judges from foreign countries, that course
will be taken. No one will act as a judge in any department where
he has directly or indirectly an official or financial interest. The jury
in each department will be small, in order that decisions may be
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
129
made with greater promptness and efficiency. In the selections that
have been made the personal qualifications of every individual have
been carefully considered.
5. The jurors are expected to meet in Atlanta on the fifteenth day
of October, and they are urgently requested to reach their conclusion
before the first of November, In order that this may be brought
about, for information of the public and the satisfaction of the exhibit¬
ors, the heartiest co-operation is requested from all parties interested,
from the authorities of the exhibition and from all who are making
displays upon which they desire the opinion of the judges. Objects
that are not in place when the judges assemble will have no claim to
consideration. In a few departments (live stock, poultry, etc.), the
exhibits will be brought together at a later day, and, of course, the
special juries for these subjects will assemble later than October 15th,
of which special notice will be duly given.
The final arrangement consisted of the following grades of awards,
viz.:
1st. Diploma of Grateful Recognition and Gold Medal.
2d. Grand Prize and Gold Medal.
3d. Diploma of Honor and Gold Medal.
4th. Diploma of General Excellence and Silver Medal.
5th. Diploma of Honorable Mention and Bronze Medal.
6th. Diploma of Honorable Mention for Collaboration.
The fo-llowing New Yorkers were made Judges of Awards:
Transportation, . . . • H. G. Prout, New York.
Mining and Metallurgy, . . . James B. Randol,
A r~rt-1 /"Mil hit p <
( Cornell University, "
Prof. H. W. Wing of
Manufactures.
Fine Arts,
Liberal Arts,
William A. Coffin,
Miss Grace Dodge,
9
List of Exhibitors from New ^Iorl^ 3tate wit!) fl)e
Awards Granted Tfyem
A-
GOLD MEDALS.
H. W. Johns Mfg. Co., New York City—Asbestos and its products,
paints.
George F. Kunz, New York City—The geology of the diamond,
opal, garnet and platinum, and a collection of North Carolina
quartz crystals.
German Kali Works, New York City—Salts for fertilizing purposes.
Flint Eddy & Co., New York City—Miscellaneous goods.
Curtice Brothers Co., Rochester—Canned goods.
James Everard, New York City—Bottled beers, ales, etc.
Horlicks Food Co., New York City—Horlicks malted milk.
New York Condensed Milk Co., New York City—Condensed milk,
coffee and cream.
Sanchez & Haya Co., New York City—Cigars.
Walter A. Wood Mowing & Reaping Co., Hoosick Falls.—Agricultural
machinery (reapers, binders, etc.).
Flint Eddy & Co., New York City—Samples of tree bark from San
Domingo, used to make " fiber " fabric for stiffening sleeves for
ladies' dresses.
Henry R. Worthington, New York City—Steam pumps.
The Straight Line Engine Co., Syracuse—Steam engines (straight
line).
The Singer Sewing Machine Co., New York City—Sewing machines.
The Knowles Steam Pump Works, New York City—Steam pumps.
The Knowles Steam Pump Works, New York City—Bacon air lift
pump.
The Weston Engine Co., Painted Post—Steam engines (Weston
automatic).
130
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
The Thompson Meter Co., Brooklyn—-Water meters.
Henry R. Worthington, New York City.—Water meters.
La France Fire Engine Co., Elmira—Steam fire engines.
American Ball Nozzle Co., New York City—Ball nozzles.
American Fire Engine Co., Seneca Falls—Fire engines.
Mergenthaler Linotype Co., New York City—Type making and setting
machines.
The L. E. Waterman Pen Co., New York City—Fountain Pens.
Manhattan Rubber Co., New York City—Rubber goods.
The Buffalo Scale Co., Buffalo—Scales.
Aquilla Rich & Co., New York city—Steel wool paints.
The Cortland Howe Ventilator Stove Co., Cortland—Ventilating stoves
and ranges.
Dry Kalsomine and Fresco Paint Co., Brooklyn—Paint.
Charles A. Schieren & Co., New York City—Belting.
H. W. Johns Mfg. Co., New York City—Asbestos curtain.
R. M. Wilson, Rome—Nickel and copper plated bath tubs.
A. G. Spalding & Brothers, New York City—Athletic goods.
The McDowell Co., New York City—Garment drafting machine.
Madam A. L. Pogosky, New York City—Russian silver.
General Electric Co., New York City—Photographs, plans and descrip¬
tions of the electric railroad locomotive recently built for the
Baltimore Belt R. R.
General Electric Co., New York City—Motors, dynamos and lamps,
operating in the two phase alternating system, known as the
" Modocyelic System."
H. W. Johns Mfg. Co., New York City—Moulded mica, vulcabeston
and line material of the same.
Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Co., New York City—System of fire
alarm and police telegraph.
General Electric Company, New York City—Thomas-Houston are
lighting system and Thompson alternating lighting system.
General Electric Company, New York City—Edison direct current
lighting system.
General Electric Company, New York City—Electric street railway
system.
132
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
General Electric Company, New York City—Thompson registering
meters.
Joseph Lauber, New York City—Enamel mosaics and studies for
mosaics.
J. William Fosdick, New York City—Burnt wood engravings
Clio Hinton Huneker, New York City—Bust in bas-relief.
Countess Di Brazza, New York City—-Italian laces.
J. & R. Lamb, New York City—Stained glass windows.
National League of Mineral Painters, New York City—Decorative
china.
Ella Condie Lamb, New York City—Mosaic panel.
Harper Brothers, New York City—Book cover design.
The Century Co., New York City—Book designs.
Stanford White, New York City—Book cover design, " She stoops to
conquer."
Mrs. Theodore Sutro, New York City—Music by women composers.
Miss Mary E. Tillinghast, New York City—Ecclesiastical and conven¬
tional mosaics.
Daniel C. French, New York City—-"Gallaudet, and his first deaf mute
pupii," Statue in plaster.
J. Q. A. Ward, New York City—" The Pilgrim."
Frederic W. McMonnies, New York City—Statuettes in bronze.
William H. Howe, Bronxville—Collections of oil paintings, " Going to
Market," " Sheep."
Theodore Robinson, New York City—Collection of twenty-eight oil
paintings, landscapes and figure subjects.
Messrs. Hines and La Farge, New York City—Designs of the cathe¬
dral of St. John the Divine.
Messrs. McKim, Mead and White, New York City—Design of the
Rhode Island State House.
William Arthur Davis, New York City—" Genius of Sculpture."
Oliver L. Warner, New York City—Bust in plaster.
Jonathan Scott Hartley, New York City—" Bust of John Gilbert as Sir
Peter Teazle."
Herbert Adams, New York City—Portrait, bas-relief.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
133
Edwin Howland Blashfield, New York City—Oil painting, "Christmas
Bells."
Henry Mosler, New York City—Oil painting " Brittany Legend.
I. Carroll Beckwith, New York City—Oil painting, " Portrait of Thomas
A. Janvier."
Eastman Johnson, New York City—Oil painting: "Twelfth Night
Century Club."
Franc Vincent Dumond, New York City—Oil painting: "The Baptism
of Christ."
Harry Vander Weydon, New York City—Oil painting: Portrait.
Horatio Walker, New York City—Oil painting: "A Siesta."
Childe Hassam, New York City—Water color: "The Rain."
John La Farge, New York City—Mural paintings: "Lamplight and
Moonlight," Cartoon for Colored Glass Windows, "Isaiah."
Thomas Shields Clarke, New York City—" The Cider Press," Stat¬
uette in Bronze and Study for a Monument, plaster.
William R. O'Donovan, New York City—Bust, plaster.
Frank Fowler, New York City—Oil paintings: "Portrait," "In
Springtime."
W. L. Picknall, New York City—"Nearing Sunset."
Henry W. Ranger, New York City—Oil painting: "Near Bologne."
Carlton T. Chapman, New York City—Oil paintings: " Five O'clock
St. Ives," " East River Piers, New York."
Worthington Whittredge, New York City—Oil painting: "Sunlight
on the Sea."
Charles Courtney Curran, New York City-—Oil painting: "Golden
Rod."
Howard Russell Butler, New York City—Oil painting: " Rurals Cross¬
ing the Yantepec, Mexico."
Stephen Parish, New York City—Oil painting: " Winter Landscape,
Cape Cod."
J. G. Brown, New York City—Oil painting: "Home for Comfort."
Guy Rose, New York City—Oil painting: " Joseph Asking for Shelter
for Mary."
Albert Herter, New York City—Oil paintings: "The Muse," " 1830."
134 NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Mrs. Edith H. Prellwitz, New York City—Oil painting: " Tannhauser
Legend."
William T. Smeadley, New York City—Water colors : "At the World's
Fair, Chicago."
M rs. E. H. Scott, New York City—Water colors: "Yellow Rose,"
" White Rose."
Charles Monte, Central Valley—Water colors: "The Potato Harvest,"
"The Goose Meadow," "The Timid One."
John A. Frazier, New York City—Water color: Seven Landscapes.
Lyell Carr, New York City—Water colors: "A Good Shot," " Happy
as the Day is Long."
Horace Bradley, New York City—Water colors: "The Studio," "Little
Antietam Creek," "Still-Life Room," "Art Students' League."
Mrs. Rhoder Helmes Nichols, New York City—Water colors: "The
Scarlet Letter," "Search the Scriptures."
Miss Amy Cross, New York City—Water color: "Woodcutter and
His Wife."
W. H. Drake, New York City—Water colors: "Chinatown," "San
Francisco."
Walter Shirlaw, New York City—Mural painting: "Dawn," cartoon.
Maitland Armstrong, New York City—Mural painting: Design for
church decoration.
Fred. S. Lamb, New York City—Mural painting: Decorative designs.
Charles H. Shean, New York City—Mural painting: Design for
interior decorations.
Mrs. Ella Condie Lamb, New York City—Mural painting: Altar
piece in Mosaic and decorative designs.
H. Siddons Mowbray, New York City—Black and white drawings for
illustrations.
Willard L. Metcalf, New York City—Black and white drawing for
illustration.
Theure de Thulstrup, New York City—Black and white drawing for
illustration.
A. B. Frost, New York City—Black and white drawing for illustration.
Robert Blum, New York City—Black and white drawing for illus¬
tration.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
135
Mrs. M. N. Moran, New York City—Etchings.
Louis Loeb, New York City—Black and white drawing for illustration.
The Century Company, New York City—Loan collection of drawings
in black and white.
Messrs. Harper & Brothers, New York City—Loan collection of draw¬
ings in black and white.
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York City—Loan collection of drawings
in black and white.
Frederick Keppel, New York City—Loan collection of etchings.
Electric Launch Co., New York City—Eleccric (storage battery) loco¬
motives.
Gas Engine and Power Co., New York City—Naphtha Launch.
The Nicaragua Co., New York City—Model of Nicaragua Canal.
Ramapo Wheel and Foundry Co., Ramapo—Car and locomotive
wheels.
Ramapo Iron Works, Millburn—Switches, frogs, switch stands and
signals.
Safety Car Heating & Lighting Co., New York City—Lamp fixtures
and apparatus for lighting passenger cars.
State of New York—For the erection of a building upon the Exposi¬
tion Grounds, and for most efficiently promoting the objects of
the Exposition.
Commission of Ladies from New York City—For the exhibit of
woman's work installed in the New York city room in the
Woman's Building.
Johnston Harvester Co., Batavia—Harvesting machinery.
D. Appleton & Co., New York City—Bound books, etc.
A. F. Marks, New York City—Ingenious mechanism for the relief of
physical defects and deformities.
S. F. Havward & Co., New York City—For hearty co-operation and
use of exhibits for fire protection.
The Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Co., New York City—For hearty
co-operation and use of exhibits for fire protection.
The American Ball Nozzle Co., New York City—For hearty co-opera¬
tion and use of exhibits for fire protection.
136
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Bradford L. Gilbert, New York City—Architecture, for beauty, utility
and economy of designs and constructions of the exposition
building.
General Electric Company, New York City—For power of electric
light, and generous co-operation.
Pain's Fire Works Company, New York City—Pyrotechnics, for mag¬
nificent and superior displays of fireworks during the Exposi¬
tion, and for generous co-operation to promote the general
success.
Henry B. Plant, New York City—For the erection of a unique and
expensive building on the grounds of the Exposition, wherein
is shown a comprehensive display of the industrial, agricultural,
horticultural, mineral and other resources of the section through
which the railroad of this system passes, and the foreign coun¬
tries reached by his steamships.
Samuel Spencer, President, New York City—For the elaborate
exhibit of the Southern resources of the section of country
traversed by Southern railway system, and for generous
and efficient co-operation in promoting the success of the
Exposition.
The Northern Steamship Company, Buffalo—For general excellence of
models, maps, etc., illustrating the system.
The United Wood Gas Company, New York City—For economical
and practical appliances for production of illuminating gas
from wood.
New York School of Applied Design for Women, New York City—
For general excellence in exhibit of designs, for decoration of
silk work, wall paper, architecture, book covers and illustra¬
tions.
The G. F. Harvey Company, Saratoga Springs—Medicinal preparation.
For general excellence of medical preparation.
J. B. Colt & Company, New York City—Stereopticons, etc., for general
excellence.
David Meyer Brewing Company, New York City—Bottled beer.
For general excellence.
Curtice Brothers & Co., Rochester—Fruits in tins and fresh fruit
jams.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
137
SILVER MEDALS.
Standard Oil Company, New York City—Case of Southern oils.
The Seinet Solvey Company, Syracuse—Samples of coal and coke
made in bee-hive and Semet Solvey ovens.
The Engleberg Huller Company, Syracuse—Rice huller and polisher
combined and rice grinder.
Kemp & Burpee, Syracuse—Kemp manure spreader.
Chas. B. Knox, Johnstown—Knox's sparkling calve's foot gelatine.
Jas. Pyle & Sons, New York City—Pearline.
The A. S. Cameron Steam Pump Works, New York City—Steam
pumps.
The Director Separator Company, Syracuse—Separator.
The Davis & Stevens Mfg. Company, Seneca Falls—Bicycle lamps.
Shaffer & Budenberg, Brooklyn.—Pynometers and indicators, etc.
Howell Universal Mill Company, New York City—Centrifugal and pul¬
verizing mill.
Manhattan Rubber Company, New York City—Rubber hose.
Rumsey Company, Seneca Falls—Hook and ladder truck.
The Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Company, New York City—
Alarm.
The Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Company, New York City—Fire
hose and apparatus.
The Ford Typewriter Company, New York City—Aluminum type¬
writer.
A. G. Jennings, Brooklyn—Loop cotton cord, for making ornamental
fabrics.
A. G. Spalding & Brothers, New York City—Hunting equipments and
clothing.
H. W. Johns Mfg. Company, New York City—Electrotherms.
Excelsior Electric Company, New York City—System of lighting.
Mica Insulator Company, New York City—Micanite insulating
material.
Charlotte Field, Brooklyn—Decorative pieces from Virginia clay.
Miss L. V. Joyce, Brooklyn—Design for India silks.
Margaret Neilson Armstrong, New York City—Book cover design.
138
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Miss Helen Pogosky, New York City—Russian dolls.
Miss Anne Pogosky, New York City—Burnt wood engraving.
Mrs. Frank Northrup, New York City—Decorations of New York room.
Mrs. J. Bradley Reed, New York City—Decorations of New York
room.
Elizabeth G. Britton, New York City—Mosses.
Committee for New York Room, New York City—Mrs. J. Bradley
Reed, chairman. Law books by women authors.
American Book Company, New York City—Text books for schools
and colleges.
C. F. Zimmerman Company, Dolgeville—Autoharps.
Alfred Dolge & Co., Dolgeville—Piano case, sounding boards, etc.
Sterlingworth Railroad Supply Company, New York City—Break
beams and switch appliances.
S. T. Hayward & Co., New York" City—Fire hose and apparatus.
E. Taussig, New York City—Disinfecting fluids, for convenient and
effective automatic arrangements for application of disinfecting
fluids.
Martin Logan, New York City—For convenient and effective stall
drains, and convenient and effective arrangement for automatic
horse feeding apparatus.
Straus & Co., New York City—Boilerine, for effective compound for
prev ention and removal of scale and mud in boilers at minimum
expense.
The Campbell Printing Press & Mfg. Co., New York City—For print¬
ing apparatus of superior practical utility.
BRONZE MEDALS.
Magnetic Separator Company, Troy—Separator for iron ore.
Flint Eddy & Co., New York City—Exhibit cabinet woods in the log.
Chase Magnetic Separator Company, New York City—Separator for
iron ore.
Copper Oueen Consolidated Company, New York City—Suite of
copper ore.
George L. English, New York City—Rare minerals.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
139
Parrett & Co., New York City—Lightning eradicator.
John E. Sweet, president Straight Line Engine Company, New York
City—Design for construction of the straight line engine.
Cairns & Brothers, New York City—Hats, belts, etc.
Marks Arnheim & Co., New York City—Clothing in show cases.
Hanan & Son, Brooklyn—Shoes in show cases.
J. Wichert, Brooklyn—Ladies' Shoes.
H. W. Johns Manufacturing Company, New York City—Asbestos
household articles.
Fred. T. Wheeler, Albany—Adjustable bed.
General Electric Company, New York City—Portable inclined coil
measuring instrument.
General Electric Company, New York City—Direct connected marine
set.
General Electric Company, New York City—Search lights.
General Electric Company, New York City—Insulated wires and
cables.
Ivinetoscope Company, New York City—Kinetoscopes.
Mrs. George Winthrop Knight, Brooklyn—Design for silver and gold
chasing.
Miss E. M. Gubsch, New York City—Artistic leather goods.
Horace R. Allen, Jr., New York City—Six plaster studies of monkeys.
Carolina Cheever Beddle, New York City—Medallion portrait, plaster.
Grace Fitz Randolph, New York City—Three portraits (bust in plaster).
William J. Whittemore, New York City—Oil painting: "Marshland
in Autumn."
Charles A. Needham, New York City—Oil paintings: "In the Park,"
"Upland Farm," "A Dream of Autumn and Fall" (water
colors).
Eric Pape, New York City—Oil painting: "The Two Great Eras."
Walter C. Hartson, New York City—Oil painting: Two landscapes.
Miss Lydia Field Emmet, New Rochelle—Oil painting: " Oh ! That
We Two Were Maying."
Miss Emma E. Lampert. Rochester—Oil painting: " Behind the
Dunes "
140 NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
William Fosdick, New York City—Mural painting: Burnt wood panels.
Miss Mary E. Tillinghast, New York City—Mural painting : Decora¬
tive design.
A. F. Jacacci, New York City—Black and white drawings for illus¬
tration.
Henry McCarter, New York City—Black and white drawings for
illustration.
The Misses Cowles, New York City—Black and white drawings for
illustration.
Miss Fannie Elkins, New York City—Drawings, coloring and model¬
ing of pathological and other anatomical specimens.
Joseph Lauber, New York City—Decorative designs.
Strich & Zeidler, New York City—Pianos.
Buffalo City Exhibit, Buffalo—For Buffalo City exhibit: For generous
co-operation for the success of the Exposition.
Newton R. Benjamin, Elmira—Steel and iron railway tie.
Litho-Carbon Rubber Company, New York City—Litho-carbon.
Tl)e 3fafaar^ Display
THE following list embraces the most important and striking of
the statues placed in different locations. Most of them were
near the New York State Building, Fine Arts and United
States Government Buildings. Some of them were models of artistic
beauty and designed in some instances especially for the adornment
of the Exposition grounds.
The pedestals upon which the figures rest are twelve feet six inches
high; the statues are ten feet, making a sheer of twenty-two feet six
inches. They produce a most pleasing effect, standing, in many
instances, at the head of the plaza and greatly adding in appearance
to their height.
Soldier Sailor Comedy
Painting Eloquence Dance
Commerce Progress Sculpture
America Law Art
Justice Mercy Scripture
Fisheries Mines Lion
Spring Summer Peace
Autumn Winter War
141
Exfyibifors^ Association
if
AT all the great expositions it is the custom for the exhibitors, or_
their representatives, to organize themselves into an association
for the purpose of acting in unity for the promotion of the
Exposition and for mutual protection and benefit.
No exposition which has ever been held in this country has had a
better organization of this kind than that which was formed by the
exhibitors of the Cotton States and International Exposition.
This Exhibitors' Association was organized on the first of October,
1895, and enrolled nearly all of the exhibitors of any importance.
Mr. Clough, of Alton, X. H., was the first president chosen, but
after serving for about half the time of the Exposition, resigned, and
George Johnson, of the Elint Eddy Company was elected in his place.
The full list of officers at present is as follows:
Mr. George Johnson, president; Mr. J. M. Hughart, first vice-
president; Mr. E. A. Dille, second vice-president; Mr. E. A. Leland>
secretary.
Executive Committee: J. J. Mannion, C. E. Pease, C. H. Robbins,
R. H. Huggin, J. W. Ports, E. F. Seixas, W. E. E. Anthony, W. W.
Snow, J. E. Karness, W. W. Brown, Irby Bennett and Fred Johnstone.
The New York State Commission gave them the use of a room in
its building for their meetings, which were held almost daily.
At the close of the Exposition the Association passed a resolution
of thanks for the courtesies extended them by the commission.
142
Nev ^Ior^ Press and Offyer Cktbs
★
THIS well-known organization had originally intended partici¬
pating in the celebration of a New York State Day. When
that was given up, about one hundred and twenty of its
members, with their wives, with the inimitable Joe Howard, Jr., for its
president, and Mrs. Howard, came quietly and unostentatiously and
participated in the exercises of Brooklyn and Manhattan Days as
common every-day citizens doing the Exposition. They declined any
public reception, but were the recipients of many attentions.
The press of New York City and State were constant in their
efforts and ever ready to assist the Exposition. To them more than
any is due the success and prominence the State attained.
A clever stroke of journalistic enterprise was performed by the
Brooklyn (New York) Eagle.
By the admirable execution of a well-laid plan this enterprising
journal issued an Atlanta edition. It was dated in Atlanta, published
in Atlanta and sold in Atlanta like any Atlanta paper, with all the
latest news of the day and the full account of the proceedings and
exercises of Brooklyn Day in it. The papers were offered to the
public within an hour of the closing of the exercises. It was a novel,
plucky and successful piece of newspaper work, evidencing what New
York newspapers can accomplish.
Every New Yorker could not but fail to be grateful and proud to
see the ease with which her Long Island Eagle spread its wings and
covered New York and Georgia and annihilated time and space between
the North and South.
J43
144
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Gridiron Club I^an©,uet
Among the many happy affairs at the New York State Building
was the entertainment given to the famous Gridiron Club of Washing¬
ton, D. C., which numbers among its members many of the brightest
literary men at the capital. It was tendered them by the Exhibitors'
Association of the Exposition. The hall was daintily decorated.
The luncheon was an elegant one, many New York, Washington
and Atlanta ladies being present. Many of the Gridirons had their
wives and daughters with them. Speeches of welcome were made by
Commissioner Snow, of New York, who extended the hospitality of
the building, and President Johnson, of the Exhibitors' Association,
who welcomed them in the name of the exhibitors.
President Collier of the Exposition, Colonel Hosford of Washing¬
ton, one of the brightest of newspaper men, and Mr. Johnson of the
Cincinnati Commercial and Gazette, followed in cheerful and witty
speeches that kept everybody in continual good humor. Favors were
distributed among the ladies before leaving to see the Exposition.
Courtesies of tf>e Atlanta Clabs
The grounds of the Piedmont Driving Club and their house, as
well as those of the Capitol City Club, were thrown open to all New
Yorkers on November 23d, 24th and 25th, New York badges admitting
them without the formality of a ticket.
This graceful compliment to New York, it was said, had never
before been extended in such a degree upon any similar occasion.
Transfer to ffye Piedmont Driving Gab
IN accordance with the agreement made between the Commissioners
from the State of New York and the members of the Piedmont
Driving Club, the Legislature of New York early in 1896 passed
the following Act authorizing the transfer of the State Building to the
Club, and it received the approval of Governor Morton.
The transfer was subsequently made as will be seen by the
appended documents.
145
146
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Tf)e Transfer of tbe New ^Iorl^ 3tate ^oilding to tl)e Piedmont (Hub
LAWS OF NEW YORK.—By Authority.
Chap. 174.
AN ACT to authorize the commission created by chapter eight
hundred and forty-one of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-
five to transfer and dispose of the building erected by said
commission for the official headquarters of the state, and the
fixtures and the furniture therein.
Became a law April 1, 1896, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, a
majority being present.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows :
Section 1. The commission created pursuant to chapter eight
hundred and forty-one of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-five is
hereby authorized and empowered to transfer to the Piedmont Driving
club of Atlanta, Georgia, the building erected and maintained by said
commission for the official headquarters of the state at the Cotton
States and International exhibition at Atlanta, Georgia, in eighteen
hundred and ninety-five, for such nominal or other consideration as
shall seem proper ; and may also transfer and dispose of the fixtures
and furniture in such buildings, in like manner, to such person or
persons, and for such consideration as shall seem proper. Said
commission shall make a report of its proceedings under this act to
the governor, and file a copy thereof in the office of the comptroller of
the state.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
State of New York, )
\ SS. '
Office of the Secretary of State. )
I have compared the preceding with the original law on file in this office, and
do hereby certify that the same is a correct transcript therefrom and of the whole
of said original law.
JOHN PALMER,
Secretary of State.
Cop^ Deed of Transfer
THE STATE OF NEW YORK, by its Commission created
pursuant to Chapter 841 of the Laws of 1895, " 10 provide for the repre¬
sentation of the State of New York at the Cotton States and International
Exposition at Atlanta, Georgia, in eighteen hundred and ninety-five"
and pursuant to the authority and poiver in them vested by Chapter 1 74
of the Laws of 1896, Does, i?i consideration of the donation to the State of
Nezu York by the PIEDMONT DRIVING CLUB of Atlanta, Georgia,
of the use of their grounds for the purpose of erecting and maintaining
the New York State Building at said Exposition, and in grateful
acknowledgment of the kindly courtesies shown and the generous welcome
extended by the members of said club to the officers and citizens of the
State of New York during the said Exposition, hereby present, grant and
convey to the said, the Piedmont Driving Club, the Building erected and
maintained by the said Commission for the Official Headquarters of the
State of New York at the said Exposition, together with the fixtures and
appurtenances thereunto belonging, TO HA VE AND TO HOLD the
same in perpetuity.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we, the undersigned members of
said Commission have hereunto set our hands this third day of December,
eighteen hundred and ninety-six.
Jas. Edwd. Graybill, President.
Mrs. Levi P. Morton, Vice-President.
Frank M. Baker, Treasurer.
Mrs. Donald McLean.
Wm. W. Snow.
Mrs. Henry B. Plant.
James Swann.
Mrs. Samuel Spencer.
A. M. Wheeler, Secretary.
I4§
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
To His Excellency, Governor Levi P. Morton, Albany, N. Y.
Your Commission appointed to the Cotton States and International
Exposition would respectfully report that, in conformity to Chapter I 74,
they have transferred the State Building and fixtures to the Piedmont
Driving Club of Atlanta. The furniture was given to the Tuskegee
Normal and Industrial Institute of Tuskegee, Alabama; Booker T.
Washington, Principal.
Dated December 3d, 1896.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
Jas. Edwd. Graybill,
James Swann,
Louisa Vivian Spencer,
Frank M. Baker,
Wm. W. Snow,
Mrs. H. B. Plant,
E. N. Ritchie McLean, }
(Mrs. Donald McLean,) 3
Anna L. Morton, Commission.
Algar M. Wheeler, Secretary.
Mr. Frank M. Baker, Treasurer, Owego, New York.
My Dear Sir.—Through you we wish to thank the New York
Commission of the Atlanta Exposition, for the generous and valuable
donation of household and office furniture. This furniture will, I am
sure, be of the greatest value to us. We also wish you to convey to
Governor Morton our sincere thanks for the interest he has taken in
procuring for us this generous gift.
Yours very truly,
TUSKEGEE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE.
Booker T. Washington, Principal.
Restitfs Norfl)
★
THE Cotton States and International Exposition was in fact not
an enterprise in the ordinary interpretation of that term, no
matter what was the intention of its originators.
They builded better than they thought. The hand of an over¬
ruling providence can be distinctly seen in their work.
It was an event brought about by causes deep-seated and far-
reaching. It was not the spontaneous outgrowth of the moment, nor
the sudden impulse of a whimsical conception, nor the rapid develop¬
ment of mercenary motives.
It was the increasing purposes of the ages, the healing balm of old
wounds, the final solution to social, sectional and race problems, if the
sentiments uttered are honestly and practically developed and carried
out. It was the substantial proof of Grady's stirring sentiments—the
working out of a great idea that had come to pervade the hearts and
minds of the conservative men of all sections.
If such an exposition could have been possible in i860, our terrible
Civil War might have been avoided—who knows ?
149
Results 3oafI)
* -
THE South is happy and joyous over the outcome. It feels
that the agricultural and mineral displays have been a revela¬
tion to the North and will bring to the South an immense
amount of capital and a large population.
That the lessons taught were pregnant with benefits personally and
financially, and above all other things their visitors were brought into
closer relations, acquaintances formed and friendships strengthened;
that a better feeling arose and will continue to prevail between all the
States and all the people.
Nothing has occurred since the War that has done so much to
dispel bitterness and prejudice between the people who favored the
Union and those who fought against it.
The business men south believe one result will be the springing up
of factories of innumerable varieties, and an additional and a general
stimulus to industrial energies by northern capital, brain and brawn.
With prosperity on all sides naturally the sectional and other feeling,
engendered by a Civil War, must give way.
The old Union feeling that existed before the War, nowhere
stronger than in the southern States, has revived—a love of country
existing in the heart of every one has been stimulated—a spirit of
patriotism, a love of our flag and our institutions, with respect for our
strength and our Government has been encouraged, or rather rehabil¬
itated. for in many instances, though perhaps unknown to its possessor,
it has never ceased to exist.
The grateful, kindly, considerate feeling shown by the southern men
and women toward the northern visitors because of their presence in
person, in delegations, yea in battalions, has altered and changed
former views.
150
Pinal
—— —★- —
ASIDE from the incalculable good this great enterprise has
accomplished, it is gratifying to learn that if it was not a
complete financial success, it has at least entailed no burden
of debt on the shoulders of those who were chiefly instrumental in
originating the scheme, or the public spirited citizens of Atlanta, who so
cheerfully and unitedly gave it their encouragement and substantial aid.
At the closing the turnstiles of the Exposition gates indicated a
total attendance of 1,286,863 people. Of this number there were
81 7,928 paid admissions, including adults and children. The detailed
statement from official sources shows: adults, paid admission, 738,115 ;
children, paid admission, 79,813; passes, 434,935; wagon gate, 35,000.
From paid admissions the Exposition company, it is estimated,
received $354,072.95, while receipts from the concessionaires are
figured at $115,654.32, making a total of $469,727.27. But the money
to be derived from other sources has yet to be added. The buildings
and Exposition effects are to be disposed of, and it is confidently
expected that the entire gross receipts will approximate $1,250,000.
15*
FRANK M, BAKER,
Treasurer New York State Commission.
Treasarer s Report
Owego, N. Y., October 19th, 1896.
lo the Commissioners of the Cotton States cuid International Exposition :
I have the honor to submit herewith my report as Treasurer of the
New York State Commission to the Cotton States and International
Exposition.
RECEIPTS.
Amount received from State Treasurer, . $20,631 62
Amount received from sale of cases, . 15 00
Commission on sale of laces, . . . 1 91
Sale of chairs, ..... 5 40
Vouchers paid as per attached list, ....
Balance due F. M. Baker, Treasurer,
The distribution of this account shows the following
$20,653 93
20,895 32
$241 39
Expense Commission,
$2,006
10
Building, ......
10,881
58
Furniture, .....
936
77
Telegraph, .....
79
90
Colonial Exhibit, ....
1,037
3i
Woman's Room, ....
394
04
Stenographer, .
103
90
Electric Fixtures, and putting in,
996
94
Maintaining Building, Janitor, etc.,
553
56
Secretary and Expenses,
1,085
56
Printing, .....
82
25
Rent, Headquarters, ....
29
00
Plan Building, ....
324
25
Telephone, .....
40
00
Decorations, ....
303
20
Lighting Building, ....
7 45
46
Entertainment, ....
90
00
Water, ......
15
00
Woman's Building,
1,000
00
Medal, ......
125
50
Report, .....
65
00
$20,895 32
All of which is respectfully submitted,
FRANK M. BAKER,
Treasurer New York State Commission.
>55
Detailed Account of Expenditures
1895-
Voucher No.
1 W. W. Snow, to expense Atlanta and board meetings, $134 90
2 J. E. Graybill, to expense Atlanta and board meet¬
ings, . . . . . . . . . 150 00
3 James Swann, to expense Atlanta and board meet¬
ings, 55 7°
4 F. M. Baker, treasurer, to expense to Atlanta and
board meetings, . . . . . . . 128 95
5 Wm. Smythe & Son, to printing vouchers, . 30o
6 Mrs. D. McLean, to traveling and other expenses, . 86 07
7 A. M. Wheeler, salary as secretary, . . . . 100 00
8 A. M. Wheeler, salary as secretary, . . . . 151 00
9 Western Union Telegraph Company, telegrams, . 2 59
10 Olla G. Smith, stenographer, ..... 5 00
ri W. W. Snow, expense to Atlanta and meetings, . j" 20 43
12 F. M. Baker, treasurer, expense and sundry small
bills paid, 23 55
13 F. M. Baker, treasurer, sundry small bills paid, . 13 85
14 Gilsey House, rent and expenses headquarters, . . 66 90
15 A. M. Wheeler, salary secretary, . . . . 125 00
16 C. N. Hoar, plan State Building, .... 250 00
17 H. I. Kain, printing for commission, ... 8 75
18 Mrs. D. McLean, expenses. ..... 43 67
19 C. N. Hoar, expense to Atlanta, plan building, . . 74 25
20 W. L. Sonntag, prospective State Building and frame, 64 80
21 Western Union Telegraph Company, telegraph service, 2 09
22 S. & B. Wycoff, stenographic supplies, . . . 13 65
23 Gude & Walker, on contract State Building, . . 3.841 5°
24 Fielder & Mowers, typewriting, .... 1 60
156
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
:57
Voucher No.
25
Telephone Exchange, telephone service, .
$40
00
26
Consolidated Fire Works, decorating building, .
52
35
27
Mills & Gibb, curtains for State Building,
200
83
28
A. Tuska, rugs for State Building, ....
67
50
29
Gude & Walker, on contract State Building,
0
0
CD
00
30
H. A. Mead, custodian building,
36
15
31
Cotton States Exposition, electric lighting,
247 .92
32
E. Taussig & Co., disinfectant,
5
00
33
Mrs. Powell, rent, room (treasurer), ....
30
00
34
Brumby Chair Company, chairs for State Building, .
140
00
35
Paul & Gullat, gas-pipe for State Building,
50
00
36
Professor Verno, painting for State Building,
4
00
37
F. M. Baker, treasurer, expense at commission and
supplies, ........
62
53
38
H. J. Dempsey, painting Woman's Room,
6
00
39
W. J. Cheskler, labor, Woman's Room,
4
50
40
Wood Beaumont, furniture for State Building, .
8
20
4i
H. A. Mead, stove for State Building,
11
50
42
S. & H. Rhodes Co., furniture for State Building,
30
50
43
J. W. Strickland, furniture for State Building, .
5
75
44
G. H. Wade, electric wiring for State Building,
474
55
45
Woman's Board, annex Woman's Building,
1,000
00
46
F. M. Baker, treasurer, expense and payments
Woman's Room and furniture, ....
113
34
47
Cotton States Exposition, water connections for State
Building, ........
15
00
48
F. M. Baker, treasurer, furniture, ....
6
26
49
F. M. Baker, treasurer, sundry payments Woman's
Room, ........
23
90
5°
F. M. Baker, treasurer, sundry payments for furniture
and payments for building, .....
233
65
51
J. & R. Lamb, windows for State Building,
100
00
52
Chamberlin & Co., furniture for State Building,
25
27
5 3
W. H. Knight, Colonial exhibit. ....
50
54
E. PI Strait, framing pictures, etc., .
35
65
I5& NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Voucher No.
55 S. Washington & Co., storage colonial cases, $5 00
56 A. M. Wheeler, secretary's salary, . . . 125 00
57 E. Kulinski & Co., electric light fixtures for State
Building, ........ 500 00
58 William Parker, coat-of-arms for State Building, . 181 00
59 Erdman, decorations, . . . . . . 27 50
60 E. Kulinski & Co., electric light fixtures, . . . 18 97
61 Miss K. Clayton, custodian Woman's room, . . 30 00
62 Fielder & Mowers, stenographers, . . „ . 2 55
63 T. Gunsel & Son, Colonial exhibit, .... 75°
64 Mills & Gibb, drapery for State Room, . . . 20 84
65 Mills & Gibb, drapery for State Room, . . . 30 08
66 M. I. Kellogg, Colonial exhibit, .... 3 50
67 H. I. Kain, printing, ...... 26 75
68 American Desk and Seating Company, table for State
Building, . . . . . . . 14 18
69 A. M. Wheeler, expense office,. . . . . 16 50
70 A. Kirtland & Co., electric fixtures for State Building, 323 16
71 J. Grundman, stenographer's headquarters, . . 44 00
72 A. Ex. LaErance, boxing exhibits, .... 4 00
73 J. Grundman, stenographer, . . . . . 28 OO
74 S. & B. Wycoff, supplies stenographer, ... 5 00
75 A. W. Hayes, boxing exhibits, . . . 8 40
76 R. T, Corbett, window shades for State Building, . 20 00
77 So. Terra Cotta Works, vases, etc., for State Building, 34 80
78 F. M. Baker, Tr., furniture for State Building, . 19 94
79 Mrs. D. McLean, expenses Atlanta, . . . 129 40
80 J. E. Graybill, expenses Atlanta, . . . . 118 92
81 A. M. Wheeler, salary secretary. . . . . 125 00
82 J. Chamberlin & Co., furniture for State Building, 3 48
83 Mills & Gibb, curtains for State Building, . 6 40
84 Mills & Gibb, curtains for State Building, , 6 42
85 Press C. Co., office expenses, .... 6 50
86 H. A. Mead, custodian State Building, . . 64 77
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES 159
Voucher No.
87 Miss Pond, custodian colonial room, . . . $22 00
88 K. Clayton, custodian Woman's Building, . . 30 00
89 Void.
90 Willingham & Co., supplies for Woman's Room, . 24 00
91 S. & H. Rhodes Co., furniture for State Building, . 75 50
92 Ex. Storage, storing cases, .... 3 50
93 Mills & Gibb, supplies for State room, ... 9 87
94 J. Swann, traveling expenses, . . . . 54 75
95 Gilsey House, room and headquarters, . . . 119 50
96 Mrs. S. Spencer, expense and small payments and
fitting up State Building, . . . . . 190 50
97 Western Union Telegraph Co., telegrams, . 6 36
98 Western Union Telegraph Co., telegrams, . . 3 36
99 A. Vantine, furniture for State Building, . . 9 00
100 Smythe & Son, printing, . . . . . . 31 !5
101 James Swann, expense, ...... 38 60
102 F. M. Baker, expense, . . . . . . 22 21
103 F. M. Baker, treasurer, sundry disbursements, . . 2 3 45
104 M. Rich & Bro., curtain fixtures, and finishings for
State Building, . . . . . . . 41 25
105 H. A. Mead, custodian State Building, . . . 15 00
106 L. C. Ketchum, insurance colonial exhibit, . . 192 50
107 Gude & Walker, contract on Building, . . . 1,686 09
108 Exposition, lighting State Building, . . . 247 02
109 Charles P. Burd, printing colonial exhibit, . . 23 00
110 Miss Pond, expense colonial exhibit, . . . 11 95
111 A. L. Tuska, rugs for State Building, . . . 22 50
112 A. M. Wheeler, secretary's salary, . . . . 49 25
113 S. & H. Rhodes Co., furniture for State Building, . 7 50
114 S. & H. Rhodes Co., furniture for State Building, . 6 00
115 S. & B. Wycoff, stenographic supplies, ... 2 50
116 Chatfield & Baker, hardware for State Building, . 7 19
117 Board of Women Managers, cases colonial exhibit, . 32 15
118 Exposition, electric lighting, ..... 3 42
160 NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Voucher No.
119 G. Patrick, assistant State Building, .
120 Loss K. & Co., entertaining, ....
121 H. A. Mead, custodian State Building,
122 Southern Railway, freight on chairs,
123 F. M. Baker, Treasurer, payments account Woman'
Room, ........
124 F. M. Baker, treasurer, sundry payments as commis
sioner, .......
125 F. M. Baker, treasurer, sundry payments as commis
sioner, . ......
126 H. A. Mead, sundry payments account Woman's Room,
127 Atlanta Journal, newspapers, ....
128 K. Bates & Co., supplies for Woman's Room, .
129 Atlanta B. & C. Co., carting liberty bell New York day
130 G. H. Wade, repairs to electric light,
131 Central Railroad, freight on furniture,
1 32 Miss E. Powell, supplies for Woman's Room,
133 Kate Clayton, custodian Woman's Room, .
134 Gilsey House, rent headquarters,
135 S. Cole, labor Woman's Room,
136 A. M. Wheeler, secretary's salary, .
137 C. A. Pond, expense colonial exhibits,
138 C. A. Pond, custodian colonial exhibits, .
139 A. M. Wheeler, secretary's expense,
140 Mills & Gibb, drapery State Building,
141 S. F. Pratt, printing, .....
142 E. Wachendorff, decorating State Building,
143 J. A. Gorman, decorating State Building.
144 W. W. Snow, decorating State Building, .
145 W. W. Snow, expense as commissioner, .
146 Mrs. D. McLean, expense as commissioner,
147 Chicago Hardware Co., hardware for State Building,
148 Collins Bros., packing colonial exhibits,
149 N. Mathews & Co., printing, . •
$15 OO
55 00
22 OO
2 42
3 55
25 35
83 86
15 00
10 OO
9 40
35 00
3 5o
5 62
4 70
30 OO
50 80
4 00
125 00
3 85
50 00
12 83
9 76
1 50
52 00
122 50
10 00
no 25
177 22
101 97
12 85
12 47
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
161
Voucht
r No.
I50
Hayes & Wright, printing, .....
$1
5o
151
Henry I. Cain, printing, ......
2
90
152
J. Chamberlain & Co., cases colonial exhibit,
23
5o
153
F. W. Consolidated Company, decorating, flags, etc.,
12
80
154
J. Grundman, stenographer, .....
24
00
155
A. M. Wheeler, secretary and office expenses,
42
85
156
Acme Lithograph Company, printing,
5
00
157
Smythe & Son, printing, ......
6
10
158
H. A. Mead, custodian State Building,
5o
00
159
James Swann, commissioner's expense, . ,
85
00
l60
E. Wade, manager, repairing electric fixtures, .
2
15
l6l
L. C. Ketchum, insurance colonial exhibit,
15
00
[62
Cotton States Exhibit, electric lights,
247
02
163
C. A. Pond, expense colonial exhibit,
16
05
I64
Void.
165
A. M. Wheeler, secretary's salary, ....
125
00
166
C. A. Pond, colonial expense, .....
35
00
167
C. A. Pond, colonial expense, .....
38
5o
168
J. E. Graybill, commissioner's expense,
207
10
I69
Kate Clayton, expense woman's room,
25
00
i/°
H. A. Mead, custodian State Building,
50
00
171
Void.
172
Mrs. S. Spencer, sundry expenses as commissioner, .
34
50
173
Tompkins, Gage & Co., packing colonial exhibits,
23
85
174
C. Spagel & Son, exposition building,
1
00
175
C. P. Byrd, printing colonial catalogue,
15
00
17 6
S. H. Smith, freight on pictures returned,
11
59
177
Western Union Telegraph Company, telegrams,
7
74
178
Miss C. Pond, expense packing colonial exhibit,
15
75
179
Levi Ketchum, insurance colonial exhibit,
5o
00
180
A. M. Wheeler, taking care State Building,
83
20
181
A. M. Wheeler, taking care State Building,
21
28
182
A. M. Wheeler, taking care State Building,
6
75
183
J. McHugh, work in Woman's Room,
T T
18
70
11
162 NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
Voucher No.
184 Ola G. Smith, stenographer, . . . . , $10 00
185 F. M. Baker, treasurer, sundries expense as commis¬
sioner, ........ 28 05
186 F. M. Baker, treasurer, sundries expense as commis¬
sioner, ........ 3 38
187 Mrs. D. McLean, disbursements account colonial
exhibit, . . ' . . . . . 87 40
188 Miss C. Pond, expense colonial exhibit, ... 2 66
189 Miss C. A. Pond, custodian colonial exhibit, . . 5° 00
190 Gorham Manufacturing Company, photograph of
medal awarded, ....... I 00
191 Allen Decorating Company, decorating State Build¬
ing, . . . . . . . 17 00
192 Mrs. E. D. Gardner, packing Ceramic exhibits, . 12 68
193 F. M. Baker, treasurer, sundry expenses commission, 26 73
194 J. E. Graybill, sundry expense commission, . . 21 90
195 Franklin Printing Company, catalogue colonial ex¬
hibit, ......... 12 00
196 Chatfield & Baker, glass for pictures returned, . 3 75
197 F. M. Baker, treasurer, postage, .... 8 49
198 A. M. Wheeler, secretary's salary, . . . . 125 00
199 Photo Lithograph Company, views colonial exhibit, 20 00
200 A. M. Wheeler, expenses, ..... 87 00
201 J. PI Graybill, expenses, . . . . . . 10 75-
202 P. L. Krider & Co., gold medal, . . . . 125 00
203 A. M. Wheeler, expenses, . . . . . 40 96
204 Rochester Lamp Company, freight on loan exhibit,
State Building, . . • • • • . 3 24
205 Western Union Telegraph Company, telegrams, . 4 51
206 Frank M. Baker, treasurer, sundry payments and
traveling expenses, ...... 65 95
207 F. M. Baker, treasurer, sundry payments and travel¬
ing expenses, ....... 6 02
208 L. S. Reynolds, packing exhibits, .... 5 70
209 H. A. Mead, care State Building, . . . . 20 00
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES 163
Voucher No.
210 C. W. Krasher, . . . . . . $5 25
211 A. M. Wheeler, expenses, . . „ 15 85
212 Kate Clayton, custodian Woman's Room, . . . 15 00
213 Official Photograph Company, views for report, . 5 00
214 T. Loftus, services, . . . . . . . 15 00
215 Ola G. Smith, stenographer, . . . . . 10 00
216 Frank M. Baker, treasurer, sundry payments and
expenses, 76 62
$20,895 32
Prominent Peatares of tl)e Cotton 5tates and
International exposition
★
ALTHOUGH the exhibits made under the supervision of the
Commissioners to the Exposition from the State of New York
were the especial care of the Commission, and the principal
objects of interest to the people of the State, there are many other
features of great and general importance connected with the enterprise,
some account of which will not be out of place. The Woman's Build¬
ing has already been described in connection with the exhibits shown
by the women of this State. The United States Government Build¬
ing, the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, the Agricultural
Building, Machinery Hall, the Art Gallery, the Negro Building, the
Electrical Building and the Forestry and Minerals Building all consti¬
tute features of prime importance to the hundreds of thousands of
visitors to the Exposition, and to the millions who are more or less
familiar with the scope and character of the enterprise from the details
that have been published in the columns of the press throughout the
country. It is, therefore, deemed appropriate to briefly outline the
more prominent and striking displays which have contributed so largely
to the success and well-merited popularity which has attended the
Exposition from its beginning.
164
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT BUILDING.
Tl)e United 3tafes gtiilding
——— ★
IT is in keeping with the proprieties that the exhibit made by the
United States Government excels all others. It is visible evidence
of the importance of the Exposition as a whole when the visitor
inspects the many objects of interest and value which have been sent
here from the archives and depositaries of the United States. The
display is complete in every essential feature. The structure itself is
of a plain and unpretentious style of architecture, as befits republican
simplicity, but it fits in admirably with the general scheme and color
adopted in designing the other buildings and in laying out the grounds.
It was designed by Charles S. Kemper, a government architect. It is
260 feet long by 180 feet in width, and has an annex 140 feet long by
80 feet in width, making a total area of 58,000 square feet. There
are no galleries, and 110 part of the building is utilized above the
ground floor, with the exception of three rooms over the south
entrance, occupied as offices. The limit of cost of this building was
fixed by law at $50,000, and the major part of this sum was expended
in its construction. Properly enough this building occupies one of the
highest and most commanding sites on the ground.
The Executive branch of the United States Government has on
exhibition a small group of objects, among which are a picture of the
White House, portraits of the Presidents and various forms of papers
which require the signature of the Chief Executive of the Nation,
such as nominations to office, commissions in the army or navy, etc.
The State Department sends an excellent exhibit, including auto¬
graph letters from crowned heads and other celebrities; the rough
draft and facsimile of the immortal Declaration of Independence ;
letters and State papers of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe,
Hamilton and Franklin; the Great Seal of the United States, the
167
168 NEIV YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
sword of Andrew Jackson, the cane of Benjamin Franklin, and the
silk flag woven in one piece and sent by 25,000 workingmen and
women to the United States as an expression of sympathy at the death
of Abraham Lincoln, the martyr President.
There are many interesting things to be seen in the space allotted
to the Treasury Department. The mint display is uncommonly attrac¬
tive. It comprises the coins of our own country and those of many
other lands, besides a coining press that is used in the manufacture of
souvenirs of the Exposition. From the bureau of the Register of the
Treasury comes a large assortment of paper money, current and
obsolete, samples of shinplasters and the wild-cat bills of the old State
banks; colonial currency and Confederate notes. Then there is on
exhibition a $50,000 Government bond and a $10,000 greenback,
which naturally attract considerable attention and many envious
glances. Here, too, are all the coast life-saving devices, ancient and
modern ; working models of lighthouses, electric buoys and many
other wonderful mechanical appliances for the benefit of seafarers.
The Department of War has a showing that is decidedly unique
and interesting. There are rifles, swords, carbines, revolvers, uniforms,
flags and guidons; Revolutionary banners, Custer relics and colors
belonging to army corps, divisions, brigades, regiments and battalions.
Representations of the various uniforms worn by American soldiers,
from the Continental period to our own days, are in evidence. The
Ordnance Department sends a number of old weapons, foreign trophies
and gifts, and a quantity of rifles and muskets that have burst through
flaws in the material of which they are made, or from overcharges or
obstructions. A pathetic feature of the army exhibit is that composed
of relics of the ill-fated Greely expedition to the Arctic regions.
The Navy Department, likewise, presents many objects of great
interest to the visitor. Some of these are a gun made in 1490, and
brought to America by Cortez; a Mexican boat gun and a mortar
cast in Philadelphia, both bearing date of 1 793 ; a boat swivel of the
sixteenth century; a blunderbuss of the same period, and a mortar
captured from Lord Cornwallis during the Revolution. A host of
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
169
more modern and dangerous instruments are to be seen, including the
latest rapid-firing guns of long range and tremendous energy. There
are models of men-of-war of various nations, particularly our own, and
the latter give the observer a pretty correct idea of the growth of our
navy and its equipment. A completely rigged torpedo boat is to
be seen, and there are search-lights, a time ball for transmitting signals
through the country, a dove cote and carrier pigeons for ship use, and
instruments used in navigation and in making coast surveys.
The postal service of the United States is exhibited in all its
various branches, and the display is one of the best to be seen on the
Exposition grounds. Some of the objects shown are frames of stamps
and stamped envelopes ; mail-bags, locks, postal-car and mail-steamship
models; also figures of postmen of our own and of many lands ; uni¬
forms and outfits used by the mail riders of the West, collections of
stamps from the principal countries of the world, a dog-team and
sledge from the North-west, and many other curious and interesting
objects. One of the oddest things in this exhibit is the collection of
articles that have been consigned to the mails only to find a resting
place among the mementoes of the dead-letter department. Among
them are a black baby, an alligator, an Indian scalp, a rattlesnake, a
centipede, a skull, coffee-pot, tamborine, false teeth, handcuffs, moc¬
casins, an Easter egg, and a hundred other oddities.
The Department of the Interior displays models of inventions from
the patent office, Indian pottery and other work, mineral specimens
from the geological survey, chemical manufactures, and a fine collec¬
tion of formations from the Yellowstone National Park. The most
significant of these exhibits are those relating to the Indians, and
afford incontestable evidence that, at last, the red man has found the
path that leads to civilization, and is making rapid strides in that
direction.
The Department of Justice is represented by the portraits of the
attorney-generals who have served the country in that capacity; maps
showing judicial circuits, exhibits of prison industries and the like.
The Department of Agriculture has on view numerous specimens of
17° NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
fruits and vegetables from all sections of the Union; cases of insects
that are hurtful to vegetation, of seeds and herbs, of flowers and shrubs,
and of everything in fact pertaining to husbandry.
A large and admirable showing is made by the Smithsonian Insti¬
tute. It includes a vast number of stuffed animals, birds and fishes,
innumerable insects, specimens of rare and common minerals and
rocks, some fine Japanese porcelains, anatomical models, and an excel¬
lent exhibit of Indian life and character, showing these sons of the soil
at their ceremonials, their work and their games.
It is impossible to enumerate, but a few of the many wonderful
things to be found in the exhibits made by the national government,
and the visitor can spend days among them without weariness and to
his lasting instruction and mental profit.
MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDINS.
Aanafacfares and Liberal Arts gliding
——-— —-★
rOREMOST in rank, as affording object lessons and instruction
to the people, the building' devoted to Manufactures and the
Liberal Arts merits particular attention. It is popularly known
as the Main Building. Its site overlooks the plaza in a southeasterly
direction. It is the largest building in the Exposition group, and
commands a fine view of every portion of the grounds. Its size and
elevated situation immediately attract the gaze of the visitor. In
point of architecture and construction it is an imposing structure.
Its ground dimensions are 260 x 35 1 feet. It is 58 feet in height, with
a roof nearly 90 feet above ground at the apex. It has a floor area
of 103,000 square feet. Towers at each corner, rising to a height of
three stories, add much to the exterior effect. The interior is one
grand hall, finished in natural wood, with spacious galleries on all
sides. Massive trusses, constructed in graceful curves, support the
roof, lending a beautiful perspective view to the wandering eye.
Outside, there are flags and gonfalons, and the Stars and Stripes float
from the tallest staffs, as they do in fact on every building. Inside
are tastefully draped banners, flags and streamers, while the exhibits
grouped in every part of the mammoth structure, gathered from the
four corners of the earth, make this the most attractive and interesting
building of the Exposition.
As in all of the principal buildings, the floor is divided into sections,
each of which is known by a letter, a number or both. It is impossible
to enumerate the articles on exhibition in this hall, but taken as a
whole, they form a microcosm of the industries of the world, and
present conclusive proof of the progress of mankind. Here are to be
found everything necessary to human existence, comfort and luxury
during the space of a lifetime. There is food for the hungry, drinks
for the thirsty, clothing for the naked, drugs for the sick, and luxurious
couches for the weary. There are pins and pianos, fiddles and fire¬
arms, kinetoscopes and kettles, bric-a-brac and beer, candy and coffins,
173
174
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
incubators and invalid chairs, filters and fountains, banjos and books,
tobacco and typewriters; in short, everything that human invention and
skill can devise, necessity compel or wealth desire. There is an excel¬
lent display of cutlery by both American and British manufacturers.
Sweden exhibits some glass and pottery of fine colors. Austria sends,
likewise, a charming" show of glass. In the French section are choice
books in dainty binding, exquisite lamps of Moorish design, Italian
marquetries, Turkish tables and a host of pretty trifles in silver filagree
work and imitation gems, all bearing the unmistakable impress of
Parisian handiwork. Denmark shows a choice selection of glazed
porcelain, terra-cotta and other wares from the famous Ipsen potteries.
There are enamels from Russia, statuary, mosaics and cameos from
sunny Italy, and precious woods and other products from South
America. In short, in this building has been gathered all that is most
rare, unique and valuable in the products and manufactures of every
country in the world, and not the least wonderful thing about the
display is the surprisingly short space of time it has taken to concen¬
trate so much that is beautiful anci useful, coming from every quarter
of the globe, under a single roof.
As becomes its enterprise and rank as the foremost State in the
Union, New York makes an excellent showing in up-to-date inventions
and manufactures. One of the best of these displays is that exhibited
by the H. W. Johns Manufacturing Company of New York City,
which has developed the use of asbestos and its products to a wonder¬
ful extent. Fire-proof paint and fire-proof household articles and
utensils are shown in abundance, and you are given what are seem¬
ingly nothing but strips of colored or tinted paper, and invited to burn
them. You endeavor to do so and fail. There is no magic in this,
for the paper has been treated with asbestos and is impervious to the
fiercest flames, and you immediately resolve that your wall paper,
curtains, rugs and other inflammable articles shall be rendered fire¬
proof in like manner.
As a sort of set-off to this anti-fire exhibit is the show of fireworks
made by Pain of Brooklyn. Fireworks have cost the insurance
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
175
companies of this country a heap of money during the course of the
present century, and if they were permitted to eliminate one of our
holidays they would undoubtedly fix upon the Fourth of July as a
matter of self-protection. The illuminated war between China and
Japan that proved such an attraction to Coney Island pleasure-seekers
in the past is here in undiminished splendor. The painted background
is placed at the end of the lake, and the rockets, bombs and colored
fires are reflected in a hundred forms by the rippling water, adding to
the beauty and novelty of the effect. The combatants in the mimic
warfare are, in part, trained warriors taken from the Government
Encampment on the hill above. As the soldiers are paid for their
nightly services they enter into the spirit of the contest with a zeal
born of satisfaction. New York visitors feel a just pride in the fact
that all of the beautiful rockets, geysers, flower pots, fountains and set
pieces used in this and similar open-air spectacles are made in their
own city of Brooklyn. It was in that manufactory, also, that the
illuminations were devised that elicited expressions of delight and
wonder from the German Emperor during the festivities at Kiel.
And still in connection with fire—that element so useful as a
servant, so terrible as a master—we are led to speak of another display
which attracts much attention and elicits great interest. This is the
section of the building allotted to firearms. The Colts, of Hartford,
whose founder was the inventor of the famous revolver known by his
name, make a fine display; so do the Savage, the Union and the
Marlin Companies. The largest exhibit in this line is furnished by the
Winchester Company, of New Haven, Conn. It has sent here gold
and silver mounted rifles and small arms, and has one of its new high-
power two and a quarter-inch guns that at one hundred yards distance
can send a shot through a four-inch armor plate. A new weapon is
the riot gun. It is a magazine gun, carrying nine buckshot in a single
charge and guaranteed to make things very unpleasant for anybody
who happens to be in front of it when it is fired. There is likewise to
be seen the shell of a heavy cartridge which holds one hundred and
twenty-five pounds of powder and weighs, with the shell, three hundred
176
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
and fifty pounds. This shell penetrates eleven inches of steel at the
distance of a mile, and the firing of a single one entails the expenditure
of about two thousand dollars.
In another section are to be seen articles of still more deadly import
if all be true than has been told. This is in the tobacco department
where the death-dealing cigarette is very much in evidence. The old
and noted firm of Lorillard has a pavilion that is worth seeing. It is
supported by columns that are sided with glass, and it is filled with
snuff in all manner of packages to its roof. The unsophisticated
observer naturally wonders at this display of snuff in these days of
enlightenment, but if he questions the attendant in charge he will
ascertain that this one firm sells 6,250,000 pounds of the titillating
substance every year. Perhaps some of the more curious visitors
draw out the further information that there is a vice known as "snuff-
dipping," which is peculiar to the South and confined principally to
the women of that section. The devotee of the disgusting habit chews
a stick or twig until it assumes the quality of a brush. This is dipped
into a box of snuff and then rubbed over the teeth. Years ago
" dipping " was not confined to the poor whites and negroes, but the
practice has long since been abandoned by persons having any claim
to intelligence and refinement.
Chief among the novelties is a stone to shave with. It comes from
Mexico and looks like an ordinary piece of stone or rock. It is said
to require no sharpening and to do away with the use of soap. All
that is requisite is that the operator shall rub it over his bristly jaws
and chin, and, presto, he is cleanly shaved. Then there is an automatic
cut-off for water pipes which prevents the freezing and bursting, with
the consequent inundation so trying to the souls of good housekeepers.
Here, too, is a lawn sprinkler that its inventor claims will strew water
over eighty feet of lawn while a regular hose nozzle is playing at the
same time.
And there are, besides, a host of curious and interesting things too
numerous to be given especial mention, which it is well worth coming
to the Exposition to gaze at and ponder over.
FINE ARTS BUILDING.
Tfye Pine Arts P^ilding
IN strict conformity with good taste, the building devoted to the
fine arts is by far the handsomest structure on the Exposition
grounds. It stands on the highest site in Piedmont Park, 938
feet above the level of the sea. It is the most prominent, as well as
the most magnificent of the Exposition group, and can be seen from
all parts of the surrounding country, while from its site the view is
enchanting, the plaza, lake and buildings all showing up to the best
possible advantage. Its scheme is Corinthian, modified by the forms
of the Italian renaissance, and its ground scheme comprises a central
hall with wings running forward and back, so that the building forms
a broken parallelogram. A frieze of relief ornament courses along the
front and sides of the noble building, which has a florid effect without
any appearance of being overloaded. Panels, diversified medallions in
staff, ornament the walls. The entire cost of this home of the arts was
only a little more than $16,000, and the fact proves that design, rather
than material, is what counts in a work of this character. The central,
or main building, is one hundred and ten feet long, fifty feet wide and
forty feet high, and is surrounded by a twelve-foot balcony, under
which are a series of alcoves, greatly enlarging the wall space for
pictures. To the north and south of the main gallery are wing
galleries, one hundred feet long, fifty feet wide and twenty feet high,
all three being admirably lighted. The total available wall space for
hanging purposes is thirty thousand square feet, and the total ground
area covered by the building is twenty-one thousand square feet.
Colonnade entrances lead into the central gallery, while the wings
are entered through semi-circular porticoes on the north and south
sides.
179
iSo NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
The central hall, or gallery, is occupied by statuary, and by some
of the less important paintings. A display of posters lines a stairway
to the gallery, where prints and tapestries are shown. The State of
New York, and particularly the cities of New York and Brooklyn, are
numerously and creditably represented in the artistic exhibit. There
are drawings by Edwin A. Abbey and Frederick Remington; sculp¬
tures by Frederic Macmonnies, paintings by Winslow Homer, F. A
Bridgman, Thomas Hovenden, E. H. Blashfield, Charles Sprague Pierce,
J. G. Brown, and other famous artists. There are many other works
of art worthy of extended notice, such as a bronze relief portrait by
Herbert Adams, of Brooklyn; Maria R. Dickson's " Weary Hands and
Eyes," and "Last Mouthful"; A. B. Wenzell's drawing, "The
Diamond"; the monkey portraits, for which Horace P. Allen is
responsible; the "Spaniard," by Jane Curtis; the powerful cattle
pictures of William H. Howe; Albert Herter's "1830"; Melcher's
group of weather-beaten sailors gathered about a table, smoking and
chatting, while engaged in the congenial occupation of rigging a model
ship; Adrien Demont's " Legend," with a spirit drifting over moon¬
lit downs; Sousa-Pinto's "Wet to the Bone," showing an indignant
grandam wringing out the trousers of a youthful offender; the
" Legend of Charlemagne," and " Royalties of the Desert," by J. A.
Oertel; Ella Lamb's " Advent Angel " ; Cecelia Beaux's strong por¬
traits ; "Ophelia," by Madeline Lemaire; " Tannhauser," by Edith
Mitchell Prellwitz; Miss Macomber's " Song of Solomon," a study in
white and delicate color; Mrs. Macmonnies' World's Fair prize
pictures, masterfully painted; Edward Hamilton's " Palace in the
Night," which is a moonlit and dreamy scene in Venice; four pictures
by Henry Mosier, the most noticeable being the " Brittany Legend " ;
J. H. Sharpe's gamins 011 the curbstone watching a passing spectacle;
Howard Russell Butler's purales crossing a Mexican river at nightfall;
E. W. Redfield's "Overlooking the Seine," with sunlight resting on an
ancient town across the river; Ulpiano Checa's "Naval Fight in the
Arena," where brilliantly costumed combatants are slaughtering one
another for the entertainment of a Roman populace; Belloni's "Street
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES 181
in Milan," in which one can almost feel the chill rawness of a wet
evening; Lyell Carr in his "Cracker's Daughter," and "Good Shot,"
offers appropriate pictures of the southern type; and there are meri¬
torious paintings from the easels of Walter Gay, J. S. Hartley, Richards,
Beck with, Bastert, Frank Fowler, Daniel C. French, Bishing, Fenn,
Loeb, Pape, DuMond, Pyle, Roelofs, Curran, Hassam, Kever, Meute,
O'Donovan, Neuhuys, Prellwitz, Rose, Schell, Needham, Mosier,
Poggenbeck, Senat, Palmer, Merson, Rohl-Smith, Blum, Frost, Walker,
Emmet, Vonnoh, Smedley, Thouron, Vinton, Sandham, Vierge, Trego,
Foote, Weeks, Vinton, Greatorex, Whittemore, Nicholls and Whitt-
redge.
In these galleries the lover of art found a representative collection
of paintings by celebrated artists of this and foreign countries, together
with magnificent groups of statuary and other artistic endeavors. The
arrangement of this exhibit is deserving of all commendation, every
picture, engraving and specimen of the sculptor's skill being placed
where all that is good will be brought to the observer's eye to the best
possible advantage.
AGRICULTURAL BUILDING.
Tl)e Agricalfarat ^ailding
★
TAKEN in the aggregate, the exhibits in this building are the
most distinctively Southern in their character of any in the
Exposition, and it is the boast of the natives that anything in
the way of cereals, fruits and vegetables can be raised on Georgia soil.
Among the hills and on the plateaus the climate is about the same as
in the State of New York, but as you descend towards the coast you
find a more tropical temperature, with its palms and Spanish moss and
other sub-tropical vegetation in abundance.
The Agricultural Building stands on a knoll, nearly a thousand feet
above the sea level, and is reached by broad flights of stairs from the
plaza and the lake. It extends over a space of forty thousand square
feet, its longest dimension being three hundred feet, with a square
central tower rising more than one hundred feet above the floor. The
interior is finished almost entirely in Georgia pine. The various
groups comprise grains, foliage, plants, farinaceous foods, sugar, syrups,
potatoes, root crops, coffee, spices, tobacco, animal and vegetable fibres,
animal products, fertilizers, fats, oils, soap, dairy products, malt and
spirituous liquors, mineral waters, farming tools, machinery and build¬
ing models.
The cereal display is large and appetizing, and most of the booths
are tastefully decorated with flags and bunting. Pretty girls in smart
caps, gowns and aprons are in attendance, and liberally supply visitors
with samples of their wares, most of which can be devoured on the
spot or carried away without further trouble. Many of the decora¬
tions are striking and appropriate. For instance, the use of corn and
other cereals for roofing and siding the booths, devoted to such prod¬
ucts, strikes the visitor as a happy idea. A Western brewer calls
attention to his manufactures by a huge hogshead, around which
185
186 NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
revolve a number of wax effigies. A pavilion devoted to tobacco is
made in part of the fragrant weed in various forms. The room is
lined with brown plugs, and the door is an enormous tag. A monster
plug forms the larger portion of the ceiling.
On every hand is something good to eat or drink. Tons of flour,
canned meats, fruits and vegetables, condensed milk, hams, pickles,
cocoa, chocolate, compressed yeast, gelatine, cottolene, butter, eggs,
cheese, lard, oil, cigars, beer, wine, whiskey, aerated waters, growing
plants, articles made of hemp, sisal, palmetto wood and fibre and
cocoanut shells comprise the greater part of the exhibits. Then there
are naval stores, smoked and salted fish, pickles and phosphates.
Everything to be found in a big wholesale grocery establishment can
be found among the exhibits, and many things besides.
Fine displays are made by Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas,
Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, and the Argentine Republic. Florida
shows some specimens of its natural wealth in the form of growing
trees and plants. The palmetto, which grows so abundantly in the
low, warm lands, is now in demand for brushes, baskets, hats and fans.
The young shoots of the tree are eaten as a salad. There is quite a
display of pineapple plants. Tropical fruits for preserving, and some
that have been preserved, are shown. Fresh vegetables and cereals
also testify to Florida's fertility and productivity, and some bees are
seen busily engaged in their honey-making labor. From Key West
come cigars of all grades and at all prices. Other matters in the
Florida section are : turned wood, fence posts, dairy products, cider,
vinegar, native wines, materials needed on plantations, more than three
hundred varieties of apples, a fine collection of orchids, and articles
made by the Seminole Indians near Fort Lauderdale.
South Carolina comes to the front with an exhibit of phosphate
rock, which is in great demand for fertilizing purposes. It comes from
the river beds and low-lying lands of the Palmetto State. The phos¬
phate is the animal remains of immense fish and lizards and pre¬
historic monsters that inhabited the swamps, rivers and forests
hundreds of thousands of years ago. The dimensions of the phos-
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
187
phate belt have not yet been ascertained, but it probably covers the
whole coast from Charleston to Florida Keys, while large deposits have
likewise been discovered in the lowlands of the interior.
Southern tea is one of the displays which attracts attention, espe¬
cially that of visitors from the North and Northwest, to whom it is a
novelty. Whether the South is going to raise tea in sufficient quanti¬
ties to make it one of its staple articles of commerce, cannot as yet
be determined, but tea has been growing in various parts of the South
for some years past, and in the Georgia building can be seen a sturdy
plant that was raised from a shoot brought to this country from China
by Commodore Perry in 1854. It has been growing ever since, and
is now a bushy shrub, not unlike a syringa, with white blossoms that
also suggest that plant. China is supposed to be the native country
of this plant, but it is now cultivated over a wide range of country in
India and Japan, and, as the United States has every variety of soil and
climate, there seems to be no reason why tea should not ultimately rival
cotton as a Southern product, competing for the markets of the world.
As about 2,500,000,000 pounds of tea are consumed annually by tea-
drinking countries, and as it yields a larger percentage of profit than
cotton, its successful cultivation in the United States is a subject
worthy of serious consideration.
As this great fair is officially known as the Cotton States Exposi¬
tion, it is a matter of course that cotton in various shapes and forms
constitutes one of the principal features of the enterprise. There are
exhibits of growing cotton, of cotton in the boll, cotton which has
been cleaned and prepared for market, and the manufactured products
of cotton. The machinery that takes the cotton as it comes from the
fields and transforms it into readiness for domestic use is all here.
Cotton plants are growing ornamentally out of doors on the slopes of
the plaza, and indoors as souvenirs. Growing cotton is a novelty to
most of the visitors from the North, but they do not see it at its best.
The plants are seldom more than three or four feet high in the fields
around Atlanta, but in warmer districts where there is a moist
atmosphere it grows to a height of five feet and more. The Sea Island
l88
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
cotton has unusually large and weighty bolls. The flowers are red and
yellow. The plant will grow in regions of light frost, and it now
covers a belt that extends around the world. It is, and long has been,
the most important of the productions of the Southern States, and the
quality of American cotton is superior to that of any other, and it com¬
mands a better price than its East Indian and Egyptian competitors.
The world's annual production is estimated at about 12,000,000,000
pounds, and the export from this country is in the neighborhood of
2,000,000,000 pounds annually. As much more is used at home, and the
value of the yearly output is, in round numbers, $400,000,000. It is
no wonder that not so many years ago the declaration that " Cotton is
King " had many firm believers, and, although it now takes rank after
some other products of American soil, it is still one of the foremost of
our agricultural resources.
It is a surprising truth that the origin of the discovery and initial
use of the cotton plant is shrouded in mystery. There are no
cotton cloths to be found among the many discoveries that have been
made by modern seekers into the hidden secrets of ancient Egypt,
yet the seeds of the plant have been found in the encasings of mum¬
mies that were hidden from sight in Egyptian tombs many centuries
ago. It is known, however, that cotton was extensively used in the
making of cloth in Europe, the northern part of Africa and the
western section of Asia, as far back as the ninth century. It is claimed
by some antiquarians that the Arabs were the first to discover the uses
of the cotton fibre and to weave it into threads and cloths. Yet, it is
only at a comparatively recent date that this material has become an
important commercial product. It is only about a century ago that
England, then, as now, the foremost commercial and manufacturing
country that the world has ever produced, brought its first cargo of
raw cotton from the East Indies. How closely the Anglo-Saxons of
to-day are treading upon the heels of their English ancestors, was
never better exemplified than during the late Civil War. The political
and moral issues in that memorable struggle signified nothing to Eng¬
land despite its loud pretensions to be the champion of individual
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
liberty and the rights of mankind. The lack of cotton for her mills
and manufacturing centres arrayed England on the side of the right
of secession. Now, that she can get the cotton and keep her mutinous
mill operatives and the capital employed in cotton manufuctures fully
employed and peacefully content, England has no cause of quarrel
with the United States.
But when the day arrives, as come it will, when the seat of cotton
manufacture is transferred to the South ; when the plantations of the
cotton belt are brought into immediate contact with the mills and looms
which now crowd each other in the thriving towns of New England,
then the day of English supremacy in this branch of manufacture
has departed. This country produces the best cotton in the world.
There is no reason that it should not be manufactured into a market¬
able product where it is grown. There will be no outlay in those
days for baling the raw cotton, and starting it upon its expensive travels
to the mills of Great Britain, nor its equally costly return by way of
steamships and railroads to domestic consumers.
Address of P^oo^er T. Washington,
Principal Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Tuskegee, Ala.,
(Jt f!)e Opening of ff)e Exposition
★
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Board of Directors and Citizens :
One-third of the population of the South is of the negro race.
No enterprise seeking the material, civil or moral welfare of this
section, can disregard this element of our population and reach the
highest success. I but convey to you, Mr. President and Directors,
the sentiment of the masses of my race, when I say that in no way
have the value and manhood of the American negro been more
fittingly and generously recognized than by the managers of this
magnificent Exposition at every stage of its progress. It is a
recognition that will do more to cement the friendship of the two
races than any occurrence since the dawn of our freedom.
Not only this, but the opportunity here afforded will awaken
among us a new era of industrial progress. Ignorant and inexperi¬
enced, it is not strange that in the first years of our new life we'
began at the top instead of at the bottom, that a seat in Congress
or the State Legislature was more sought than real estate or indus¬
trial skill, that the political convention or stump speaking had more
attractions than starting a dairy farm or truck garden.
A ship lost at sea for many days suddenly sighted a friendly
vessel. From the mast of the unfortunate vessel was seen the signal:
"Water, water; we die of thirst." The answer from the friendly
vessel at once came back: "Cast down your bucket where you are."
A second time the signal, "Water, water; send us water!" ran up
from the distressed vessel, and was answered, "Cast down your bucket
190
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
191
where you are." And a third and fourth signal for water was
answered: "Cast down your bucket where you are." The captain
of the distressed vessel, at last heeding the injunction, cast down his
"bucket, and it came up full of fresh sparkling water from the mouth
of the Amazon river. To those of my race who depend on bettering
their condition in a foreign land, or who underestimate the importance
of cultivating friendly relations with the Southern white man, who
is their next-door neighbor, I would say, "Cast down your bucket
where you are,"—cast it down in making friends in every manly way
of the people of all races by whom we are surrounded.
Cast it down in agriculture, mechanics, in commerce, in domestic
service, and in the professions. And in this connection it is well to
bear in mind that, whatever other sins the South may be called to
bear, when it comes to business, pure and simple, it is in the South
that the negro is given a man's chance in the commercial world;
and in nothing is this Exposition more eloquent than in emphasizing
this chance. Our greatest danger is that, in the great leap from
slavery to freedom, we may overlook the fact that the masses of
us are to live by the productions of our hands, and fail to keep
in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dignify
and glorify common labor and put brains and skill into common
occupations of life; shall prosper in proportion as we learn to draw
the line between the superficial and the substantial, the ornamental
gewgaws of life and the useful. No race can prosper until it learns
that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a
poem. It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the
top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our
opportunities.
To those of the white race who look to the incoming of those
of foreign birth and strange tongue and habits for the prosperity
of the South, were I permitted, I would repeat what I say to my
own race: "Cast down your bucket where you are." Cast it down
among the 8,000,000 negroes whose habits you know, whose fidelity
and love you have tested in days when to have proved treacherous
192
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
meant the ruin of your firesides. Cast down your bucket among
these people, who have, without strikes and labor wars, tilled your
fields, cleared your forests, builded your railroads and cities, and
brought forth treasures from the bowels of the earth, and helped
make possible this magnificent representation of the progress of the
South. Casting down your bucket among my people, helping them
and encouraging them, as you are doing on these grounds, and to
education of head, hand and heart, you will find that they will buy
your surplus land, make blossom the waste places in your fields and
run your factories. While doing this, ycu can be sure in the future,
as in the past, that you and your families will be surrounded by the
most patient, faithful, law-abiding and unresentful people that the
world has seen. As we have proved our loyalty to you in the past,
in nursing your children, watching by the sick bed of your mothers
and fathers, and often following them with tear-dimmed eyes to their
graves, so in the future, in our humble way, we shall stand by
you with a devotion that no foreigner can approach, ready to lay
down our lives, if need be, in defense of yours, interlacing our
industrial, commercial, civil and religious life w7ith yours in a way
that shall make the interests of both races one. In all things that
are purely social, we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as
the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.
There is no defense of security for any of us dbccept in the
highest intelligence and development of all. If anywhere there are
efforts tending to curtail the fullest growth of the negro, let these
efforts be turned into stimulating, encouraging and making him the
most useful and intelligent citizen. Effort or means so invested will
pay a thousand per cent, interest. These efforts will be twice-blessed
—"blessing him that gives and him that takes."
There is no escape, through law of God, from the inevitable:
" The laws of changeless justice bind,
Oppressor with oppressed ;
And close as sin and suffering joined,
We march to fate abreast."
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
193
Nearly sixteen millions of hands will aid you in pulling the
load upward, or they will pull against you the load downward.
We shall constitute one-third, and more, of the ignorance and
crime of the South, or one-third its intelligence and progress;
we shall contribute one-third to the business or industrial pros¬
perity of the South, or we shall prove a veritable body of death,
stagnating, depressing, retarding every effort to advance the body
politic.
Gentlemen of the Exposition, as we present to you our humble
effort at an exhibition of our progress, you must not expect over
much. Starting thirty years ago with ownership here and there
in a few quilts and pumpkins and chickens (gathered from mis¬
cellaneous sources), remember the path that has led from these to
the inventions and production of agricultural implements, buggies,
steam engines, newspapers, books, statuary, carving, paintings, the
management of drug stores and banks, has not been trodden with¬
out contact with thorns and thistles. While we take pride in what
we exhibit as a result of our independent efforts, we do not for a
moment forget that our part in this Exhibition would fall far
short of your expectations but for the constant help that has come
to our educational life, not only from the Southern States, but
especially from Northern philanthropists, who have made their gifts
a constant stream of blessing and encouragement.
The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of
questions of social equality is the extremest folly, and that progress
in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must
be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of arti¬
ficial forcing. No race that has anything to contribute to the markets
of the world is long in any degree ostracized. It is important
and right that all the privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly
more important that we be prepared for the exercise of these
privileges. The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory, just now,
is worth infinitely more than the opportunity to spend a dollar
in an opera house.
13
194
NEIV YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
In conclusion, may I repeat that nothing in thirty years has
given us more hope and encouragement, and drawn us so near
to you of the white race as this opportunity offered by the Ex¬
position, and here, bending, as it were, over the altar that represents
the results of the struggles of your race and mine, both starting
practically empty-handed three decades ago, I pledge that in your
effort to work out the great and intricate problem which God has laid
at the doors of the South, you shall have, at all times, the patient,
sympathetic help of my race; only let this be constantly in mind,
that, while from representations in these buildings of the product
of field, of forest, of mine, of factory, letters and art, much good
will come, yet far above and beyond material benefits will be that
higher good, that, let us pray God, will come in a blotting out
of sectional differences and racial animosities and suspicions, in a
determination to administer absolute justice, in a willing obedience
among all classes to the mandates of the law. -This, this, coupled
with our material prosperity, will bring into our beloved South a
new Heaven and a new earth.
'SNicnins oao3N
Tfye Negro gaitding
WITHOUT doubt the most interesting feature of the Exposition
to a large proportion of the visitors is one of its most un¬
pretending structures. The latter typifies the progress of a
race that, little more than thirty years ago, was held in the most help¬
less, and seemingly hopeless, bondage. Freedom came to them as one
of the results of a terrible war, which, at its termination found them in
possession of their personal liberty, but dependent upon their own
feeble and untrained efforts for their material salvation. The success
that has attended their struggle for knowledge and progress was a
revelation that was left for the Atlanta Exposition to disclose, and
the showing that is made gladdens the heart of every lover of his fel¬
low-men, and gives fresh inspiration to those who labor for the
advancement of the human race as it struggles onward towards the
goal of universal knowledge and the highest civilization.
The Negro Building is the unique feature of this great enterprise.
Nothing like it has ever been seen at any former exhibition. It is
significant, too, in that it marks the rise of the black man from the con¬
dition in which freedom came to him after centuries of slavery had
dwarfed his intellect and destroyed his self-reliance. None are more
surprised, after viewing this structure and its contents, than the former
masters of some of the very men who have successfully planned and
carried out the exhibition that makes the Negro Building an honor to.
the colored citizens of the United States, and a credit to the Exposi¬
tion. The building is unpretentious, but pleasing in appearance and
in good taste. The entrances have pediments ornamented with groups
illustrating the progress of the race. Medallions used in the exterior
decorations represent the traditional " Aunty " of ante-bellum days and
the most famous colored man that has yet lived—Frederick Douglass.
197
198
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
The building was designed and constructed by colored men solely, and
is 276 feet in length and 112 feet in width. At the main entrance is the
statue of a negro which show's him with his wrists still bound, although
the chain that holds the handcuffs is nearly severed. The symbolism is
easily understood without the aid of the motto " Chains broken, but
not off," which appears beneath the statue. But if the present rate of
progress is maintained for twenty-five years to come, it needs no
optimism to predict that the chains will have entirely disappeared and
little, if any, trace remain of their having been worn.
The contents of the Negro Building comprise portraits, books and
papers by colored authors and editors, some tile work showing good
color, wood working, edibles, jellies, preserves, cabinet work, upholstery,
needlework, artificial flowers, a few paintings that are pretty bad,
medical work, surgical supplies, photographs, farm work, field crops,
relics, model locomotives and ships, school work showing remarkable
capacity and a bank statement. The banking system known as the
" Grand Fountain " was organized by an ex-slave, the Rev. W. W.
Bowne, of Richmond, Va., in 1888, with a capital stock of $4,000 in
sight. Now the order has spread through twenty States and has done
nearly $2,000,000 of business, paying four per cent, to its depositors.
In addition to its banking, the " Grand Fountain " has branches that
provide for the sick, care for the aged and infirm, give a business
training to the young, assist its members to buy homes and publish
a paper. Colleges and schools in the South that educate the negro
are making a good account of themselves. The drawings, mechanical
work, compositions and other proofs of the soundness of the teach¬
ing, are all that we could look for among white pupils, and refute
the idea that the negro is not benefited by education. None of any
race but find that a benefit and a salvation.
One of the most striking and interesting exhibits in this building
is made by a citizen of the State of New York, Granville T. Woods,
of Brooklyn. He is the inventor of an underground system of electric
propulsion which has been put into successful operation at Coney
Island, the favorite summer resort of the great masses of New
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
199
York city's population. In this system the electric current is carried
through a conduit and is said to be equally efficient in wet or dry
weather.
Mr. Woods also displays another invention which is known as a
synchronous multiplex railroad telegraph. The name alone affords an
indication of the immense advance which has been made by the negro
race in scientific knowledge during the past quarter of a century. The
invention itself is worthy of its name. It was in 1887 that Mr. Woods
first made known his important discovery. By means of it messages
can be transmitted from a railroad train in rapid motion, and hundreds
of operators can use the same wire, sending in both directions at once.
Tfye Negro at tl)e Atlanta exposition
★
IT will be impossible in the compass of a brief discussion to point
out all the ways in which the negro was benefited through the
Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition. There are,
however, three directions in which the fair has proven a blessing to the
black man, and these are briefly upon himself, upon his immediate
neighbors, the Southern white people, and upon the commercial inter¬
ests of the nation.
Of the first of these, the evidence of a wholesome influence is very
strong and exhibits itself in many ways. Chief among these evidences
is the impetus which the subject of industrial education is receiving.
Many parents of the race, who had conceived in the past that all that
was necessary for their children was to give them an academic educa¬
tion, and in some mysterious way the grown boys could live off their
wits, were made to see through the exhibits of the various schools and
their graduates a reason for change of opinion. Then there was that
larger effect of a general feeling of confidence in the negro's own
possibilities aroused in himself that is counting for a great deal.
Among the greatest misfortunes which have befallen the masses has
been the loss of self-dependence and the feeling that in himself he can
do and become nothing, that his very color is an evidence of inability.
Thousands who saw products of negro skill and ingenuity have
received an inspiration therefrom that is destined to prove a great
stimulus to improvement.
The second direction in which the fair influenced for good, namely,
its effect upon the negro's neighbors, the Southern white people, is
perhaps no less important than the first. No one has known the negro's
capability for diversified labor better than the ex-masters, but their
observation was usually confined to such isolated cases that they had
200
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
20I
not given it any serious attention as a means of solving the racial
problem. The collection of his products, however, under such favor¬
able circumstances has set the Southern white people to thinking. The
Governor of Mississippi made a trip to the Fair mainly to see and study
the negro exhibit, and throughout the session of the exhibition the
greatest interest was manifested. The result of it will be, as already
proven in several instances, to use the negro in skilled departments of
labor to a larger extent. If it shall become apparent that the negro
can render as good service in a cotton factory as imported labor, the
South stands ready to open its doors to him.
The last important direction in which I would attempt to trace
beneficial effects of the fair is the wholesome effect of the negro's
exhibit upon capital or commercial interests. The average capitalist
has made up his opinion of the negro by his observation from car
windows, and has concluded that a people, of which the loafers around
depots are samples, cannot be depended upon as a field for investment.
But when they discovered in the exhibition of the black people that
their notions were mistaken, that under favorable circumstances the
negro developed as much skill as the average white boy, the public
opinion has changed and wholesome results are bound to follow. It
is unfortunate that the disturbing financial question should be on
immediately following the Fair, as it has suspended movements that
would have been inaugurated, but as times shall grow better, I do not
believe that what was demonstrated at the Atlanta Exposition will be
forgotten.
Booker T. Washington.
MACHINERY HALL.
Tl)e Aadjiner^ ^ailding
★
A TALENTED writer who has visited the Exposition, and
with the practical observation of his craft has seen all
there is to be seen within its limits, has very aptly
likened the Main, or Manufactures Building to the brains of the
show; the Art Gallery to the eye; the Agricultural Building to
the stomach; the Transportation Building to the feet, and Machinery
Hall to the heart. The comparison is just, as well as apt in
each case, but especially so as regards the building devoted to
machinery for this is the one place where force is displayed in its posi¬
tive, rather than negative, characteristics. Fires glow in the great
furnaces; wheels, big and little, whirl in every quarter; great leathern
belts wind their way about the building ; dynamos generate untold
volts of electricity ; pumps and lathes, planes and drills are hard at
work, all obediently responding to an unseen but irresistible force, and
blending into a comprehensive scene of activity that stirs the pulses
and quickens the brains of the lookers-on.
Machinery Hall is located near the Jackson street entrance, and
fronts from the north on the beautiful Clara Meer, at an elevation
of 928 feet above the sea level. It is one of the most characteristic
buildings in the grounds and contains very many high class exhibits of
unusual interest. The structure is 468 feet long, 100 feet wide, and
contains a floor area of 47,800 square feet. The roof rises thirty feet
above the floor, and is supported by heavy trusses; numerous windows
and skylights afford ample light and ventilation. There are four dis¬
tinct fronts, each representing the building in a classical style, modified
to suit the material used in its construction. Wide entrances, with
massive columns, gables and doorways, give the exterior an imposing
appearance.
205
2o6
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
in an adjoining- building, or annex, is housed the power plant;
here ample facilities are afforded for the production of the enormous
horse-power necessary for the operation of the vast masses of
machinery in the main structure. Several dynamos distribute through
underground conduits sufficient electrical energy to operate the electric
fountains, and adequately illuminate the buildings and the entire park.
At night, search-lights from the roof of Machinery Hall dart hither
and thither over the grounds, bringing distant objects into startling
clearness.
The many exhibits are grouped under various heads, viz: Motors
and apparatus for the making and carrying of power ; apparatus for
extracting and working metals ; mining machinery ; fire engines and
extinguishing apparatus; machines used in cloth, rope, carpet, paper
and rubber making; machines and tools used for wood and stone work¬
ing, and in making clocks, buttons, jewelry, wire, pins and a host of
other articles; machines used in type-setting and printing, and
machines for printing in color, both lithographic and phototypic.
There are steam-engines, steam-pumps, twist-drills, water-wheels, split-
pulleys, refrigerators, winding-frames, wood-pulverizers, rope and knit¬
ting machines, and cotton-mill machinery from across the Atlantic.
Then there are machines for making soap, for roasting coffee, making
cigars and cigarettes, and hundreds of other things useful and orna¬
mental. An incalculable quantity of saws, planes, chisels, files and
other tools are to be seen. The Campbell Company of New York and
Brooklyn, whose printing-presses have a world-wide reputation, makes
one of the best displays in that line to be found, and has a pony press
in almost constant operation supplying the exhibitors with souvenirs for
which the visitors manifest a steady and never-to-be-satisfied appetite.
TRANSPORTATION BUILDING
Transportation raiding
tJ:
A LARGE and handsome structure, four hundred and thirty-
three feet long and one hundred and seventeen feet wide,
contains the greater part of the exhibits that come under the
comprehensive head of means and appliances for the transportation of
persons, chattels and products. Specimens are here in abundance of
railway-making appliances and appurtenances, ranging from the crude
mechanisms of the earliest days of transportation by rail to the power¬
ful and elaborate productions of the present era, and the mere com¬
parison affords an object-lesson in marvelous development and fertility
in invention that is as wonderful as the machinery itself. Here, too,
are wagons, and all descriptions of two-wheeled and four-wheeled
vehicles to which animals are attached as a motive power; bicycles
for one, two or three persons; street-cars, cables, motors, switchbacks,
elevating railways, toboggans, balloon fittings, pneumatic tubes, baby-
carriages for the newly-born and hearses for the dead ; an aluminum
wagon, hand-barrows, boats and materials needful in navigation, a
hand-truck that pries itself under heavy loads and lets them safely
down again, a model of the Nicaragua Canal, a large exhibit by the
Northern Steamship Company, a show of stuffed birds from Mexico
and a portrait of Thomas Purse, who more than half a century ago
invented that now indispensable article, the railway time-table.
In addition to its own appropriate display, the Transportation
Building likewise contains an overflow of mechanisms and inventions
from other departments of the Exposition.
14
209
For Good I^oads
★-
rOR the past decade the subject of improved roads has attracted
much attention and thought throughout the United States,
and the " good roads exhibit," in the rear of the Government
Building, has been an object-lesson to the Exposition visitors from
every section of the Union. The exhibit consists of a "good road,"
which is contrasted with the usual roads to be found in every part of
our country. The former is of macadam ; the principal ingredients of
the latter are clay or sand The relative value of the improved road,
as compared with the ordinary country highway, was shown by a
practical test which is likely to prove enlightening, especially to
observers from the agricultural districts. An ordinary farm wagon
was heavily loaded with freight, and a team of mules having been
attached, the load was easily drawn over the macadamized road.
Then the wagon, with its load, was taken to one of the usual roads,
the mules hitched on, and the signal to start was given. The team
pulled the wagon a little way and stopped. The load was stuck fast
and the mules could not budge it. In order to ascertain the difference
in the strain of the two pulls, a dynameter was attached to the wagon
on each trip. It showed that to pull the load over the macadam
surface was perfectly feasible, but to take the same quantity of freight
over the sand or clay was not, for the simple reason that the soil so
clogged and obstructed the wheels that they soon became immovable.
The obstruction, as shown by the dynameter, was equal to an added
one-fourth to the weight of the load; that is, if it needed three mules
to draw the load over the macadamized road, four mules of equal
pulling power were necessary to move the same load over an ordinary
highway of either sand or clay. This test was applied to roads in
gocd condition and in fair weather. Of course, in rainy weather or
when the frost is leaving the ground in the spring, the ratio in favor
2IO
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
21 r
of the macadam road is much greater. If every village and town
throughout the country had a similar practical exhibition in some
public place, the roads in the United States would be improved 100
per cent, within the next decade. And it must be admitted that the
dirt roads used for the test were much better than many to be found
in some of our Northern and Southern States. The impassability of
the average country road has been a constant source of loss and
expense, particularly to those engaged in agricultural pursuits, and
this Atlanta exhibit plainly shows the cause. The good roads parlia¬
ment, recently held in Atlanta, lasted for three days, and those quali¬
fied to judge believe that much good was accomplished. Nearly all of
the States were represented, and resolutions were passed condemning
the too general practice of allowing farmers to work out their taxes by
alleged improvements to the roads—such improvements, as a rule,
being unskillfully planned and carelessly executed. The superiority
and effectiveness of the macadam pavement illustrate how good roads
should be made; but to lay macadam requires capital and skilled and
conscientious labor. Another resolution adopted by the parliament
was to urge the Government to make no more land grants without first
laying out roads. When people put up their houses and make trails
and paths to suit their convenience, there may be an incidental accom¬
modation to the settlers of the immediate neighborhood, but the rest
of the community making use of the road must lose time in following
its windings.
It is safe to say there is nothing in the entire exhibition that stands
for more than these three strips of sample road. At the foot of the
knoll on which these roads have been constructed can be seen a stretch
of highway over which vehicles with narrow-brimmed wheels have
been driven, while beside it is a space of equal breadth that has been
used for wider-wheeled wagons. The narrow wheels have cut the
earth to pieces, while the broad ones have smoothed and packed it,
making a visible improvement. In connection with these road exhibits
there is quite a display of ditchers, rollers and other road-making
machinery.
|Sf Jrp
Mi
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING.
Adminisfrafion. gaitdincr and Main Entrance
★
rHE Administration Building, with which is combined the Main
Entrance to the Exposition grounds, is a large castellated
structure located at the juncture of Fourteenth street, the
western extremity of Piedmont Park. The building is two hundred
and forty feet long, fifty feet wide and thirty feet in height. The
principal tower rises to a height of eighty feet, with minor towers
ranging from twenty-eight to forty-three feet in altitude. In point
of .design it is a combination of architectural monuments familiar to
travelers in the " old world," arranged as a harmonious whole. The
visitor will find in one of the parts a bit of the Tower of London, recall¬
ing the dark deeds in England's history ; other portions will bring to
mind the ghostly Blarney Castle in Ireland, St. Michael's in France
and the Rheinstein in Germany. The whole is particularly attractive,
nor does the mediaeval effect seem out of place, for it asserts itself in
the form of turrets, battlements, imbedded windows with old leaded
glass and other ancient methods employed in building. The staff used
as a coating is tinted, so that the structure seems to be of stone, and
impresses the mind with its apparent solidity and strength.
The Administration Building, while principally devoted to the offices
of the Exposition Company, also contains the correspondents' bureaus
and the like. The main entrance is a large hall with massive gates
finished in harmony with the exterior.
215
Tfye Aidva^
*
THERE is a Midway at this Exposition as there was at Chicago,
and, again, like Chicago, it is not a midway at all for it is
located a little to one side of the park. It occupies a hill by
itself on the left as the visitors enter the grounds from the railroad
station. It comprises a striking, rather gaudy group of buildings.
Within the precincts of the Midway, Hagenbeck and his animals are
domiciliated, and the ostrich farm is a part of its attractions. There
is a Mexican village, but the national amusement of bull-fighting is
prohibited, and the inhabitants are mournful and depressed in conse¬
quence. A tea garden, and shop in which native wares are sold, are
the features of the Japanese village. Beer and pretzels served by
flaxen-haired maidens abound in the German hamlet. The Daho-
meyans are here, as are the Streets of Cairo with their dervishes and
dancing women. There is an old-time plantation with its dark-hued
"uncles" and "aunties" who are chiefly employed in scolding and
chastising mischievous "picanninnies." Then there are shops for the
sale of peanuts and candy, soda-water and beer, sausages and waffles.
Shows that savor of the dime museum are to be found in abundance,
among them the phantoscope, the ice grotto, phoenix wheel, wax¬
works, the brownies, fortune-tellers, an Indian village, gypsy dancing
girls, illusion palace, merry-go-round, places where you can have your
picture taken in one minute, the haunted swing, Punch and Judy, a
beauty show, Moorish palace, Chinese theatre, electric theatre, mys¬
terious maze, scenic railway, model of the Chicago Fair, the chutes and
Amazon warriors. Altogether the Midway is a place where the visitor
can dispose of his spare time and money with very little difficulty, and
one of its not least interesting sights, is the constant throng of visitors
jostling each other in its pathways and passing into and emerging from
the buildings that shelter its numberless attractions.
216
MINERALS AND FORESTRY BUILDING.
Minerals and Forestry ^aitding
★-
Directly west of Machinery Hall, in the southwestern portion
of Piedmont Park and fronting on "Clara Meer," stands the
most unique and original structure in the Exposition. It is
the Minerals and Forestry Building, and is constructed in its entirety of
woods, such as abound in this section, in their natural state. The
uprights, posts, sills, girders, plates, rafters and braces are of trees in
their natural condition with the bark undisturbed, and the effect pro¬
duced is at once remarkable and pleasing. The sides and ends of the
building are covered with various kinds of bark, while the entrances
are elaborately trimmed and intertwined with twigs and small branches
festooned with moss. The structure is nine hundred and thirty-six
feet above the sea level, has a length of three hundred and twenty
feet, a width of eighty feet and an imposing octagon centre eighty
feet in diameter and extending thirty feet above the roof. The floor
space covers an area of 26,000 square feet, and the interior is finished
to harmonize with the character of the exhibit. Here is gathered
together one of the most elaborate displays, illustrating fully the wealth
of forest and mine. Every section of this country and portions of
foreign lands find representation here. The selection of exhibits for
this building is under the direct supervision of the Departments of
Forestry and Mines of the United States Government, and conse¬
quently the display is marked by the intelligence, skill and cultivated
taste that has directed its arrangement.
The native exhibits come from various parts of the Union, but
principally from the South, and illustrate the forest products of that
section in their natural and manufactured states. Among these is the
section of a pine tree whose rings show it to be three hundred and
eighty-two years old. An adequate presentation of Southern flora,
2 I Q
220
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
bales of moss from Florida, used for cushions and mattresses, a window
the panes of which are of resin, and new devices for extracting tur¬
pentine without endangering the trees, are among the things of
general interest.
The Government display includes columns of polished wood, a relief
map of Palestine, showing the evil effects of deforestation; three other
reliefs, exemplifying like results from the same cause in the United
States, and by no means least in interest, the cradle in which Thomas
Jefferson was rocked in his infancy.
The show made by the Argentine Republic, not only of woods,
but of hides, wool, grains and pictures, representing the scenery of the
country, is unexpectedly large and of great interest.
The section devoted to the mineral exhibit is richly stocked with
special reference to the resources of the South in this direction. Some
fine gems are among the collection. There are a few diamonds—some
of them found within a dozen miles from Atlanta—amethysts, beryl,
opal, emeralds—it is said the largest one ever found came from North
Carolina—hiddenite of even finer green, corundum, showing its
sapphire and ruby tints, quartz in huge crystals, both clear and smoky,
chalcedony, garnet, jasper and zircon. Large and fine samples of slate
and marble from the numerous quarries of the mountain regions of the
South are to be seen on all sides. The exhibitors of marble claim for
their product a greater resistance to fire than granite or any other
building material. A single specimen of granite from the quarries at
Mount Airy measures seven by twenty-eight feet and weighs sixteen
tons. Gold and iron, coal and banxite, from the latter of which alum
and aluminum are extracted, are found in paying quantities in Georgia
and neighboring States.
Among other things in the mineral collection are geological maps,
reliefs and sections, the latter showing how zinc mines are worked,
natural stone blotter rollers, cases devoted to economic geology and
mineralogy, columns representing the mineral outputs at various times
and localities; a fine showing of the ores and minerals of Pennsylva¬
nia and the Isaac Lee collection of gems and crystals; gorgeously
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
221
colored copper ore, immense stalactites and jasperized wood from
Arizona; reliefs of the extinct volcanic craters of Utah; gems and
minerals from George F. Kunz of the Brooklyn Institute, including
four hundred fresh water pearls, noble emeralds from North Carolina
and a large crystal ball of Southern quartz ; arrow heads of crystal,
italocumite, or flexible sandstone; silicide of iron and other forms and
varieties of that metal; crushers, separators and the many devices
employed in the processes of mining and milling; acetylene gas,
burning with a muddy flame, and the exemplification of the applica ¬
tions of minerals to the development of the arts and sciences.
ELECTRICITY BUILDING.
Tt)e Electrical gdildinor
★
hOCATED in one of the most attractive parts of the grounds, at
an elevation of nine hundred and eighteen feet above the sea
level, on the eastern border of " Clara Meer," and just north
of the Transportation Building, is the Electricity Building, with its
wide portals and high dome. The structure is two hundred and sixty-
two feet long by eighty feet wide, giving a floor area of 21,000
square feet. The imposing central dome, sixty feet in diameter, rises
in graceful proportions to a height of one hundred feet above the floor
line, and thousands of electric lights, great and small, reflect at night
the outlines of the beautiful building in the smooth waters of the lake.
The latticed windows and the arched doors, which recall the famous
golden door of the Chicago Fair, are pleasantly distinguished features
in the architecture of the structure. Under its roof is to be seen one
of the best exhibits of the kind ever gotten together for exposition
purposes, showing in detail and by actual contrast the rapidity of
electrical development, and further demonstrating by practical appli¬
cation its many and varied uses.
There are dynamos, motors, batteries, generators, supplies, reels,
phonographs, kinetoscopes, telephone switch boards, lamps, fittings,
track materials, and maps and plans showing the trolley systems in
operation in certain cities. At night this building is the best lighted
of any on the Exposition Grounds, and is the one that may be visited
after dark with the greatest profit and interest.
The General Electric Company shows a model of the largest
electric generator in the world. It has 1,000 horsepower and runs"
16,000 lights in the city of St. Louis. The Bell Telephone Company
occupies nearly 1,300 feet of space, and almost as much is taken up
with the display made by the Westinghouse Company. There are
1 5 225
226
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
banks of colored lights and groups of globes and other fittings. Elec¬
tric launches can be seen inside the building, or studied in active
operation as they glide about the lake carrying their loads of
passengers. Trolley cars and controllers, batteries and appliances for
cauterizing in surgery can be inspected at leisure, and there is an
exercising machine that sends an electric current through your body
while you are engaged in developing your muscles. The application
of electricity to heat can be investigated. A New York company
exhibits an electric pad that is especially adapted to invalids. It is a
flexible sheet of asbestos with imbedded wire that is to be attached to
the socket of an electric lamp and is then guaranteed to give out a
steady and uniform heat. It can be used as a foot warmer, or it can
be placed on a sideboard to keep food and drink constantly warm and
ready for use. Its cost while in operation is only a cent an hour.
The same company shows a new insulating material called vulcabeston,
and has many other interesting exhibits.
•NiviNnoj oiaiDBia
An Ctectrical TriampI)
★
RO feature of the Exposition more fully repaid the thousands of
intelligent and cultured persons who made a study of the
exhibits than the wonderful display of recent inventions and
improvements in electrical apparatus gathered within the walls of the
Electricity Building. The success of an exposition is not to be
judged solely by the numbers and bulkiness of the exhibits, or even
by the throngs of visitors that are drawn from near and far to enjoy
its attractions. To disseminate knowledge and instruction in all
branches of the arts and sciences that tend to make life more pleasant
and comfortable, and to promote the general welfare of the people,
should be the foremost and highest aim of the promoters of an enter¬
prise such as was successfully developed, and carried to a triumphant
result, by the public-spirited citizens of Atlanta. That those at the
head of affairs fully appreciated the responsibility they had undertaken
by making the Exposition not only entertaining, but a means of
enlightenment and information, was apparent in every department of
the exhibition, and especially so in the exhibits pertaining to the
latest developments in electrical apparatus, and giving to even the
dullest or most careless observers some idea of the rapid strides that
have been made in utilizing the electric current, as well as the all-per¬
vading nature of modern electrical applications.
This view of the aims and influences of an exhibition of the high
standard that was realized in the Exposition at Atlanta, is well por¬
trayed in a brief treatise by Mr. Luther Stieringer, the accomplished
consulting electrical engineer of the Atlanta Exposition, who held a
similar post of responsibility in connection with the World's Columbian
Eair at Chicago. Mr. Stieringer says with much acumen and sound
judgment:
229
230
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
" Broadly and superficially there are many points of resemblance
and similarity between all expositions, and the expert who has dealt
with the subject half-a-dozen times always has certain questions and
problems before him that he knows will come up, and upon which he
finds himself cogitating even before the emergency of swift decision
arises—for no matter how long the period of incubation may be,
exposition difficulties are generally disposed of at last with the sudden
resolve which Napoleon characterized as one of the proofs of genius.
Restricting ourselves to electrical issues, it may be noted that these
are by no means few, but include the lighting of the buildings and
grounds; the general embellishment of the exposition as a whole;
matters of patrol and alarm ; inter-communication by day between
different departments ; the supply of motive power; transportation by
land and water ; special features of attraction in the evening, and the
demonstration in various ways of the utilities and elegancies of electrical
devices not yet generally known. Each exposition has, if we know
where to detect it, a special lesson of its own in almost every art, and
thus becomes a new port of departure towards discoveries and goals in
the future. The Centennial of 1876 resumed what we knew of electro¬
plating and telegraphy, but it showed also the first glimmers of the
electric light, and there were heard the first stammering accents of the
telephone. So, too, the Paris Exposition of 1889 exhibited the elec¬
tric light as a great and well-defined industry. In 1893 the Chicago
Fair again summed up the past, and added to the roll of electrical gains
the art of urban transportation, and the conquest of the water with a
fleet of silent launches.
" If asked to specify the notable features with which the Atlanta
Exposition may hereafter stamp itself on electrical history, the writer
would be inclined to name electrical transmission over long distances
and in factories, and the further differentiation of important classes of
work in the department of lighting, heating and inter-communication.
The advance in these respects from 1893 to 1896 is thus again indi¬
vidualized just as political evolutions are by successive presidential
terms or the tenure of European monarchs. I hose who are intimately
transportation building.
(Illuminated Night Scene.)
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
233
familiar with the electrical advances know that the recent three lean
years of national depression have been singularly fruitful in valuable
innovations and improvements which, perhaps, the reckless disregard
of economy manifested in the flush days of prosperity might have left
in obscure neglect. As a corollary to this higher refinement and
better engineering, has come a lower range of prices for apparatus, so
that equipments shown at Atlanta may be purchased for prices that
would have seemed incredibly low at Chicago in 1893. This again
means a boon to the inspecting public and a further popularization of
electrical arts and appliances.
" Descending from the general to the particular, it may be remarked
that the problems of lighting at expositions involve many unimagined
difficulties. It is not simply a question of circuits, though that is no
child's play ; nor is it just the placing of a light or two for immediate
service in the way that one places a tallow candle. There are buildings
to be illuminated and there are grounds, and as electricity was the first
medium to render such work possible it was but natural that impossi¬
bilities should at once be expected of it. The history of the Chicago
Fair is full of the vagaries and delusions of architects and artists who,
by turning on electricity, proposed to load the daylight with rainbows
and flood the night with sunshine ; and who literally stood aghast when
they discovered how many millions of dollars and of horse power their
modest plans would require. Now, nature not only forbids such
extravagances, but true art condemns them ; and the first duty of an
expert in lighting is to emphasize the fact that we can but secure
relative effects, the harmony of which will accomplish infinitely more
than costly and laborious sensationalism. To an eye that has been
fixed on the sun, the glow of the incandescent lamp is a sickly yellow
and the beam of the arc is a ghastly blue; but, coming out of the
darkness into a room properly lighted by incandescence, we enjoy at
once a feeling of cheerfulness, while the walk along a street begirt with
arc lights promotes a sense of security that a platoon of policemen
could not afford.
234
NEW YORK' AT THE COTTON STATES
" In the case of buildings and grounds, the true principle is to
outline and accentuate against the dark background of the night.
Thus the imagination is given a chance, and this freedom is pleasant
to all intelligent minds. The contour of the landscape is caught, the
contrast of light and shadow is agreeably heightened, the expenditure
of energy for the given result is minimized, and the spectator whose
eye is not stunned or dazzled moves about with serene disposition, the
rest given to the optic nerves being felt by the body as a whole. It
may be said that success in this respect must depend largely upon
artifice. It does, but not of the kind which betrays itself. The artist
in light looks upon any subject just as the painter does upon a land¬
scape. He has to compose a perfect picture by means of the disposal
of illumination, and he must be judged by the resultant harmonious
whole. For example, to erect huge towers and masts for lamps out¬
side buildings would inevitably dwarf the structures. To make each
building a blaze of light would blot out the grounds. A sea of light
in the paths and lawns would reduce the buildings to islands of dark¬
ness, so that the study of interaction, distribution and diffusion
becomes for a lighting expert not only a severe problem, but a fasci¬
nating and absorbing pursuit. In dealing with questions of light for
strictly utilitarian purposes, means must be adopted quite different
from those that promise success in spectacular displays, but the result
is ever a matter of guesswork. The experiment is much the same as
the firing of modern heavy artillery; each shot is so costly and so
irretrievable when fired, that native genius and prayerful study must
be taxed to the full in advance to insure the hitting of the mark. Let
the reader of these words, for example, give a few minutes to the
lighting of the grounds and buildings as a matter of plan. Be his
approval or criticism what it may, he will see at once how extremely
difficult it would have been to change this plan after adoption, and,
therefore, how much experience and thought must necessarily have
gone into it in advance.
"These suggestions apply with even more pertinence to decorative
and spectacular lighting, and have been discussed at some length,
MINERALS AND FORESTRY BUILDING.
(Illuminated Night Scene.)
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
^37
technically, in the various reports and papers of the writer in connec¬
tion with his duties as consulting electrical engineer of the Chicago
World's Fair. Pleasing as were many of the effects there, the capa¬
bilities of improvement were of noteworthy magnitude; but the
incessant, though probably unintentional, clash between academic
architecture, unrestrained art impulses and ambitious landscape gar¬
dening was more dangerous to the harmony of the whole than the
public had any idea of; so that many effects, both by day and by
night, were sacrificed. The writer will content himself with speaking
merely of his own province. Taking the Chicago electric fountains as
an object lesson, it may be pointed out that this beautiful feature was
intended for the centre of the basin in the Grand Court of Honor,
where it could have been seen in ease and comfort by a million people.
As it was, the segregated and emasculated fountains were put baldly
and nakedly against the terrace of the McMonnies group, which they
flanked. At the back, on the land side, their effect when in play was
sadly minimized, if not entirely lost, as they were sunken, and at the
sides the drift of the spray in the wind drove the spectators away.
Now, at the Atlanta Exposition, the electric fountain, representing the
very farthest reach of ingenuity and art and engineering in this unique
branch of work, has been placed in the centre of the lake. There it
will not only have its own effect enhanced by distance and be visible
from all points equally, but it can be adjusted to its setting, like a
diamond, the more beautiful for the gleaming of other precious stones
around it.
"To a certain extent this is prediction in regard to the success of
the Atlanta electric fountain. As to its unexcelled costliness and
elaboration, there is no question, but who can depict or illustrate, or
even imagine in advance the effect to be derived from any gratification
of eye or ear ? Each person will have a separate, individual sensation
of pleasure from a spectacle which no artist, however impressionistic,
can convey to canvas, and which the more faithful and trustworthy
photograph taken after the event, leaves ungrasped. The visitor to
Atlanta must judge for himself of the 'auroras turned upside down.'
238
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
He will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that here he sees the
best that electricity and color aided by flowing water can do to feast
the eye and imagination.
" So, too, in the other exhibits which will be dependent upon the
incandescent instead of the arc lamp. He will there discover how
plastic illumination has become, and how, in structural effects, it can
be massed or spread out; here in thin red lines on the darkness like
those of the British soldiers at Inkerman against the sombre masses of
Russian infantry ; or there in loops of maypole streamers, or again in
spirals and columns and sheets of splendor. We have still much to
learn, and Atlanta will greatly help us, as to the ability of electricity
to give us entirely new ideas in interior ornament and exterior decora¬
tion.
" Before proceeding to touch on other exhibits, it may be noted
that the electrically luminous twin fountains ' Atlantis' will embrace
water designs of endless variety, including the untried novelty of a
'mist bank,' supplemented by the hardly less new forms of lily jets,
geysers, wheat sheaves, ring curtains and parabolas. The lighting
will be done by means of twenty-four projectors, each of which focus
a beam of light of not less than 250,000 candle-power. The hydraulic
part is on an equally imposing scale, water being furnished to the
fountains at one hundred pounds pressure through a twenty-four-inch
main with a capacity of 1 5,000 gallons a minute. The fountain island is
about one hundred feet in length by fifty in width, and its jets will
shoot to an altitude of full one hundred and fifty feet.
" The Atlanta Exposition will, in the domain of industrial electric
lighting, emphasize as with the punctuation of a full stop, the close
of a most notable period of electrical controversy, namely, that as to
the superiority of the direct or the alternating current. A few years
ago it was supposed that in order to cover the large areas in the cities,
we must resort to the alternating current entirely. Time has dispelled
that error, as the display at Atlanta evidences, and the electrical engi¬
neer shows that he has learned to draw sharp lines of distinction
between transmitting the current and distributing it. Both parts of
ELECTRICITY BUILDING.
(Illuminated Night Scene.)
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
241
the problem are important, but they are not alike and never will be.
In fact, as the display in the Exposition evinces, city lighting- of any
magnitude or perfection in America to-day continues to be done with
the direct current on the three-wire system; and even alternating
current generated for lighting tends more and more to find itself
delivered to apparatus which will ' straighten' it out and make it
'continuous.' Another point to emphasize is the fact that much of the
series arc lighting has succumbed to the use of arc lamps on the direct
current incandescent circuits, which, as Atlanta will show, thus com¬
bine on one set of wires arc lamps, incandescent lamps, motors and
heating appliances. Where series arc lights holds its own, economic¬
ally, it is done by abolishing the small arc machines of twenty-five or
thirty lights, shown so profusely ten years ago as beau ideals at the
Philadelphia Electrical Exhibition of 1876, and by adopting dynamos
that will carry as high as one hundred and fifty arc lights. Exposi-
tionally speaking, the demonstration of this new class of work will
date from Atlanta.
" As the direct current still maintains its sway and dignity in the
field of lighting, motor work and the operation of the ubiquitous
trolley car, and is facile princeps in the art of distribution, so the alter¬
nating current has found its special and peculiar field in transmission.
The careful student will be able to gratify himself with the inspection
of the novel apparatus of the monocyclic, two-phase and three-phase
current types by which a new world is opening up in all industry and
manufactures by the electrical utilization of large or remote water
powers. The gaze of the world is fixed on Niagara, but since the
Chicago Fair a great many plants of similar interest have been put in
successful operation. The South, in its laudable desire for the devel¬
opment of mechanical pursuits and of new industries, will here find
one of its most fruitful incentives and lessons. Disappointment, it is
true, awaits many a sanguine projector of power transmission schemes,
who has not stopped to ascertain how dismally low the minimum flow
of a magnificent stream may get, but the Southland is unquestionably
242 NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
full of water sources that, sooner or later, with the help of such appa¬
ratus as is shown at Atlanta, will create new centres of manufacture
and diversify the occupations of its ambitious people.
" The storage battery has one of its happiest exemplifications in the
electric launches, and the Atlanta exhibit will, commercially, be worthy
of observation. The ingenious inventor can make his opportunity here
and be very welcome. The storage battery has, until very lately, been
the spendthrift and black sheep of the electrical family. Barely now
has it reformed, and the road is long that it has to travel before capital
can be freely drawn out for its exploitation as it was after the Paris
Electrical Exposition in the early '8o's. But what there is good of it is
to be seen at Atlanta, and the result is far better than any of us dared
anticipate before the fleet at Chicago had carried its 1,000,000 pas¬
sengers with such remarkable success. Visitors to the Fair will note
the absence of storage battery railway work—a branch that once was
watched and nursed with the liveliest expectations.
" In telegraphy the Atlanta Exposition has little to reveal that is new.
The art of telegraphy, except in the use of duplex and quadruplex,
with their 'phantom wires,' has persistently reverted to first principles;
and even the Wheatstone which is largely used in long Southern work,
is anything but a novelty. Perhaps this is well. The South has no
wish to lose its staples in cotton, sugar and tobacco, and even the mer¬
curial electrician likes to know there are some corners of his field in
which things are restful and peaceable. Telephony will, however, show
many strides, and its exhibit will deserve the closest attention. There
are to-day, as the exhibit shows, three kinds of telephonic work—
interior, or office ; central exchange, or urban; and long-distance, or
cross country. Each branch is rapidly specializing, the more so since
the running out of some of the fundamental patents has stimulated the
pioneers to new exertions, encouraged the activities of inventors and
enlisted enterprising capital in an admittedly profitable industry. It is
not too much to say that Atlanta will show a larger and better variety
of telephonic apparatus than has been seen in many years, and will
mark a new point of departure for the art.
FLOATING ELECTRIC TOWER.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
245
" There are numerous other ideas and details that the writer might
dwell on, but perhaps he has said enough already to help the visitor to
the Atlanta Exposition to see with comprehending eyes and to elicit
many other lessons full of pleasure or instruction. Only two other
points may be noted, and they are in a sense interdependent. The
first is that Electricity Building and Machinery Hall with all their won¬
ders and triumphs, prove that electricity has so far been called upon to
do very little for agricultural countries and the regions producing the
raw material of enormous industries. Electricity has hitherto been
peculiarly the enjoyment of the dweller in the city. May we not hope
for the demonstration at Atlanta, choice center of one of the finest raw
material portions of the whole world, that electricity is now to be tamed
for the service of the farmer ?
" The second of the suggestions it is desired finally to make is, that
electricity belongs to no man. Rich as it is in countless beautiful
inventions, its unpreempted auriferous soil has scarcely been scratched.
Morse and Edison, Brush and Tesla, Bell and Gray, Thomson and
Sprague—great as their ideas and discoveries have been, are but
exemplars and sign-posts for the younger men who must come after,
and of whom the South must furnish its quota."
Tl)e Attdiforiam
— ★
rRONTING on the plaza, to the east of the Administration
Building, is a large, tropical-looking structure with square
towers and open loggias. This is known as the "Auditorium."
It covers an area one hundred and thirty-five feet long and two
hundred feet deep, and its hall contains seats for two thousand persons.
Here are held the various meetings and congresses, except such as the
women hold in their building, and here, when the weather is inclement
or stormy, the concerts are given. Mr. Innes, late leader of the band
of the Thirteenth Regiment of the New York State Militia, conducts
these musical entertainments, and the musicians under his charge, both
vocal and instrumental, are of the first quality. Occasionally he gives
a Gilmore touch to the programme by the use of artillery as bass
drums. The material comforts of patrons are well looked after, as the
building contains restaurants where food and drinks are supplied at
reasonable prices.
2 49
AUDITORIUM.
(Illuminated Night Scene.)
Reunion of fl)e ^lae and Cira^
★
ONE of the events of national importance that marked the prog¬
ress of the Exposition was the reunion of old soldiers of the
Civil War on the twenty-first of September, known as " Blue
and Gray Day." The date was fixed upon because the opening- and
dedication of the National Park at Chickamauga occurred on the two
previous days, and it was expected that thousands of veterans of both
the Union and Confederate armies who participated in the ceremonies
at Chickamauga would continue on to Atlanta, especially as the old
soldiers who took part in the hard-fought battles that were waged in this
immediate vicinity would be naturally desirous to revisit the scenes of
those memorable contests. Consequently an invitation was extended
by the Exposition to all veterans, asking them to join in a grand
reunion on the historic ground of which Atlanta is the centre. This
invitation was promulgated and officially endorsed by Colonel Thomas
G. Lawler, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic,
and by General John B. Gordon, Commander-in-Chief of the United
Confederate Veterans, and was given wide publicity in the columns of
the newspapers in all parts of the country.
The principal event that marked the reunion was the meeting held
in the Auditorium on the Exposition Grounds. A large number of
Union and Confederate veterans had assembled at Atlanta, among
them being many famous soldiers. There were also in attendance a
considerable number of civilians of national distinction.
The most notable of the veterans present were Generals Schofield
and Longstreet—the former not only as a famous soldier of the Civil
War, but likewise as representing the power and military prestige of
the United States as the Commanding General of its Army; the latter,
as a veteran of the war with Mexico and as one of the most eminent
generals on either side in the contest for the preservation of the Union.
2 53
254
XEVV YORK AT THE COTTOX STATES
They formed an historic picture, seated upon the same platform, and
surrounded by other veterans of high rank and by men who have
attained the highest honors in affairs of state. It was a scene that
caused every liberty-loving and patriotic heart to throb the faster, and
recognize in such a reunion the cementing of the ties that shall bind
the people of the freest and greatest country the world has ever known
in fraternal fellowship and indissoluble unity.
There was speechmaking, of course, at this gathering of the
veterans of the blue and gray, and the speeches arose to the dignity
and spirit of the occasion. Colonel W. A. Hemphill of the Atlanta.
Constitution, was the presiding officer, and opened the proceedings in
the following appropriate, eloquent and patriotic words:
Comrades, Ladies, and Fellow-country men : It was a great and glorious,
privilege to take part in the late war. It is a greater privilege to witness this
scene to-day—a reunited country. My heart has been thrilled with the
patriotic and fraternal sentiments uttered this week at Chickamauga Park by
prominent Union generals and distinguished Northern men.
An old Confederate soldier of Chattanooga, talking to several Grand Army
men, said: "Boys, we gave you such a licking at Chickamauga that you have
not forgotten it in thirty-five years." Indeed, there were some lasting impres¬
sions made at that time. We intend to lick you with kindness to-day, so that,
you will not forget it for a hundred years to come.
This is an appropriate place to hold this reunion. Over these fields thirty
years ago, shot and shell flew thick as hail. These hills and woods resounded
with the thunders of cannon and the rattle of musketry, and this soil was con¬
secrated by the best blood of this nation, but that was in the past. To-day
you see a different scene. On yonder hill stands a magnificent structure
erected by the National Government. In that building are the portraits of
Washington, Lincoln and Grant. I am sorry that Lee is not there, too. On
that building, under a Southern sun, float the Stars and Stripes as proudly as if
they were floating from the dome of the Capitol at Washington. That building;
is dear to us; those portraits we admire and love, and, as for that flag, my
fellow-countrymen, we would die in its defense. This, indeed, is a joyous day,
and it is meet and proper that we return thanks to the Almighty God for His.
mercies and blessings.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
255
A fervent and inspiring prayer was offered by Rev. Dr. Henry
McDonald of Atlanta, thanking God for a reunited country and the
blessings of peace and prosperity which had been so abundantly
bestowed upon its people.
In behalf of the Exposition, its officers and the citizens of Atlanta,
Captain Evan P. Howell warmly and gracefully welcomed the visitors.
He was frequently applauded and his humorous allusions to the late
unpleasantness created much amusement.
Captain Howell said in part:
I can give you in brief the history of the war that every honest man who
was in the Confederate army will vouch for, when I tell you that during the
first two years of the war we were running after the Federal army and the last
two they were running after us. Now, fellow-citizens, I am satisfied of one
thing, and it is an admission that a brave man will make if he tells you the
truth, that I made the best time in the last two years, because I had more
experience. *##***##
Now we have come to another field. This Exposition does not belong to
Atlanta; it does not belong to the County of Fulton; it does not belong to
the State of Georgia; it belongs to every State in the Union. We have con¬
tributed it as an example, not only to the people of the State of Georgia and
of the South, but to the whole country, to let them understand that to-day the
Confederates of Georgia, the men of the Union army in Georgia, have locked
shields together, and we are determined from now henceforth and forever to
put upon our flag this great American Union.
You frequently hear it said and whispered among politicians and men who
want to create prejudice that we want to have slavery again. Now, I say to
you as a slaveholder who was willing to back his judgment with his ability to
fight, that had it not been for slavery in the South it would to-day have been
the garden spot of the United States.
We have been wandering in the wilderness almost forty years, but now we
have got our beacon light, and we give fair warning to the people north of
Mason and Dixon's line that while there is no animosity toward you the race
is open. We have taken our hospitals and our headquarters and such other
spare houses as General Sherman left us and turned them into manufacturing
establishments, and we are going to stand by them, and whenever the American
256
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
flag is insulted by any other nation, I do not care whether great or small, I
pledge you that you will find just as much patriotism to-day in Georgia as there
is in Massachusetts.
The principal speech in behalf of the visiting veterans from the
North was made by Governor William McKinley, of Ohio, and was
characteristically eloquent, happy and impressive, and almost every
sentence was greeted with hearty plaudits. Governor McKinley's
address was as follows:
Mr. Presidetit, Ladies, ci7id my Countrymen : Thirty-one years ago the spot
upon which we now stand was the theatre of an awful, dreadful and devastating
war. For thirty-one years the swords have been sheathed, the arms have been
stacked, the cartridge-boxes have had only empty chambers, and the arrows of
death which fell thick and fast all about this region are now carrying only
messages of love and affection and fraternal union, and expressing a unity
which is in the hearts of the people that can never, never be broken. The
time, if not already here, should be here now, when the North and the South
only suggest geographical divisions and nothing else. I believe, from what I
have seen here to-day ; what I have witnessed on the Chickamauga battlefield;
what I learned from what occurred at Louisville, Ky., and again at Knoxville,
Tenn., I am prepared to respond to the interruption of my friend that hour is
here now, and we all thank God for it. Those designations should no longer
suggest passion and bitterness and hatred, but should suggest, and do suggest,
that patriotism is in the hearts of the people to-day, North and South, and
when united is invincible. What we have wanted in this country for years is
a fresh baptism of patriotism. And the best way to get it is by immersion.
The war has been over thirty-one years. The bitterness and resentment belong
to the past, and its glories are the common heritage of us all. What was won
in that war belongs just as securely to those who lost as to those who
triumphed. And our concern to-day should not be about the past, for that is
secure; our concern should be about the future, for to us and to those who
shall come after rests the supreme duty and responsibility of carrying forward
this great Government, builded upon foundations of liberty, builded in the
hearts of the American people, to carryforward to a more glorious destiny than
has ever been anticipated in the past. If we ever fight again, and I pray God
that we may never have to, but, if we ever do, we will fight on the same side,
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
257
and we will fight under the same flag, and the flag will be the glorious old Stars
and Stripes, the same our grandsires lifted up; the same our fathers bore; in
many a battle's tempest it shed crimson rain, and it to-day means that what
God hath woven in His loom let no man rend in twain.
I am glad to meet my countrymen here in Georgia; it is not my first visit
to your hospitable city. Eight years ago when I came here men of all parties
bade me gracious welcome, and at every succeeding visit I have enjoyed the
hospitality of your homes and of your city. I come here now to bring to
Georgia the good will of the great State which for the moment I have the
honor to represent—the State of Ohio.
I bring to you the best wishes of all our people. We will have no fighting
any more, except we fight for a higher and better citizenship and a grander
civilization for our common country. I am glad to witness this splendid
Exposition. I see from what you have done what you will do and accomplish,
for I have discovered that when Atlanta starts out to do anything Atlanta always
gets there. And this Exposition, I trust, may be visited by all the people and
by all the States, witnessing the arts of peace and the triumphs of the skill and
genius of the American people. And what we have got to do, my countrymen,
is to get closer together. We discover that there is not half so much difference
as we imagine when we touch elbows. The fact is, we haven't had any
trouble since the war between the men who fought on the one side or the other.
The trouble has been with the men who fought on neither side, and who could
go on either side should interest or occasion demand it. We are all of us
Americans now, and it may be some comfort to remember that Americans
never surrender but to Americans. And all that the boys in blue and all that
the boys in gray want is that the settlement made between Grant and Lee at
Appomattox shall stand as the irreversible judgment of history, and the
ineffaceable decree of a nation of freemen.
An admirable speech was made by Captain W. D. Ellis, of Atlanta,
in behalf of the veterans of the Confederacy. The lofty and noble
spirit of patriotism which permeated his utterances is finely exemplified
in the appended extract:
Inevitable destiny caused the irrepressible conflict to culminate in our day
and generation. We fought it out like brave men ; we settled it forever, and
with a magnanimitv equal to our courage we shook hands across the bloody
17
258 NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
chasm. In response to the invocation of your great chieftain, " Let us have
peace," and in obedience to the " Amen " uttered by our great leader, we have
long since come together, and we will leave behind us a reunited country where
God grant the white-winged angel of peace may forever stand guard. May
it continue to grow great and prosperous until all good men of all the earth will
hold it up as a model—better than any that has ever existed and as good as
humanity can ever hope for.
The other speakers were Governor Levi P. Morton, of New York ;
Governor Woodbury, of Vermont; Governor Holcombe, of Nebraska ;
ex-Governor Fairchild, of Wisconsin, and Colonel J. R. Lewis, of
Atlanta, who spoke in behalf of the local post of the Grand Army of
the Republic. General Longstreet and Captain J. W. English, of
Atlanta, were summoned to the platform by the presiding officer. It
was Captain English who bore General Grant's final message to General
Lee at Appomattox. All of the speeches were attuned to the same
keynote of patriotism, love of country and its institutions, and devout
aspiration for the perpetuity of the Union, and every utterance awoke
a responsive and sympathetic chord in the hearts of the men and
women in the audience.
A most dramatic scene occurred when the gray head and
commanding form of General Longstreet was recognized as he wended
his way to the platform in response to the request of the Chairman. As
he reached the stage, the governors and other dignitaries arose to greet
him. The audience sprang to its feet, and burst into enthusiastic
cheers. The color-bearer of Governor Morton's staff waved his flag
while the handkerchiefs cf the ladies fluttered in every part of the
Auditorium. Then the Chairman stepped forward and grasped the hand
of the brave old warrior who was visibly moved at his enthusiastic
reception. It was at this juncture that Governor Morton was
introduced, and in opening his remarks expressed the gratification of
the representatives of the great State of New York at the scene they
had just witnessed. The Governor's remark was the signal for another
hearty and long-continued outbreak of enthusiasm, and it was some
minutes before the proceedings could be resumed.
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES 259
Another enthusiastic scene occurred when Col. Hemphill stepped
up to the one-armed Union veteran, General Fairchild, ex-Governor of
Wisconsin and a Past Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the
Republic, and pinned a Confederate badge upon his breast.
Nor were the less distinguished veterans of the Union and
Confederate armies less sincere and warm-hearted in their fraternal
greetings. They fraternized like long-parted friends and discussed the
stirring scenes of thirty years ago with many jests at the discomfitures
each had experienced at the hands of the other, and with pitying and
sorrowful recollections of the comrades who fell on the field of battle
or died in the hospitals, the ill-fated victims of disease, exposure and
privation. The scenes witnessed at this reunion furnished ample cor¬
roborative testimony to the well-established fact that the men who
perilled life and limb for what each believed to be right, were the first
to bridge the bloody chasm, and are to-day the sturdiest and bravest
upholders of our country, its flag and institutions, and that should war
be necessary to protect the nation's life or assert its honor they would
be found standing shoulder to shoulder for their common country as
firmly and courageously as they once stood face to face in hostile
array.
Tl)e Ainincr Camp
★
IF you visit the Exposition be sure and hunt up the California
Mining Camp. To a person who has never been in the Western
mining regions and would wish to see what a mountain settlement
is like, this camp offers a revelation. It is just such a frontier mining
settlement as Bret Harte and writers of his school have depicted. The
cabins are constructed of rough boards, put up to suit the whim or
convenience of the builder, without the least regard to regularity or
appearance. Mud roads and paths run helter-skelter from point to point
in this settlement. Of course, all of the houses are not labeled in the
mining districts of California, Nevada and Colorado as they are in this
camp, but the labels are suggestive, and recall many localities and
names that have become familiar to the civilized world. For example,
you see a cabin bearing the name of J. W. Mackay upon its unpre¬
tending front, and although it probably never sheltered Mackay, it is
more than likely that it was in just such a house that the now distin¬
guished multi-millionaire was living shortly before he made his pile by
the discoveries of the silver treasures in the Comstock lode. There is
a big, bare, bleak-looking building, which you are informed by the
primitive sign it displays, is a dance-hall. There are other signs at its
entrance requesting guests to do this, or avoid doing that, if they wish
to keep out of trouble and escape the dangers of getting a bullet in
their bodies or being carved with a bowie-knife. The building, inside
and out, is exactly what the dance-halls of California mining camps
used to be in the early fifties, except that it lacks a bar in the corner,
and that in the old-time dance-hall or theatre there were no separate
rows of seats for colored people as there are in the building here. It
was in just such temples of the drama that several actors, now famous,
began their career and gained the first successes that ripened into a
260
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
popularity which brought reputation and wealth in its train. Love
for the drama is an inborn quality of human nature, and the enjoy¬
ment which the hardy miners derived from the presentation of dramatic
art was not lessened by the rude surroundings and furnishings of the
playhouse.
Another feature of the camp that the visitor will find unexpectedly
enjoyable is the graveyard. This is due to the peculiarities of the
epitaphs. The monuments of Westminster Abbey and the cathedrals
of the Old World may be able to boast of a higher order of rhetoric,
but for the laconic statement of facts the headboards in the camp
burying-ground are unapproachable.
It has been suggested that the realism of the mining camp would
have been enhanced by having placed it farther down the hill on which
it is located, so that the brook which flows at the base could have been
utilized in showing how gravel is washed for gold. It would certainly
add an especial attraction to the show if in such an operation gold
should be found in the sand and gravel used, but such an outcome
would not be impossible, nor even improbable, for the precious metal
is found in considerable quantities in Georgia, and is mined at a profit
at no great distance from Atlanta.
GEORGIA MANUFACTURES BUILDING.
Tt)e States Represented
GEORGIA, the "Empire State of the South," has a fine exposition
of her products and manufactures, the former in the Georgia
State Building, the latter in the Georgia Manufactures structure.
The State Building is very commodious and handsome, covering an
area of one hundred and fifty feet in length and one hundred and
fifteen feet in width. Two floors are devoted to the forestry, geology,
mineralogy and agriculture of the State, and to exhibits from its
schools, colleges and technological institute. There is a large gallery
in which the women of Georgia make a fine display of their handiwork.
In the Georgia Manufactures Building, two hundred and fifty-three
by eighty-seven feet on the ground, there is a display of all manner
of articles, from baking-powder to saw mills. The observer arrives at
the conclusion that almost everything is manufactured in Georgia
nowadays, and the supposition comes pretty near the truth, for the
State abounds in coal, metals and water-power, and its people have the
genuine American energy, enterprise and brains.
The Alabama house is a modest structure, architecturally, and is
devoted to the geology, the mines, the farms and vineyards of the State.
Illinois has a handsome, home-like villa, a headquarters for its
people, but there is no effort at display.
Massachusetts is represented in a copy of the Longfellow house in
Cambridge. It is occupied in large part by a school display.
Pennsylvania's building is beautifully situated and handsomely
decorated and furnished. It is the most visited of all the buildings
that contain no industrial show, because it has the Liberty bell that
was muffled when the stamp act was passed, summoned the people to
protest against oppressions, called the men of Philadelphia to arms
after Lexington, uttered a joyous clangor when the Declaration of
Independence was signed, and broke when tolling for the death of
Chief Justice Marshall.
265
U If&HiTeW
FIRE BUILDING.
Tl)e Fire r>oilding
★-
THE Fire Building is two hundred and five feet long, fifty feet
wide, and two stories high. It is a handsome structure,
thoroughly supplied with the best apparatus that has been
devised up to date. The Gamewell fire-alarm system of the most
approved type has been installed as a protection against fire, and as a
further safeguard, an auxiliary alarm service has been added, which
covers every part of each building on the grounds. Alarm boxes are
stationed near each exhibit and register the exact locality at head¬
quarters, so that the firemen may reach any threatened point in the
shortest possible time. Hundreds of fire-extinguishers have been
placed in the various buildings and a number of two-wheeled trucks
are located at convenient and accessible points, which are available for
quick service previous to the arrival of the heavier apparatus.
In a shed in front of the Fire Building frequent exhibitions are
given in which the latest apparatus is brought into play. One of the
most interesting features is the ball-nozzle hose, and spectators are
never tired of wondering how the ball remains in the nozzle despite
the force of the powerful stream of water which attempts to displace it.
The exhibits of fire apparatus and the relics of ancient methods of
fire-fighting have ample space in the large building and the display is
a creditable one, covering an area of about twenty thousand square
feet.
269
Foreicrn Exhibits
— —★ ———-
THE appointment of a Commission to represent the Exposition
in South American countries followed closely upon the
favorable action of Congress in granting an appropriation for
a Government exhibit, thereby giving to the enterprise the official
sanction of the United States. Colonel Isaac W. Avery, a gentleman
peculiarly fitted for such a mission, was selected as the representative
to bring to the attention of the South American officials the mutual
advantages that would result from their active co-operation in the
Exposition. Colonel Avery embarked from New York City on the
eleventh of October, 1894, his immediate destination being the city of
Rio Janeiro, Brazil, and carrying with him credentials from the Gov¬
ernor of the State of Georgia and the Secretary of State of the United
States. Secretary Gresham forwarded, with his cordial endorsement,
through the Department of State, formal invitations from the officers
of the Exposition Company inviting the various South American
Governments to participate in the Exhibition, and also sent to the
diplomatic representatives of the United States in South American
countries instructions to use their good offices in promoting the success
of the Exposition. Additionally equipped with letters from the
representatives of the South American Republics at Washington
addressed to the officials and leading citizens of their respective
countries, Colonel Avery visited in succession Brazil, the Argentine
Republic, Paraguay, Chili, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Mexico. He
occupied nine months in the journey, during which he overcame many
difficulties and underwent many hardships incident to the climate and
conditions of the countries visited.
In Brazil, the attention of the administration was called to the
enterprise, and sympathy in its objects enlisted to such an extent
270
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
271
that an exhibit was promised, but bore no practical fruit in the end,
owing to a revolution in one of the principal states of the Republic,
and to severe epidemics of cholera and yellow fever.
Many difficulties were met and overcome in the Argentine Republic,
and an appropriation of fifteen thousand dollars secured. From
Argentina the Commissioner voyaged to Chili by way of Magellan's
Straits and induced the Congress of that country to make an appro¬
priation of ten thousand dollars for an exhibit of the nitrate of soda,
the valuable fertilizer which is the chief export of the country, together
with the machinery used in mining and preparing this product for the
markets of the world.
After visiting Paraguay and Uruguay, Colonel Avery returned to
the United States, and after a brief stay in his own country proceeded
to Mexico, and secured from President Diaz a fine exhibit of the
products of that Republic, and a complimentary tender of the Mexican
Band. Returning to New York, Colonel Avery sailed for Venezuela,
which gave an exhibit that was much admired by visitors to the
Exposition.
The Central American States were visited by Mr. Charles H.
Redding, as a representative of the Exposition authorities. He secured
a joint exhibit from Costa Rica and Nicaragua, a pleasing feature of
which was a theatre, in which stereopticon views of scenes in the
countries named were shown.
Mr. Antonio Macc'ni represented the Exposition as Commissioner-
General to Great Britain and Europe. He visited the capitals of all
important European countries, and despatched agents to all the
commercial and industrial centres. In this way he secured exhibits
from England, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Austria, Hungary and
other countries, which, although not government displays, were large
and interesting. The exhibit from Italy was particularly fine, and
included elaborate displays of works of art in marble. The Art
Department was also much enriched by notable paintings collected in
London, Paris and Brussels.
Oft)er gttildings
THERE are many buildings on the Exposition grounds worthy
of mention besides those of which some description has
been given, but necessarily these buildings can only be
referred to briefly.
Just beyond the Illinois building is a small structure devoted to an
exhibition of arms, flags, uniforms and other relics of the Civil War.
Nearby is an old cabin which was pierced in more than forty places
by cannon balls at the battle of Kennesaw Mountain. The cabin was
carefully taken to pieces, brought here and rebuilt on the grounds,
where it forms an interesting feature of the Exposition.
The East Indian pavilion contains an exhibit of Benares brass and
other articles of Oriental manufacture. Here, too, visitors, if they
desire, can be served with tea by swarthy and turbaned natives of
Hindustan.
Two buildings exemplify the modern school-house and a modern
jail. The former contains all the usual appliances and exhibits all the
methods in use in the close-of-the-century place where the young idea
is taught to shoot. A class is given instruction at this school daily.
The jail may be a model place of confinement, but presents no special
attractions that are likely to induce the average American to seek its
shelter at the cost of his personal freedom.
A chimes tower, one hundred and thirty-six feet in height, contains
a set of fourteen bells. The chimes are often rung, and the music
produced is sweet and pleasant rather than powerful.
The Plant System has a house of its own in the form of a pyramid.
The building is one hundred feet square at the base and sixty feet
high. Here the results of the Plant enterprises are displayed, and
include minerals that are mined, wood that is cut, fruits and vegetables
27a
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
273
that are grown in the countries that the ships and railroads of the system
have done so much to develop. A model freight train, about one-third
size, is loaded with lumber, turpentine, cotton and phosphates.
The Southern Railway Company has a house, octagonal in form,
where a similar exhibition of products and manufactures is made.
The showing also includes several cases of gems and a set of architects'
drawings, representing the principal railway stations of this country.
Outside samples of tracks in use at various periods have been laid.
In the rear of the United States Government Building is a camp of
one hundred and ten men who carry on the work required in the
routine service at army posts, with the exception of parades. The
men are partly employed as a guard to the Government Building and
its contents, as well as to other Government property on or about the
Exposition grounds.
Tfye Fair at Nigl)t
Jr —
ATLANTA has an advantage over Chicago as a place for holding
an Exposition in being located on rolling and hilly ground
instead of on a prairie. At night this natural advantage is
more noticeable than during the daytime. When the electric fountains
are playing and the many buildings illuminated (most of them being
outlined in long rows of incandescent lamps that merge into one another
at a little distance and seem like lines of yellow fire), the sight is
beautiful and inspiring. The best point of view is on the train of
the Southern railroad at a distance of about half a mile from the
grounds. One then sees a vision that he will never forget. It
resembles a city of dreams, more enchanting than the most skillful
artist has ever put upon canvas. The domes, the colonnades, the
towers, the long roofs, the roads and paths are marked out against the
dark background in soft steady outlines of glowing light. The electric
fountains playing in the centre of the lake are a luxury of color. The
tinted light is thrown through them from beneath, and they change
from moment to moment, like opals, passing from green to red, thence
to purple, orange, silver, gold, blue, or these colors alternating and
intermixed. All this is doubled in beauty since it is reflected in the
lake where the ripples catch the sparkle of a thousand fairy-like lights,
and the night is filled with magic.
274
©aeer T^pes of Humanity
★
NOT the least interesting study which the observant spectator
finds at a great Exposition is the varying types of humanity
with which he is brought into contact. This was the case at
the World's Fair at Chicago; it is so here at Atlanta, only, perhaps, in
a lesser degree than at the greatest of exhibitions that has yet attracted
the attention of the world. As the sightseer strolls through the
highways and byways of the grounds or mingles in the throngs that
ramble from one Exposition building to another, he meets the
representatives of almost every nation on earth. The subjects of her
gracious majesty, Queen Victoria, are easily recognizable by their gruff
voices and self-satisfied manners; there are Frenchmen, with the
suavity and abundant gesticulation of their nation; phlegmatic
Germans, vivacious Italians, the turbaned natives of Hindustan, wide¬
awake Japanese—"Yankees of the Orient"; self-contained Russians,
Swedes, Norwegians, Austrians, listless Mongolians, half-naked
Dahomeyans, and a fair sprinkling of Mexicans and residents of the
Central American and South American Republics. In addition there
is the usual aggregation of Indians, cowboys, frontiersmen and other
products of our own soil. But all of these have become familiar
objects at other expositions and are to be met with almost daily in the
streets of our larger cities, so it is not in analyzing their manners or
peculiarities that the traveled man or woman discover the most
interesting subjects for observation and study. These are to be found
in the people, white and black, who are indigenous to the soil; who
wander about the grounds in mute and open-mouthed amazement, and
to whom the wonderful inventions, powerful machinery, objects of art
and thousand-and-one articles, useful or ornamental, displayed to their
wondering gaze, make the Exposition appear a veritable vision of
enchantment.
275
2 76
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
The Northern man who has not visited the South during" the past
quarter of a century and comes here expecting" to find things as he left
them, will meet with a surprise. Perhaps the push and hustling"
propensities that characterize Northern cities may not be so markedly
developed, but the country does not contain a city which excels
Atlanta in enterprise, progress and business sagacity. Its citizens are
energetic, alert, educated, intelligent, traveled and fully capable of
taking care of themselves anywhere on earth. They may not set about
their undertakings with the snort and rumble of a locomotive, yet like
the silent, smoothly-gliding trolley they reach the goal of success just
as surely and with less friction and wear-and-tear to the machinery.
Yet, it must be confessed, there is another side to the picture. In
the country districts you will find a lack of the energetic spirit and
aspirations that obtain in the cities. Go into the country, almost
within sight of the spires and lofty housetops of bustling, progressive
Atlanta, and you find yourself among a primitive people, who know
little or nothing of the great world which lies beyond their ken of
vision. Many of them who are gray-haired have never been twenty
miles from the roof under which they were born in their whole lives.
To such as these the Exposition comes as a revelation. They gaze at
its wonders without comprehending them, but what they see and hear
cannot fail to loosen the bonds of lethargy which have compressed
their faculties, and awaken new ideas and ambitions in their dormant
brains.
The Georgia " cracker " is a type of humanity that is by no means
extinct. He has advanced but little over the " poor white " of ante¬
bellum days. He preserves the habits of thought and action that
inspired his father and grandfather before him. His temperament is
stolid, pious, immobile; he is slow in speech, thought and action. He
is the product of a community which lacks good schools, new books
and the daily newspapers. Compared with the Northern ruralist he is
behind the times. Morally he is sound, but his intellectual faculties
are rusty from lack of contact with the vitalizing and sharpening forces
of modern civilization. He is generally poor, with a poverty that
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
would be miserable in the cities, but is never quite hopeless in the
country where he owns his cabin and a bit of land, grows his two or
three bales of cotton, raises his own yams and potatoes, and slaughters
one of his half-wild "razor-backs" when he is inclined to provide
meat for his table. His wants are few and simple. You can see him
by going a few miles into the country in any direction you choose,
idling in his patched and dilapidated cabin, which has not even a flower
in its door-yard. In his home there are few of the comforts and none
of the luxuries of life, but he cannot be called unhappy. It is what
he has always been accustomed to, and he would be miserable and
discontented if transplanted to a comfortable dwelling, "with all of
the modern improvements," and compelled to adopt a course of life
in consonance with his new surroundings. He is contented as he is,
and contentment is the truest source of happiness, yet his being
brought into touch with the wonderful things to be found at this
exhibition cannot fail to awaken him from his stupor and put some
ideas in his head that will give him food for thought.
It is for these reasons that the " cracker" is the most significant as
well as the most interesting of the exhibits. When you find him in
his nearly original state he is a mile-mark from which can be reckoned
the later progress of his fellows. Taken as a type he is generally six
feet or more in height; has tow-colored hair and untrimmed whiskers
woven into fantastic snarls by the breezes of his uplands; his jacket
and trousers are homespun, gray or butternut in color; his substantial
feet are encased in equally substantial boots of cowhide, and his attire
is completed with a collarless cotton shirt and a wide-brimmed hat of
coarse straw, generally much the worse for wear. His wife, who has a
like tendency to gauntness and pallor, has her head concealed in an
overshadowing sun-bonnet, and her body and limbs swathed in a scant
calico wrapper with the skirts flapping about her ankles, which are
usually unencumbered with stockings or shoes. The children are
simply smaller reproductions of their parents in features and apparel.
The family has come to town in one of those almost obsolete vehicles,
known as a "prairie schooner," and drawn by a broken-down quadruped
278
NEIV YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
which it is almost an insult to the whole equine race to term a "horse."
And now they are viewing the wonders of the Exposition in an
amazed and awestruck fashion, and with emotions that are too deep to
find relief in words.
To be sure, these specimens of the genus "cracker" belong to
the older type. There is a newer generation, in which the man wears
the stovepipe hat and polished shoes of civilization, while his wife and
daughters have flowers and feathers on their hats, balloon sleeves to
their gowns, and their waists are not unused to corsets. Perhaps the
girls have graduated from a fashionable seminary, and the family may
even have accomplished the tour of Europe, yet they are unmistakably
of "cracker" origin, and their antecedents are disclosed in various
little mannerisms and peculiarities that are plainly apparent despite
the gloss of artifice and varnish of gentility that has been applied to
the surface of their manners and modes of speech.
The negroes are another never-failing subject for the observation
and the study of Northern and foreign visitors. They abound every¬
where. Of course there are large numbers of negroes in all parts of
the North, but they are of a different type from those which form so
great a ratio of the population of Georgia, as of all the Southern States.
The Afro-American has never before had such recognition in the
South as he is getting at this Exhibition, and he is justly pround of,
and elated at, the fact. As a rule the negroes are as happy-go-lucky
and careless as ever, and as it is their nature to be, but they are not so
ragged or so shiftless as they were a quarter of a century ago. They
take a pardonable pride in their own building, and especially in their
schools, and point to them as proofs of their ability to compete with
their white neighbors if given a reasonable and fair opportunity. The
social taboo against their race is as strong as it ever was, and seems
likely to remain so, but there is no place about the Exposition where
they are not on a level with everybody else. They are used to being
regarded as children, but not as misdemeanants. The white men and
women of the South will not shake hands with them, but speak to
them kindly and cheerily and look after their irterests when no question
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
279
of race or color is involved. This exhibition may mean a great deal
to the Southern negroes, for it signifies not alone the advancement of
the South, but of their race, which, as the physical and motive power
of this great and prosperous section of the country, cannot help sharing
in its continued advance and development.
One thing cannot fail to impress the visitor here, just as it does
wherever Americans throng together on their holiday-making, and that
is, their perfect good nature. Atlanta, like all other cities, has its
rowdies and its rogues, but these take little interest in fairs, and prefer
the saloons, the street corners and the society of each other, after the
fashion of their kind the world over. The police of Atlanta have not
extended an invitation to the swindlers and blacklegs of the country to
attend the Exhibition, but when these gentry do make bold to put in
an appearance, they are treated with true Southern hospitality, the
police meeting them at the trains, escorting them in comfortable patrol
wagons to their lodgings in well appointed jails and station-houses and
furnishing free board at the city's expense during their entire visit.
Yes, the crowd is typically American—orderly, good-humored,
willing to see and learn all it can, pleased with themselves, with each
other and with the attractions that have been gathered at the Exposition
for their instruction and amusement. It is a crowd that no American
has cause to be ashamed of, and one that could safely be put in
competition with a crowd from any other part of the world.
Collectively and individually, it is proud of, and pleased with
Atlanta and Atlantians, and the citizens of the " Gate City" are
equally gratified and pleased to know that their hospitality and the
time, labor and money they have expended in making the Exposition
an assured success have not been wasted, but have received the full
meed of approbation and appreciation they so justly and worthily merit.
nvirons of y^tlanta
AND
historical s3potS in tJ)e Neighborhood
E
Cirant Pari}
k
WHEN the visitor to Atlanta has seen everything worth seeing
in the city itself and at the Exposition, there still remains
much that is picturesque and historically interesting" in the
immediate vicinity of the town, and few of the sightseers from outside
the State of Georgia neglected the opportunities offered them to gaze
upon some of the historic battlefields which figure so memorably in
the annals of the Civil War.
Among the agreeable excursions in and near the city, there is none
more easy and remunerative than the trip to Grant Park. A trolley
line affords easy access to people who do not feel like walking, but the
latter method is thoroughly enjoyable, for there are prospects and
retrospects that are worth lingering over, and the wayside sights are
sure to attract the attention of the stranger. Some of the attractions
of the park are shaded walks that clamber over hills and knolls, flower
beds and a pretty pond, but there is less artifice and more natural
beauty than is usually found in the pleasure grounds of large cities.
A thin wood covers much of the area, and there is a zoological garden
which has among its treasures an elephant, a couple of lions, some
bears, otters, coons and other interesting beasts, a few birds, and, as a
matter of course, the inevitable monkeys, so dear to the heart of child¬
hood. On high ground, within easy walking distance of the menagerie,
is Fort Walker, one of the relics of the war. It is in a dilapidated
condition, but a pleasing view can be had from what remains of its
crumbling ramparts. On or near a knoll to the left, as you stand
within the battery facing outward, Generals Walker and McPherson
were killed. Those times of strife can be realized more fully by a
visit to the cyclorama of the battle of Atlanta that stands just inside
of the entrance to the park. Time has dealt a little hardly with the
283
284
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
canvas and the realism of the foreground has been partly lost for lack
of attention and repair, but it is of especial interest considering that
the visitor is standing on the very ground that is depicted as being so
hotly contested. The fight illustrated is one of the bloody but fruitless
battles incident to the advance of the Union troops on the soil of
Georgia. Although 13,000 men lost their lives either on the field or as
the result of wounds, little was gained in immediate advantage, and it
was considered a drawn battle. As the forcibly-painted canvas is
studied, the grand scale of operations in the terrific struggle between
North and South is realized. Looking along the ridge as far as the
eye can see are the advancing regiments and brigades of blue-clad
troops. Opposed to this invading host are the brown and sombre
lines of the Confederates, some waiting the order to advance, others
hastening eagerly to the front, while in the near foreground the fighting
is almost hand to hand. A house half wrecked by shot and shell is a
rallying point for a part of the Confederate battalions, and the dead
and wounded lying here and there, singly and in groups, are overlooked
in the eagerness of the combatants. In the distance, above the peaceful
woods, are seen a spire or two of Atlanta, while the bold outlines of
Stone Mountain, Lost Mountain and Kennesaw rise up against the sky
in the distance.
The battle-grounds of Peachtree Creek and of Ezra Church are
close to Atlanta. These engagements, as well as the battle of Atlanta,
were fought in July, 1864. and were incidental to the operations of
General Sherman in that region. The southward march of his army
began in the spring of that year. General Grant, in speaking of
Sherman's movements during these weeks of almost incessant warfare,
says : " The campaign to Atlanta was managed with consummate skill,
the enemy being flanked out of one position after another all the way
there. It is true this was not accomplished without a good deal of
fighting — some of it very hard fighting, rising to the dignity of
important battles—neither were positions gained in a day. On the
contrary, weeks were spent at some, and about Atlanta more than a
month was consumed."
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
285
By July Atlanta had been girdled by hostile forts at a distance of
only a mile and a half from the town. General Hood, in command of
the Confederates, did not wait to be assailed behind his breastworks.
On July 20th he attacked a portion of the Union lines, but was
repulsed after some hard fighting. On the next night Hood made
another sortie, and on the 22d the major portion of both armies were
hotly engaged, and General McPherson was among the killed. The
result, as has been said, was indecisive, and it was not until after weeks
of skirmishes and manoeuvres that Atlanta was abandoned by Hood
and occupied by the Union soldiers. The town had been partially
destroyed, and the destruction was completed when, after a short rest,
Sherman's army left it a mass of ruins and ashes, to begin its historic
"march to the sea."
Tort AcPfyerson
ONE of the jaunts which will prove a source of interest and
enjoyment to the visitor to Atlanta is the trip to Fort
McPherson. This is not a fortification but a military post to
which the public has access at all hours of the day. It is the second in
siie of the army posts of the country. At this time, when its garrison
has been drawn upon for the hundred soldiers encamped on the
Exposition grounds, the men in barracks number something less than
six hundred.
Fort McPherson can be reached from Atlanta by either steam or
trolley lines. The former affords the most direct and speedy means of
communication, the distance being only three miles. By trolley the
post is five miles from Atlanta. Passing through the gate, the visitor
finds himself, after walking a few rods, on a spacious drill ground,
bordered on the right by a long row of cozy cottages, the quarters of
the officers, and on the opposite side are the barracks of the enlisted
men. At the visitor's back are the headquarters buildings, and the
fourth side of the quadrangle is formed by woodland in which is
located a corral and other camp belongings. The process of
transforming crude material into trained soldiers can be witnessed here
almost any day in the year, and is worth seeing. The best plan is to
reach the post about eight o'clock in the morning when you will be in
time to watch the men go through their exercises, which, except in the
case of recruits, are a series of gymnastic feats more difficult than the
old-fashioned drills they have replaced. After the morning exercises
the troops are set to work at the manual, bayonet drill and marching
under command of their company officers. Guard mounting is another
morning spectacle, and the day's work is completed with dress-parade
at sundown. There is a band comprised of enlisted men which
286
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
287
discourses very good music, and occasionally enlivens the routine of
post life with a concert. A good many of the officers are married and
the social side of garrison life is very pleasant. The enlisted men
enjoy many privileges, and as the Government furnishes them with
board, lodgings, clothes, light and fuel, and pays them thirteen dollars
a month in cash, their existence cannot be called one of hardship.
Indeed that haunting spectre known as rentday, which broods over the
lives of so many people, filling their waking hours with care and
apprehension, has no entrance here, and the cupboard is never empty
of good, substantial food. There has for some years past been a steady
and gratifying increase in sobriety and effectiveness in the army, most
of which is undoubtedly due to the installation of the post-exchange,
or canteen. This is in all essential particulars a country store, with
a saloon attached, in which only mild beer and non-intoxicating
beverages are permitted to be sold. The canteen at Fort McPherson
is operated at a profit, over expenses, of more than $500 a month.
In addition to the post-exchange the men are provided with bath-rooms,
a billiard-room and a reading-room supplied with papers, magazines,
books and games. Their meals are taken in a large mess hall, where
they are provided with an abundance of plain, but excellent food, and
their bill of fare is by no means so limited as may be imagined. The
neatness and order to be seen in every part of the grounds, offices,
barracks, kitchens and stables is proof that the adage that " cleanliness
is next to godliness" obtains full recognition in the military service of
the United States.
There was considerable fighting in the region surrounding the
present location of Fort McPherson during the Sherman campaign,
and remnants of earthworks and other tokens of that unpleasantness
are still visible.
NSfone Aoanfain
PAMOUS Stone Mountain raises its rocky crest sixteen miles to
the east of Atlanta, and can be reached by a railroad that
partially encircles its base. Alighting from the train at the
hamlet of Stone Mountain, the visitor can climb by way of the quarries
to the summit of the peak. There is a path, though not a very clear
one, but as the mountain is open, the tree-growth being thin and ragged,
the highest point of the mountain can be attained from almost any
starting-place without any great amount of difficulty. This peak is
one of the most remarkable in the United States. All about it is a
rolling plain of red clay, diversified by hills of small elevation, and out
of such a landscape is thrust this huge mass of granite, smooth and
bare, rising to a height of more than a thousand feet above the plain.
Its most striking aspect is presented on the side opposite the village,
and can, also, be reached by rail Seen from this point of view, the
mountain has a wild and picturesque grandeur that makes it seem like
some lone exhibit brought here from the Rocky Mountains and
deposited on the plain which surrounds it. Its rounded summit curves
with more and more swiftness until at last the huge mass drops
vertically to the earth in a mighty precipice as straight in its fall as the
side of a house, and stained gray and black with lichens. Near the
top is a grove of mountain cedars that is an extensive roost for
buzzards. While the climb to the summit is precipitous, it is not
dangerous if a start is made at the quarry near the further end of the
railroad. Then all that is necessary is to follow the lines of the old
hoist railway, which is now dismantled. A few shallow depressions
near the top have gathered water and induced a slight growth of
vegetation and a thin skin of vegetable mould is visible here and there,
but most of the mountain is bare rock and seems in no way connected
288
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
289
with anything else in the landscape. The rock itself is a fine-grained
granite, light gray in color, which is readily worked and takes a fine
polish. An Atlanta firm owns and works the quarries, and supplies the
paving-blocks and the material for a considerable number of buildings
to that city. In a yard near the railroad station slabs of the rock are
now being transformed into monuments for the Government park at
Chattanooga, and words of praise for Northern soldiers are being
carved by Southern hands on Southern granite.
The view from the summit of Stone Mountain is extensive and
beautiful, though there is a lack of striking objects within the limits of
vision. The main range of the Blue Ridge, whose top was shrouded
with battle-smoke for days, looms dimly up in the northwest, and to
the west lies Atlanta enveloped in its cloud of sooty smoke. Below
are forests, hills and farm-clearings, dotted here and there with small
but cozy-looking cabins and their surrounding lines of snake-fence
which is fast giving way to wire. Through the country in all directions
run the brown lines of the roads, and puffs of steam rising in the air
show where trains are hurrying to and from the busiest city in the
Southland.
Descending the mountain on the side nearest the village the
attention is attracted by swarms of buzzards circling and wheeling in
their flight about the brow of the mountain. These ill-favored birds
abandoned this region during the days of warfare. Even the instinct
that leads them to prey upon the bodies of the dead was not strong
enough to overcome their fright when the roar of battle and the yells
of combatants rent the peaceful air. At the time of their disappear¬
ance here buzzards were first seen in New Jersey. Now they have
returned to their accustomed haunts.
The little hamlet at the mountain foot was the scene of a solitary
skirmish during the advance of Sherman's army. A company of
Union troops pounced upon the place, fired a fusillade that scared the
quiet inhabitants half to death, sent a cannon ball crashing through a
cabin and then returned to camp, carrying with them enough chickens,
yams and pigs for at least two or three square meals. The most
19
290
NEW YORK AT THE COTTON STATES
important man in the place is an ex-Confederate soldier who is now
engaged in the peaceful occupation of running a cotton-gin. He
carries on this business on the method which obtains in many of the
cider and grist mills in the North, by taking toll of a certain percent¬
age of the cotton which he gins for his neighbors. The cotton seeds,
too, are a perquisite, and they have a commercial value for the oil they
contain and as food for cattle. If the visitor has some spare time on
his hands he can employ it profitably in a little ramble over the roads,
which will give a fair idea of the ways of life in this quiet corner of the
earth. In less than an hour a train will carry him back to the city
and land him once more among scenes of bustle and confusion, which
afford a marked contrast to the solitude he has so recently quitted.
Index
Index to Ittasfrafions
Page
Frontispiece: Portrait of Governor Levi P. Morton, . . 2
New York State Building on Manhattan Day, ... 5
Gold Medal Awarded to State of New York, ... 7
Portrait of Hon. James Edward Graybill, President of the New York
State Commission, . . . . . . 13
Portrait of Mrs. Levi P. Morton, Vice-President New York State
Commission, . . . . . . 17
Exposition Seal, ....... 24
Portrait of Hon. James Swann. of the New York State Commission, 27
Portrait of Hon. William W. Snow, of the New York State Commission, 31
New York State Building, .... opposite 37
Woman's Building, Atlanta Exposition, . . . . 41
Woman's Building, Section of Colonial Exhibit, ... 45
Portrait of Algar M. Wheeler, Esq., Secretary of the New York State
Commission, . . . . . . 51
Portrait of Mrs. Samuel Spencer, of the New York State Commission, 57
Portrait of Mrs. H. B. Plant, of the New York State Commission, . 63
Portrait of Mrs. Donald McLean, of the New York State Commission, 77
Portrait of Hon. Frank M. Baker, Treasurer of the New York State
Commission, . . • • • • 153
United States Government Building, . . . . 165
Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, . . . . 171
Fine Arts Building, . . . . • • 177
Agricultural Building, . . . • - • 183
Negro Building, ....... 195
Machinery Hall, 203
Transportation Building, . . • • • • 207
Administration Building and Main Entrance, . . , 213
Minerals and Forestry Building, . . . - . 217
293
1NDI.X TO ILLUSTRATIONS
I "a y e
Electricity Building, . . . . . . 223
Electric Fountain, , . . . . . 227
Transportation Building (night scene), . . . . 231
Minerals and Forestry Building (night scene), . . . 235
Electricity Building (night scene), .... 239
Floating Electric Tower, ...... 243
Auditorium, . . . <> . . . 247
Auditorium (night scene), . . . . . . 251
Georgia Manufactures Building, „ . 263
Fire Building, ....... 267
General Index
★-
A
Page
Account of Expenditures, Detailed, . 156-163
Action of the New York Chamber of Commerce, ... 29
Addresses at Opening of the Exposition :
Address of Welcome, by President Charles A. Collier of the
Exposition Company, . . . . . 85
Address by Mrs. Joseph Thompson, President of the Woman's
Board, ....... 88
Address by Solicitor-General George Brown, in behalf of the
State of Georgia, ..... 92
Address by Mayor Porter King, in behalf of the City of Atlanta, 95
Address by Prof. Booker T. Washington, in behalf of the Negro
Exhibitors, . . . . . . 190
Administration Building and Main Entrance, . . . 215
Agricultural Building, The, . . . . . 185
An Act to provide for Representation of the State of New York at the
Atlanta Exposition, ..... 9
An Electrical Triumph, . . . . . . 229
Applied Design, New York School of, ... 61
Architectural Features of the Cotton States and International Exposition
at Atlanta, Georgia, 1895, ..... 33
Association, The Exhibitors', . . . . . 141
Atlanta Clubs, Courtesies of the, . . . . . 144
Atlanta, Environs of, and Historical Spots in the Neighborhood, . 281
Atlanta Exposition :
Formal Opening of, ..... 79
New York State Building at, . . , . 37
Officers and Members of New York State Commission to, . 15
Origin of the, ...... 24
Report of Commissioners of the State of New York to the, . 19
295
296
GENERAL INDEX
Page
Atlanta System of Awards, The, . . . , . 127
Auditorium, The, ....... 249
Awards Granted to Exhibitors from the State of New York, . 130
B
Baker, Frank M,, Report of Treasurer, . . . . 155
Banquet, Gridiron Club, . . . . . 144
Blue and Gray, Reunion of the, ..... 253
Bronze Medals Awarded, . . . . . . 138
Brooklyn Day at the Exposition, . . . . . 122
"Brooklyn to Atlanta," Poem by Will Carleton, . . . 123
Brown, Hon. George, Address of, . . . . . 92
Buffalo City Exhibit, . . . . . . 125
Building, The New York State, . . . . . 37
New York City Room in Woman's, ... 50
Buildings: The Exposition
Administration and Main Entrance, . . . 215
- Agricultural, ...... 249
Auditorium, ...... 249
Electricity, . . . . . . 225
Fine Arts, . . . . . . . 17y
Fire, ....... 269
Machinery Hall, ...... 205
Manufactures and Liberal Arts, . . . . 173
Minerals and Forestry, . . . , . 219
Negro, ....... 197
Transportation, ...... 209
United States Government, . . . „ 167
Woman's, ....... 43
Buildings, Other, . . . . . . . 272
C
Camp, The Mining,
Carleton, Will, " Brooklyn to Atlanta," Poem by,
Chapter 841, Laws of New York, 1895,
260
123
9
GENERAL INDEX 297
Page
Clubs, New York Press and Other, .... 145
Collier, President Charles A., Address of Welcome by, . . 85
Colonial, Revolutionary and Historical Loan Exhibit of New York
State, . . . . . . . 66
Columbian Bell, The, . . . . . . 126
Commissioners, Report of New York State, . . . 19
Cotton States and International Exposition :
Architectural Features of the, .... 33
Prominent Features of the, . . . . . 164
Courtesies Extended by Atlanta Clubs, . . , . 144
D
Deed of Transfer to Piedmont Club, Copy of, . . . 147
Detailed Report of Expenditures by New York State Commission, 156
Display, The Statuary, . . . . . . 141
Donations to New York City Room, Woman's Building, . . 59
E
Electrical Triumph, An, . . . . . . 229
Electricity Building, The, . . . . . . 225
Environs of Atlanta and Historical Spots in the Neighborhood, . 281
Exhibit, The Buffalo City, . . . . . . 125
Exhibitors' Association, . . . . . . 142
Exhibitors from State of New York, List of, . . . 130
Exhibits, Foreign, . . . . . . 270
Exhibits in New York City Room, Woman's Building, . . 56
Expenditures of the New York State Commission, in Detail, . 156
Exposition, Formal Opening of the, . . . . 79
Exposition Ode, by Frank L. Stanton, . . . . 82
Exposition, Special Days at the, „ . . . . 119
F
Fair at Night, The, ...... 274
Features of the Exposition :
Architectural, . . • . - - 33
General, . . . . . . • *64
2g8 GENERAL INDEX
Page
Final Remarks, . . . . . . . I5I
Fine Arts Building, The, . . . . . . 179
Fire Building, The, ...... 269
Foreign Exhibits, . . ° • • • • 27°
Forestry Building, Minerals and, . . . . . 219
For Good Roads, . . . . • • 210
Formal Opening of the Exposition, .... 79
G
Gridiron Club Banquet, . , . . . . 144
Gold Medals Awarded, . . . . • . 130
Good Roads, For, . . . . . . . 210
H
Historical Spots, Environs of Atlanta and, .... 281
Humanity, Queer Types of, . . . . . 275
I
Inventions by New York Women, ..... 61
J
Judges of Awards from State of New York, . . . 129
K
King, Hon. Porter, Address by, . . . . . 95
L
Laws of New York, Chapter 841, 1895, . . . 9
Liberal Arts Building, Manufactures and, . . . . 173
List of Exhibitors from the State of New York and Awards Granted
Them, . . . , . . . 130
List of Patents and Patentees (Women) from New York State, . 61
GENERAL INDEX
299
M
Page
Machinery Building, The, ......
205
Main Entrance, Administration Building and,
2I5
Manhattan Day at the Exposition, ....
120
Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, The,
i73
Medals Awarded :
Bronze, .......
138
Gold, .......
130
Silver, .......
*37
Midway, The, .......
216
Mineral Painters, National League of,
65
Minerals and Forestry Building, The, ....
219
Mining Camp, The ......
260
Morton, Governor Levi P., Visit of, ....
119
N
National League of Mineral Painters, ....
65
Negro Building, The, ......
r97
New York Chamber of Commerce, Action of the, .
29
New York City Room in Woman's Building :
Donations, .......
59
Exhibits, .......
56
New York Press Club, ......
*43
New York School of Applied Design, ....
62
New York State Building, ......
37
New York State Colonial, Revolutionary and Historical Loan Exhibit,
66
New York State Commission, Officers and Members of the,
!5
New York Women, Inventions by, .....
61
o
Ode, Exposition, by Frank L. Stanton, .... 82
Officers and Members of the New York State Commission, . 15
Opening of the Exposition, . 24
3°°
GEN KRAI, INDEX
Oration, by Hon. Emory Speer, Justice of the United States Court for
the Southern District of Georgia, at the Formal Opening of
the Exposition, ...... 98
Origin of the Atlanta Exposition, The, ... 24
P
Patents and Patentees, List of, . . . . 61
Piedmont Club, Transfer of New York State Building to, . . 145
Prayer at Opening of Exposition by Bishop C. Iv. Nelson, . 81
Prominent Features of the Cotton States and International Exposition
at Atlanta, . . . - . . 164
Q
Queer Types of Humanity, . . 275
R
Reception to Mayor W. L. Strong of New York City, on " Manhattan
Day," . . . . . . . x 21
Report of the Commissioners of the State of New York to the Atlanta
Exposition, . . . . . . 19
Report, Treasurer's, . . . . . . 155
Represented, States, . . . . . . 265
Results North, . . . . . . . 149
Results South, . . . . . . . 150
Reunion of the Blue and Gray, . . . . . 253
S
School of Applied Design, New York, .... 62
Silver Medals Awarded, . . . . . . 137
Special Days at the Exposition, . . . . . 119
Speer, Hon. Emory, Oration by, ..... 98
Stanton, Frank L., Exposition Ode by, .... 82
State Building, New York, . . . . . 37
State of New York, Judges of Awards from, . . . 129
GENERAL INDEX
States Represented,
Statuary Display, ....
System of Awards at Atlanta,
T
The Administration Building and Main Entrance,
The Agricultural Building,
The Atlanta System of Awards,
The Auditorium,
The Buffalo City Exhibit,
The Columbian Bell,
The Electricity Building,
The Fair at Night, ....
The Fine Arts Building,
The Fire Building,
The Machinery Building,
The Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building,
The Midway, ....
The Minerals and Forestry Building,
The Mining Camp,
The " Negro at the Exposition," by Prof. Booker T.
Tuskegee, Ala., Institute,
The Negro Building,
The Origin of the Atlanta Exposition,
Thu States Represented,
The Statuary Display,
The Transportation Building,
The United States Government Building,
The Woman's Building,
Thompson, Mrs. Joseph, Address by
Transfer of the New York State Building to the
Club of Atlanta, Georgia,
Treasurer's Report,
Triumph, An Electrical,
Types of Humanity, Queer,
301
Page
265
141
X27
215
185
127
249
125
I 26
225
274
179
269
205
i73
216
219
260
Washington, of the
200
197
24
265
141
209
167
43
88
Piedmont Driving
147
J55
229
275
3°2
GENERAL INDEX
u
Page
United States Government Building, . „ . . 167
y
Visit of Governor Levi P. Morton of the State cf New York, and Staff,
to the Exposition at Atlanta, Ga., . . . jig
W
Washington, Prof. Booker T., Address by,
Woman's Building at the Atlanta Exposition,
Woman's Building, New York City Room in the,
Woman's Work at the Exposition,"
190
43
5°
47
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