The Great Birthday Squabble

Gallants attend, and hear a friend, Thrill forth harmonious ditty, Strange things I'll tell, which late befell,

In Philadelphia city.

--The Battle of the Kegs

Were Francis Hopkinson alive today, he would have found ample material for a ditty on the battle for Bicentennial City in 1976 instead of a spoof on the British Army's panic in 1778.

As Great Society planners saw it back in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson appointed the 35-member American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, the year 1976 was to be no ordinary national birthday party. Instead of creating battlefield reruns or splashy carnivals of no lasting value, the eelebration money would be used to redevelop a city or even an entire region. This regional concentration would be the quintessence of the national spirit, demonstrating the admirable virtues of teamwork, brainpower and American know-how.

History Stuff. lumping the mark as early as 1959 in the race for the designation was Philadelphia--site of the Continental Congress, the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the drafting of the Constitution. Philadelphia planned displays and a futuristic redeveloped community in the northern section. Estimated cost: $1 billion, mostly in federal moneys.

Entering the contest next was Boston, sponsored by lohn F. Kennedy. The President took the unusual step in 1962 of personally asking the Bureau of International Expositions in Paris to reserve Boston as the international exposition site in 1975. Later Boston submitted a plan for a 500-acre, floating World's Fair over the harbor that would cost $500 million, mostly in federal and state moneys.

Washington was a late starter, coming along only ten months ago with a design for a vast "New Town," in which whole sections of the city would be rebuilt at a cost of $4.5 billion.

Almost as an afterthought, Miami threw its boater into the ring. "We know we don't have the history stuff, but we sure want to be part of the national celebration," explained a local booster.

Foot Dragging. As the Bicentennial Commission dragged its feet through months of indecision, the four contenders became restive. They needed commission approval before they could ask the Bureau of International Expositions for designation as an exposition site--a prerequisite to financial success in luring tourists from around the world.

Meanwhile, opposition to the exposition idea began developing in Boston and Philadelphia. Louise Day Hicks, while campaigning for the Boston city council, claimed that the city would have to raise taxes by $22 million to provide its share--too great a burden in an election year. Mrs. Hicks' campaign caused the city council to vote unanimously to withdraw its support. In Philadelphia, Novella Williams, a black militant organizer, complained that the bicentennial had little significance to her people. She explained: "It gives us no political or economic advantages--just taxation without representation." Furthermore, she said, "if you build a house nice enough for tourists, how will blacks be able to afford it?"

Acting on the recommendation of the Department of Commerce, the Bicentennial Commission's executive committee last March proposed that all four of the cities participate in the celebration, since no city was prepared to take on the whole burden. But two months later this was changed when the full commission voted to have small, local celebrations across the nation. Even fewer people seemed to like that idea. "Without federal coordination, we'll probably just have a few Minutemen run up Bunker Hill and shoot redcoats every third day," mused James Matthew, Boston Expo's general manager. On behalf of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Senators Hugh Scott and Richard Schweiker groused about the "highly unusual procedures" of the commission and hinted at a congressional investigation if the decentralization decision were not reconsidered.

America's Penchant. Washington, like Philadelphia, is still forcefully lobbying to win the designation, and Vice President Spiro Agnew and Maryland's Senator Joseph Tydings are active in lobbying for the capital. Also rooting for Washington are the Joint Center for Urban Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, plus the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The commission will soon deliver its report to President Nixon. He is expected to announce the final decision, appropriately, on July 4, which is certain to produce fireworks no matter how Solomonic his judgment.

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