CHAPTER XXII

CELEBRATIONS, POLITICS, LABOR TROUBLES

Celebrations of Historic Events. The people of Pennsylvania have been very ready to commemorate past events, and to join with others for the same purpose. In the period which has been reviewed, the first celebration was the centennial of the Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia was eminently the place for the celebration to take place, as there the Declaration itself had been made, and the very building in which Congress had met was still standing. The exhibition was an international one, and very many of the nations of the world were represented. The state appropriated $1,000,000 toward the enterprise, and Philadelphia $1,500,000. The buildings were erected in Fairmount Park, and the results in every way exceeded expectation. Interesting and valuable as were the foreign exhibits, the extent of the resources and manufactures of the United States, as revealed by the exhibition, was a surprise not only to foreigners but to Americans themselves.

From the foreign exhibitions the American citizens learned how much the country fell below other lands, especially Europe, in artistic matters of all kinds. No other exhibition has had so great an educational value as this one. It was at this exhibition that the telephone, then lately invented, was shown to the public for the first time. The fair was open from May 1 to November 1, 1876, and during the six months about ten million people visited the grounds.

Another celebration especially interesting to Pennsylvanians was that in 1882 of the two hundredth anniversary of the landing of William Penn. A vessel representing the Welcome came first to Chester. From it there came on shore a company representing William Penn and his companions. The next day the vessel reached Philadelphia, and the company landed at Dock Street, and speeches and processions representing the progress since Penn's day followed. The celebration lasted several days.

Another grand celebration lasting for three days took place in 1887 to commemorate the centennial of the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, which had been drawn up in Philadelphia.

In 1884 an Electrical Exhibition was held in West Philadelphia to illustrate the advance in the practical uses of electricity. The extent and variety of the applications of electricity were surprising to the many visitors. But so rapid has been the progress in the employment of this power that the wonders of that time are now matters of every day use.

Among other celebrations that followed those already mentioned must be placed the Historical Pageant1 which took place in Philadelphia October 7 to 12, 1912. This was intended to represent the principal episodes in the history of Pennsylvania and of Philadelphia from the time of the landing of the Dutch colonists down to the consolidation of the city in 1854. The scenes were the result of careful study and thousands of spectators viewed them with much pleasure.

Philadelphia City Hall. On July 4, 1874, the foundations were laid for a much needed City Hall in Philadelphia. The site chosen was at the intersection of Market and Broad

1A pageant to celebrate the 225th anniversary of the charter of Philadelphia was held in 1908.

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streets, where William Penn had planned that the city public buildings should be. It is not likely, however, that he would have chosen to place the buildings so as to block the two finest streets in the city. Begun in 1874, the building proper was finished in 1887, and the tower was completed in 1894. It is the largest municipal building in the world and one of the most imposing. Its cost was more than $20,000,000.1 Burning of Capitol; New Capitol. In February, 1897, the dignified state capitol at Harrisburg was burned. new capitol building was at once authorized by the Legislature which was in session at the time. The new building was to be fireproof, of renaissance style of architecture, and was to cost not exceeding $500,000. The new building, though occupied by the Legislature in January, 1899, was not completed until 1906, and the interior decorations are still unfinished. The result is one of the most beautiful state buildings in America. The cost, however, owing in part to changes in the plans, has been about $4,000,000, and the furniture and general equipment about $9,000,000 more. This latter sum was such an extraordinary expenditure that investigations were made which revealed extensive and systematic fraud deserving no other name than robbery. The legal prosecutions lasted so long that several of the men charged with taking part in the frauds died before conviction. The State recovered some of the money, and two or three of the defrauders were imprisoned.

Election of Governor Pattison. After the election of Governor Curtin in 1860, Pennsylvania remained steadily

1 It measures 486 feet from north to south, and 470 feet from east to west. The height from the ground to the top of Penn's statue is 548 feet. The building loses greatly in effect from the fact that owing to its situation it is impossible to get a complete view of it at any distance. See picture facing page 284.