"New York then bids the people of this section All Hail! We are with you heart and soul to make the Exposition a magnificent success. New York has never failed when a patriotic effort was demanded and as ever before she will now respond with enthusiasm and will do everything possible here to sustain her imperial position.
"Let us hope that the Exposition will accomplish all that is intended. Let our prayer be that all Americans who pass within the gates when all shall be made ready for the opening of this Exposition in 1904, will cherish a higher ambition and a greater love of country and be impelled to declare with the poet, that
"'There is a land of every land the pride,
Beloved of Heaven, o'er all the world beside,
where brighter suns dispense serener light,
And milder moons imparadise the night.
Oh, thou shalt find howe'er thy footsteps roam,
That land thy country and that spot thy home.'"
At the conclusion of Commissioner Callanan's remarks the assemblage dispersed.
DEDICATION OF THE SITE
The site was formally dedicated at the time of the formal dedication ceremonies of the Exposition, the special ceremonies being held directly after the general exercises held in observance of State Day, on May 2, 1903. There were present Governor and Mrs. Odell, the Governor's staff, a joint committee of the Legislature, Exposition officials, members of the State Commission and invited guests.
Having assembled upon the site, William Berri, Vice-President of the
Commission, addressed Governor Odell as follows:
ADDRESS BY VICE-PRESIDENT BERRI
"Governor Odell: It gives the New York State Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition very great pleasure to have you present here to-day to participate in the simple exercises authorized by the Commission connected with the beginning of the work of construction of the New York State building which is to be erected upon this site. A more desirable grant of space on the Plateau of States could not have been made for us by the management of this Exposition, and we hope to place here a building that will add dignity to the location and worthily represent the State of New York in architectural beauty and practical usefulness. Your commission has been fortunate in securing for the architect Mr. Clarence Luce, and the plans and drawings which we have decided upon from his hand give promise of a structure that the State we represent will be proud of, and we shall also endeavor to so furnish it and utilize its facilities as to make it a serviceable and attractive addition to the large number of State buildings that are to be erected in its vicinity.
"Everything has to have a beginning, so we are here to-day to begin our work of actual construction, and it is specially fitting that we should have present the Governor of New York to assist in the ceremonies attendant therewith, for he has always heartily supported the project of the St. Louis Exposition and has furthered its interests on every occasion. Therefore, on behalf of the New York State Commission, I ask you, Governor Odell, to honor the great World's Fair of 1904 by performing the first actual work upon the structure we propose to erect by turning the first spadeful of earth for the State of New York and the New York State building."