The San Francisco call., 1904-09-12
Fra Junipero Sierra
Is Entitled to
Honors.
BY LAURA BRIDE POWERS.


been the promulgator of many a clever
coup for California, not the least of
which was the timely suggestion made
! to the Pioneer Women at their annual
! reception, that as the space allotted
| to each State in Statuary Hall at
Washington has not yet been claimed
| by California, the Pioneer Women
take immediate steps toward filing
the two inches. For that suggestion,
publicly made, Senator Perkins, here's
to youl
| Before the words were cold Mrs.
Anna Mcintyre, the president; Mrs.
! Louise Shepheard Chase, and other
; interested Pioneer Women had
CLEANED from the Senator every de-
! tail of procedure in the matter, and
the mails a few days thereafter bore
| to Washington request for the pa
! pers necessary to begin proceedings.
! These state papers are now en- route
! to California, and thus will the way
soon be open for the queen State of
the West to present to the hall of
fame her two most famous sons.
The strange apathy of Californians
| in this matter has always been a sub
| ject of marvel to those who have
strayed through Statuary Hall, and
many sporadic discussions of it have
been heard. In fact, nearly two years
ago, in the California Promotion Com
mitteeS rooms, a subcommittee of the
California Landmarks League held Il
meeting, with Rufus P. Jennings, Jo-
seph r. Knowland, j. j. Lermen and
the secretary of the league present
at which this matter was vigorously
discussed. But there was at that time
much for the league to do and the
matter was dropped temporarily.
TAKEN UP AS SOLE OBJECT.
| But now that some one organization
has singled out this duty, specialized
on this one phase of activity, success
will follow. And what body is more
fit to carry out this work than the
! Pioneer Women-they who tGIed
stupdily to shape the destiny of the
State?
Now comes the all important ques-
tion-whose memories shall be perpet-
uated in the silent hall?-Shall they
| be men of peace or men of war, men
of the soil or men of letters, men of
the pastoral days or men of the stars
and stripes? All! there is the question
| in fact, two questions, because there
| are to be two statues.
Now the logical thing to do will be
| to appoint a committee of men and
women familiar with the several
epochs of Californian history, begin
ming with the landing of Fra Junipero
|
ent day-although a hero seldom
sprouts a halo till he's a long time
dead. However. the review of the
drama should be made from beginning
| to end and made on broad lines, elm
| mating religion, race and politics, and
/ basing the choice solely upon the char
acter of man, his worth as a national
| ideal and his direct influence upon the
State.
There are some historians who would
go back to Sebastian Viscaino-he who,
landed at San Diego ana Monterey in
1902, pausing some days in each port,
where religious services were held by
/ two Carmelite friars. While ii is true
| that ii was Viscaino's description of
| the country that guided Junipero Sierra
$50 years later, still the early voyager
| left no direct influence upon the coun-
try, save this diary Therefore, it would
| seem logical to open the entries" in
| 1869.
SIERRA WORTHY OF PLACE.
Right in the opening chapter of the
great California drama the seraphic
| face of Junipero Sierra rises above the
mists of time. In all the pages of his
| tory there are few such types as he,
| combining in his great soul the quail
| ties of courage, zeal, energy, faith, abb
negation, joyousness of heart, love of
mankind and absolute and answering
devotion to duty expressed in his low
| ing allegiance to his Maker.
The occupation of Alta California was
the direct result of the ceaseless plead
| ings of JuniDero Sierra before Carlos
1 III. Won by his eloquence and zeal the
King empowered the monk to enter the
unknown land and to take the country
in the name of God and the King"
thus directly influencing the political
1 4
the perilouS voyage to San Diego Sierra
| dispatched Gaspar de PortoIa north
ward with a band of soldiers to find
the bay of Monterey. How the wan
derers passed 1T without recognition
and going farther north discovered the
great bay of San Francisco is an old.
old story-another triumph of Serras
band.
The founding of the missions of San
Diego de Alcala, San Carlos de Borro-
meo. San Antonio de Padua, San Ga
! briel Archangel, San Luis Obispo San
| Francisco de Asis, San Juan Capistra-
no, Santa Clara, San Buenaventura
and the presidio of Santa Barbara were
| likewise the direct results of Serras
| labors as he journeyed from San Diego
! to San Francisco twice or thrice a year
to visit his loved neophyte children
Thus have we spiritual and moral
! ideal in the brown-robed monk and a
visual. physical influence upon the his
tory of the West-the first white leader
to come into the wilderness, where he
| labored lovingly until the angel of
death stilled his voice and laid him to
rest in his beloved Carmel.
| OTHER NAMES MENTIONED.
Now. as to the other name to be hon
ored, Starr King is mentioned, likewise
| Leland Stanford, James Lick, James
| Marshall, General John Sutter, Colonel
Baker and hosts of others of later date
and no doubt the list will grow with
the proverbial California virility
Apropos to Junipero- Sierra, Monterey
I has announced to the visitors therein
| the name of the founder of California
as Funpero Sierra. 'Tis so writ on the
white cross that marks the spot where
! he landed in the surf in 1770 Ye godsl
Is there no one in Monterey who can
spell and print?