Chapter CCLIX. relative to the Centennial International Exhibition, to be held in the City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, in the Year eighteen hundred and seventy-six
4,879 words·~22 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-17/chapter-cclix-888026·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. CCLIX.— An Act relative to the Centennial International Exhibition, to be held in the City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, in the Year eighteen hundred and seventy-six.June 1, 1872. Whereas Congress did provide by an act entitled “An act to providePreamble.1871, ch. 105.Vol. xvi. p. 470. for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of American Independence by holding an international exhibition of arts, manufactures, and products of the soil and mine in the city of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-six,” approved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, for the appointment of commissioners to promote and control the exhibition of the national resources and their development, and the nation’s progress in arts which benefit mankind, and to suggest and direct appropriate ceremonies by which the people of the United States may commemorate that memorable and decisive event, the Declaration of American Independence by the Congress of the United Colonies assembled in the city of Philadelphia, on the fourth day of July anno Domini seventeen hundred and seventy-six; and Whereas such provisions should be made for procuring the funds requisite for the purposes aforesaid as will enable all the people of the United States, who have shared the common blessings resulting from national independence, to aid in the preparation and conduct of said international exhibition and memorial celebration under the direction of the commissioners of the United States:
Therefore, *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,* That there is hereby created aCorporation created called the “Centennial Board of Finance.”204FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 259. 1872. body corporate, to be known by the name of the Centennial Board of Finance, and by that name to have an incorporate existence until thePowers. object for which it is formed shall have been accomplished; and it shall be competent to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in all courts of law and equity in the United States; and may make and have a corporate seal, and may purchase, take, have, and hold, and may grant, sell, and at pleasure dispose of all such real and personal estate as may be required in carrying into effect the provisions of an act of Congress, entitled “An act to provide for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of American Independence by holding an international exhibition of arts and manufactures, and products of the soil and mine, in the city of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-six,” approved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and all acts supplementary thereto; and said Centennial Board of Finance shall consist of the following-named persons, their associatesCorporators from and successors, from the States and Territories as herein set forth; *Alabama.—*At large;
Robert H. Patton, John W. Darr, William H.Alabama; Barnes, William Miller, Edward W. Pettus, Benjamin S. Turner. First district: John Hardy, J. H. Withers. Second district: E. R. Mitchell, Robert W. Healy. Third district: Oceola Kyle, Culen A. Battle. Fourth district: Joseph H. Speed, G. W. M. Golson. Fifth district: William H. Forney, Richard W. Walker. Sixth district: William H. Campbell, Charles Gibson. For additional district: Josiah Morris, E. M. Keils. *Arizona.—*Augustus H.
Whiting, Charles H. Lord.Arizona; *Arkansas.—*At large: A. P. Bishop, James Torrens, D. C. Casey,Arkansas; George R. Weeks. First district: John T. Jones, William R. Miller. Second district: Henry B. Morse, James W. Mason. Third district: Irving W. Fuller, Samuel W. Williams. For additional district: H. A. Millen, Joseph Stanley. *California.*—At large: A. S. Hallidie, Thomas H. Selby, GeorgeCalifornia; Oulton, Nathan Coombs. First district: William C. Ralston, Milton S. Latham.
Second district: Leland Stanford, Edgar Mills. Third district: L. B. Mizner, John J. De Haven. For additional district: John G. Downey, T. Ellard Beans. *Colorado.*—D. H. Moffat, junior, George W. Chilcott.Colorado; *Connecticut.*—At large: James G. Batterson, Benjamin Douglas, JohnConnecticut; F. Slater, Orrin Benedict, Eli Whitney. First district: Ward Cheney, George Maxwell. Second district: Charles Parker, Charles Atwater. Third district: John Tracy, Henry P. Haven. Fourth district:
Nathaniel Wheeler, E. Grove Lawrence. *Dakota.*—M. K. Armstrong, John A. Burbank.Dakota; *Delaware.*—Henry G. Banning, Nathaniel Williams, Joseph P. Comegys,Delaware; William Townsend, J. Turpin Moore, William D. Waples. *District of Columbia.*—Henry D. Cooke, Alexander R. Shepherd.District of Columbia; *Florida.*—At large: John J. Philbrick, J. W. Maynard, M. L. Stearns,Florida; Philip Walter, L. G. Dennis, E. M. Cheney. First district: F. C. Humphrey, S. Conant. *Georgia.*—At large:
George S. Owen, B. C. Yancy, R. H. Stiles, J.Georgia; O. Waddell. First district: P. H. Nightingal, William J. Young. Second district: D. B. Harrell, E. G. Raiford. Third district: H. H. Carey, Samuel Hunt. Fourth district: James C. Freeman, L. N. Whittle. Fifth district: H. R. Casey, Pope Barrow. Sixth district: J. H. Nichols, J. B. Charlton. Seventh district: Thomas C. Howard, J. R. Towers. Eighth district: James Johnson, Alexander G. Murray. Ninth district: C. D. McCutchen, Joseph H.
Wilkins. *Idaho.*—E. A. Stevenson, James H. Slater.Idaho; *Illinois.*—At large: A. C. Babcock, James H. Bowen, John M. Reynolds,Illinois; J. M. Gregory. First district: Thomas B. Bryan, George W. Gage. Second district: Henry Greenbaum, R. T. Crane. Third dis-205trict: Ezra B. McCagg, Clark W. Upton. Fourth district: William H.Centennial Board of Finance, corporators from Hawkins, M. L. Joslyn. Fifth district: John H. Addams, George M. Hunt. Sixth district: W. H. Van Epps, E. D.
Sweeney. Seventh district: E. L. Waterman, James C. Kercheval. Eighth district: NewberryIllinois; L. Fort, James W. Strevell. Ninth district: Horace G. Anderson, Boothe Nettleton. Tenth district: George W. Hall, James H. Reed. Eleventh district: James W. Singleton, J. M. Bush. Twelfth district: David A. Brown, John Ricks. Thirteenth district: George W. Funk, A. B. Nicholson. Fourteenth district: W. H. Barnes, David Bailey. Fifteenth district: James Steele, S. W. Moulton. Sixteenth district:
Aaron H. H. Rountree, Charles Hoiles. Seventeenth district: Ernst Wider, John Irwin. Eighteenth district: George W. Wall, Daniel W. Munn. Nineteenth district: John Landrigan, Thomas G. Ridgway. *Indiana.*—At large: Franklin Keyes, William J. Ball, Edwin J. Peck,Indiana; E. B. Martindale, Smith Vauter, John Brownfield. First district: Hamilton Smith, Charles Viele. Second district: Washington C. De Pauw, Jesse J. Brown. Third district: Thomas Gaff, James B. Foley. Fourth district:
George C. Clark, Jesse P. Liddall. Fifth district: William Wallace, Theodore R. Haughey. Sixth district: R. W. Thompson, John J. Key. Seventh district: William H. Levering, Henry Y. Morrison. Eighth district: Herman E. Sterne, James L. Evans. Ninth district: Jesse L. Williams, David Kilgore. Tenth district: John B. Howe, David Rippy. Eleventh district: George Milburn, Sidney Kieth. For additional district: John W. Grubbs, Godlove S. Orth. *Iowa.*—At large: Samuel Murdock, L. W.
Ross, J. M. Shaffer, F. R.Iowa; West. First district: James Putnam, Arthur Bridgman. Second district: Milo Smith, John Helsinger. Third district: Benjamin B. Richards, James H. Easton. Fourth district: S. H. Curtis, J. B. Powers. Fifth district: John F. Ely, John P. Irish. Sixth district: H. S. Winslow, H. Tannchill. Seventh district: B. F. Murray, P. Gad Bryan. Eighth district: William Hale, Wayne Stennitt. Ninth district: E. R. Kirk, N. B. Hyatt. *Kansas.*—Orrin T. Welch, Edward Blair, H.
W. Gillett, George A.Kansas; Crawford, Jacob Stotler, William A. Phillips, E. P. Purcell, Charles Robinson, F. G. Adams, James De Long. *Kentucky.*—At large: Lucius Desha, Ignatius Spaulding, J. StoddardKentucky; Johnson, William W. Beckham. First district: J. C. Gilbert, F. W. Darby. Second district: Lucius P. Little, W. W. Kendall. Third district: John Burnham, A. G. Rhea. Fourth district: John M. Atherton, James Montgomery. Fifth district: John G. Baxter, R. S. Veech. Sixth district:
James B. Casey, Joseph C. Hughes. Seventh district: Sanford Lyne, Robert Gayle. Eighth district: Jayson Walker, Thomas W. Varnon. Ninth district: Joseph Gardner, A. Daniel. Tenth district: Thornton F. Marshall, James L. Warring. *Louisiana.*—At large: Isaac N. Marks, William D. Wylie, C. H.Louisiana; Slocomb, John R. Clay, Elbert Gault, Moses H. Crowell. First district: Effingham Lawrence, C. E. Girardey. Second district: S. H. Kennedy, A. D. Voisin. Third district: A. J. Sypher, B.
T. Beauregard. Fourth district: George Williamson, A. B. Levisse. Fifth district: A. W. Merriam, J. Frank Pargoud. *Maine.*—At large: Abner Coburn, Philander J. Carleton, Henry E.Maine; Prentiss, William L. Putnam. First district: Joshua L. Chamberlain, William P. Haines. Second district: Josiah G. Coburn, James T. Patten. Third district: Anson P. Morrill, Edmund Wilson. Fourth district: George W. Ladd, Charles Shaw. Fifth district: Charles B. Paine, Charles B. Hazeltine. *Maryland.*—At large:
Daniel R. Magruder, Henry Tyson, FerdinandMaryland. C. Latrobe, Thomas A. Spencer. First district: Isaac C. W. Powell, James N. Dennis. Second district: Alexander Evans, Edward Spencer.206 Third district: James A. Henderson, William M. Marine. Fourth district:Centennial Board of Finance, corporators from P. P. Pendleton, Enoch Piatt. Fifth district: Thomas Donaldson, Eli I. Henkle. Sixth district: J. Alfred Ritter, R. D. Johnson. *Massachusetts.*—At large: Robert C. Winthrop, Alexander H.
Bullock,Massachusetts; William Claflin, John H. Forbes. First district: William J. Rotch, J. B. D. Cogswell. Second district: Theodore Dean, Charles H. French. Third district: Alexander H. Rice, William Lloyd Garrison. Fourth district: Charles L. Woodbury, Rufus S. Frost. Fifth district: Addison Gilbert, William N. Cushing. Sixth district: Cyrus Wakefield, George O. Brastow. Seventh district: Daniel S. Richardson, Leverett Saltonstall. Eighth district: P. Emery Aldrich, Daniel Waldo Lincoln.
Ninth district: H. S. Knight, Charles A. Stevens. Tenth district: Ensign H. Kellogg, Chester W. Chapin. For additional district: J. Wiley Edmunds, Emory Washburn. *Michigan.*—At large: D. H. Jerome, F. B. Stockbridge, Hezekiah G.Michigan; Wells, George Willard. First district: Ben Vernor, George F. Bagley. Second district: E. O. Grosvenor, C. H. Miller. Third district: Amos Root, Henry C. Lewis. Fourth district: Germain H. Mason, F. W. Curtenius. Fifth district: Hampton Rich, Charles T.
Hill. Sixth district: W. H. McConnell, E. H. Thomson. Seventh district: John Divine, Henry Stephens. Eighth district: Alfred F. R. Braley, James Shearer. Ninth district: Hiram A. Burt, Perry Hannah. *Minnesota.*—At large: H. H. Sibley, Thomas Foster, Thomas Simpson,Minnesota; E. A. McMahon. First district: Sherman Page, H. H. Johnson. Second district: Ignatius Donnely, George W. Batchelder. Third district: Russell Blakely, Paris Gibson. *Mississippi.*—At large: E. G. Peyton, J.
F. Simmons, H. R. Pease,Mississippi; Samuel Young. First district: E. C. Gillenwaters, Paul Barrenger. Second district: Marion Campbell, S. S. Fairfield. Third district: A. P. Huggins, Robert Gleed. Fourth district: J. A. P. Campbell, A. Warner. Fifth district: James H. McKee, Charles Caldwell. Sixth district: John R. Lynch, John D. Moore. *Missouri.*—At large: Samuel L. Sawyer, William H. Newland, William G.Missouri; Elliott, C. F. Lohman. First district: Henry Overstolz, W.
H. Stone. Second district: Henry T. Blow, A. Krieckhaus. Third district: Ed. Harrison, A. D. Leach. Fourth district: N. H. Dale, P. S. Sinclair. Fifth district: Nelson C. Burch, A. D. Jaynes. Sixth district: E. H. Norton, Alexander W. Doniphan. Seventh district: William R. Penick, Phillip A. Thompson. Eighth district: John H. Glover, John H. Williams. Ninth district: William A. Alexander, Charles R. Harden. For four additional districts: L. J. Matthews, Joseph L. Stephens, J.
P. Strother, Thomas D. Neal, Arthur B. Barrett, James Shields, Louis V. Bogy, Samuel Gaty. *Montana.*—Granville Stuart, Frank Culver.Montana; *Nebraska.*—At large: John I. Redick, J. B. Weston, D. Remick, A. J.Nebraska; Cropsey. First district: E. H. Rogers, Alvin Saunders. *Nevada.*—At large: F. A. Fritle, J. W. Haines, C. H. Eastman, BenjaminNevada; H. Header. First district: Frank Tilford, S. H. Wright. *New Hampshire.*—At large: Person C. Cheeney, George W. Burleigh,New Hampshire;
Dexter Richards, David Gillis. First district: Albert K. Hatch, Samuel H. Wheeler. Second district: James A. Weston, George T. Sawyer. Third district: Harry Bingham, Samuel W. Hale. *New Jersey.*—At large: Joel Parker, Charles S. Olden, Marcus L.New Jersey; Ward, Theodore F. Randolph. First district: Thomas H. Whitney, Thomas R. McKean. Second district: Charles Hewitt, Gershom Mott. Third district: James Bishop, Amos Clark, jr. Fourth district: William Cowen, Charles Sitgreaves.
Fifth district: Louis B. Cobb, Abram S. Hewitt. Sixth district: Thomas B. Peddie, George Peters. Seventh district: Benjamin G. Clark, Aenas Fitzpatrick. 207 *New Mexico.*—A. P. Sullivan, C. P. Clever.Centennial Board of Finance, corporators fromNew Mexico; *New York.*—At large: George Opdyke, Andrew D. White, Ira Harris,New York; John A. King, Philo Remington, Perrin H. McGraw. First district: Stephen Taber, Erastus Brooks. Second district: Alexander Cunningham, William P. Libby.
Third district: Edward Rowe, William I. Buddington. Fourth district: Robert Macoy, George Ricard. Fifth district: E. J. Shandly, James Hays. Sixth district: John A. Hardenbergh, Douglas Taylor. Seventh district: Herman Uhl, Charles E. Loew. Eighth district: Edward Cooper, William C. Barrett. Ninth district: Mathew T. Brennan, Henry W. Genet. Tenth district: Saxton Smith, William H. Robertson. Eleventh district: John Conkling, James W. Taylor. Twelfth district: John P. Adriance, Charles H.
Stott. Thirteenth district: J. H. Meech, Thomas Cornell. Fourteenth district: Robert Waterman, Joseph C. Y. Page. Fifteenth district: A. H. Griswold, C. R. Ingalls. Sixteenth district: George V. Hoyle, Winslow C. Watson. Seventeenth district: William Andrus, Edwin W. Foster. Eighteenth district: Thomas B. Mitchell, Horace E. Smith. Nineteenth district: Henry R. Mygatt, James H. Graham. Twentieth district: William W. Taggart, Henry E. Turner. Twenty-first district: Samuel Campbell, P.
C. Costello. Twenty-second district: Henry Ten Eyck, A. H. Failing. Twenty-third district: R. Nelson Gere, Conrad Shoemaker. Twenty-fourth district: Alexander Gilchrist, Fred. L. Manning. Twenty-fifth district: Archibald Kennedy, James C. Smith. Twenty-sixth district: Abraham Lawrence, Benjamin N. Loomis. Twenty-seventh district: Rufus Scott, S. M. Thatcher. Twenty-eighth district: Joseph M. Cornell, James H. Kelley. Twenty-ninth district: Benjamin Pringle, Thomas T. Flagler.
Thirtieth district: Pascal P. Pratt, William G. Fargo. Thirty-first district: Alonzo F. Hawley, Charles D. Murray. For two additional districts: John P. Acker, Daniel Pratt, Socrates N. Sherman, Winfield S. Cameron. *North Carolina.*—At large: D. M. Barringer, E. R. Spaulding, W.North Carolina; M. Shipp, Louis Hilliard. First district: Walter Clark, John M. Bateman. Second district: John Robinson, John Norfleet. Third district: Edward Kidder, John D. Williams. Fourth district:
Kemp P. Battle, Isaac J. Young. Fifth District: A. M. Scales, Montford McGee. Sixth district: H. W. Guion, David Schenck. Seventh district: Joseph W. Hall, N. S. Williams. Eighth district: W. W. Rollins, Thomas L. Clingman. *Ohio.*—At large: Edward F. Noyes, B. F. Wade, William Allen,Ohio; William S. Groesbeck, Martin Welker, Peter Odlin. First district: Anthony D. Bullock, Herbert Jenny. Second district: John K. Green, Charles Reemelin. Third district: Ed. A. Parrott, Durbin Ward.
Fourth district: James Taylor, George Keifer. Fifth district; William Sawyer, Charles C. Marshall. Sixth district: James Wilson, William O’Collins. Seventh district: William Dennison, Richard A. Harrison. Eighth district: Willard S. Hickox, Isaac H. Pennock. Ninth district: E. B. Saddler, John Gardiner. Tenth district: Richard Mott, W. V. Way. Eleventh district: Cyrus Ellison, L. C. Damarin. Twelfth district: William L. Sullivant, W. Marshall Anderson. Thirteenth district: Charles Cooper, William P.
Reid. Fourteenth district: Harrison G. Blake, Norton S. Townsend. Fifteenth district: Valentine B. Horton, Joshua Davis. Sixteenth district: Charles P. Dewey, William M. Farrar. Seventeenth district: Cornelius Aultman, Joel Sharp. Eighteenth district: Amos Townsend, Lewis Miller. Nineteenth district: Henry B. Perkins, M. C. Canfield. *Oregon.*—At large: A. B. Meacham, S. Ellsworth, T. F. McPatten,Oregon; L. F. Lane. First district: A. C. Gibbs, A. H. Brown. *Pennsylvania.*—At large:
Edwin H. Fitler, Jonathan R. Lowrie,Pennsylvania; William Colder, William M. Lyon, John H. Michener, Dr. Joshua Y.208 Jones. First district: R. Rundle Smith, Robert Nebinger. Second district:Centennial Board of Finance, corporators fromPennsylvania; Joseph F. Tobias, Charles J. Stille. Third district: John L. Shoemaker, Henry D. Welsh. Fourth district: Matthew Baird, William Sellers. Fifth district: Lucius P. Thompson, H. T. Darlington. Sixth district: John Tracy, George H. Rupp.
Seventh district: S. B. Worth, James M. Willcox. Eighth district: Isaac Eckert, Henry Bushong. Ninth district: James Myers, George M. Steinman. Tenth district: Benjamin Batman, G. Dawson Coleman. Eleventh district: S. S. Dreher, E. J. Fox. Twelfth district: D. W. Hollenback, J. B. McCollom. Thirteenth district: M. C. Mercer, Thomas Beaver. Fourteenth district: William Cameron, Henry McCormick. Fifteenth district: C. J. T. McIntire, John Gibson. Sixteenth district: Henry J. Stahle, Samuel Philson.
Seventeenth district: David McMurtrie, David Watson. Eighteenth district: M. F. Elliott, H. C. Parsons. Nineteenth district: William L. Scott, John Patton. Twentieth district: James Pierce, Joseph H. Marston. Twenty-first district: H. P. Laird, Silas M. Clark. Twenty-second district: Alexander Bradley, C. W. Batchelor. Twenty-third district: James M. Cooper, J. N. Purviance. Twenty-fourth district: George C. Reis, W. T. H. Pauley. For two additional districts: John W. Forney, Charles M.
Hall, Alfred Hindekooper, Daniel M. Fox. *Rhode Island.*—At large: William L. Slater, Albert S. Gallup,Rhode Island; Ambrose E. Burnside, James Y. Smith. First district: Charles S. Bradley, John O. Waterman. Second district: George H. Browne, Horace Babcock. *South Carolina.*—At large: John D. Caldwell, Alva Gage, StanleySouth Carolina; G. Trott, James D. Treadwell. First district: C. W. Dudley, S. A. Swails. Second district: W. H. Bernie, Henry Buist. Third district: F. L. Cardozo, L.
Cass Carpenter. Fourth district: A. W. Cummings, Y. J. P. Owens. *Tennessee.*—At large: John C. Brown, W. H. Stephens, John Netherland,Tennessee; A. B. Shankland, David A. Nunn, M. V. Nash. First district: M. S. Temple, W. C. Kyle. Second district; Jacob R. Ludlow, James M. Meek. Third district: James Sevier, M. L. McConnell. Fourth district: James B. Lamb, John W. Burton. Fifth district: John W. Head, Robert Cantrell. Sixth district: A. M. Looney, Thomas McNeilly. Seventh district:
D. N. Kennedy, James D. Porter. Eighth district: G. B. Black, F. B. Ragland. Ninth district: M. D. L. Stewart, Isaac M. Steele. *Texas.*—At large: W. K. Marshall, S. W. March, Ashbol Smith,Texas; Frederick Peterson. First district: E. B. Pickett, John C. Robertson. Second district: E. W. Taylor, S. Hare. Third district: Richard Coke, Jerome B. Robertson. Fourth district: Joseph D. Sayers, John Ireland. For two additional districts: C. C. Binkley, John J. Good, Peter W. Gray, F.
L. Stockdale. *Utah.*—Abraham O. Smoot, Horace S. Eldredge.Utah; *Vermont.*—Horace Fairbanks, Lawrence Brainard, Lawrence Barnes,Vermont; George A. Merrill, H. G. Root, Jacob Estey, Luther Baker, Frederick Billings, Henry Chase, Henry Lane. *Virginia.*—At large: John L. Marye, John A. Campbell, C. Y.Virginia; Thomas, Lewis Webb. First district: Louis C. H. Finney, John T. Seawell. Second district: Andrew Washburne, James M. Dorman. Third district: Samuel F. Maddox, Joseph M. Humphries.
Fourth district: George H. Southall, W. W. Forbes. Fifth district: William L. Cochran, Thomas Whitehead. Sixth district: Moses Walton, John Letcher. Seventh district: Robert Y. Conrad, Hugh W. Sheffy. Eighth district: Edgar Snowden, Mathew Harrison. Ninth district: R. T. Bowen, James W. Sheffey. *West Virginia.*—At large: Henry K. List, James H. Brown, J. N.West Virginia; Camden, Thomas Sweeney. First district: Lewis Applegate, Jonathan209 M. Bennett. Second district: Francis H.
Pierpoint, J. Nelson Wisner.Centennial Board of Finance, corporators from Third district: William A. Quarrier, J. M. McWhorter. *Wisconsin.*—At large: C. C. Washburne, Alexander Mitchell, Tim.Wisconsin; O. Howe, Charles A. Eldredge. First district: J. J. Case, James H. Howe. Second district: D. Hall, Joshua J. Guppey. Third district: John Lawler, J. C. Halloway. Fourth district: Angus Smith, D. W. Maxon. Fifth district: Charles Burchard, Joseph Vilas. Sixth district: Andrew E.
Elmore, Samuel Hay. Seventh district: Dudley A. Spaulding, D. A. Baldwin. Eighth district: Thad. C. Pound, Walter D. McIndoe. *Washington.*—Selucius Garfielde, Toussant Mesplie.Washington; *Wyoming.*—William A. Carter, John A. Campbell.Wyoming. Sec. 2. That the said corporation shall have authority and is herebyCapital stock not to exceed $10,000,000. empowered to secure subscriptions of capital stock to an amount not exceeding ten million dollars, to be divided into shares of ten dollars each, and to issue to the subscribers of said stock certificates therefor under theCertificates of stock. corporate seal of said corporation, which certificates shall bear the signature of the president and treasurer, and be transferable under such rules and regulations as may be made for the purpose.
And it shall be lawful for any municipal or other corporate body existing by or under the lawsCertain corporations may take stock. of the United States, to subscribe and pay for shares of said capital stock, and all holders of said stock shall become associates in said corporation, and shall be entitled to one vote on each share; and it shall be the dutyEach share to have one vote. of the United States Centennial Commission to prescribe rules to enable absent stockholders to vote by proxy.
The proceeds of said stock, togetherProxies.Proceeds of sales of stock. with the receipts from all other sources, shall be used by said corporation for the erection of suitable buildings, with their appropriate fixtures and appurtenances, and for all other expenditures required in carrying out the objects of the said act of Congress of March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and which may be incident thereto. And the said corporationRecords and accounts. shall keep regular minutes of its proceedings, and full accounts, with the vouchers thereof, of all the receipts and expenditures, and the same shall be always open to the inspection of the United States Centennial Commission, or any member thereof.
Sec. 3. That books of subscription shall be open by the United StatesBooks of subscription to be open for one hundred days. Centennial Commission, under such rules as it may prescribe, and an opportunity shall be given, during a period of one hundred days, to the citizens of each State and Territory, to subscribe for stock to an amount not exceeding its quota, according to its population, after which period of oneStock not then taken, how to be sold. hundred days, stock not taken may be sold to any person or persons or corporation willing to purchase the same.
Sec. 4. That after the expiration of said period of one hundred days,First meeting to elect directors. the United States Centennial Commission shall issue a call for a meeting, by publication in one or more newspapers published at the capital of each State and Territory, not less than thirty days prior thereto, of the corporators and all others who may then have subscribed for stock, to be held in the city of Philadelphia, for the purpose of electing a board of directors, to consist of twenty-five stockholders, whose term of office shall be oneNumber and term of office. year, and until their successors shall have been qualified; at which meeting those who may be present in person or by proxy, of whom one hundred shall constitute a quorum, shall be competent to organize and electQuorum. said officers.
The said board of directors, and every subsequent board, shall be chosen by the stockholders, out of a list of one hundred stockholders, selected and nominated by the United States Centennial Commission. Nine members of the board of directors shall constitute a quorumWho may be directors.Quorum of directors. for the transaction of business, but no election or change of officers shall take place unless at a meeting of the board of directors, at which a majority shall be present.
Sec. 5. That the said board of directors shall elect, from its own number,President, vice-presidents, treasurer, secretary, and other officers. a president and two vice-presidents, whose term of office shall be one210 year, and until their successors shall have been duly qualified, and shall appoint a treasurer, a secretary, and such other officers as may be required to carry out the purposes of the corporation, which elected and appointed officers shall hold their respective offices during the pleasure of the board, receiving such compensation as the board may prescribe; and the boardTenure of office, pay, &c.By-laws, &c. shall also adopt such by-laws, rules, and regulations, for its own government, and for the government of its officers, as may be deemed expedient: *Provided,* That the same shall not be inconsistent with any act of CongressProviso. or the rules adopted by the United States Centennial Commission.
Sec. 6. That as soon as the board of directors shall have been dulyUnited States Centennial Commission to deliver to directors, when organized, stock-books, records, &c. organized, as provided for in section five of this act, it shall be the duty of the United States Centennial Commission to deliver to the said board all stock subscription books, with the papers and records of any kind in its possession, pertaining to the same. Sec. 7. That the grounds for the exhibition shall be prepared and theGrounds for the exhibition. buildings erected by the said corporation in accordance with plans which shall have been previously adopted by the United States Centennial Commission, and the rules and regulations of said corporation, governing rates for “entrance” and “admission” fees, or otherwise affecting the rights,Admission fees, &c.Privileges, &c. privileges, or interests of the exhibitors, or of the public, shall be fixed and established by the United States Centennial Commission; and no grant conferring rights or privileges of any description connected with the said grounds or buildings, or relating to said exhibition or celebration, shall be made without the consent of the United States Centennial Commission, and said commission shall have power to control, change, or revoke all such grants, and shall appoint all judges and examiners, and award all premiums.
Sec. 8. That the Centennial Board of Finance shall have authority toCorporation may issue bonds secured by mortgage. issue bonds, not in excess of its capital stock, and secure the payment of the same, principal and interest, by mortgage upon its property and prospective income. Sec. 9. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury ofSecretary of the Treasury to cause certificates of stock to be prepared. the United States, as soon as practicable after the passage of this act, to cause to be prepared, in accordance with a design approved by the United States Centennial Commission and the Secretary of the Treasury, a sufficient number of certificates of stock to meet the requirements of this act; and any person found guilty of counterfeiting, or attempting to counterfeit, or knowingly circulating false certificates of stock, herein authorized, shall be subject to the same pains and penalties as are or may be provided byPenalty for counterfeiting, &c.United States not to be liable. law for counterfeiting United States currency; but nothing in this act shall be so construed as to create any liability of the United States, direct or indirect, for any debt or obligation incurred, nor for any claim, by the centennial international exhibition, or the corporation hereby created, for aid or pecuniary assistance from Congress or the treasury of the United States, in support or liquidation of any debts or obligations created by the corporation herein authorized: *And provided,* That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to override or interfere with the laws of any State; andNo State law to be interfered with. all contracts made in any State for the purposes of the centennial international exhibition shall be subject to the laws thereof: *And provided further,* That no member of said Centennial Board of Finance assumes any personalNo personal liability of members of corporation. liability for any debt or obligation which may be created or incurred by the corporation authorized by this act.
Sec. 10. That as soon as practicable after the said exhibition shall haveWhen exhibition is closed, corporation to close up its affairs. been closed, it shall be the duty of said corporation to convert its property into cash, and, after the payment of all its liabilities, to divide its remaining assets among its stockholders, pro rata, in full satisfaction and discharge of its capital stock. And it shall be the duty of the United States Centennial Commission to supervise the closing up of the affairs of said cor-211FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS.
Sess. II. Ch. 259, 260. 1872.poration, to audit its accounts, and submit, in a report to the President of the United States, the financial results of the centennial exhibition. Sec. 11. That the commission created by the act referred to in theUnited States Centennial Commission made a corporation. preamble of this act is hereby made and constituted a body politic and corporate in law, with power to do such acts, and enter into such obligations, as may be promotive of the purposes for which such commission was established.
Its title shall be the United States Centennial Commission. It shall have a common and corporate seal, and possess all the rights incident to corporate existence. Sec. 12. That the alternate commissioners appointed pursuant to sectionPower of alternate commissioners. four of the act approved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, referred to in the preamble to this act, shall have all the powers of a commissioner when the commissioner is not present at any meeting. When the commissioner is present the alternate may participate in the debates and serve on committees, but shall have no vote.
The appointmentAppointment of commissioners and alternates ratified.Vacancies. of all commissioners and alternate commissioners made since March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, are hereby ratified and confirmed; and all vacancies now existing, or which may hereafter exist, whether by death, resignation, removal from the State or Territory, or otherwise, shall be filled, at any time hereafter, in like manner as is provided in said act of March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, for the appointment of commissioners.
Sec. 13. That it shall be the duty of the United States CentennialUnited States Centennial Commission to make report. Commission to make report, from time to time, to the President of the United States, of the progress of the work, and in a final report present a full exhibit of the result of the United States Centennial Celebration and Exhibition of eighteen hundred and seventy-six. Approved, June 1, 1872.