In the early stages of the preliminary work the principal labor fell upon the committees on Hotels, Transportation, and Hall. The Hotel Committee made an immediate canvass of the hotel accommodation of the city and perfected a plan whereby no difficulty could possibly occur in the matter of accommodating either delegations or individuals. The Bureau of Information established headquarters in the St. Louis Exposition Building for the purpose of securing a revised list of boarding and private houses able and willing to entertain visitors during the Convention periods in the event of the attendance being so large as to overcrowd the hotels. This bureau accomplished good work and visitors who preferred to secure accommodations in private houses found no difficulty in doing so.

The Hall Committee had a still more important task to perform. The pledge given to the National Committee at Washington was that the Business Men's League would furnish a hall large enough for the Convention, regardless of the number who would attend. It had been arranged to make use of the North Nave of the Exposition Building which was used in 1888 for the Democratic National Convention. Architect Isaac Taylor of St. Louis prepared plans for the necessary changes in the arrangements of this portion of the home of the celebrated Exposition. Late in January the Sub-committee of the National Committee met in St. Louis bringing with them Architect Adler of Chicago. Messrs. Adler and Taylor explained fully to the Sub-committee the plans proposed and after several conferences of the most friendly character it was decided by the local committee to erect a special building for the Convention.

It was at first proposed to erect a permanent building which could be used as an Armory as well as a convention hall. The cost of this structure would have been about $200,000 and no difficulty was anticipated in raising the money. It was however finally decided that the time was so short that delay in the delivery of supplies or bad weather might prevent the completion of the structure by the second week in June, and it was hence determined to erect a temporary building. It was decided from the first that this should be in no sense a wigwam. A system of construction somewhat similar to that used for the vast buildings at the World's Fair was determined upon and a permit was obtained from fhe city authorities for the use of a portion of the site of Washington Park. This proved to be a most convenient location. The site adjoins the new City Hall, now nearly completed, and is within six blocks of the Union Station, about half that distance from the Exposition Building, and within easy walking distance of the leading hotels. Electric street railways from all parts of the city also pass the site.

The general dimensions of the building were two hundred and sixty feet long, one hundred and eighty feet wide and fifty feet high. The seating capacity called for about fourteen thousand seats and after careful deliberation it was decided to proceed to erect the structure. The cost was estimated at about sixty thousand dollars and an additional appeal had to be made to the public to raise money for the purpose.

In the mean time, without waiting for the money to be raised, the guarantors of the fund, Messrs. S. M. Kennard, W. H. Thompson, and R. C. Kerens, signed the contract for the erection of the building, the cost to be about $60,000 including decorations. Work was commenced in the middle of March and concluded in a little more than sixty days. In the construction of the vast building about

1,250,000 feet of Arkansas lumber was used. Upwards of 500 kegs of nails were also required and the imitation stone work exceeded 5,000 square yards in measurement. Natural light was admitted to the Auditorium by means of four hundred large windows and the most elaborate arrangements were included for electric lighting and for press and telegraph facilities, suitable for holding a great convention.

The Auditorium was dedicated at a concert held on June 10th at which several thousand St. Louis citizens attended. There were a few dedication speeches with patriotic and other music, and the occasion was an exceedingly enjoyable one. The decorations were of

the most gorgeous character and the building itself has been pronounced by those who have attended nearly all the National Conventions for the last twenty years, as the finest convention building ever erected.

The relations between the Business Men's League and the National Committee were of the most amicable character during the entire preparations for the great convention.

Mr. Manley, Chairman of the Sub-committee of the National Committee issued the following statement to the Associated Press with reference to the way in which St. Louis had met its obligations: "The Citizens of St. Louis have in the most generous and liberal spirit, met the subcommittee. They have been anxious to gratify every request which the committee made upon them, and the committee feels that the Convention will be cared for in a manner that will reflect the greatest credit upon the liberality of the citizens of St. Louis, and that no National Convention ever assembled whose wants and requirements were met in such a generous and ample manner as will be those of the Convention which is to be held in St. Louis in June next. There has been no friction at any time between the members of the Citizens' Committee, and the Sub-Committee, and it is only just to thesecitizens of St. Louis who have so amply represented the spirit of their city, that this statement should be most emphatically made."

Just before the Convention adjourned, Gov. Bushnell of Ohio voiced a similar sentiment on behalf of the delegates and the enthusiasm with which his resolution was adopted was further evidence of the good feeling which existed, and of the appreciation by the delegates and visitors of the manner in which St. Louis had lived up to its obligations and given still further proof of its liberality and hospitality.

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

Republican National Convention,

AT ST. LOUIS.

THE FIRST DAY.

At precisely 12:20 p. m. Chairman Thomas H. Carter of the Republican National Committee declared the Republican Presidential Convention of 1896 open for the business before it.

The chair instructed the Sergeant-at-Arms to clear the aisles and to see that order was preserved. Continuing, Chairman Carter said: The Convention will be in order and the Chaplain will offer prayer

PRAYER BY REV. DR. SAMUEL SALE.

Rabbi Sale, of St. Louis, then stepped forward and offered the following invocation:

All merciful and most gracious Father, fountain of light and life. We seek Thy presence and implore Thy guidance in the toils and tasks of our earthly being. Thou who art enthroned in the heart of man and rulest in the destinies of nations, be nigh unto us now. and show forth Thy wondrous ways in this assembly of Thy people. Hearken unto Thy servants, the bondmen of freedom, and pour out on them who have come to do Thy bidding in the service of truth and honor, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Make righteousness the girdle of their loins and faithfulness the girdle of their hips, so that they may manfully discharge the sacred duties of their gathering, to further the well being of the people, and to safeguard the honor and integrity of the nation. O, kindle anew in the hearts of our generation the altar flame of devotion to the high aims that inspired the minds of the founders of our republic, and above all illumined and immortalized the life of the Father of his Country. Fill us with a deep and abiding sense of the transcendent dignity and nobility of American citizenship and of the sacred obligations that should attend it, so that we may grow from day to day in the beauty of civic virtue, and our beloved land from "hundred-harbored Maine" to the vine clad hills of the

Golden Gate, from the ice-bound north to the warm and sunny south may go from strength to strength; until it achieves its destiny to become the fixed and shining mark for every bark bound for the haven of law and liberty. Let not the glory of our past be greater than the present nor let us come to shame and grief by the worship of gods of gold and silver, to the neglect of those ideals of the mind and soul, which alone are worthy of a free man's homage, and alone can secure the continued possession and enjoyment of civil and religious liberty. Remove from around us the din and noise of insincerity and hollow-sounding shows, let bitter strife and wrangling cease, and firmly bound in the love of our common country, let us realize how good and lovely it is for brethren to dwell together in harmony. Prosper Thou the work of this council, convened in the cause of the people, and when its message goes forth over the land, may its golden ring bring to them the glad assuarance that prosperity will brighten our homes, and the immediate jewel of our soul, the good name of our people and the credit of our government shall remain untarnished forever. May Thy grace, O God, come upon us, and do Thou establish the work of our hands! Amen!

HON. JOSEPH H. MANLEY, Secretary of the Republican National Committee, then read the call for the convention as follows:

To the Republican Electors of the United States: In accordance with the usage and the instructions of the Republican National Convention of 1892, and by direction of the National Committee a National Convention of delegated representatives of the Republican party will be held at the City of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, on Tuesday, the 16th day of June, 1896, at 12 o'clock noon, for the purpose of nominating candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States, to be supported at the next national election, and for the transaction of such other and further business as may be brought before it.

The Republican electors in the several States and Territories and voters without regard to past political affiliations who believe in Republican principles and indorse the Republican policy, are cordially invited to unite under this call in the formation of a national ticket.

Each State will be entitled to four delegates at large, and for each Representative in Congress at large two delegates, and each Congressional district, each Territory, and the District of Columbia to two delegates. The delegates at large shall be chosen by popular State conventions, called on not less than twenty days' published notice, and not less than thirty days before the meeting of the national Convention.

The Congressional district delegates shall be chosen at Conventions called by the Congressional committee of each such district in the same manner as the nomination of a Representative in Congress is made in said district, provided, that in any Congressional district where there is no Republican Congressional committee the Republican State committee shall appoint from the residents of such district a committee for the purpose of calling a district convention to elect district delegates. The Territorial delegates shall be chosen in the same manner as the nomination of a Delegate in Congress is made. The delegates from the District of Columbia shall be chosen at a convention to be called by the committee of three provided for by the National Committee at its meeting in Washington City