e
population of all our States; and these are defiantly contesting
for premiership in wealth and material success with the oldest
of our States, and are their equals in every phase of advanced
intelligence and refined civilization.

The States which composed the Union when its possessions were so
greatly extended have since that time seen the center of the
nation's population carried more than 500 miles westward by the
swift and constant current of settlement toward this new domain;
and the citizens of these States have been flocking thither,
"new brethren to partake of the blessings of freedom and
self-government," in multitudes greater than even Jefferson
would have dared to foretell.

I shall not enter the field of statistics for the purpose of
giving details of the development of the territory acquired
under the treaty we commemorate. I have referred to such
development in some of its general features by way of suggesting
how distinctly the century just ended gives assurance of a
startling and superabundant final fulfillment of the prophecies
of its beginners.

The supreme importance of the Louisiana purchase and its value
as a national accomplishment, when seen in the incidents of its
short history and in the light of its present and prospective
effects, and judged solely by its palpable and independent
merits, can not be better characterized than by the adoption of
the following language from the pen of a brilliant American
historian: "The annexation of Louisiana was an event so
portentious as to defy measurement. It gave a new face to
politics and ranked in historical importance next to the
Declaration of Independence and the adoption of the
Constitution, events of which it was the logical outcome. But as
a matter of diplomacy it was unparalleled because it cost almost
nothing."

How fitting on every ground it is that the centennial of this
stupendous event should be joyously and appropriately
celebrated; and that it should be celebrated here in the most
populous of the States created from the territory which the
Louisiana purchase gave to us. And how in keeping it is with the
character of this acquisition and with its purpose and mission
that our celebration should not waste itself on the pomp and
pageantry that belongs to the triumphs and spoils o