Resolved, That the board of lady managers of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition accepts with regret the resignation of Mrs. James L. Blair as president; that it places upon its records its appreciation of her service to the board of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.  Her large abilities and her experience in social and public affairs have been freely given to this work, and she has served the board and the exposition with unwavering zeal and with conspicuous ability.  Her enthusiasm for the exposition, her far-reaching sense of its aims and scope, her large conception of the possibilities of our connection therewith as a board, and her interests in its needs inspired her administration of its affairs and called for the recognition and thanks of this board, whose head and representative she was, and of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition which she served.

    Resolved, That this board of lady managers express its
    recognition and gratitude by adopting these resolutions and that
    the secretary be directed to send a copy to Mrs. Blair.

    ANNA L. DAWES. 
    HELEN MILLER GOULD. 
    FRANCES MARION HANGER. 
    JENNIE GILMORE KNOTT. 
    EMILY S.G.  HOLCOMBE.

On motion of Mrs. Manning, seconded by Mrs. Coleman, the resolution was unanimously adopted.

President Francis then appeared before the board of lady managers, and, upon the request of the chairman, made an address, in which he said, in answer to a request to give to the board some idea concerning the cost of the exposition: 

I only can give you the comparisons with other of the largest expositions ever held in this or any other country.  I will state as compared with the Paris Exposition, we are now nearer a state of completion than that exposition was on the date of its opening.  That no exposition was ever so near completed four and a half months prior to its opening.  Of course we have a great deal of work to do, and we must bear in mind that although we use a vast amount of material, 90 per cent of the cost is put in labor—­not only the labor out on the grounds, but the labor in the lumber districts, in the loading and unloading of the lumber—­and this comprises the greater part of our buildings as they are built almost exclusively of lumber—­the value of it is comparatively small as compared with the cost of preparing it for market and getting it here.

Then the matter of wages—­we have to pay 33 per cent higher wages than were paid at the Chicago Exposition.  At that time carpenters got 35 cents per hour—­you may remember that was the year of the panic, 1893.  When we first began carpenters in this town were getting 45 cents an hour; they are now getting 55 cents an hour, and when you bear in mind that we have 5,000 carpenters at work there, an advance of 25 per cent in wages means something.

We broke ground on December 20, 1901,