/- tyC , /If kJ/i^ 7?^^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/reportofmassachumass : REPOET MASSACHUSETTS BOARD World's Fair Managers. BOSTON WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS, 18 Post Office Square. 1894. m m'l^HJ-LfiRARY BOSTON COLLEGE FRED HARLOV/ Sl^H COIIECIIO*^ ; Boston, Sept. 25, 1894. His Excellency Governor Frederic T. Greenhalge and the Eoyi- orable Executive Council. Sirs : — The Massachusetts Board of World's Fair Managers, having completed their labors, beg leave to submit to you for your consideration the following report, showing the methods adopted by them in the prosecution of their work, the amounts of money, in more or less of detail, expended out of the appro- priations made by the several Legislatures ; reports made to them by those having charge of the several State exhibits and papers prepared by different writers on various exhibits from the Commonwealth. Eespectfully submitted, Massachusetts Board of World's Fair Managers, FRANCIS A. WALKER, Chairman. ALICE FREEMAN PALMER. ANNA L. DAWES. EDWARD BURNETT. E. C. HOVEY, Secretary. REPORT. ORGANIZATION AND WORK OF PREPARATION FOR EXHIBITS. The General Court of Massachusetts in the year 1891 adopted the following Resolve, which, on May 28 of that year, received the approval of His Excellency the Gov- ernor : — Resolved, That for the purpose of exhibiting the resources, products and general development of the Commonwealth at the World's Columbian Exposition of the year 1893, a Board of World's Fair Managers of Massachusetts, consisting of five residents of the Commonwealth, of whom three shall be men and two women, shall be appointed by the G-overnor by and with the consent of the Council. The said Board shall have charge of the interests of the Commonwealth and its citizens in the preparation and exhibition at the AVorld's Columbian Exposition of the year 1893, of the natural and industrial products of the Commonwealth and of objects illustrating its history, progress, moral and material welfare and future de- velopment, and in all other matters relating to the said World's Columbian Exposition ; it shall communicate with the officers of, and obtain and disseminate through the Com- monwealth all necessary information regarding said Exposi- 6 REPORT OF BOARD OF tion and in general have and exercise full authority in relation to the participation of the Commonwealth and its citizens m the World's Columbian Exposition of the year 1893. To carry out the provisions of this resolve, a sum not exceeding seventy- five thousand dollars may be expended under the direction of the Governor and Council, provided that of such sum not less than ten thousand dollars shall be devoted to the educational exhibit of the Commonwealth. Under the provisions of the foregoing resolve, His Excellency the Governor appointed and the Council con- firmed the following members of the Board of World's Fair Managers : Gen. John "W. Corcoran of Clinton, Mrs. Alice Freeman Palmer of Cambridge, Miss Anna L. Dawes of Pittsfield, Hon. Edward Burnett of South- borough and E. C. Hovey of Brookline. The General Court of Massachusetts in the succeeding year, namely, during the year 1892, adopted the fol- lowing resolve : — Resolved, That for the purpose of exhibiting the arts, in- dustries, institutions, resources, products and general develop- ment of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the "World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, in the State of Illinois, in the year 1893, there be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth a sum not exceeding seventy-five thou- sand dollars ($75,000.00), to be expended under the direc- tion of the Governor and Council to carry out the provisions of this resolve ; the sum to be in addition to the seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000.00) authorized by chapter 98 of the Resolves for the year 1891. Resolved, That the Massachusetts Building and, as far as WORLD'S FAIK MANAGERS. 7 the same is under the control of the Board of Managers, the Massachusetts exhibit be closed on the first or Lord's Day, This resolve received the Executive approval on May 6, 1892. On the twenty-fifth day of March, 1893, His Excel- lency the Governor gave his approval to the following resolve passed by the General Court of the year 1893 : — Resolved^ That for the purposes of exhibiting the arts, in- dustries, institutions, resources, products and general develop- ment of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, in the State of Illinois, in the year 1893, there be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth a sum not exceeding twenty-five thou- sand dollars ($25,000.00), to be expended under the direction of the Governor and Council to carry out the provisions of this resolve ; the sum to be in addition to the amounts hereto- fore authorized. The members of the Board, having received their commissions under date of July 16, 1891, held their first meeting on July 30 of that year in the Sears Building, Boston, and organized with the choice of John W. Corcoran as Chairman and E. C. Hovey as Secretary. The Chairman and Secretary having been appointed a committee, with full powers, to provide permanent quarters for the Commission, executed a lease, expir- ing Jan. 1, 1894, for offices in Sears Building, Boston, at an annual rental of twelve hundred dollars. ; 8 REPOET OF BOARD OF Shortly after the organization of the Board, the Chairman and Secretary visited Chicago for the pur- pose of becoming acquainted with the Exposition offi- cials, as well as to learn the many details incident to the work which had been given them to do. From that time until the 1st of December, 1893, members of the Board were in Chicago a part of every month and it is believed that it is largely through the hearty co-operation of the Exposition officials which naturally followed these continued visits that the results have been obtained of which mention is made in this report. Desiring that the Commonwealth should hold a posi- tion equally as important in the World's Columbian Exposition of Chicago as she did in the Centennial of 1876, in Philadelphia, the Board at once took steps to awaken an interest throughout the Commonwealth among the people of the State. This was accomplished by addresses made before boards of trade, by attend- ance upon meetings of commercial clubs, by the issu- ing of circulars and by an extensive correspondence. At the time of their appointment the members of the Board found a decided want of interest in the Ex- position, and it was not until some time thereafter that they obtained very much encouragement from the citizens of the State. The agencies above referred to, together with the press, to which the Board are very glad at this time to extend their cordial acknowledgment for assistance ren- WORLD'S FAIR MANAGERS. 9 dered, finally awakened an interest, the demands for space in the Exposition becoming so threateningly large as to bring about a condition of afiairs which make it possible to say that the space asked for was sufficient to have filled an exposition even three times the size of that contemplated. It was at this time that two members of the Board were in Chicago and learned that the space originally intended for the Department of Education had been so curtailed by reason of the fact that the commercial exhibits were being continually cared for to the detri- ment of exhibits in the Department of Liberal Arts. They protested in the name of the Commonwealth against the further robbery of the space needed by the educational interests of the country. Eequesting a hear- ing before the Executive Committee of the World's Columbian Exposition, they appeared before that body in person and filed numerous protests in the shape of telegrams and letters, not only from citizens of the Commonwealth, but from those of sixteen States of the Union. The space, however, had been so fully as- signed in the buildings then erected that there was but one way by which education could receive its proper recognition, this being through the erection of a new building. After some weeks' delay the petition of the Massachusetts Board of "World's Fair Manag-ers, en- dorsed as it was not only by those to whom reference has already been made but by people from all over 10 KEPORT OF BOAED OP the country, was finally granted, resulting in the con- struction of the building now well known as the Anthro- pological Building, within which was contained the interesting, instructive and valuable exhibit collected together under the management of Prof. Frederic W. Putnam and two bureaus from the Department of Liberal Arts, namely, those of Hygiene and Sanitation, and of Charities and Correction. While this was a decided victory and of great bene- fit to the cause of education, it was, nevertheless, im- possible to carry out the plans previously decided upon for the installation of the educational exhibits of the world. These it had been primarily intended to place on the ground floor of the great Liberal Arts Build- ing; but it was found necessary to remove them to the gallery, where, although the space was perhaps as ex- tended as that which could have been given for the purpose on the ground floor, it was, nevertheless, much less convenient for exhibition purposes and absolutely prevented a method of installation which was considered very desirable. During the period of time between the appointment of the Board and the removal of their offices from Boston to Chicago, there was a vast amount of corre- spondence necessary with intending exhibitors in the way of imparting information and giving such aid as should be of service to the exhibitor in his negotiations with the Exposition officials.