1905.] THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION. 269 



President Francis said to me that if every State had performed 

 its given fmictions with the same promptness as Connecticut 

 he would have been at the head of a celebration that was simply 

 stupendous. At one time when we invited him to be our guest 

 at the house, even though he was an exceedingly busy man, he 

 said to me, " Mr. Phelps, 1 am going over there to the Con- 

 necticut house, and I am going through that ceremony. I do 

 not care who is in my anteroom, for the least that I can do is 

 to show my appreciation of the spirit of promptness and energy 

 that has been manifested by Connecticut. She has set an 

 example for every other State in the Union, and I am simply 

 •giving her her just due by accepting your invitation." That is 

 the way President Francis felt in regard to it. 



We entertained the Governor while we were there, and a 

 little incident occurred one evening which I shall never forget. 

 It was a delightful evening. The magnificent Festival Hall 

 never seemed so beautiful. Everything seemed to be just right. 

 All conditions perfect. The music was delightful. President 

 Francis offered the Governor his private launch for a ride 

 through the lagoon. This was accepted, and when we started 

 there were four other launches in the rear, containing other 

 members of the party. President Francis was a little late when 

 we started, but he soon met us and stepped into our launch. 

 The music sounded, and those six launches went on through 

 the lagoon, under the arches and the bridges, with the boatmen 

 singing their songs. It was a never-to-be-forgotten scene. 

 One lady who was impressed by it spoke to President Francis, 

 saying, " Surely, this is heaven. You ought to be the happiest 

 man on earth." He said : " My dear madam, there is no sad- 

 der man than I am in the State of Missouri. I have just come 

 from a meeting of the Board of Directors, where we have been 

 arranging to ruin this entire beautiful scene. I am sad indeed." 

 It was a fact. They had been systematically figuring, in the 

 Board of Directors, how much it would cost to destroy that 

 whole beautiful structure. When the time came the last day 

 of November, I have been told President Francis pressed his 

 finger upon the button and the lights went out, and ke said, 

 " Farewell, farewell, most beautiful scene," and as he said it 

 the tears came to his eyes. That it was one of the most beauti- 

 ful, as well as one of the most interesting scenes that the eye 

 of man ever witnessed, there can be no question. The fair 



