The morning call., 1894-04-22
OUR LITERATURE.
Charles II. Shinn Tells It's
History.
The Congress of Religions Gives Place
to One of Literature-Early
California Writers.

The congress of literature, the second
In the cycle of the Midwintsr Fair con-
crosses, opened yesterday evening in Gold
en- Gate Hall. The audience was not a
particularly large one.
The chairman, Willard D. Harrington,
in his opening address. said: "The object
of the committee upon which has devoved
the duty of arranging for the congress of
literature has heen to give the widest
scope as to the subjects to be considered,
in order that, if possible, no branch OF
literature should be neglected. How we'll
this task has been performed we leave to
your charitable judgments to decide. We
had hoped that some of the Eastern
authors Of eminence would grace the occa-
sion by their presence. Many were in
vited. but in each instance our pTOffered
hospitality was regrelfully declined. For
this reason those who will appear before
you are gentlemen who stand for litera-
ture and scholarship in California"
The first paper, The History of Cali
fornia Literature" was by Charles ii.
Shnn. In the absence of the writer it
was read by Willard ID. Harrington. Fol-
lowing is an extract:
Nothing goes unchallenged in this
QuestioD-asking age. Is there any such
thing as a California literature? Some
writer's answer No. There are people in
California who write; there are articles
written about California, but the same
thing happens in Oklahoma or Indian
Territory.
SIT is undeDiable that there is sense in
which this is the protest of broad culture
against exaggerated local pride There is
an American literature, but we cannot
justly speak of the ltera ure Of any Amer
lean State in the same way that we speak
of Italian or Norwegian literature.
"The modest and reasonable claim Is
that these Pacific State. among which
California leads. have really contributed n
distinctive note to American literature.
The current Of ideas has flowed strongest
around the mining camps; it has swept
around the ruined m ssiohs and through
the orange groves and alopg the shores of
Puget Sound, and among the highest Sierra
peaks. 1t has dwelt with Bret Harte on
Poverty Flat, with ina CDolbrith In the
full springtide of California's bloss oming
hills.
Great is the debt we owe 10 those half
forgotten writers who made California
known, men such as John T. Swift, Pol
lock and Samuel Williams, wsest of
writers. Those and many more are among
our immOrtalS.
THE earlier California literature be-
came possible because among the gold
seekers there were many persons of good
education and fine literary training. After
this came the railroad building period and
other groups of writers came forward,
many of whom are with us still. The
point of view has changed The early Cali
fornia writer only wrote to please small
group of local authorities, but for twenty
years or more this SORT of local reputation
has been left to those who could do no
better.
'As long as California lasts there will
be eXhaustless literary material in our
mountains and valleys. Let us look for
ward and not backward and have an abid-
ing faith in the development of Calfor-
MIA literature better and more character
istic than any we have yet known"
Professor Charles Mills Gayley of the
University of California delivered a
lengthy and scholarly address upon Lit
erature and It's Influence" in the course
of W ich he traced its bearing on art and
science on the one hand. and upon religion
and morality on the other.