The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-04-12
THREE SCORE and TEN.
rcosr1NUED FROM FIRST rAGEl

!
vice of six years, Stephen Longfellow
took his place. In 1885, PIentiss Mellen
was elected to the office, which he held
until 1916, and ten years later was fol-
lowed by William Willis, to whose faith
full work the publications of the society
testify. Judge Bourne succeeded Mr..
Willis, and held the office until his
death in 1873, when James w. Bradbury
was elected and continued in office until
he retired some years ago.
For corresponding secretaries, the So
ciety has had Edward Russell, Ichabod
Nichols, Samuel P. Newman, Parker
Cleveland, James W. Bradbury; for re-
| cording secretaries, Benjamin Hasey,
Benjamin Tappan, Stephen Longfellow,
William Willis, Asa Cummings, Joseph
MelKeen, Phineas Barnes, and Joseph
Williamson; Tor treasurers, Prentiss
Mellen, Albion K Paris, William Willis,
! William B. Sewall, John McKeen, Au-
gustus c. Robbins; for librarians and
cabinet keepers, Edward Payson, Parker
| Cleveland, Samuel P. Newman, Henry
W. Longfellow and Alpheus s. Packard
Can any society exhibit roll Of Off
GERS extending over alike period of time,
containing moro honored names than
these?
Societies are made or married by the
men who manage them and the present
honored position of the Maine HistoN-
cal Society is wholly due to the high
character of the men who have composed
its board of management. Had it fallen
into bad hands how different would have
| been its record.
have no ambition to point moral in
this presence, but I cannot well refrain
| from referring to the Tammany Society,
organized in New York not many years
before the foundation of this society, and
having kindred purposes with it. You
know the history of that society, and
what it stands for today, and can we
doubt that If it had had such men to
| guide it as this society has had, it would
have better achieved the purposes of its
founders? / doubt not that but echo
| your own opinions, when [ declare that
| believe that no man has ever occupied
Office in the Maine Historical Society,
who has for a moment permitted self
| interest to interfere with his duty to the
| society, and trust you may have the
| good fortune to fill the offices of the
society in the future with as good men
If you do this you will have done your
work well. But it is understood that no
one is to make long speeches tonight and
will call upon friends whom | see
present to address you.
Among the letters and kilograms of
regret were the following:
AsHEvILLE. N. C.
My health is improved. I am with you in
spirit tonight. All honor to the men who found
ed the society. JAMES W, BRADBURY
There were also letters from Robert G.
Winthrop, of Boston, Rev. Dr.. Geo. E.
&c tfc iofr
Albion K. Paris. of Washington, grand
son of the first president, and others.
Rev. DR.. Fl. S. Burrage was next called
upon. He said:
DR.. Burrage's Remarks.
There are three things the Maine His
torical Society has done in the seventy
years of its history. 1t has awakened
and stimulated the spirit of historical in
vestigation and study. 1t has published
goodly number of volumes of histori-
cal papers and documents. 1t has gath
cred valuable collection of books,
pamphlets, manuscripts and historical
relics. He should speak only of the Ii
brary. When it was brought from
Brunswick to Portland, in 1881, it con-
tanned 1910 volumes and 5000 pamphlets. |
It now contains 10, $50 volumes and $4,000 |
pamphlets. In other words. during the |
past II years, the number of volumes in |
the library of the society has more than
doubled. while the number of pamph- |
lets has more than quadrupled.
Yet how does the library compare
with the libraries OF historical societies |
in other states? The librarians of the
III
Rhode Island historical societies furnish |
the following statistics. The New Hamp |
shire Historical Society has II 1904 vol |
umes and $4,000 pamphlets. The Massa-
chusetts Historical Society has $4,000 |
volumes and $4,000 pamphlets. The |
Rhode Island Historical Society has 49, |
600 volumes and $4,000 pamphlets. OF |
these four societies, therefore, we are the |
fourth, both as to number of volumes |
and of pamphlets. The growth of the |
Maine Historical Society library, how
ever, during the past ten years, has been
greater relatively than that of the libra
ries of the New Hampshire, Massachu-
sets and Rhode Island societies.
And this is one exceedingly encourag-
ing feature of our work at the present |
time. We are filling our shelves with |
books more rapidly than at any other |
time in our history. Not all of these |
books, of course, are equally valuable. |
Many Of them are old books. Senator |
Baker, of Oregon, who lost his life at
Balls Bluff early in the Civil War, in a
debate in the Senate not long before,
asked who reads or cares for an old |
book? Now while every old book is not |
valuable book, book is not worthless
because it is old A book which has no
value because Of it's contents may have a |
value because of it's historical setting, SO to
speak. A friend of mind recently found
in an old attic, book which
he sent to me because it was |
one hundred years old. It was a
translation of the New Testament |
made by G.. Gilbert Wakefield, in Eng |
land in 1901. That book has its place in
the history of Bible TRANSACTIONS as the |
first of the movements which led to the |
broader and more successful movement |
in this direction in recent years. The |
speaker exhibited another book entitled
Summa Angelica, printed at Nuremberg
in 1892 by Anthony Koberger, a famous
printer 1t is devoted to monkish cas-
uistry, but it is of value as specimen of
early printing. The initial letters all