Chapter 864. To provide for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States by holding an international exhibition of arts, industries, manufactures, and the products of the soil, mine, forest, and sea in the city of Saint Louis, in the State of Missouri
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CHAP. 864.— An Act To provide for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States by holding an international exhibition of arts, industries, manufactures, and the products of the soil, mine, forest, and sea in the city of Saint Louis, in the State of Missouri. March 3, 1901. St. Louis Exposition authorized.Preamble.Whereas it is fit and appropriate that the one hundredth anniversary of the purchase of the Louisiana territory be commemorated by an exhibition of the resources of the territory, their development, and of the progress of the civilization therein: and Whereas such an exhibition should be of a national and international character, so that not only the people of that territory, but of our Union, and of all nations as well, can participate, and should therefore have the sanction of the Congress 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 an exhibit of arts, industries, manufactures, and products of the soil, mine, forest, and sea shall be inaugurated in the year nineteen hundred and three, in the city of Saint Louis, in the State of Missouri, as herein provided. Sec. 2. “Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission” authorized. That a nonpartisan commission is hereby constituted, to consist of nine commissioners, to be known and designated as the “Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission,” who shall be appointed, within thirty days from the passage of this Act, by the President of the United States, and who shall also be subject to removal by him.
Vacancies in said commission to be filled in the same manner as original appointments. 1441 Sec. 3. That the commissioners so appointed shall be called together—first meeting. by the Secretary of State of the United States, in the city of Saint Louis, by notice to the commissioners, as soon as convenient after the appointment of said commissioners, and within thirty days thereafter. The said commissioners, at said first meeting, shall organize by the election of their officers, and they may then, or thereafter, appoint such executive or other committees as may be deemed expedient, and a secretary at a salary of three thousand dollars per annum; that in—expenses. addition to the salary of the secretary of said commission there is hereby allowed, out of any money appropriated to aid in carrying forward said exposition, the sum of ten thousand dollars per annum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the purpose of defraying the clerical, office, and other necessary expenses of said commission.
Sec. 4. That said commission, when fully organized under the provisionsBoard of arbitration, powers, etc. of this Act, shall appoint two of their number to act in conjunction with a like number appointed by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, to constitute a board of arbitration, to whom all matters of difference arising between said commission and said company, concerning the administration, management, or general supervision of said exposition, including all matters of difference arising out of the power given by this Act to the said company or to the said national commission to modify or approve any act of the other of the two bodies, shall be referred for determination; and in the case of the failure of said board of arbitration to agree upon such matters as may be so referred, said board of arbitration shall appoint a fifth member thereof; and in case of the failure of the said board to agree upon a fifth member, such fifth member shall then be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury.
And the decision of said board shall be final in all matters presented to it for consideration and determination. Sec. 5. That said commission be empowered, in its discretion, toCommission authorized to accept site, etc. accept, for the purposes of the exposition herein authorized, such site as may be selected and offered, and such plans and specifications of buildings for such purpose at the expense of and tendered by the corporation organized under the laws of the State of Missouri, known as “The Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company.
” Sec. 6. That the allotment of space for exhibitors, classification ofLouisiana Purchase Exposition Company, of Missouri, powers of, etc. exhibits, plan and scope of the exposition, the appointment of all judges and examiners for the exposition, and the awarding of premiums, if any. shall all be done and performed by the said Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, subject, however, to the approval of the commission created by section two of this Act; and saidBoard of lady managers. commission is hereby authorized to appoint a board of lady managers, of such number and to perform such duties as may be prescribed by said commission, subject, however, to the approval of said company.
Said board of lady managers may, in the discretion of said commission and corporation, appoint one member of all committees authorized to award prizes for such exhibits as may have been produced in whole or in part by female labor. Sec. 7. That after the plans for said exposition shall be preparedCompany to fix rates for entrance, etc. by said company and approved by said commission the rules and regulations of said corporation governing rates for entrance and admission fees, or otherwise affecting the rights, privileges, or interests of the exhibitors, or of the public, shall be fixed or established by said company, subject, however, to the modification or approval of said commission.
Sec. 8. That said commission shall provide, for the dedication ofOpening and closing of exposition. the buildings of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, in said city of Saint Louis, not later than the thirtieth day of April, nineteen hundred and three, with appropriate ceremonies, and thereafter said exposition shall be opened to visitors at such time as may be designated by said 1442company, subject to the approval of said commission, not later than the first day of May, nineteen hundred and three, and shall be closed at such time as the national commission may determine, subject to the approval of said company, but not later than the first day of December thereafter.
Sec. 9. Proclamation by President. That whenever the President of the United States shall be notified by the national commission that provision has been made for grounds and buildings for the uses herein provided for, he shall be authorized to make proclamation of the same, through the Department of State, setting forth the time at which said exposition will be held, and tine purpose thereof; and he shall communicate to the diplomatic representatives of foreign nations copies thereof, together with such regulations as may be adopted by the commission, for publication in. their respective countries; and he shall, in behalf of the Government and the people, invite foreign nations to take part in the said exposition and to appoint representatives thereto.
Sec. 10. Exemption from duty of imported exhibits. That all articles which shall be imported from foreign countries for the sole purpose of exhibition at said exposition, upon which there shall be a tariff or customs duty, shall be admitted free of payment of duty, customs fees, or charges, under such regulations as —sale ofthe Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe; but it shall be lawful at any time during the exposition to sell, for delivery at the close thereof, any goods or property imported for and actually on exhibition in the exposition buildings or on the grounds, subject to such regulations for the security of the revenue and for the collection of import *Proviso.*—duty on.duties as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe: *Provided, *That all such articles, when sold or withdrawn for consumption in the United States, shall be subject to the duty, if any, imposed upon such articles by the revenue laws in force at the date of importation, and all penalties prescribed by law shall be applied and enforced against such articles and against the person who may be guilty of any illegal sale or withdrawal.
Sec. 11. Reports by commission. That it shall be the duty of the national commission to make reports monthly to the President of the United States, showing receipts and disbursements and giving a general summary of the financial condition of said exposition, and a final report within six months after the close of the exposition, presenting the results and a full exhibit thereof. Sec. 12. Termination of commission. That the national commission hereby authorized shall cease to exist on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and five.
Sec. 13. United States not liable. That the United States shall not in any manner nor under any circumstances be liable for any of the acts, doings, proceedings, or representations of the said Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, its officers, agents, or employees or any of them, or for the service, salaries, labor, or wages of said officers, agents, servants, or employees, or any of them, or for any subscriptions to the capital stock, or for any certificates of stock, bonds, mortgages, or obligations of any kind issued by said corporation, or for any debts, liabilities, or expenses of any kind whatever attending such corporation or accruing by reason of the same.
Sec. 14. Government exhibit. That there shall be exhibited at said exposition by the Government of the United States from its Executive Departments, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum, the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, and the Department of Labor such articles and material as illustrate the function and administrative faculty of the Government in time of peace and its resources as a war power, tending to demonstrate the nature of our institutions and their adaptationBureau of American Republics. to the wants of the people; and the Bureau of the American Republics is hereby invited to make an exhibit illustrating the resources and international relations of the American Republics, and space in the United 1443States Government building shall be provided for the purpose of saidGovernment board, duties, etc. exhibit; and to secure a complete and Harmonious arrangement of such Government exhibit a board, to be known as the United States Government board, shall be created, independent of the commission herein-before provided, to be charged with the selection, purchase, preparation, transportation, arrangement, installation, safe-keeping, exhibition, and return of such articles and material as the heads of the several Executive Departments, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, the Commissioner of Labor, and the Director of the Bureau of the American Republics may, respectively, decide shall be embraced in said Government exhibit.
The President may also designate additional articles for exhibition. Such board shall be composed of one person to be named by the head of each Executive Department, one by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, one by the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, one by the Commissioner of Labor, and one by the Director of the Bureau of American Republics. The President shall name one of said persons so detailed as chairman, and the board itself shall appoint its secretary, disbursing officer, and such other officers as it may deem necessary.
The members of said board of management, with other officers and employees of the Government who may be detailed to assist them, including officers of the Army and Navy, shall receive no compensation in addition to their regular salaries, but they shall be allowed their actual and necessary traveling expenses, together with a per diem in lieu of subsistence, to be fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury, while necessarily absent from their homes engaged upon the business of the board.
Officers of the Army and Navy shall receive this allowance in lieu of the transportation and mileage now allowed by law. Any provisionDetail of Government employees not prohibited. of law which may prohibit the detail of persons in the employ of the United States to other service than that which they customarily perform shall not apply to persons detailed for duty in connection with the said Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Employees of the board notEmployees of board. otherwise employed by the Government shall be entitled to such compensation as the board may determine.
The disbursing officer shall give bond in the sum of thirty thousand dollars for the faithful performance of his duties, said bond to be approved by the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury shall advance to said officer from time to time, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, a sum of money from the appropriation hereafter to be made for the Government exhibit, not exceeding at any one time the penalty of his bond, to enable him to pay the expenses of exhibit as authorized by the board of management herein created.
Sec. 15. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorizedLife-saving station exhibit. and directed to place on exhibition, in connection with the exhibit of his Department, upon such grounds as shall be allotted for the purpose. one of the life-saving stations authorized to be constructed on the coast of the United States by existing law, and to cause the same to be fully equipped with all apparatus, furniture, and appliances now in use in all life-saving stations in the United States.
Sec. 16. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall cause a suitableGovernment building. building or buildings to be erected on the site selected for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition for the Government exhibits, as provided in this Act, and he is hereby authorized and directed to contract therefor in the same manner and under the same regulations as for other public buildings of the United States; but the contracts for said building or—limit of cost. buildings shall not exceed the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to defray the expense of erecting said Government building or buildings hereby authorized.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall 1444cause the said building or buildings to be constructed from plans to be approved by said Government board; and he is authorized and required to dispose of such building or buildings, or the material composing the same, at the close of the exposition, giving preference to the city of Saint Louis or to the said Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company to purchase the same at an appraised value, to be ascertained in such manner as he may determine.
Sec. 17. Commissioners.—compensation. That the commissioners appointed by the President under the authority of this Act shall receive as compensation for their services and expenses the sum of five thousand dollars each per annum, the same to be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury and deducted from any money appropriated for said exposition. Sec. 18. —not personally liable. That no member of said commission or of said Government board, whether an officer or otherwise, shall be personally liable for any debt or obligation which may be created or incurred by the said commission or by the said United States Government board herein authorized.
Sec. 19. Appropriation. That whereas the Secretary of the Treasury has certified, under date of February sixth, nineteen hundred and one, that the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company has presented to him proof to his satisfaction that it has raised ten million dollars for and on account of inaugurating and carrying forward an exposition at the city of Saint Louis, Missouri, in the year nineteen hundred and three, to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory; therefore there is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of five million dollars, to aid in carrying forward such exposition, to pay the salaries of the members and secretary of the national Commission herein authorized, and such other necessary expenses as may be incurred by said commission in the discharge of its duties in connection with said exposition, and to discharge all other obligations incurred by the Government on account of said exposition, except for the erection of its own buildings and the making and care of its own exhibits at said exposition.
That the money hereby appropriated shall be disbursed under the direction of the said Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of *Provisos*.—when available.the Treasury and upon vouchers to be approved by him: *Provided, *That, except for the payment of the salaries and expenses of the national commission, no part of said appropriation shall become available until the sum of ten million dollars shall have been expended by said company on account of said exposition to the satisfaction of —Government expenditures.the Secretary of the Treasury: *Provided further,* That all sums expended by the Government on account of said exposition, including the salaries and expenses of said national commission, except for the erection of its own buildings and the making and care of its own exhibits at said exposition, shall be limited to and paid out of the appropriation of five million dollars herein provided for such purpose.
Sec. 20. Repayment. That there shall be repaid into the Treasury of the United States the same proportionate amount of the aid given by the United States as shall be repaid to either the Louisiana Purchase Exposition —construction.Company or the city of Saint Louis: *Provided,* That this section shall not be taken or construed to give the United States a right to share in the proceeds of said exposition beyond the actual amount appropriated to aid in carrying forward said exposition.
Sec. 21. Location of branch bank on exposition grounds. That any bank or trust company located in the city of Saint Louis, or State of Missouri, may be designated by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company to conduct a banking office upon the exposition grounds, and if the bank so designated shall be a national bank, upon such designation being approved by the Comptroller of the Currency, said national bank is hereby authorized to open and 1445conduct such office as a branch of the bank, subject to the same restrictions and having the same rights as the bank to which it belongs: *Provided*, That the branch office authorized hereby, if the same shall*Proviso.*—limit period of operation. be a branch of a national bank, shall not be operated for a period longer than two years, beginning not earlier than July first, nineteen hundred and two, and closing not later than July first, nineteen hundred and four.
Sec. 22. That no citizen of any foreign country shall be held liableInfringement of patents. for the infringement of any patent granted by the United States, or of any trade-mark or label registered in the United States, where the act complained of is or shall be performed in connection with the exhibition of any article or thing at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Sec. 23. That the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, authorized,Detail of army officers. at his discretion, to detail tor special duty, in connection with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, such officers of the Army as may be required, to report to the general commanding the Department of Missouri: and the officers thus detailed shall not be subject to loss of pay or rank on account of such detail, nor shall any officer or employee of the United States receive additional pay or compensation because of services connected with the said exposition from the United States or from said exposition.
Sec. 24. That nothing in this Act shall be so construed as to createUnited States not liable. any liability of the United States, direct or indirect, for any debt or obligation incurred, nor for any claim 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 said commission. Sec. 25. That as a condition precedent to the payment of this appropriationSunday closing. the directors shall contract to close the gates to visitors on Sundays during the whole duration of the fair.
Approved, March 3, 1901.