Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-02-13
HON. JOSIAH SIMS,
He Briefly Reviews the History of
the state.

Our meeting on this occasion inscribes
upon the annals of history brilliant
epoch in the career of our State that is
daily growing into wonderful magnitude
and winsome attractiveness. Less than
half century ago California in her iso-
lstion was regarded by the few who had
seen and heard of her as the land of
solemn grandeur, where the majestic
waves of the Pacific ocean sang lullaby
to the setting sun as it fell asleep amid
the saturating glory of its own parting
beams; where primeval forests waved
in undisturbed sacredness, forming leafy
temples for the gods; where the inter-
blending of native grasses with wild
flowers, the prodigal gifts of natures
open palm, interlaced with lakes and
streams of purling transparency and as
silent as the luminous rain-washed sky
above them, seemed fitting abode only
for the slothful Indian and the romantic
Spaniard, who made their homes either
in the adobe hut under the
cliffs of awe.inspiring mountains or in
corn-stalked shauties beneath the wide
spreading branches of the native live
oaks. No cities. as now, adorned the
shores OF the mighty waters that Link
us with the Orient, with their schools
and universities, their churches and asy-
lums, and lifting their spiral fingers to
the celestial dome as if in the name of
the God of nations they invited every
white winged ship and steam impelled
monarch of the deep to find welcome
within the sheltering harbor of the
Gil Gak4 No avd1 cd
the mountains or purpled the foothills,
no corn tufts, no wheat heads waved in
the prairie, the fig tree and the almond
yielded not their abundance, and orange
groves lifted not their snowy blossoms
and golden globes to the lips of the sun.
The speaker then briefly reviewed the
history of the State and closed saying:
Today we lay the corner stone of the ad-
ministratiou building, or the principal
and central edifice of a cluster of cot
tages that will be in every way adapted
to the family system OF training intended
for the unfortunate youth of our State,
and when you behold it in its COM
pletion, with its architectural symmetry,
its strength, and adaptation to the
system adopted, you will exclaim:
There is monumental declaration to an
advanced civilization that Greece and
Rome could not boast of; civilization
radiating the mind and purposes of a
patriotic people and benefcent Creator !;
q civilization involving a home for the
homeless, an asylum for the unfortunate,
a refuge for the uncared for and unkept,
a school for physical as we'll as intel
lectual and moral culture, for what use
is the brain without the hands? Here
the boy will be taught to WELD the ham.
mer, turn the iron and polish the steel ;
to plant the tree, prune it's branches and
pluck it's fruit; to write the article, set
the type and fold the document; to ad.
mire his country, love his brother aud
reverence his God; to become citizen
privileged with the inalienable rights of
q free-born manhood. Here the way
ward girl will be taught to ply the needle,
fit the garment and cook the food. Here
the poor unfortunates who have been re.
garded as the destined producers of ille-
gitimate offspring with which our prisons
and reformatories are stocked, will find
a temple of ethics where the Influence
Of reclaiming leve will lift them into a
realm of purity, hopefulness and life
to be enjoyed. And what God d-hlessed
spot on the map OF the State is Whittier
for such an institution. Teachers and
pupils will here quaff the fragrance of a
thousand flowers, listen to the songs of
birds as chsnted from q thousand trees
and breathe the atmosphere redo,ent
with the perfume ascending from thou
sand orange groves. May the God of
man and of nature be ever present to
guide and bless.
The Whittier chorus then sang: "The
Star Spangled Banner" after which
Hon. w. 9. Hendricks was introduced
and oLa fo1Inro.