198 



CONGRESS. (COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.) 



" The act then provides that a commission, 

 representative in its character, composed of 2 

 commissioners from each State and Territory, 

 and from the District of Columbia, and 8 com- 

 missioners at large, be constituted, and desig- 

 nated as the World's Columbian Commission. 

 These commissioners were duly appointed, and, 

 under the terms of the act, clothed with full 

 power and authority to conduct the affairs of 

 this exposition. The commission was empowered 

 to determine the plans and scope of the exposi- 

 tion, allot space for the exhibitors, prepare a 

 classification of exhibits, appoint all judges and 

 examiners for the exposition, award all pre- 

 miums, and generally have charge of all inter- 

 course with the exhibitors and the represent- 

 atives of foreign nations. The site to be selected 

 and plans and specifications of the buildings to 

 be erected for such purpose were made subject 

 to the approval of this commission ; supervision 

 over all rules and regulations touching the man- 

 agement and conduct of said exposition was 

 vested in the commission. 



" So that it will be seen, Mr. Chainnan, from 

 a perusal of this law, that this work is one for 

 which the act of Congress provides in all its de- 

 tails. Moreover, by the terms of the act the 

 President of the United States was authorized to 

 make proclamation of the time at which this ex- 

 position will open and close, the place at which 

 it shall be held, and on behalf of the Government 

 and people to invite foreign nations to take part 

 in the exposition, and appoint representatives 

 thereto. It will not do, therefore, Mr. Speaker, 

 to assert that this is a mere local enterprise 

 or an affair got up by a private corporation. 

 The American people do not so understand it. 

 They regard it as a national affair, and one in 

 the success of which the credit and fame of our 

 nation are involved. By the terms of the act 

 referred to, this company were required to pro- 

 vide a site and the sum of $10,000,000 to be used 

 in the erection of suitable buildings thereon for 

 the purposes of the exposition. This site has 

 been furnished, comprising a beautiful tract of 

 land containing an area of 633 acres, located in 

 Jackson Park, in the city of Chicago, fronting 

 on Lake Michigan, and affording one of the most 

 picturesque and beautiful pieces of landscape 

 which can be found on the earth. 



" This they have done ; and I wish to say, Mr. 

 Speaker, that, speaking as an American citizen, 

 I am proud that we have in our midst a com- 

 munity so prosperous and patriotic as to under- 

 take the task of raising this enormous amount 

 of money for this purpose. It may be said that 

 they are selfish in their motives, and that their 

 investment is for speculative purposes. I do 

 not take such a narrow view of it, and I believe 

 that those people are to-day animated more by 

 sincere desire for the success and grandeur of 

 this exposition than they are for any mere return 

 in the way of money that they can expect from 

 it. But be that as it may, I hope it will be a 

 success, first, for the credit of our common coun- 

 try, and, second, as a reward for their enterprise 

 and patriotism. And I, for one, should be glad 

 to see the affair so great a success that they will 

 get back every dollar that they invested, with a 

 handsome return on the same. 



" But again, Mr. Chairman, it is hardly con- 



sistent for any member of this House to set up 

 the plea now that this is not a national enter- 

 prise, for by our action here we have committed 

 ourselves on that question. On the 8th of Feb- 

 ruary last this House adopted a resolution au- 

 thorizing and empowering a committee of this 

 House to inquire and report whether the require- 

 ments of the act of April 25, 1890, were being 

 justly and properly complied with ; whether the 

 expenditures were being judiciously made, and 

 generally to make full investigation into all the 

 affairs and details whatever of the exposition 

 authorized by Congress. That resolution was 

 adopted by a yea and nay vote of this House ; 

 and I find by the ' Record ' that gentlemen who 

 now oppose this appropriation upon the ground 

 that it is in the interest of a private corporation, 

 voted in favor of making this investigation, 

 which, it will be borne in mind, was to be made 

 at the public expense, and was so made. That 

 committee made its investigation and report 

 thereon to this House, which report was printed 

 at the Government Printing Office at public ex- 

 pense, and gives to the House full particulars in 

 the premises. 



" Now, sir, if this matter is simply the affair 

 of a private corporation, a matter in which the 

 Government has no interest, and with which it 

 is in no way connected, pray tell me upon what 

 principle or authority gentlemen who voted that 

 that investigation should be made at the public 

 expense reconcile their positions upon this ques- 

 tion f 



" So that I take it, Mr. Chairman, when we 

 calmly reflect upon the true history of this affair, 

 it can not be seriously asserted that there is any 

 constitutional objection to this appropriation oh 

 the ground that it is not of a national or public 

 character. I submit that such is its character, 

 that it is so fully declared by law, and this being 

 the case there can be no question about the power 

 of Congress to legislate and appropriate money 

 in support of it. 



"Article VIII, section 1, of the Constitution, 

 empowering Congress to legislate for the gen- 

 eral welfare, as was clearly shown in the argu- 

 ment of the gentleman from Louisiana the other 

 day, confers ample power upon Congress in this 

 respect. But I will not take time to dilate upon 

 the constitutional question. I take it here in this 

 discussion there is little difference between us as 

 to the law ; the dispute is rather as to the facts. 

 I assert that this is not a private affair, but, on 

 the other hand, a great national public enter- 

 prise, that is calculated to materially promote the 

 general welfare of our people ; and gentlemen 

 who oppose it, asserting that it is the affair of a 

 private corporation, are, I submit, mistaken, and 

 not borne out by the facts of the case. 



" Now, Mr. Chairman, as to the necessity for 

 this appropriation, let me say just a word. The 

 investigating committee to which I have re- 

 ferred have made a scrutinizing investigation 

 into all the affairs of this exposition, and their 

 report is before us; and that report shows, as 

 the result of their own deliberate and careful 

 judgment, that on the first day of May, 1893, 

 the time fixed by law for the opening of the 

 gates, there will be a deficiency of nearly 

 $5,000,000 in the revenues of the exposition. 

 About this there is no controversy, and the 



