134: New Yoek at the "World's Columbian Exposition. 



do justice. It is only fitting that I should pay this passing tribute to its 

 greatness and its grandeur. 



There are others to follow who are better fitted and more capable of 

 doing justice to this magnificent theme. To them I will leave the pleasant 

 task. Again, ladies and gentlemen, as the chief magistrate of the empire 

 city of this country, I welcome you to the " White City," created by the 

 metropolis of the West, and hope and believe that this renewed inter- 

 course will bring these two cities more closely in a bond of union and 

 brotherly love." 



General Horace Porter spoke as follows : 



As in ancient times all roads led to Rome, so at the present time all 

 roads lead to Chicago. To-day the city of the seaboard comes to lay its 

 tribute of admiration and respect at the feet of the city of the lakeside. 

 Therefore, in what I shall have to say, my story will be " A Tale of Two 

 Cities." 



When " Manhattan day " was designated and consecrated as a day in 

 which the city of New York was to offer its testimonial of appreciation 

 to the great exposition, her citizens arose en masse to make their pilgrim- 

 age to the fair. The numbers that have come have been limited only by 

 the limit of transportation. 



My first and most agreeable duty is to express to the officers of the 

 exposition and to the people of Chicago in the name of the people of New 

 York their profound acknowledgments and their deep senso of gratitude 

 for the cordial and unbounded welcome which has been extended to them. 

 Your people have vied with one another in pressing the cup of greeting 

 to our lips ere we could remove the stains of travel from our garments. 

 We have come to unite with you in the celebration of four centuries of 

 history. We stand here to-day entranced with the grandeur of achieve- 

 ments, inspired by the majesty of events. We find ourselves within the 

 border of a State which did not exist at the time of the inauguration of 

 our national government, but which now contains a single city with a 

 population nearly half as great as that of all the thirteen original States. 

 We are enchanted by the sight of this phantom city, phantom-like in color, 

 phantom-like in the suddenness with which it has appeared before the 

 eyes of men. We find its buildings palaces, its grounds gardens, its lakes, 

 lagoons and islands a picture of fairyland, looking as if it had- been sum- 

 moned into being by the magic wand of an enchantress. We are almost 

 awe-stricken as we stand within the shadows of these majestic temples of 

 art. Every branch of every science and of every art seems to have been 

 laid under contribution in the achievement of these marvelous results. 



