Los Angeles herald., 1892-12-21
THE NEED OF HISTORICAL SOCIETIES.

THE NEED OF HISTORICAL SOCIETIES.
Lord Byron was credited with saying
that sail history is splendid fction."
But pure history can never be anything
else than pure truth. Any adulteration,
however slight, with error, makes it q
fraud. 1t is not always possible to as
certain the truth. Witnesses fail to
make the proper records, or else conceal
the facts, or die before they can be
gathered from them. Evidence is not
only distorted, for personal and other
reasons, but often destroyed either
through malice'o neglect.
The present age has witnessed as
great revolution in the methods OF
historical work as it has in transporta-
tion or the communication OF intelli-
gence. AS in other things, the begin
nings were crude and desultory. Here
and there in the earlier ages OF the
world an individual endeavored to re-
cord the story of past events. The op-
portunities for veri6cation were as few
as were the authentic records from
which to draw. No wonder, then, that
the weeds of fable and tradition flour
ished and 'choked out the flowers of
truth. In an age when none kept
diaries, and public records, if any, were
inaccessible to the masses, who them
selves had no newspapers to keep them
informed, how small was the stream OF
knowledge.
Then, as the world advanced, and the
printing press wrought its great re-
formation, scholars tried to sift the
matter at their hands. The manu-
scripts of old writers, in many instances
corrupted copies, were published. Later
historians perused, digested and Gifted
the books before them, and class of
histories of higher standard was pre-
sented to the world. Libraries and
museums quickly grew in the old world
and the new not only books, but man.
uscripts and relics were preserved. AS
intelligence spread, such men as Hume,
Robertson and Gibbons arose. who did
remarkably we'll with the material at
hand.
With the growth of knowledge came
the exercise OF reason, and the axe OF
skepticism mercilessly felled many q
cherished tree of tradition. Still his
torians had not learned the value of CO.
operation. In the United States this
principle has been set in motion. The
American, with the enterprise and
energy characteristic of his newborn
and composite race, has set about to or.
ganize historical work. In our country
today there are over two hundred his
torical societies. Their objects generally
are the same: to gather and preserve
historical data.
These separate organizations, while
co cooperating generally, have not as yet
sufficiently concentrated their efforts by
the creation of delegated congress.
Three years ago this suggestion was
made by the Historical society of South
ern California. All the societies were
invited to send delegates to general
convention for the unifcation OF histori-
col work. The movement was warmly
indorsed by such leading journals as
the New York Herald. but failed to
meet with a response from the eastern
bodies, probably because the idea came
from the "wild and woolly west.'
The objects of these societies are
praiseworthy. By the collection OF
newspaper flee, public documents,
manuscripts, pictures, maps and other
relics, they preserve in material form
the evidences of contemporaneou
events, which posterity can see for
themselves, and analyze and digest.
The motives, passions and prejudlces OF
the makers OF history can thus be safely
judged. sFg
And by these collections, check is
placed against the in6rmities of the
human memory, the greatest source of
error in matters of history. Upon re-
hection any person will realize how for
getful they are of the past. Reference
to diary, even few years old, will re-
call events utterly forgotten. An in
stance in point is the late controversy
between certain correspondents in the
press over the capture Of Tiburcio Vas
nuez, the Mexican bandit, in Cahuenga
valley in 1874. Although nearly all the
captors are yet alive. yet there is a
serious disagreement among them as to
details.
Another is the dispute between those
pioneers, Don Juan j. Warner and Don
Stephen G. Foster, as to who built the
Notifications at the intersection of Rock
and Sand streets in this city. A careful
study of the disputed points has led
some to believe that both these pioneers
are like the knights in the fable, who
contended over the shield which was
gold on one side and silver on the other.
Another curious instance are the er-
rors which have wound themselves into
the story of the founding OF Los Angeles.
though the whole transaction is matter
OF public record.
How valuable, then, becomes the col
lection and preservation of all published
and unpublished matter. Trif1es like
dodgers, programmes and pamphlets, as
we'll as books, acquire great value rap
idly with age. The British museum