Utah Expositions Commission

The Commission was empowered to supervise any and all activities regarding the establishment of the State of Utah exhibits at both San Francisco's Panama-Pacific Exposition and San Diego's Panama-California Exposition. The Commission was responsible for providing suitable buildings on the grounds of the Expositions, assuring the return or disposition of all exhibits at the end of the Expositions, and accepting loans of desirable exhibits from private corporations or individuals. (Laws of Utah, 1913, Chapter 104, pp 202-205). The Legislature initially appropriated $50,000 to enable the Commission to carry out those functions (Laws of Utah, 1913, Chapter 104, pp 202-205), and in 1915 added another $35,000 to that amount. (Laws of Utah, 1915, Chapter 5, p.4).

The Commission was made up of nine members, of which Governor Spry was an ex officio member. From the nine members, the Commission elected a President, Vice-President, and Treasurer. In addition, the Commission elected two executive committees of four members each. One committee was to be responsible for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, the other for the Panama-California Exposition. The members of the Commission also elected a Secretary from outside the Commission.

Governor Spry appointed Glen Miller, Dr. G. B. Pfoutz, John Q. Critchlow, J. Will Knight, D. S. Spencer, George Austin, Lewis A. Merrill, and H. M. Rowe. At the first meeting on August 23, 1913, the members elected Governor Spry as President, Lewis A. Merrill as Vice-President, and George Austin as Treasurer (Minutes, 23 August, 1913). George Austin resigned as Treasurer in November 1913, and was replaced by Glen Miller. (Minutes, 14 November, 1913). At the January 11, 1914, Glen Miller, G. B. Pfoutz, D. S. Spencer, and George Austin were appointed to the San Francisco Exposition. Lewis Merrill, J. Will Knight, H. M. Rowe, and John Q. Critchlow were appointed to the San Diego Exposition. (Minutes, 11 January, 1914). Lewis Merrill was killed in an automobile accident in June 1915, and the position of Vice-President was left unfilled in honor of his memory. The Commission met for the last time on March 29, 1916, at which point closing reports were presented.