A line
by telegraph will be welcomed.
Yours very truly,
D.C. Gilman
I think I was even more surprised to receive this invitation than
I had been to receive the invitation to speak at the opening of the
Exposition. It was to be a part of my duty, as one of the jurors, to
pass not only upon the exhibits of the coloured schools, but also upon
those of the white schools. I accepted the position, and spent a
month in Atlanta in performance of the duties which it entailed. The
board of jurors was a large one, containing in all of sixty members.
It was about equally divided between Southern white people and
Northern white people. Among them were college presidents, leading
scientists and men of letters, and specialists in many subjects. When
the group of jurors to which I was assigned met for organization, Mr.
Thomas Nelson Page, who was one of the number, moved that I be made
secretary of that division, and the motion was unanimously adopted.
Nearly half of our division were Southern people. In performing my
duties in the inspection of the exhibits of white schools I was in
every case treated with respect, and at the close of our labours I
parted from my associates with regret.
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