Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission

The commission was given power to devise and execute plans for the display of exhibits to represent the resources and advantages of the state, including authorization to provide a suitable headquarters building wherein the business of the commission in St. Louis might be done. The principal exhibit appeared in the Department of Mining and Metallurgy, which included an operational model of a concentrating mill. Other display efforts were confined to the Agricultural Palace and the Educational Department. Several prizes and medals were awarded to Utah displays.?Exhibits used at the 216-day Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904 were to be made available the following year for use at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland.

The law creating the commission provided that the governor shall serve as ex-officio chairman. Other officers included a treasurer, appointed from among the members of the commission, and a secretary.

The commission was composed of the governor and four members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. In addition to Governor Heber M. Wells, membership included Hoyt Sherman, Samuel Newhouse, L. W. Shurtliff, and Willis Johnson.?The first meeting of the commission was held March 27, 1903, conjointly with a similar commission charged with creating an exhibit of the state's resources at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition to be held at Portland, Oregon, in 1905. It was decided to share office expenses and salary of the secretary. John Q. Cannon was chosen joint secretary. Sherman was elected treasurer. Beginning July 1, 1903, the commission secured the services of S.T. Whitaker as director general.