CHAP. XXX. RESULTS OF THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION. And freighted with Love's golden fleece, For Art and Labor met in truce, For beauty made the bride of Use, O! make thou us, through centuries long, In peace secure, in justice strong; The safeguards of Thy righteous law, Let the new cycle shame the old! 1759 When the chanting of that grand hymn was ended, the Hon. John Welsh, President of the Centennial Board of Finance, formally presented the buildings to the United States Centennial Commission. Then a cantata, composed by Sidney Lanier, of Georgia, and set to exquisite music by Mr. Buck, was sung, when General Hawley, president of the Centennial Commission, at the close of a short speech, presented the Exhibition to the President of the United States. The latter made a brief response. At the end of these ceremonies, the American flag was unfurled over the great tower of the Main Building, as a signal to the multitude that the Centennial Exhibition was open. That multitude listened to (or joined in) the singing of Handel's magnificent Hallelujah Chorus, and then dispersing, spread over the grounds and through the great buildings. The Centennial Exhibition was eminently successful in every aspect of the affair. The management was judicious throughout; the police regulations and the provisions for comfort and security were perfect; and its financial success, considering the depressed state of the business of the country, was decided. In the extent of the Exhibition space, the amount and variety of the products of industry there gathered, and the number of the visitors, this "World's Fair" exceeded all others that had preceded it, either municipal, national, or international. The buildings of the first International Exhibition, held in London, in 1851, covered a space of twenty acres, and those of a similar Exhibition in 1862, covered a little over twentyfive acres. The buildings of the Paris Exhibition, in 1867, covered thirtyone acres, and those of Vienna, in 1873, covered fifty-six acres. The buildings constructed under the directions of the Centennial Commission, with their annexes, as we have observed (exclusive of those erected by the General and State governments), covered seventy-five acres. In these buildings, thirty-three nations besides our own, exhibited the products of their industry, namely, Argentine Republic, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chili, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, India and British Colonies, Hawaiian Islands, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg Grand Duchy, Liberia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Orange Free State, Peru, Portugal, Russia, San Domingo, Spain and Spanish Colonies, Siam, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunis, Turkey, and Venezuela. The Centennial Exhibition was open for pay admissions one hundred and fifty-nine days, the pay-gates being closed on Sundays. The total number of cash admissions at fifty cents each was 7,250,620, and at twentyfive cents each, 753,654. The number of free admissions was 1,906,692, making a grand total of 9,910,965 admissions. During the very hot summer, the number of admissions were comparatively few. The smallest number in a full month was in July, when the weather was excessively hot, and the rural population were engaged in the harvests. The number was 906,447. The largest number of admissions in a full month, was in October, when 2,663,911 persons were admitted. The largest number admitted in a single day was 274,919. That was on the "Pennsylvania Day," Thursday, September 28th. The total amount of cash receipts during the Exhibition was $3,813,725.50. The Grand International Exhibition was closed on the 10th of November with appropriate ceremonies. After the performance of Wagner's "Inaugural March," a prayer, singing, and speeches by officers of the Centennial Commission, the President of the United States stepped to the front of the platform, and in quiet tones said to the multitude before him: "I now declare the Centennial Exhibition closed." Then the message-"The President has this moment closed the International Centennial Exhibition, 3:37 P. M., November 10, 1876"-was sent by telegraph all over the Union and across the seas; and the immense congregation joined in singing the Christian Doxology. The great Corliss engine that had driven acres of machinery for six months, gave one or two strokes, when the giant fell asleep and ceased to move. The American Centennial Exhibition had passed into history. The close of this interesting and important exhibition is a favorable opportunity for briefly recapitulating the story of American Progress from the foundation of the Republic down to 1876. To this end, therefore, our next chapter is appropriately devoted. GROWTH, EXTENT AND POPULATION OF OUR DOMAIN -PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURE AND ITS PRODUCTIONS-VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL AND MERCE, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC POST ROUTES - CANALS- THE WEST-STEAMBOATS AND RAILWAYS BANKING AND INSURANCE ELECTRO-MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH AND ITS USES WEATHER SIGNALS-RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS-CONCLUSION. T HE progress of our Republic in all departments of activity during the past one hundred years has been marvellous. In 1776, its domain comprised only a narrow border of the continent along the ocean coasts for almost a thousand miles, with an average width between the sea and the lofty Alleghany mountains of about thirty leagues. The extent of the domain of the new-born Republic was then 800,000 square miles; now (1876) it forms an irregular belt across the continent from ocean to ocean, embracing an area of 3,500,000 square miles of land and water. Our population in 1776 was a little more than a million and a half; now it is full 42,000,000. Agriculture, the primary source of wealth, wooes manufactures as a help-mate, and these, wedded, become the parents of commerce. The latter promotes social refinement as manifested by the cultivation of the fine arts, science, literature and education; and these foster true religion and morality, the basis of highest civilization. These processes of growth may be seen in the history of our country within the past one hundred years. Agriculture here, in 1776, was simply an art, not a science. The tillers were ignorant of the principles of vegetable production and followed the methods of their forefathers, without question. The country was sparsely settled; and social attrition, which expands the mind, was then very slight. The implements of labor, made by common carpenters or blacksmiths, were very rude. They were nearly all moved by human muscle, for the use of labor-saving machinery was unknown in our country, and improvements were opposed as innovations. Farm work was then far more laborious and less productive than now. The plow of that day required more than double the strength of man and beast to manage it, than does the plow at present; and the improvements made in that implement alone, within the last fifty |