As the French colors came down and the Red, White and Blue of the American Republic went up, the trumpets sounded, the troops saluted, and gladsome voices shouted long and loud in honor of one of the greatest events in our history.

A RIVALRY FOR HONOR.

As every authentic reference to the history of this cession is of precious value at this day, I can not refrain from adding an extract from one of Mr. Livingston's letters, tending to show the zealous pride he felt for his participation in that success, and his desire that the credit for the negotiation should be given to him rather than to Mr. Monroe:

I have in my former letter informed you of M. Talleyrand's calling upon me previous to the arrival of Mr. Monroe, for a proposition for the whole of Louisiana; of his afterwards trifling with me, and telling me that what he said was unauthorized. This circumstance, for which I have accounted to you in one of my letters, led me to think, though it afterwards appeared without reason, that some change had taken place in the determination which I knew the Consul had before taken to sell. I had just then received a line from Mr. Monroe, informing me of his arrival. I wrote a hasty answer, under the influence of ideas, excited by these prevarications of the minister, expressing the hope that he had brought information that New Orleans was in our possession: that I hoped our negotiations might be successful; but that, while I feared nothing but war would avail us anything, I had paved the way for him. This letter is very imprudently shown and spoken of by Mr. Monroe's particular friends, as a proof that he had been the principal agent in the negotiation. So far, indeed, as it may tend to this object, it is of little moment; because facts and dates are too well known to be contradicted. For instance, it is known to everybody here that the Consul had taken his resolution to sell previous to Mr. Monroe's arrival. It is a fact well known that M. Marbois was authorized, informally, by the First Consul to treat with me before Mr. Monroe reached Paris: that he actually made me the very proposition we ultimately agreed to, before Mr. Monroe had seen a minister, except M. Marbois, for a moment, at my house, where he came to make the proposition: Mr. Monroe not having been presented to M. Talleyrand, to whom I introduced him the afternoon of the next day. All, then, that remained to negotiate, after his arrival, was a diminution of the price; and in this our joint omission was unfortunate, for we came up, as soon as Mr. Monroe's illness would suffer him to do business, after a few days delay, to the minister's offers. There is no doubt that Mr. Monroe's talents and address would have enabled him, had he been placed in my circumstances, to have effected what I have done. But he unfortunately came too late to do more than assent to the propositions that were made us, and to aid in reducing them to form. (Livingston to Madison, Nov. 15, 1803. American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. 2, p. 573.)

The credit here claimed by Mr. Livingston is put in question by M. Marbois, who asserts that the preliminary discussions were scarcely entered on, and that their results could not have been anticipated when Mr. Monroe reached Havre. (See Marbois's Louisiana.) This statement seems to be confirmed by reference to Monroe's Memoir, wherein it is stated that, in the first conference between Livingston and Monroe after the latter's arrival in Paris, Livingston said to him: "Only force can give us New Orleans. We must employ force. Let us first get possession of the country and negotiate afterwards."

Marbois narrates that Monroe was not discouraged by the gloomy view entertained by Livingston, but entered upon his conference the next day with zeal. However this may be, Livingston richly merits our everlasting gratitude, and his name will go down with honor with those of Monroe and Jefferson.

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PURCHASE.

The entire area comprised in the Louisiana Purchase covers 883,072 square miles, and contains 565, 166,080 acres. This excludes the area west of the Rocky Mountains, and also that east of the Mississippi, which latter by other treaties is counted as a portion of the Florida cession, and that from Great Britain. The original "Louisiana" contained approximately 571,873,920 acres, and covered 893,553 square miles. The area as given in the "Public Domain" and General Land Office Reports is 756,961,280 acres, or 1, 182,752 square miles. This erroneously includes the Oregon country.

The Louisiana Purchase proper embraces the entire States of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, parts of the States of Minnessota, Kansas, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Louisiana, all of the Indian Territory, and part of Oklahoma Territory.

Its area is more than seven times that of Great Britain and Ireland; more than four times that of the German Empire, or of the Austrian Empire, or of France; more than three times that of Spain and Portugal; more than seven times the size of Italy and twice that of Egypt; nearly ten times that of Turkey and Greece; nearly three times that of Sweden and Norway, and nearly six times that of the Japanese Empire. It is also larger than Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy combined. It is about one-fourth less than the area of the thirteen original States.

According to the census of 1890 it had then a population of 11,232,439.

It produced in 1896, according to the reports of the Department of Agriculture, 1, 145, 137,081 bushels of corn, valued at $191,812,676; 151,395,786 bushels of wheat, valued at $111,488,251; and 260,822, 175 bushels of oats, valued at $41,660, 266.

The value of real and personal property in 1890 was $3,190, 456,461.

The area of public lands disposed of to 1897 amounted to 510,858 square miles, while the public lands remaining unsurveyed aggregated 125, 192 square miles. The area unappropriated and subject to entry equals 188, 300 square miles.

EARLY OPPOSITION TO ANNEXATION.

In the face of every effort on the part of our Government to acquire valuable foreign territory, there have always been those high in authority and influential in the nation who predicted disaster, belittled the present or prospective value of the proposed acquisition, and discouraged the policy or disputed the constitutional authority for such additions to our domain, whether such extensions were by purchase or voluntary offering without price. It is, however, equally true, and a significant answer, that, without a single exception in our history, every such acquisition has proven immensely valuable, and while it enlarged it also strengthened and enriched our common country. In reviewing the industrial develop

ment of the United States and their capacity for the absorption and support of the millions of population which we have invited from other countries, it has been the wonder of the greatest thinkers that, in our numerous acquisitions of such vast areas, we should not have added much more waste and worthless domain to our possessions. With our present knowledge and appreciation of the Louisiana cession, it may be of interest, at this time, to reproduce the exact language used ninety-five years ago by many in this country in severe condemnation of this cession. Jefferson himself suffered bitter detraction and personal ridicule. I append various extracts from speeches in the Senate and House of Representatives in relation to that cession, viz:

Senator Pickering, of Massachusetts, November 3, 1803, said:

It is declared in the third article (of the treaty) that "the inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States." But neither the President and Senate, nor the President and Congress, are competent to such an act of incorporation. He believed the assent of each individual State to be necessary for the admission of a foreign country as an associate in the Union.

Senator Tracy, of Connecticut, said:

We can hold territory; but to admit the inhabitants into the Union, to make citizens of them, and States, by treaty, we can not constitutionally do; and no subsequent act of legislation, or even ordinary amendment to our Constitution can legalize such measures. If done at all, they must be done by universal consent of all the States or partners to our political association.

Representative Griswold, of Connecticut, October 25, 1803, said:

It is not consistent with the spirit of a republican government that its territory should be exceedingly large; for, as you extend your limits you increase the difficulties arising from a want of that similarity of customs, habits and manners so essential for its support.

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It will not be found either in the report of the secret committee which has recently been published, or in any document or debate, that any individual entertained the least wish to obtain the province of Louisiana; our views were then confined to New Orleans and the Floridas. The vast and unmanageable extent which the accession of Louisiana will give the United States; the consequent dispersion of our population, and the destruction of that balance which it is so important to maintain between the Eastern and Western States, threatens, at no very distant day, the subversion of our Union.

Representative Griffin, of Virginia, said:

He feared the effect of the vast extent of our empire; he feared the effects of the increased value of labor, the decrease in the value of lands, and the influence of climate upon our citizens who should migrate thither. He did fear (though this land was represented as flowing with milk and honey) that this Eden of the New World would prove a cemetery for the bodies of our citizens.

Senator Plumer, of New Hampshire, said:

Admit this western world into the Union and you destroy at once the weight and importance of the Eastern States and compel them to establish a separate, independent empire.

Senator James White, of Delaware, said:

But as to Louisiana-this new, immense, unbounded world-if it should ever be incorporated into the Union, of which I have no idea, can only be done by amending the Constitution, I believe it will be the greatest curse that could at present befall us. It may be productive of innumerable evils, and especially of one that I fear to ever look upon. Thus our citizens will be removed to the immense distance of two or three thousand miles from the capital of the Union, where they will scarcely

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ever feel the rays of the General Government-their affections will become alienated; they will gradually begin to view us as strangers-they will form other commercial connections, and our interests will become distinct. ** And I do say that under existing circumstances, even supposing that this extent of territory was a desirable acquisition, fifteen millions of dollars was a most enormous sum to give.

A STRIKING CONTRAST.

A very few illustrations, in the development of the country embraced within the Louisiana Purchase, will suffice to disprove the gloomy forebodings expressed as to the effect of such an expansion of our empire. I illustrate not with such older States as Louisiana, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, or even Minnesota, with her 60,000,000 bushels of wheat, ranking her as first among the producers of our nation's wheat yield of 530,000,000 bushels in 1897, not to mention her many other resources, but prefer rather to select the more remote and most recently developed portions of the Louisiana Purchase nearer the Rocky Mountain region, as here the record will read enough like a fairy tale to interest and delight as well as amaze any well-wisher of his country.

The report of the State commissioner of mines of COLORADO for 1897 furnishes the following as the production and value of four metals mined in that State for the year named:

Gold-947,249 ounces

Silver-21,278,202 ounces.

Copper-9,151,592 pounds.

Lead-80,799,778 pounds

Total....

$19, 579, 636. 83 12, 692, 447. 47 960, 917. 13 2, 731, 032. 49

$35, 964, 033. 92

Colorado's gold yield now exceeds that of California and it is ahead of any other State in this respect. The sheep of Colorado for 1897 were valued at $3,869,445 while the oxen, milch cows and other cattle were valued at $27,177,017 as reported by the Agricultural Department. Her coal yield for 1896 was valued at $3,606,642 as per report of the Geological Survey; and her wheat yield for 1897 aggregated 5,117,000 bushels.

Looking to the neighboring State of Wyoming, we do not find a record for the precious metals, but see a pastoral wealth of vast extent. Her 2,000,000 sheep were valued at $5,714,332 and her oxen, milch cows and other cattle were valued at $17,000,000.

Passing to the adjoining State of Montana-like Wyoming, astride the Rocky Mountains-we observe a marvelous combination of mineral, agricultural and pastoral wealth. The mineral yield of that State for 1897, as reported by the Helena, Montana, assay office, was as follows:

The mountains and streams of Montana have yielded $750,000,000 of precious metals to the wealth of the world since the advent of those pioneers whose arrival was almost coincident with the discovery there of gold in 1862.

This ranks Montana first in order in silver production as Colorado ranks first in gold. Her copper product also ranked her as first in order for the same year. Her coal yield for 1896 was valued at $2,279,672 as per report of the Geological Survey.

The Montana oxen, milch cows and other cattle were valued at $25,151,882 while her 3,247,641 sheep, valued at $7,804,081 rank her now as first on the roll of the wool-growing States and Territories of the Union. Her wheat yield for 1897 amounted to 2,268,000 bushels.

South Dakota is another instance of marvelous development. Her gold yield in 1897 was $5,300,000 and ranked fourth among the gold-producing States, while her wheat yield was 21,441,248 bushels, valued at $14,794,461.

North Dakota yielded 28,383,552 bushels, valued at $20,981,628. North and South Dakota combined produced nearly one-tenth of all the wheat produced in the United States, and yet these States twelve years ago embraced but one Territory, not thought qualified at that time for statehood.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable evidences of development is that which is exhibited in the case of Oklahoma Territory. Only eight years ago that portion of the Louisiana Purchase was still an Indian reservation-a part of the Indian Territory, and the hunting ground of the tribes therein. So rapid has been the progress since the opening to settlement was formally declared in 1889, that there was a population, as returned by the assessor for 1896, exceeding 275,000 which is now largely increased; and more votes were cast there in that year than are cast in Florida or Delaware. From the last annual report of Governor C. M. Barnes, the total wheat produced for 1897 is found to be 20,000,000 bushels, as per shipments, while the cotton crop marketed amounted to 40,000 bales, and for this year 125,000 bales is the estimate. If this is to mark the advance of eight years, what shall we not expect in twenty years to follow! No other parallel exists—not even in the California days of '49-as to such a growth of population and civil government. Towns and cities were literally built in a night; farms were cleared for the plow; the cereals and esculents planted; orchards prepared; and a system of orderly business inaugurated in thirty days, which in other Territories have required one or more years to accomplish. It is an illustration of what American enterprise and intelligent effort can accomplish under the stimulus of our free institutions.

THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION.

The treaty of the Louisiana cession was concluded April 30, 1803, but even previous to that, Jefferson, while Secretary of State under Washington in 1792, was anxious to explore the country between the Mississippi and Rocky Mountains; he was desirous of extending commercial relations among the Indian tribes of