Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission Part 14

_Resolved_, That the special auditing committee heretofore appointed be, and said committee is hereby, directed to inquire into and report to the Commission at its earliest convenience the true situation concerning the financial condition of the Exposition Company in the matter of cash receipts from different sources, including receipts for admissions and concessions and other sources; also all disburs.e.m.e.nts of any nature made by the Exposition Company. They will also examine all advertis.e.m.e.nts for bids; also all compet.i.tive bids submitted by contractors under each advertis.e.m.e.nt, and compare the accepted bids with the rejected bids, and determine if the accepted bids are reasonable in comparison with the material and service rendered. They will also prepare a comparative statement showing all bids submitted, and a copy of all contracts as finally awarded.

It is the wish of the Commission that you, as chairman of the special auditing committee, proceed with as much expedition as possible to make the examination and secure the information as set forth in above resolution.

Owing to the magnitude of the work of auditing the books of such an immense enterprise, Mr. Scott engaged the services of Jones, Caesar & Co., expert accountants, of St. Louis, to make the investigation under supervision of the committee.

On June 23, 1903, the special auditing committee made a report to the Commission, and at various times thereafter submitted other reports of the financial standing of the Exposition Company, based upon the findings of the above-named firm of expert accountants, all of which are in the files of the Commission.

The last report of the expert accountants employed by the Commission, containing a statement of receipts and disburs.e.m.e.nts of the Exposition Company from date of its incorporation to date of April 30, 1905, together with a condensed statement compiled by said expert accountants, showing their estimate of the financial result of the exposition, which they state has been prepared from the accounts of the company to May 3, 1905, and from an estimate of future receipts and expenditures, furnished by the president of the Exposition Company, is herewith submitted as a part of this report as "Appendix No. 1."

The Commission was compelled from time to time to call the attention of the Exposition Company to the apparently excessive number of free admissions in comparison with the total attendance at the exposition.

On May 10, 1904, the Commission wrote to the Exposition Company, pointing out that for the first seven days of the exposition, with the exception of the opening day, the number of free admissions compared with paid admissions was in the ratio of 7 to 6. On several subsequent occasions the Commission insisted that prompt action should be taken to check the indiscriminate use of pa.s.ses.

On May 24, 1904, the Commission adopted the following resolution:

_Resolved_, That Mr. Thurston, as a member of the judiciary committee present, call upon Judge Ferris, general counsel for the Exposition Company, and indicate to him the condition of correspondence with reference to free admissions to the fair grounds, and to suggest to him that in the absence of any disposition on the part of the Exposition Company to take notice of the protests of the Commission, he has been authorized to prepare the case for submission to the Attorney-General of the United States, with request that action be taken in the courts to prevent further violation of the law and rules as agreed upon by the joint action of the company and the Commission.

On the same day Mr. Thurston, in a conference with Judge Ferris, general counsel of the Exposition Company, brought the said action of the Commission to his attention and insisted that the Exposition Company should at once take immediate steps to put an end to the excessive and improper issuance of free pa.s.ses. Mr. Thurston was a.s.sured by Judge Ferris that he would immediately consult with the exposition officials and endeavor to secure such action on their part as would meet the views and wishes of the Commission.

As there was no apparent cessation in the distribution of pa.s.ses, the president of the Commission, on May 31, addressed the following communication to the president of the Exposition Company:

MAY 31, 1904.

SIR: Under date of May 26 Secretary Stevens transmitted to the National Commission what he denominated "The rules and regulations governing and restricting the issuance and use of pa.s.ses," as adopted by the company and now in operation. This communication, with the rules referred to attached, was obviously intended as an answer to the communication of the Commission to the company on that subject under dates of May 10 and May 19.

I am directed by the Commission to call your attention to the following sentence contained in my letter of 19th, above referred to, to wit:

"Persons not ent.i.tled to admission to the grounds under article 5 of the rules and regulations can only be legally and properly admitted by the Exposition Company with the approval of the National Commission."

With that proposition the answer of the executive committee of your company takes issue by submitting what you evidently deemed a sufficient answer through rules and regulations adopted by the company and now in operation, without the approval of the Commission.

The Commission understands that the following issues arise from this letter and the correspondence to which it refers, to wit:

First. That the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company a.s.serts and is exercising the a.s.serted right to formulate and put into operation rules and regulations governing and restricting the issuance and use of free pa.s.ses to the exposition grounds, without submitting such rules and regulations to the Commission and obtaining its approval thereof.

Second. That the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company a.s.serts and is acting upon the a.s.sertion of its alleged right, through its officers and agents, to issue free pa.s.ses to the exposition grounds without the concurrence or approval of the National Commission, expressed through general rules or regulations or otherwise.

In reply to these a.s.serted rights, and the exercise thereof by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission denies the right of the company to promulgate and put into operation rules and regulations governing and prescribing the issuance and use of free pa.s.ses to the exposition grounds without submitting such rules and regulations to the Commission, and without obtaining its approval thereof, and denies the right of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company to issue free pa.s.ses to the exposition grounds without the concurrence or approval of the National Commission, expressed through general rules and regulations, or otherwise.

Upon the two issues here presented the Commission invokes the judgment of the board of arbitration, provided for in section 4 of the act of Congress, ent.i.tled:

"An act to provide for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States by holding an international exhibition of arts, industries, manufactures, and the products of the soil, mine, forest, and sea, in the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, approved March 3, 1901."

For convenience a copy of the correspondence referred to is hereunto attached.

Hon. John M. Allen and Hon. John M. Thurston, the members of the Commission appointed to act for this body on the board of arbitration, will hold themselves in readiness to meet the members of that board appointed by the company at their pleasure.

Yours, very respectfully, THOS. H. CARTER.

Hon. D.R. FRANCIS, _President Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company._

On June 14 the Exposition Company submitted certain rules and regulations governing the issuance of pa.s.ses. The Commission gave due consideration to the proposed rules, and on June 25 returned them to the Exposition Company with certain modifications, which the executive committee of the Exposition Company refused to adopt. Whereupon, on July 7, the Commission, by resolution, demanded immediate arbitration on the matter and protested against the issuance of free admissions pending a decision by the board of arbitration.

Mr. Joseph Flory, secretary of the Commission since its organization, resigned from that office on July 1, 1904. Mr. Lawrence H. Grahame, of New York, a.s.sistant secretary, was elected as secretary to succeed Mr.

Flory.

On July 13, 1904, the board of arbitration of the Commission and the Exposition Company finally met, and the question of free pa.s.ses was discussed. Another meeting of the arbitrators was held on July 18, and rules and regulations governing the use of pa.s.ses were drafted.

These rules were subsequently adopted by the company and approved by the Commission on July 20, 1904. The rules read as, follows:

_Resolved,_ That the rules and regulations governing free admission to the exposition grounds, prepared by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, governing the corporation are fixed and established by said company to read as follows:

The official badges of the officers and directors of the company, directors of divisions, and chiefs of departments of the exposition, duly approved by the board of directors of the company; the official badges of the officers and members of the National Commission, duly approved by said Commission; and the official badge of the board of lady managers, duly approved by said board, shall ent.i.tle the officers and members wearing the same to free admission to the exposition grounds.

Card pa.s.ses for the entire period of the exposition will be issued to the following officials and their wives, to wit:

The President of the United States.

The Vice-President of the United States.

Members of the Cabinet.

Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Secretary to the President of the United States.

Members and officers of the National Commission.

The directors and officers of the Exposition Company.

The mayor of the city of St. Louis.

Card pa.s.ses for the entire period of the exposition will be issued to the following persons, to wit:

Members of both Houses of Congress, and the chief officers thereof.

The Diplomatic Corps.

The diplomatic representatives of the United States abroad.

The governors of States, Territories, Districts, and dependencies of the United States, and the Commissioners of the District of Columbia.

Commissioners of foreign countries accredited to the exposition.

Commissioners of States, Territories, Districts, and dependencies of the United States accredited to the exposition.

Directors of divisions and chiefs of the departments and bureaus of the exposition.