Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission

by Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission

The number of children admitted free was, in May and June, 336;
July, 554; August, 8,616; September, 3,916; October, 1,789;
November, 5,700.

On November 2 the children of all nations were received by Miss
Helen M. Gould, who gave a souvenir gift to each child.

On November 24 the children of all nations attended Thanksgiving dinner and ceremonies at the playground; 326 children were seated at the tables. After dinner they played and enjoyed the many features provided for their amusement. Every child took home a box of dainties and a souvenir of Thanksgiving Day, that traditional New England festivity. A member of the National Commission planned the affair, and it proved a notable success. Children of twenty-eight nationalities or tribes were gathered on the playground at one time. No such representation ever took place before, or was possible, except at the Model Play Ground and Day Nursery of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

It continued to be of service even to the closing hour. On December 1, the final day of the fair, 48 children, of whom 19 were less than 1 year old, were checked; 2,000 children were admitted free of charge, and 31 lost children were cared for and returned in safety to their homes or guardians.

In reviewing the experiences of the fair, it is gratifying to realize that although the members of the board of lady managers were not able to carry out one of their most cherished desires, and suffered keen disappointment in the abandonment of the crèche, still they had the pleasure of rendering material aid to a beautiful work, for such certainly was the Model Play Ground and Day Nursery.

Mrs. Hirschfield states that the assistance given by the board of lady managers can not be measured, for far beyond the money value of their appropriation was the power of their influence, and the interest aroused was not alone for the occasion of the fair, but would reach far into the future, affecting other undertakings of a similar nature.

On the day following the close of the exposition, one of the most able of the directors of the exposition expressed his approval of the course of the board of lady managers. As hostesses of the fair, he complimented them gracefully, and for the attitude they had been obliged to take regarding the crèche, of which he had been critical, he was happy to say he had been converted, and he was convinced that the board had acted prudently and wisely; that undoubtedly the attempt to carry on the elaborate and expensive crèche would have ended in financial failure and embarrassments; that the aid given Mrs. Hirschfield had made the Play Ground and Day Nursery so effective that it met all needs in a most acceptable manner and had proven one of the most interesting and satisfactory features of the great exposition.

Respectfully submitted.
EMILY S.G. HOLCOMBE, Chairman.
HELEN M. GOULD.
FRANCES M. HANGER.

The committee on woman's congresses was created by the first president of the board of lady managers in April, 1903, and its aim was to be instrumental in bringing together representative women of this and foreign countries, either as organized bodies or as individuals, in order that by discussion and comparison of all social, educational, charitable, and industrial aspirations, and an interchange of thought on important questions relating to the welfare of women, the higher intellectual, moral, and physical plane that has already been established might not only continue to be maintained, but mutual interests be renewed and encouraged. They hoped to thus foster a better understanding of the aims of women of the different countries, and, by strengthening their common cause and making possible uniformity of action, promote the advancement of women everywhere.

It was further desired by thus bringing together distinguished women from all parts of the world interested in mental development and philanthropic and reformatory work, to review not only the old, but add the new record of the historical progress of women to date, to learn not only the various achievements now being accomplished by the women of the world in all phases of life at the present time, but ascertain the objective height now sought or thought to be attainable for them in each country.