sition of Arts and Industries was decided on; as to the scene, the city of Philadelphia, hallowed by a thousand Revolutionary memories, was selected; as to the time, from the 19th of April to the 19th of October, 1876. The first organized body to give aid and encouragement to the enterprise was the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia. Through the influence of that patriotic organization, a Centennial Commission, consisting of seven members appointed by the city council, was constituted, with John L. Shoemaker as chairman. Shortly afterwards a resolution was adopted by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, invoking the aid of Congress in behalf of the proposed celebration; and on the 3d of March, 1871, a bill was passed by the House of Representatives, which became the basis of all subsequent proceedings relating to the Centennial.

In this bill it was provided that an exhibition of American and Foreign arts, products and manufactures should be held under the auspices of the Government of the United States, in the city of Philadelphia, in 1876; that a Centennial Commission, consisting of one member and one alternate from each State and Territory, should be appointed by the President; that to this board of commissioners should be referred the entire management and responsibility of the enterprise; that the members of the board should receive no compensation; that the United States should not be liable for any of the expenses of the exposition; and that the President, when officially informed that suitable buildings had been erected and adequate provisions made for the proposed exhibition, should make proclamation. of that fact to the people of the United States and to all foreign nations. During the year 1871, the Centennial Commission was constituted in accordance with the act of Congress. On the 4th of March, 1872, the members assembled at Philadelphia and effected a permanent organization by the election of General Joseph R. Hawley of Connecticut as President. Orestes Cleveland of New Jersey, John D. Creigh of California, Robert Lowry of Iowa, Robert Mallory of Kentucky, Thomas H. Coldwell of Tennessee, John McNeill of Missouri, and William Gurney of South Carolina, were chosen as the seven vicepresidents of the organization. As secretary, Professor John L. Campbell of Indiana was elected. The important office of director-general was conferred on Alfred T. Goshorn of Ohio; and as counselor and solicitor John L. Shoemaker of Pennsylvania was chosen.

The question of money next engaged the attention of the managers. How to provide the funds necessary for carrying forward so vast an enterprise became a source of much discussion and no little

anxiety. The positive refusal of the government to become responsible for any part of the expenses of the Exhibition added to the embarrassment; for it was now seen that private resources and the good will of the people must furnish the entire sum necessary for the success of the enterprise. Several measures were accordingly adopted

by the Centennial Commission looking to the creation of a treasury. By an act of Congress, passed on the 1st of June, 1872, provision was made for the organization of a Centennial Board of Finance, to which the whole monetary management of the Exposition should be entrusted. This board was organized by the election of John Welsh of Philadelphia as president. William Sellers and John S. Barbour were chosen vice-presidents. The office of secretary and treasurer was conferred on Frederick Fraley; that of auditor, on H. S. Lansing;

and that of financial agent, on William Bigler. The board was authorized to issue stock in shares of ten dollars each, the whole number of shares thus issued not to exceed one million. It was also provided that a series of Centennial Memorial Medals should be struck at the mint of the United States, and that the sale of such medals should be under the exclusive control of the Board of Finance. The medals were elegantly executed in several styles and sizes-of gilt, silver, and bronze-furnishing for after ages an impressive token of the American Republic in its hundredth year.

Careful estimates, made by the Centennial Commission and the Board of Finance, placed the entire expense of the Exposition at eight million five hundred thousand dollars. Of this sum about two and a half millions were raised by the sale of stock-a work which was at first entrusted to the banks of the country and afterward to a Bureau of Revenue established for that purpose. Long before this amount was secured, however, the legislature of Pennsylvania made a glorious

record for that State by appropriating one million dollars for the Exhibition. The "City of Brotherly Love" did better still by voting the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars. The people of New York City made a contribution of a quarter of a million. The State of New Jersey gave a hundred thousand dollars; New

OF THE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY

ACT OF CONGRESS JUNE 1874.

CENTENNIAL MEDAL.-OBVERSE.

CENTENNIAL MEDAL.-REVERSE.

Hampshire, Connecticut, and Delaware, ten thousand dollars each. But notwithstanding these magnificent contributions, the aggregate sum fell far short of the estimates; and the Centennial Commissionin the face of the former illiberal action of Congress-resolved to make a second appeal to that body for help. A bill was accordingly prepared, asking for an appropriation of three million dollars from the national treasury; but on the 6th of May, 1874, the bill was decisively defeated-an act well calculated to bring the American name into contempt and shame.* The managers of the Exposition were again thrown back upon the people for sympathy and aid.

Meanwhile, the sale of stock and of medals, as well as other enterprises for the increase of the Centennial funds, was going on successfully. The Exposition gained constantly in public favor.. Even in the Far West, Centennial orators traveled through the country districts, stirring up the enthusiasm of the people. The public Free Schools, by exhibitions and excursions, contributed their part towards the success of the great celebration. In June of 1874,

After times may be astonished to know that the empire of Japan cheerfully contributed six hundred thousand dollars to the success of the American Centennial after the Congress of the United States had twice refused to vote a cent.

the President of the United States extended a cordial invitation to all the civilized nations of the world to participate in an International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, to be held in the city of Philadelphia in 1876, in honor of the one hundredth anniversary of American Independence. By and by, the contagion spread even to Congress, and that body passed an act appropriating five hundred and five thousand dollars for the erection of a Centennial Building in honor of the United States and for the illustration of the functions and resources of the American Government in times of peace and of war. The legislatures of several of the States also became interested in the enterprise, and made appropriations-ranging from five thousand to fifty thousand dollars— for the purpose of erecting State Buildings on the Exhibition grounds, the sum thus contributed amounting to nearly a half million dollars. Finally, as the success of the Exposition became more and more assured, the patriotism of the people and the clamors of the press drove the national Congress into an appropriation of a million five hundred thousand dollars to supply the deficit which was still reported by the Board of Finance. Such were the principal measures by which the Centennial fund was finally secured.

One of the first matters to which the attention of the Centennial Commission was directed, was the selection of suitable grounds for holding the Exposition. But that problem was soon solved in the most satisfactory manner. By the act of March 3d, 1871, it was decided by Congress that the Exhibition should be held within the corporate limits of Philadelphia. The authorities of that city, throwing their whole energies into the enterprise, at once proffered to the commissioners the free use of Fairmount Park, one of the largest and most magnificent in the world. This beautiful tract, presenting every variety of surface, well wooded and well watered, extends on both sides of the Schuylkill for more than seven miles, and along the banks of the Wissahickon for nearly the same distance. The entire park embraces two thousand seven hundred and forty acres, and presents to the eye every thing that is lovely and refreshing in woodland scenery, beautified and adorned by the hand of art. The portion of the grounds more particularly set apart for the purposes of the Exposition, including an area of four hundred and fifty acres, lies on the right bank of the Schuylkill, below Belmont, and was formerly known as the old Lansdowne Estate.

The formal transfer of the grounds to the Centennial Commission was made on the 4th of July, 1873. An immense throng of citizens