The official badges of Expo Officers were received and worn for the first
time today. They are the work of a local firm and made of Silver or gold.
The Illinois Building was dedicated today.
Illinois, next to Nebraska, appropriated the largest sum for participation in the Exposition. The appropriation of the state of Illinois was $45,000. Of this sum $20,000 was set aside for a state building. The Illinois building attracted much attention, and was one of the favorites of the group of state buildings. Its location was at the extreme north end of the tract set aside for state buildings near the Music Pavilion, and overlooking the broad Missouri Valley. An annex to the building was erected and maintained as an art gallery for the Columbian Exposition pictures painted by John R. Key. The celebration of the dedication of the Illinois building was participated in by many Illinoisans who came in regular and special trains. Among others, about 100 members of the famous Apollo Club were present and their concerts in the main court were of great interest to all exposition visitors. Delegates were present representing the following organizations: The Union League Club; Stock Exchange; Board of Trade; National Business league, and Chicago World's Fair Directors of Chicago. The exercises were held in the Auditorium at 11 o'clock A.M., and were of such unusual interest as to be given extended mention. Gathered on the speaker's stand were Governor John M. Tanner and wife of Illinois; Governor Silas A. Holcomb of Nebraska; Honorable Clarke E. Carr, president of the Illinois Commission; Honorable W.H. Harper, chairman of the Executive Committee, and the other members of the Illinois Commission, several members of the Nebraska Commission, members of the Executive Committee of the Exposition, members of the Bureau of Entertainment, and many prominent men of the West. The Apollo Club occupied seats on the back of the stage and the U.S. Marine Band immediately in front. The program was as follows: Music: The Stars and Stripes Forever, U.S. Marine Band Prayer: Chancellor MacLean, of the University of Nebraska. Address: Hon. W.H. Harper, Chairman of the Executive Committee. Chairman Harper, in well chosen words, complimented the Exposition on its auspicious inauguration, and spoke at length regarding the work done by the Illinois Commission. Address: Colonel Clarke E. Carr, President of the Illinois Commission. Address: Gov. John M. Tanner, of Illinois. Music: By the Apollo Club. Address: President G.W. Wattles, of the Exposition. Remarks: Governor Silas A. Holcomb. Address: Ex-Governor Joseph L. Beveridge. Colonel Carr's Address was as follows: When LaSalle was, with his heroic followers, exploring western wilds, soon after leaving Lake Michigan he came to the headwaters of a river upon which he launched his canoes and floated down with the current. The river broadened and deepened as he advanced, and he soon became convinced that it belonged to the great system which drained all the vast region of the northwest. He made excursions upon either side and found himself in the midst of vast meadows of waving grass which seemed illimitable. One day the party came upon an Indian village and found it to be the home of a people who called themselves Illini. He called the region the land of the Illini, and he called the river upon which he was floating the river of the Illini. When he asked the significance of this name, he found it to be men, full grown, complete, or as we would say, stalwart men. From this dusky race not only that river but our great state takes its name. There is scarcely an attribute of mankind so universal as that of affection for the region in which our lot is cast; the land which has given birth, or which in maturer years has received us to her bosom. The heart of the Esquimaux, alike with the inhabitants of more favored regions, swells with the liveliest emotions in contemplating what seem to him the beauties and excellencies of his own country. If this emotion be an universal attribute to mankind, it cannot fail to be more profound and intense in proportion as those beauties and excellencies are real. There is no true son of Illinois "Whose heart has ne'er within him burned" in contemplating the sublime glories of his own state. No other commonwealth can boast of more enterprising and prosperous cities and towns and villages or of more delightful rural homes. Our great metropolis with her magnificent buildings towering into the skies with her vast libraries already provided for, with her university and institutes and schools, with her charities and eleemosynary institutions, with her parks and great avenues, is destined with the growth of architecture and the development of art to be the most respondent city on the face of the earth. Millions of revolving wheels are forever rolling to her great storehouses treasures "Which far outshine the wealth of Ormus and of Ind", and she must very soon become the most opulent and popular city of the western hemisphere, and finally of the world. But it is of our complete, stalwart men that we are proud. They have shown themselves worthy of the name they bear. Men "whose wrestling thews can throw the world". Scarcely had the people of Illinois begun to enjoy the privileges and appreciate the glories of full citizenship of the republic when almost immediately after the state was admitted into the union the demon of human slavery tried to fasten itself upon them. Though most of them were from slave states, they met and overcame the monster, and hurled it from them, banishing it forever. A few years later, when borne down and overwhelmed with debt and taxation, and the last hope of being able to extricate themselves seemed gone, the siren of repudiation, as she has successfully done elsewhere beckoned them to follow here for relief. They indignantly repelled here and deliberately, in their fundamental law, put upon themselves a burden of taxation and, after years of self-denial, paid the debt in full, dollar for dollar. When the Mexican war came, Illinois carried the banner of the republic on many a victorious battlefield, and finally assisted in dictating terms to the enemy in his own capital. When human slavery sought to fasten itself upon California and Kansas, Illinois men helped to drive it out. In the war of the rebellion Illinois men "hewed their way down the Mississippi valley with their good swords", as their greatest volunteer leader, whose achievements have been commerated in bronze, said they would do, and teh great river flowed "unvexed to the sea." The names of the stalwart sons of Illinois who have won imperishable renown would fill volumes. One of them conquered the sword of rebellion, and, with magnanimity and generosity unequaled in history, declined to receive it, and another is recognized throughout the world as the sublimest character of the age. While there is a tendency to exalt military genius above all other there have been intellectual conflicts in which the laurels have been as resplendent as those which deck the soldier's brow. In the great debates before the people of Athens, Demosthenes gained renown which has brought his name down through all the ages. Just preceding the war of the rebellion, on the prairies of Illinois, we witnessed a campaign of public discussion, continuing for several months. As it progressed from day to day it attracted more and more attention until finally all the people of the nation became interested. The great prairies were the audience room, the American people the audience, the constitution of the United States the platform, the greatest American statesman the champion, and the fate of a continent the issue. The original fabric of government was composed of states bordering upon the Atlantic, of which the great state of Pennsylvania was appropriately designated as the keystone. Soon the adventurous and hardy pioneer subdued the western wilds, new states were formed and the republic expanded. By the Louisiana purchase, the conquest of Mexico and the settlement of the Oregon boundary the domains of the republic have extended until our boundaries are the oceans. Her adamantine foundations, laid broad and deep, support the most majestic edifice that has ever been projected. In the midst of this mighty structure so amplified and extended from its original boundaries Illinois appeared. Through the achievements and great names of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant and the deeds of our other statesmen and heroes Illinois has so risen in her central position that from every quarter of the union men and women instinctively lift their eyes to her and so carry out the now clearly discerned will of the divine architect. She unites and cements and canopies with grace and symmetry and beauty the majestic Pennsylvania was appropriately called the keystone, so Illinois may be appropriately designated as the dome of the republic of the United States. In the midst of this most splendid exposition of the world's progress that has ever been attempted and carried out in the transmississippi region, equal, in so far as designed, to the World's Columbian exposition and superior in many of its details, Illinois has erected a building. In the work of laying out and erecting this building the Illinois commissioners, representing every part of the state, have taken a lively interest. It has been their desire to, without unnecessary outlay, have a building that would be worthy of the state which has honored them by placing the important trust in their hands. It has been a labor of love, and they will feel amply compensated if their work is approved. For them and in their behalf, I now turn the building over to his excellency, the governor of Illinois, whom I have the honor to present to you. In introducing Governor Tanner, it is unnecessary for me to add more than a word. Some of us have known him from the time when a mere lad he wore the blue uniform of his country. We do not always agree with him, but we recognize his sterling qualities. He learned from Abraham Lincoln to be just and kind and considerate, and he learned from General Grant to keep steadily on in the line of duty, unmoved by denunciation on the one hand, or by flattery on the other, and he learned form John A. Logan, whose faithful and trusted companion he was, to never desert a friend. He is one of the Illini. ______________________ The address of Governor John M. Tanner was as follows: Mr. President of the Illinois Commission and officers of the Transmississippi Exposition: It affords me sincere pleasure on behalf of the state of Illinois as its governor and executive head, to receive from the distinguished and genial president of the Illinois Commission this commodious and elegant building, which is not surpassed, I believe in point of beauty or convenience, by any similar structure upon these capacious grounds. It is a building of which the great state I have the honor here to represent may be justly proud and I trust that many Illinoisans may see it, rest beneath its hospitable roof, and share the sentiment of admiration and approval with which I view it for the first time. The people of Illinois have the most cordial and sympathetic feeling for the state of Nebraska, and its citizens. They are largely the same people, since Illinois has contributed so largely to populate these virgin and fertile plains. I see in this audience of brave men and fair women many a spectator and listener who was born in Illinois, but for one reason or another has cast his or her lot with a younger community. To no other state in the union, I think we have given so many of our sons and daughters. We cherish the belief that even Nebraska can show none better. They are gone from us, but they are still of us. Their memories are cherished by those whom they have left behind, many of whom will take this opportunity to renew old ties of affection and friendship. It is this common blood flowing through all our veins, much of it inherited from early settlers of New England and Virginia and the Carolinas, but all of it, whether its original source was in England, Ireland, Germany or elsewhere, now thoroughly and forever American, which is the promise and pledge of perpetual union of every portion of our common country. The mention of our country at this moment of national peril and anxiety thrills every patriotic heart. It is hard for us, far removed as we are from the island shores in two hemispheres, where our destiny is even now being shaped to some unseen end, by the thunderbolts of war, to command our thoughts and hold them to the peaceful scenes which at home greet our view. In imagination and sympathy we are only partly here. Our hearts are with our bravest and dearest in camp or at sea, where the children of Illinois and the children of Nebraska have joined hands to purchase, at the cost of their own lives, if so great a sacrifice is required of them, the liberty and prosperity for an alien race which we ourselves enjoy, and of which this magnificent exposition is the latest and highest symbol. What a contrast! May we not derive from it the lesson that greater are the triumphs of peace than of war? War is destructive but peace is a creative force. As I look around me I pray for the restoration of peace, a just and honorable peace, a lasting peace, which shall usher in for all mankind a brighter era of humanity and universal brotherhood. We can never be again what we have been - an isolated nation, selfishly enjoying our immunity from international responsibilities. We have a duty to discharge to the world as well as to ourselves, and the destruction of the Maine with its gallant crew was the rude voice which awakened us from our dream of perpetual exemption from entanglement with the affairs of other nations, and aroused us to a higher conception of our duty as to the pioneers of the new Christian civilization which is to characterize the coming century. But I have led away from the matter in hand. As governor of the state of Illinois I congratulate the commission which has so well performed the task assigned to it, of preparing and presenting a fit testimonial of our friendly regard for a sister state, and our cordial sympathy with its noble ambitions. I thank you for what you have done and now, in the name of this commission, and on behalf of the people of Illinois, I tender to the officials in charge of the transmississippi exposition, this edifice for the use of all who may enjoy its hospitality, whether they be Nebraskans, Illinoisans, or from whatever state or land they may come. Let Illinois and Nebraska vie with each other which of the two shall give them the warmer welcome. ______________________ At the close of Governor Tanner's address, Colonel Carr introduced Melville E. Stone, manager of the Associated Press, who announced the receipt of a telegram stating that General Shafter and his army had arrived off Santiago. This was the signal for great cheering and enthusiasm. The band played "The Star-Spangled Banner", and men and women mounted the seats and waived their arms in the air. The Apollo Club sang "Illinois" and at its conclusion "America", the audience joining in the national anthem. The Marine Band rendered several selections and after the excitement had somewhat subsided, President Wattles was introduced and spoke as follows: When the Transmississippi Commercial Congress designated the city of Omaha as the place at which the country beyond the Mississippi should display to the world its resources in the year 1898, and when the officers of this exposition had been designated we naturally turned to our neighbors of Illinois for assistance and advice. We recognized as all must acknowledge, that Chicago had furnished the ideal of all future expositions; that none could excel and few could ever equal that grand achievement of human skill and genius, the "World Columbian Fair". In architecture, arrangement and installation as well as in the excellence variety and magnitude of the exhibits, we realize we could only produce a shadow of that which had reached so near perfection at Chicago. It gives me great pleasure in the presence of His Excellency, the governor of Illinois, and in the presence of these distinguished guests to acknowledge the hearty cooperation we have received from the officers of the World's Fair Commission and the valuable assistance of the state of Illinois to this enterprise. Our invitation to your state to participate in this exposition was promptly accepted, an appropriation was made by your legislature and a beautiful and appropriate building has been erected on these grounds. I cannot refrain from commending the efficient work done by your commissioners. Their building is one of which the state may well be proud; they have furnished it with comforts and conveniences, and have embellished with an artist's dream of the "White City" in a manner which cannot fail to meet the approval of every loyal citizen. This building is an honor to the state, Illinois, and a credit to the exposition, and for the management I accept it and dedicate it to the comfort and happiness of the citizens and all former residents of your great state. We of the vast Transmississippi region renew this day our allegiance and good will to the state of Illinois and acknowledge our appreciation of the presence of her governor and distinguished citizens here on this occasion. We are proud of her history, her wealth, and of her great men, we are proud of her great metropolis, the growth and development of which has been an index to the progress of the entire west. The prosperity of Illinois and of her metropolis is intimately associated with the prosperity of the transmississippi country. Chicago is the great clearing-house for the larger part of the surplus grain and stock produced in the west. The value of her yearly commerce in the necessities of life can hardly be compared. It exceeds the foreign exports of the United States. It exceeds the entire annual gold and silver product of the world. It exceeds the enormous sum of $1,000,000,000. For the product of the west which yearly finds a market in the state of Illinois, her lines of railroad which radiate to all parts of this country, return annually agricultural implements to the value of $25,000,000, clothing to the value of $50,000,000, boots and shoes to the value of $10,000,000, and the products of her other factories in proportion. So active have become the demands of this rapidly developing, pushing, thriving new territory, that the delay incident to the purchase of factories in New England, cannot longer be tolerated and the time is not far distant when the older states of the west will supply themselves and their sister states with all their needs. The state of Illinois is rapidly becoming a manufacturing center for the west. The census of 1890 showed an increase of 119% in her manufacturing interests in ten years. 312,198 hands were then employed and the value of the annual product of her factories was $908,640,000. I have no doubt that the next census will show a corresponding increase. But bound together as we are by the ties of commercial interest, there are other cords that will forever hold us as brothers. The richest heritage of the past century is the man which Illinois has given to history. They belong to this and all other western states. They were the product of western environment. Only the boundless prairies, the free air and the blue skies of the west could have developed them. We have perpetuated their names in our counties, cities and towns, and for the greatest and best of them all we have named our capital city. They have made the state of Illinois renowned in eloquence, learning, statesmanship and jurisprudence. Douglas the great tribune, Baker the sweet-toned orator, Cartwright the rugged divine, Trumbull the constitutional lawyer, Shields the hero of two wars, Drummond the eminent judge, Logan, the "Black Eagle", who carried victory in his firy train, Oglesby the unconquerable soldier and wise statesman, Grant the invincible leader of armies, the peerless hero and the greatest general of the century, Lincoln, who stood at the helm of the nation during the darkest hour of its peril and sealed its triumph with his blood. We claim an interest in them all and their memory must forever bind the state of Illinois with bonds of steel to the younger states of the west. We appreciate beyond expression this visit of your Governor and these distinguished Illinois Citizens at this particular time. When war was first declared with Spain the managers of this exposition had some fears that it might detract from the success of our enterprise but we have come to realize that blessings are often given in disguise. We now know that while war destroys it also gives new life and that every citizen is energized by the new and patriotic influences that are revived by conflict and strife. No better illustration of the greatness and power of our country can be found than in the fact that thousands of citizens from eastern states daily visit this exposition and that while our antagonist - one of the oldest kingdoms in the world - is straining every resource to meet in unequal combat our magnificent forces at Manila and Santiago, that while the bonds of Spain are begging a market at thirty cents on the dollar, our nation's war loan will be three times over-subscribed by our own citizens and that we will not only defeat at arms this dying relic of barbarism but at the same time will hold here in the center of our territory a great exposition illustrating the arts of peace and promoting good will throughout the land. Illinois is bound to the west by ties of consanguinity and common interest. Thousands of her former citizens are now residents of this and other western states, they are among our most progressive and prominent men in all departments of business and professional life. Her beautiful home here will renew old friendships and form new ones. I commend the wisdom of its erection, the beauty of its design and the friendly interest which prompted its conception. For the management of the exposition I receive and dedicate it for the purpose for which it was designed. _____________________ Governor Holcomb was then introduced and spoke briefly of the appreciation of Nebraska for the substantial manner in which Illinois has assisted in making the exposition a success. Letters of regret were read from Senator W.E. Mason of Illinois, Alice Bradford Willis, president of Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs, Robert T. Lincoln, Carles G. Dawes, Joseph W. Pfeiffer and Adlai E. Stevenson. The exercises were concluded by the address of former Governor Joseph L. Beveridge, who spoke on the subject "Past and Present". His opening sentence was "I lived for fifty years on the prairies of Illinois". He pictured with much feeling and eloquence the changes that had been wrought in the west during his lifetime. He told of the early privations and trials of the pioneers and of their final triumphs and present prosperous conditions. With trembling voice and prophetic language he pierced the future and described what might be expected in the coming generations, and as he closed by chanting the Doxology, the audience broke forth in cheer after cheer, and the exercises were concluded amid great enthusiasm. In the evening a public reception was tendered to Mrs. Tanner and the visiting ladies at the Illinois building from eight to ten o'clock, which was attended by many pronounced a most successful function. At 9 o'clock in the evening a musicale was given in the assembly room, in which Mrs. Katherine Bloodgood, contralto, of New York, Mr. Justin M. Thatcher, tenor, and Mr. Allan Spencer, pianist, of Chicago, took part. A banquet was tendered by former Illinoisans now residing in Nebraska, at the Markel Cafe, to the visitors in the evening, and was one of the most successful social functions of the entire exposition. _____________________
