CONGRESS. (PENSIONS.) 



199 



<|tiestion is, under these circumstances shall the 

 (i,)\Tiii!)fiil furnish any aid, or shall we let the 

 immurement of this great exposition, to which 

 the nations of the world have been invited, ^<> 

 through t IK- money marts of Chicago. 

 York, hond"ii, or Paris, seeking to hypothecate 

 their securities or receipts for the purpose of 

 racing money to carry on the work of preparing 

 this great exposition, which, as I have already 

 stated, is inaugurated by act of Congress, and is 

 In-iiii; carried on under the auspices of this great 

 (ii.MTimifiitf To my mind there ought to be 

 no hfsitation or doubt as to our duty in the 

 premises. 



" Now, as I have said, Mr. Chairman, the Co- 

 lumbian Imposition were to raise $ 10,000,000. 

 This they have done, and. as shown by the re- 

 port of the Dockery committee, nearly $8,000,000 

 will be expended lor the construction of the 

 buildings alone. Then, the expenses of the 

 great departments of the exposition, organized 

 and established by the national commission, 

 are being paid for by the exposition, which will 

 amount to at least $1,500,000 more by the first 

 of May, and. taking into consideration the thou- 

 sand and one other incidental expenses, which I 

 nerd not stop to enumerate, it becomes readily 

 apparent that there must be a deficiency in the 

 revenue necessary to carry on this great work 

 according to the plan and scope determined by 

 the national commission. 



" Again, Mr. Chairman, in response to our 

 invitation more than GO nations of the earth 

 have responded in a spirit of amity, and are ex- 

 pending large sums of money in the preparation 

 of exhibits to be installed at this exposition. 

 The amount of money thus being expended by 

 foreign nations amounts to $5,000,000. Our 

 own States, through their Legislatures, have 

 made liberal appropriations, my own State ap- 

 propriating the sum of $300,000. The amount 

 which will be expended by the various States 

 and Territories will aggregate nearly f 5,000,000, 

 and all this aside from the immense amount 

 that will be expended by individuals and private 

 concerns in the preparation of their exhibits. 



"Now. Mr. Chairman, this promises to be a 

 grand success. The investigating committee to 

 which I have referred so report. The manage- 

 ment has been honest, able, and skillful. The 

 affairs of this exposition have in all respects 

 been managed with a degree of ability and 

 fidelity thai is highly commendable, and there 

 is but one desire upon all sides, the management 

 as well as the people at large, that this great 

 event shall be a splendid success. 



" Let me quote a word from the report of this 

 committee: 



In its scope and majruiflcence this exposition 

 stands alone. There is nothing like it in all history. 

 It easily surpasses ull kindred enterprises, and will 

 amply illustrate the marvelous genius of tho Amer- 

 ican people in the great domains of agriculture, com- 

 merce, manufactures, and invention, whieli constitute 

 the foundation upon whieli rests the structure of our 

 national glory and prosperity. 



" Now. Mr. Chairman, as a member of the 

 committee on the World s Columbian Exposi- 

 tion I have given this subject careful thought 

 and study. I am somewhat familiar with its 

 origin and the legislation that has inaugurated 



it. I submit there can be no question that this 

 is and was from the beginning intended to be an 

 a flair of great national interest and character. 

 I have no scruples whatever in giving my sup- 

 port to this bill, and I endeavor to be as con- 

 scientious in the discharge of my duties here as 

 any other member upon this floor. 



" This exposition will not only redound to our 

 fame and glory, but will materially benefit our 

 glorious republic. It will infuse new blood 

 into the arteries of trade. It will open new 

 channels of commerce, expand out commercial 

 relations with the nations of the earth, elevate 

 and advance our civili/alion to a still higher 

 standard." 



The bill passed the Senate the same day, but 

 not without some serious censure. Senator 

 Sherman said : 



"Congress treated the people of Philadelphia, 

 when they were engaged in the same kind of an 

 enterprise, with somewhat of the grasp of a 

 miser. When the city of Philadelphia, after 

 going to the extreme tether to have the exposi- 

 tion of 1876, involved itself in debt and could 

 go no further, it appealed to Congress for help, 

 and how was that appeal responded tot One 

 million five hundred thousand dollars was final- 

 ly given or loaned to that exposition, upon the 

 express condition that every dollar of that 

 money should be refunded to the United States 

 of America before one single cent was paid out 

 to any person in Philadelphia who had con- 

 tributed to the same purpose. It was one of 

 those things which was regarded as harsh and 

 unjust. Yet the people of Philadelphia were in 

 such a condition that they could not refuse it, 

 and they accepted the $1,500.000; and the Gov- 

 ernment of the United States collected from the 

 people of Philadelphia every dollar of the money 

 thus Joaned before a single dollar was paid out 

 or distributed to the shareholders who had given 

 their money. There was an act of injustice. 



" We proposed to give $5,000,000 to the peo- 

 ple of Chicago, and to share with them the profit 

 and loss. I would rather give $10,000.000 and 

 share with them the profit and loss, than give 

 them the $2.500,000 and tell them : ' Here, we 

 throw you this bone; we will give you this 

 $2,500,000, and we do not expect anything from 

 it; we expect it to be all wasted and gone.' 

 That is the way in which this enterprise is 

 treated by the Congress of the United States. 



"Sir, if this bill stood alone, without its sur- 

 roundings. I should vote against it. If I were a 

 citizen of Chicago I would not accept this 

 money under the terms and conditions and in 

 the way in which it is here given. The people 

 of Chicago could raise this $2,500.000. With a 

 little exhibition of the spirit and feeling of the 

 people of that city they would raise it, and need 

 not accept this appropriation." 



The President approved the measure immedi- 

 ately U'fore the adjournment of Congress. 



Pensions. On June 2S. isn-j. the House 

 pa eil the following bill for pensioning army 

 nurses : 



Be it enacted, etc.. That any woman who served u 

 an army nurse in the actual penotMl care and nursing 

 of the sick and wounded durinc the civil war, cither 

 in field or general hospitals of the I'nited State*, and 

 who continued ii such care and aiming of the sick 



