Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/821

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THE CITY OF PORTLAND
587

exhibit from Japan, surpassing anything ever made by any oriental nation at any other American exposition.

Returning to Oregon, in March, 1904, Colonel Dosch was appointed director of exhibits of the Lewis and Clark Exposition, accepted the trust, and at once entered upon the discharge of its duties by formulating the rules and regulations for the government of that division of the great work. That accomplished, he went to the St. Louis Exposition held in 1904, for the double purpose of exploiting the claim of the Portland Exposition, and of securing the transfer from St. Louis to Oregon of all of the best exhibits of the St. Louis Fair; in which mission he was eminently successful.

On May 7, 1904, Colonel Dosch met with the members of the United States commission, appointed by the president to manage the United States exhibit at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, and there on behalf of the Lewis and Clark Association, tendered them a building site for the United States building; the site being afterwards selected on the peninsula in Guild's lake; and on which the government built one of the largest and most beautiful palaces of the fair, which was accidentally destroyed by fire a few months ago.

From this conference. Colonel Dosch proceeded to the Good Roads convention, and there succeeded in having the next annual session of the Good Roads, meet on the Lewis and Clark Exposition grounds at the fair in 1905. From this convention he proceeded to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and appeared before the state legislature and finally secured an exhibit from the state of Louisiana — reversing the decision of the governor and first action of the legislature not to spend any money on Portland, Oregon.

From Baton Rouge, Colonel Dosch went to Ottawa, Canada, and interviewed our Canadian cousins; and received a vast amount of encouragement in good wishes, great friendship for Oregon and the fair—but not a red cent of cash. John Bull has a good memory, and he had not forgot that it was Lewis and Clark that blazed the trail over the Rocky mountains, sailed down the Columbia, hoisted the American flag, and claimed the whole of old Oregon for Uncle Sam long before any Englishman got into this country by the land route.

From Canada Dosch went back to St. Louis and there got up the Lewis and Clark day demonstration at the St. Louis Exposition; assisted in the ceremony of dedicating the St. Louis monument to Lewis and Clark. The principal oration at those Louisiana Purchase Day ceremonies was made by Hon. W. D. Fenton of this city, one of the advisory board of this history. His eloquent address was responded to by the Hon. David R. Francis, the president of the St. Louis Exposition.

From St. Louis, Colonel Dosch returned to Oregon, and devoted his time to the work of getting the great exposition exhibits ready to open the fair on the day announced two years prior thereto. With Dosch labored Oscar Huber, the director of works, Henry E. Reed, manager of publicity and correspondence. President Goode and the Oregon and other state commissioners. It was a great work. It was farther removed from the centers of population and with fewer facilities of transportation than any other of the national expositions held; and yet it was the first exposition in the United States to open its gates on the advertised date and show to visitors the completed and perfect exposition—June 1, 1905.


MEMORANDA OF EVENTS.

December 4, 1783; Thomas Jefferson proposes to George Rogers Clark an expedition to the Pacific coast.

June, 1786; Jefferson proposed to John Ledyard in Paris to proceed through the Russian Empire to Siberia, and from there cross over in a Russian vessel to Alaska, and thence down the coast to Oregon, and across Oregon to the United States.