USA > Illinois > The centennial of the state of Illinois. Report of the Centennial Commission > Part 1
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Gc 977.3 IL581L 1744309
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00877 7978
1818
1918
The Centennial
OF THE
State of Illinois
1
Report of the Centennial Commission
Compiled by
JESSIE PALMER WEBER, Secretary of the Commission
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1744309
PREFACE.
At the kind invitation of some of the officers of the Hlinot State Historien! Society, this paper was written.
It was an afterthought on my part to have it published in this little brochure, thinking that in this form those who may not have the leiste to go through many researches for the information bere gleaned. might like to learn something of the important part taken by the Irish ele- ment in the exploring. settling and development of the great West.
We of Irish birth and lineage should endeavor to get our proper place in the history of the country's achievements. At every stage of its eventful history, whether In the peaceful conquests of its trackless forests and prairies to civilization, or on land and sea in the assertion and defense of its liberty and integrity, the Irish element have stood shoulder to shoulder with others of their fellow-citizens in the good work.
It is not only a pardonable pride last a praiseworthy duty on our Fart to rescue from oblivion and have compiled into history for the truthful information of posterity the noble deeds of our ancestors. whether as pioneers, explorers or patriots. In this great American re- publie of ours. P. T. BARRY.
DR. OTTO L. SCHMIDT
التاسعة ٤
حلاوة
HON. FRANK O LOWDEN
THE ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
OTTO L. SCHMIDT, Chicago, Chairman. JESSIE PALMIER WEBER, Secretary. EDWARD BOWE. JOHN J. BROWN. JOHN W. BUNN WILLIAM BUTTERWORTH
LION A. COLP.
ROYAL W. ENNIS.
EVARTS B. GREENE. D. T. HARTWILL (Resigned).
EDMUND J. JAMES. HARRY PRATT JUDSON ( Resigned). HUGH S. MAGILL, JR. (Resigned). GEORGE PASFIELD, JR. WILLIAM N. PELOUZE. A. J. POORMAN, JR. THOMAS F. SCULLY. FREDERIC SIEDENBURG. FREDERICK H. SMITH (Deceased).
CONTENTS
PAGE
1. Report of the Centennial Commission. Preliminary. 12
2. Organization of the Commission and Plans for the Observance
of the Centenary of the State. 17
3. Important Anniversaries of the Centennial Year 32
29
4. Centennial Memorial History 34
5. Centennial Half Dollar
35
6. Centennial Memorial Building 37
7. Pageants and Masques
8. Financial Report. 11
9. Official Celebrations. 49
10. Celebration Illinois Day, December 3, 1917. 52
11. The Lincoln's Birthday Observance, February 12, 1918. 94
12. The Centenary of the Enabling Act, April 18, 1918. 134
13. Randolph County Celebration, July 1, 1018. 223
14. Centenary of the Promulgation of the First Constitution of the State of Illinois, August 26, 1018. 241
15. Vandalia and Fayette County Celebration, September 24-26, 1918. 259
16. The Observance of the Centenary of the Establishment of the State Government. October 5, 6, 1918. 290
17. The Chicago Celebration, October S-13, 1918. 322
18. The Closing Observance of the Illinoi .: Centennial, December 3, 1918. 332
19. Documents:
Report of Hugh S. Magill, Jr., Director of the Centennial Celebration. 359
Report of Halbert O. Crews, Manager of Publicity. 381
Report of Frederick Bruegger, Pageant Master 395
Pageants and Masques. Report of Wallace Rice, Pageant Writer. 397
Centennial Flag or Banner 414
The Centennial Posters 415
Programs of the Masquer 421
20. Publications of the Centennial Commission 445
21 Index. 416
OUR ILLINOIS (The Centennial Hymn.)
Words by Wallace Ricc. Music by Edward C. Moore.
Our father's God Thy name we bless And all Thy mercies we confess with solemn joy : Our prairies rich with frui ful loam, Our rivers singing as they ro um, The happiness that is our home, Our hope, our Illinois.
How many times, Almighty God, Our fathers passed beneath the rod Thy years employ! Grant that their faith be justified In us for whom they fought aud died; Their love for Thee our lasting pride And hope, for Illinois.
Our father's God Put forth Thy might ; Thru' Thee may we defend the right, The wrong destroy Lead us afar from greed and lust, Teach us our duty, make us just ; In Thec our best, our only trust Our hope for Illinois.
Great Lord, Thy law Hath made us free And all our Freedom rests on Thee, Our stay and buoy We give Thee praise for bani-hed fears, For righted evils, contrite tears; Keep steadfast to her stainless years, Our hope, our Illinois.
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CENTENNIAL COMMISSION CREATED
AN ACT To create the Illinois Centennial Commission and to de- fine its powers and duties.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illi- nois, represented in the General Assembly: That there be and is hereby created a commission to be known as the Illinois Centennial Commission. Such commission shall be appointed by the Governor and shall consist of fifteen members, who shall serve without com- pensation, but who shall be allowed their actual expenses while engaged in official business of the commission and in attending meetings of the said commission. In case any vacaney shall occur on said commission, the Governor shall fill the vacancy by appoint- ment. The Governor shall designate the member who shall be chairmar .. The commission shall elect from its membership a secretary anl may engage such employees as shall be deemed necessary.
SECTION 2. It shall be the duty of the Illinois Centennial Commission :
1. To arrange for and conduct a celebration in honor of the Centennial of the admission of the State of Illinois into the Federal Union.
2. To compile and publish a commemorative history of the State.
3. To report to the Fiftieth General Assembly the arrange- ments for sach celebration.
4. To make a complete report to the Fifty-first General Assembly.
SECTION 3. The Illinois Centennial Commission shall expire when it shall have completed its duties and shall have made a complete report thereef to the Governor and the Fifty-first Ger .- eral Assembly, including a complete statement of its receipts and expenditures.
SECTION 4. WHEREA. An emergency exists; therefore, this Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage. APPROVED January 21. 1916.
Report of the Illinois Centennial Commission
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ILLINOIS
early a century ago there was carved out of the old northwest Territory a new state, destined to play a most important part in the history of the nation Go this new commonwealth was given the name of one of the great Indian tribes that came to a tragic end on historie Starved Rock. The history of Illinois is a wonderful story. Her raw prairies have become productive Fields. Pioneer settlements ihave developed into Villages, and Villages into great cities. Wizere one hundred years ago on the shores of bake Michigan stood lonely Fort Dearborn, today stands our great metropolis. No human mind a century ago, however powerful its imagination, could have dreamed of the things that have actually come to pass in Illinois. Great has been the develop- Sment of her material resources, but greater her manhood. *She has furnished men to meet her own great problems, and men to match the greater problems of the nation.
"Not without thy wondrous story, Illinois, Illinois, Can be writ the nation's glory, Illinois, Illinois. There has come to us of this generation the oppor- tunity and privilege of celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the admission of our state into the Fed- eral union . We should take advantage of this op - portunity to impress upon the minds of all of our people the wonderful story of the progress and .'development of Illinois.
To carry out this purpose the General Assem- bly created the Illinois Centennial Commission, , the members of which have been appointed by . the Governor.
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ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL OBSERVANCE, 1918 PRELIMINARY
Before the great war cast its blighting shadow upon the nations of the earth, the people of Illinois had begun to look for- ward to the observance of the centenary of their State.
The wonderful story of the Prairie State in its rise from the wigwam of the Indian and the camp fire of the explorer and the trapper, recounts adventures by sea and land, by winding rivers, fathomless lakes and tracklues forests, recites the story of white souled religious men who carried the cross of Christianity to heathen nations, of daring and intrepid explorers who sought new and richer countries in the name of their king. It tells of gold and silver, of iron, lead and coal, of wild beast and of wilder man, of loyal friendship and of treachery, of filial devotion and of romantic love. All the attributes and passions of human nature have played their part in making the thrilling history of Illinois.
Our recorded history goes back to the discovery of the great Mississippi River by the Spaniard Ferdinand DeSoto, who before the middle of the sixteenth century, with a small company of his countrymen had found his way from the Florida coast to the great inland river.
Tradition tells us that DeSoto also saw the waters of the Ohio River, and if this be true, he saw, too, the Illinois country. Certain it is that rumors of the Illinois country, its beauty and fertility, its game and furs, had reached the ears of the adventurous French early in the seventeenth century, and Samuel de Champlain, the historian and traveler, was the first of his nation to mention it in historical writings.
Spain and France and England have all claimed this terri- tory. The claims of Spain were shadowy. France discovered and explored the country, and took possession of it and held it for a hundred years. England conquered France upon the Plains of
ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Abraham at Quebec, in 1763, and through that victory claimed all of the American dependencies of France, including the Illinois country. England held actual sovereignty over Illinois less than fifteen years, nominally from 1763 to 1778, actually from 1265, when the British troops took command at Fort Chartres, until July 4, 1778, when the little settlements on the Mississippi River became a part of Virginia and so of the new American Republic. All the history, romance, and traditions of the two and a half centuries since the name of Illinois first made its appearance on the maps and in the historical writings of France is curs, but the history of Illinois since its admission as a State of the Federal Union in 1818, the one hundred years that have elapsed since that time, our first century as a sovereign state in the American Union, are what we have commemorated in our State Centennial observance.
When the war for American Independence was ended in 1781, the thirteen original states had still to pass through some critical years before the adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1188.
During the struggles of the Revolution, the proposed limits of the new Republic had been extended westward to the Mississippi River and a great and fertile territory wrest d from Great Britain by the amazing military feat of Col. George Rogers Clark, a young Virginia soldier, who with a small army of undisciplined border- men, captured the little village of Kaskaskia which was then on the outmost fringe of civilization. This he did in the name of Vir- ginia and under the orders of its governor, the illustrious Patrick Henry. This momentous event occurred July 4, 1:78. In the following February, Clark captured Vincennes on the Wabash River. The conquest of those frontier military posts assured to the new United States the territory which now embraces Chio, Indiana, Illinois Wisconsin, Michigan and part of Minnesota, the great middle western states which forin the very heart of the con- tinent, any one of which has now as great a population as had the entire United States at the close of the Revolutionary War, and two of the states, Illinois and Ohio have each a much greater population.
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PRELIMINARY
Following the adoption of the Federal Constitution by the original thirteen states, seven states were admitted to the Union before Illinois asked to be permitted to become one of the sover- eign states. These were Vermont in 1791, Kentucky in 1:92, Tennessee in 1196, Ohio in 1802, Louisiana in 1512, Indiana in 1816 and Mississippi in 1817. Each of these states hus observed its Centennial. The Centennial observance of our neighboring state, Indiana, celebrated in 1910, was the most elal orate.
In 1909 the State of Illinois, the nation and the world ob- served the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. Many citizens including the members of the State His- torical Society, urged that Illinois erect some adequate and endur- ing memorial of the Lincoln Centennial, but, while, there were many brilliant oficial observances of the anniversary, the State did not erect a permanent memorial on the cecasion of the center- ary of her most venerated citizen.
Feeling that the neglect of this opportunity was due in part, at least, to the failure of those whose duty it is to help to record and preserve state history, to make plin to the people of Illinois the importance and significance of the occasion, thoughtful citizens hoping to avoid the error made in regard to the Lincoln Centennial early began to call the attention of the people to the approach of the Centennial of the State of Illinois.
We do not admit in its entirety the truthfulness of the trite expres-ion that republics are ungrateful, but we must agree that republics and the states which make up republics, are forgetful. This is because events move so rapidly that the newer emotions and sentiments crowd out of the interest of the people all other than things of the urgent and insistent present.
The busy people who toil on the farm, in the mine, in the office and the storeroom make the economic and political history, and as they willingly contribute the money to provide and carry on the machinery which makes and administers their laws, so as a part of the peoples' organization for the carrying out of their ideals and for their welfare, agencies are employed by them to plan their memorials, and to arrange for the observance of their his-
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ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
torical anniversaries. to be in a sense the keepers of their historical consciousness as well as of their historical records.
The Illinois Centennial Commission acted as the agent of the people of Illinois, in planning for and carrying on a celebration to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the admission of the State of Illinois into the Federal Union.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMISSION AND ITS PLANS FOR THE OBSERVANCE OF THE CENTENARY OF THE STATE
On February 12, 1913, Campbell S. Hearn, a member of the Forty-eighth General Assembly of the State of Illinois represent- ing the Thirty-sixth Senatorial District. introduced in the Senate a resolution which provided for the creation of a commission to plan for and carry on an adequate celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the admission of Illinois into the Federal Union. This resolution was amended and the House of Representatives coneurred in it on April S, 1913.
The resolution provided that a commission he created for the purpose of observing the eentennial of the State and that it should consist of fifteen members: five members of the Senate and five members of the House of Representatives appointed according to the usage of the Senate and House of Representatives, and Edmund J. James, E. B. Greene and J. W. Garner of the University of Illinois and Otto L. Schmidt and Jessie Palmer Weber of the Illi- nois State Historical Society.
The Commission inet in the office of the Lieutenant Governor in the Capitol on July 23, 1913. The members of the Commission were Campbell S. Hearn, Hugh S. Magill. Jr .. Logan Hay, Henry W. Johnson. Kent E. Keller, members of the State Senate, and Representatives John S. Burns, John Huston, C. C. Pervier, James F. Morris and George B. Baker. The five other members of the Commission were those persons named in the resolution. President Edmund J. James. Prof. 1 ... B. Greene, and Prof. J. W. Garner of the University of Ilinois, and Dr. Otto L. Schmidt, President, and Mrs. Jessie Palmer Weber. Secretary of the Illinois State Historical Society.
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ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
The Commission organized at this its first meeting. Senator Campbell S. Hearn was elected chairman and Mrs. Jessie Palmer Weber was elected secretary of the Commission.
There have been three distinct changes, in the organization of the Commission in addition to the change in the presiding officer caused by the death of the first chairman of the Commission. Senator Hearn died on August 28, 1914, at his home in Quiney. He had been one of the chief factors in the organization of the Commission and had been active in all of its labors. He was deeply interested in its work. On December 3, 1914, the Honor- able Hugh S. Magill, Jr., was elected chairman of the Commis- sion to succeed him. On his retirement from the Senate, the Chairman, Mr. Magill, and other retiring members of the General Assembly were declared ineligible for membership in the Com- mission and present members of the General Assembly were ap- pointed in their places.
Senator E. S. Smith of Springfield, was elected chairman of the Commission to succeed Mr. Magill. The Centennial Commis- sion was one of the State commissions whose legal status was ques- tioned by the "Fergus suits." This matter caused some embarrass- ment and delay in the work of the Commission. The right of members of the General Assembly to serve on the Commission was also questioned.
Finally a bill passed the General Assembly giving the Gov- ernor power to appoint the fifteen members of the Commission. This Aet was approved by Governor Edward F. Dunne, January 21, 1916, and under its provisions the Commission has worked without further confusion or embarrassment.
Dr. Otto L. Schmidt who had been a member of the Com- mission from its organization was, by Governor Dunne, appointed its chairman and served until the labors of the Commission were completed. Dr. Schmidt had been chairman of the Publication Committee and was familiar with all of the plans of the Commis- sion. He gave the work wise, patriotic and unselfish devotion. It is not too much to say that the success of the celebration in all its phases was due largely to him.
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ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMISSION
As before stated there were four important changes in the personnel of the Commission. The following named persons were members of it during the more than five years of its existence.
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION APPOINTED UNDER AUTHORITY OF SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION, 1913:
STATE SENATORS
Campbell S. Hearn (deceased).
Hugh S. Magill, Jr.
Logan Hay.
Henry W. Johnson.
Kent E. Keller.
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
John S. Burns.
John Huston.
C. C. Pervier.
James F. Morris.
George B. Baker.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Edmund J. James.
Evarts B. Greene.
J. W. Garner.
ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Otto L. Schmidt.
Jessie Palmer Weber.
THE SECOND COMMISSION CONSISTED OF THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS :
STATE SENATORS
E. S. Smith. John Dailey. M. W. Bailey. Kent E. Keller.
Edward J. Hughes.
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ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
John S. Burns.
John Huston.
William J. Butler.
Thomas 1. Boyer,
Homer J. Tice.
And the same representatives of the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Historical Society.
After the passage of "An Act to create the Illinois Centennial Commission and to define its powers and duties," which was approved by the Governor, on January 21, 1916, Governor Dunne appointed the following named persons as members of the Com- mission. This may be called the third Commission.
Dr. Otto L. Schmidt, Chairman.
Jessie Palmer Weber, Secretary.
Edward Bowe.
M. J. Daugherty.
Oscar W. Eckland.
Rev. Royal W. Ennis. Evarts B. Greenc.
J. B. McManus.
Hugh S. Magill, Jr. Nicholas W. Duncan (resigned). John Schultz.
Thomas F. Scully.
Rev. Frederie Siedenburg.
Charles H. Starkel. John E. Traeger. Peter 1. Waller.
In March, 191%, the Centennial Commission as a body placed its resignation in the hands of the newly inaugurated Governor, Frank O. Lowden, and the Commission was re-organized. The following named persons formed the final organization :
Otto L. Schmidt, Chairman.
Jessic Palmer Weber, Secretary. Edward Bowe.
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ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMISSION
John J. Brown. John W. Bunn.
William Butterworth. Leon A. C'olp. Royal W. Ennis.
Evarts B. Greene.
D. T. Hartwell ( resigned).
Edmund J. James.
Harry Pratt Judson ( resigned ).
Hugh S. Magill, Jr. (resigned ).
George Pasfield, Jr.
William N. Pelouze.
A. J. Poorman, Jr.
Thomas F. Scully.
Frederic Siedenburg.
Frederick H. Smith (deceased).
The Commission at once began an earnest study of its work and formulated comprehensive plans for e Centennial observ- ances. The necessary committees were appointed. It was voted that Governor Dunne and State Superintendent Francis G. Blair be invited to serve as honorary members of the Commission. President E. J. James of the University of Illinois was also in- vited to become an honorary member and served in that capacity until upon the resignation of President Harry Pratt Judson of the University of Chicago, he became again, by appointment, a mem- ber of the Commission. Mr. Martin Roche of the State Art Com- mission and Professor J. A. James of the Northwestern University, were later elected honorary members.
After discussion and a careful consideration of the subject, it was decided that the plans for the celebration should be carried on under the following standing committees or divisions :
1. State-wide Celebration.
2. Celebration at the State Capital.
3. Centennial Memorial Building.
4. Centennial Memorial Publications.
5. Historical Statues and Markings.
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ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
6. Publicity.
7. Pageants and Masques.
Of these standing committees, several sub-committees were arranged. These plans and the titles of standing committees though modified or enlarged as occasion demanded, were practic- ally adhered to during the work of arranging for and the carrying on of the celebrations.
The members of the first committees were:
1. Committee on State-wide Celebration-Kent E. Keller, Chairman; J. W. Garner, H. W. Johnson, John S. Burns, John Huston, C. C. Pervier, Jessie Palmer - Weber.
2. Committee on Celebration at State Capital-Hugh S. Magill, Jr., Chairman.
3. Committee on Dedicatory Program -Edmund J. James, Chairman.
Committee on Histor al Pageant-Jessie Palmer Weber, Chairman.
Committee on Centennial Exposition, Logan Hay, Chair- · man.
Sub-committees for the Centennial Exposition --- Agricul- ture, C. C. Pervier; Livestock, John Huston; Mining, James F. Morris; Manufactures, George B. Baker; Transportation, Henry W. Johnson; Education, State Supt. Francis G. Blair; Arts and Sciences, J. W. Gar- ner; Historical Relics, Jessie Palmer Weber.
3. Committee on Centennial Memorial Building-Logan Hay, Chairman ; Kent E. Keller, John S. Burns, George B. Baker, James F. Morris.
4. Committee on Centennial Memorial Publications-O. L. Schmidt, Chairman ; George B. Baker, E. J. James, E. B. Greene, J. W. Garner.
5. Committee on Statues and Historical Markings-E. B. Greene, Chairman; H. S. Magill, Jr., H. W. Johnson, John Huston. O. L. Schmidt.
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ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMISSION
6. Committee on Publicity-John S. Burns, Chairman; Francis G. Blair, H. S. Magill, Jr., Kent E. Keller, James F. Morris, O. L. Schmidt.
The various changes in the personnel of the Commission of course made necessary changes in the membership of committees. The final committees were as follows:
Centennial Memorial History-Evarts B. Greene, Chairman; Ilarry Pratt Judson (resigned), Rev. Frederic Siedenburg, Rev. Royal W. Ennis, Edmund J. James, Dr. Otto L. Schmidt.
Committee on Publicity-Rev. Frederic Siedenburg, Chair- man; William N. Pelouze, Judge Thomas F. Scully, Dr. Edward Bowe, Jessic Palmer Weber.
Committee on State-wide Celebration-Rev. Royal W. Ennis, Chairman ; A. J. Poorman, Jr., William N. Pelouze, Leon A. Colp, Jessie Palmer Weber.
Committee on Celebration at State Capital -- John W. Bunn, Chairman; George Pasfield, Jr., Vice-chairman; William Butter- worth, John J. Brown, Col. Frederick II. Smith (deceased), Jessie Palmer Weber.
Committee on Pagea :s and Masques-Jessie Palmer Weber, Chairman : George Pasfiel 1, Jr., Dr. Edward Bowe, Rev. Frederic Siedenburg.
Committee on Vandalia Celebration-John J. Brown, Chair- man.
On October 29, 1917, Governor Lowden issued a proclamation calling special attention to December 3d., following, as the ninety- ninth anniversary of the formal admission of Illinois into the Union, and the beginning of the Centennial year. In his pro- clamation the Governor urged a general observance of this day throughout the State, and that organizations be formed in every county to co-operate with the Illinois Centennial Commission in planning an appropriate observanee of the Illinois Centennial anniversary. In this proclamation the Governor stated ---
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