Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission

by Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission

"Motion prevailed."

Agreeable to your request, the report has been forwarded to the
Exposition Company for its action, with a copy of the resolution
passed by the Commission.
Very respectfully, THOMAS H. CARTER,
President.

MRS. FREDERICK M. HANGER,
Secretary of the Board of Lady Managers,
Administration Building, City.

Extracts from this report are embodied in the final report of the committee on woman's work, which is as follows:

September 30, 1902, the women appointed by the National
Commission as lady managers for the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition were called by the National Commission to meet in St.
Louis and effect an organization of the board of lady managers.
At this meeting the board of lady managers was organized and
Mrs. James L. Blair elected president.

The first permanent committee appointed by the new president was a committee on woman's work. The ladies appointed on this committee were: Miss Anna L. Dawes, Miss Helen Gould, Mrs. Marcus Daly, Mrs. M.K. de Young, and Mrs. Mary Phelps Montgomery, chairman. Two members of this committee were not present at the meeting. The president of the board impressed upon the chairman of the committee that a large share of the board's work must of necessity be performed by the committee on woman's work. The chairman of the committee asked the president of the National Commission for special instructions in regard to the plan and scope of the work of the board of lady managers. The president of the National Commission replied that the board of lady managers must outline their own policy and perform their own work to their best judgment. There was no work performed by the committee on woman's work at this meeting.

The second meeting of the board of lady managers was held in New York City, November 17, 1902. The chairman of the committee on woman's work asked to have added to this committee Mrs. John M. Holcombe, Mrs. Edward L. Buchwalter, Mrs. Daniel Manning, and Mrs. Richard Knott. The chairman of the committee called a meeting at that time, to which call only Miss Anna L. Dawes and Mrs. Daniel Manning responded. At this second meeting of the board of lady managers in New York the president of the board instructed the committee on woman's work to proceed to St. Louis not later than March, and there receive instructions from the National Commission in regard to the line of work they should take up at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. It became apparent at this meeting that it would be necessary to specialize the work of the board of lady managers, thus relieving the committee on woman's work of much responsibility and labor.

The chairman and Mrs. Daniel Manning, as members of the committee on woman's work, spent January, 1903, in the city of Washington, and during their stay endeavored to acquaint themselves with the work performed by women in each and every vocation in life.

In accordance with the instructions of the president, Mrs. Blair, at the meeting held on November 17, the committee on woman's work met at the Southern Hotel, in St. Louis, March 10, at 11 o'clock, Mrs. Montgomery, chairman. There were present besides the chairman Mrs. Manning, Mrs. Holcombe, and Mrs. Buchwalter, three members being unavoidably prevented from coming, viz: Miss Gould, Miss Dawes, and Mrs. Knott.

The interest that this committee felt in developing on broad lines their part in the exposition is shown in the following extracts taken from my report, which was not read, however, until the meeting of the board held April 28, 1903: