U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 25, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I have the honor herewith to submit the report of the Centennial
Commissioners, and to add a word in the way of recommendation.
There have now been international expositions held by three of the great
powers of Europe. It seems fitting that the one hundredth anniversary of
our independence should be marked by an event that will display to the
world the growth and progress of a nation devoted to freedom and to the
pursuit of fame, fortune, and honors by the lowest citizen as well as
the highest. A failure in this enterprise would be deplorable. Success
can be assured by arousing public opinion to the importance of the
occasion.
To secure this end, in my judgment, Congressional legislation is
necessary to make the exposition both national and international.
The benefits to be derived from a successful international exposition
are manifold. It will necessarily be accompanied by expenses beyond the
receipts from the exposition itself, but they will be compensated for
many fold by the commingling of people from all sections of our own
country; by bringing together the people of different nationalities; by
bringing into juxtaposition, for ready examination, our own and foreign
skill and progress in manufactures, agriculture, art, science, and
civilization.
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