Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-09-16
DR.. Charles F. Aked
Writes on
THE MISSION PLAY
And the Enthusiasm 1t Arouses.
Father Junipero Sierra in 1913.
By DR.. CHARLES F. AKED
Written for The Atlantic Geor0iaS.

unrolls in picture and IN pageant
MT Osbournes conception OF the
great padre is perfect The high
est praise must be accorded to his
work 1t could not be better dona-
From San Diego in the south 30
San Francisco in the north, over
500 miles of mountain and desert
inhabited only by red men, Junt
pero and his colleagues made their
way Along FL Canine Real they
planted their missions. First Of
the idealists Of the Golden State,
we rejoice to do him honor. Be
meath the crosses which he planted
Catholic and Protestant unite to
keep his memory green.
1T might be thought that a ques-
L tion would arise in the minds
Of devout Christian people. and
more especially, perhaps, In the
minds Of members Of the Catholic
Church, as to the propriety Of
bringing upon the stage the priest,
the. cross, the rite Of baptism and
the passionate prayers Of hero
souls. l can only say that It was
all so beautiful, and so real. and It
was all done in such exquisite
taste, that do not believe there
was a man or woman in the place
who found irreverence in It
A disputable point is reached IN
the third act, which, by the way,
is the least impressive part Of the
play. Here we have the missions
in their ruin. And this part of
the pageant is, II not denunctation,
at least a protest against the Mex
lean policy which laid them waste.
There is another side of the mat
ter The author is quite within
his right In presenting his view
of this chapter Of California his
tory. But is It the right view?
There certainly is another.
The colonization Of California,
the historian tells US, was very
slow.
THIS is a play for America And
l. the turmoil OF great cities,
where the strife Of the markets is
most incessant, in sordid manu-
featuring towns, where tired men
and women live out their lives
beneath skies that seem a million
miles away from ours Of heavenly
blue, this Mission Play" should
be performed, and they should
know what is the sweetness and
the glory of the Golden State.
Some day they will come to see us.
Then in the morning they will say,
Never a fairer day dawned upon
this EARTH" and in tho evening
they will see a world TRANSPORTED
In the light of setting suns. Then
this fact will break In surprise and
gladness on their souls:
This is not some foreign land Of
which we have had to read in
books, this land Of the palm and
the pine. with its Spanish names,
and Italian airs, and Latin TO
nance, and Greek delight in beauty.
1t is Americal And it is all our
own. California is one of the stars
on our flag. It's growing greatness
is our strength. The gold in its
mountains and rivers Is our wealth.
Its sinewy manhood and beautiful.
enfranchised womanhood are as
red blood in the veins of the Amer
lean Union. It's power to-day, its
promise Of tomorrow, and the
pride and patriotism Of its people
are the imperishable possession of
the American citizen wheresoever
born
AND only to hear Father Juntpero
Serra-or George Osbourne for him
speak the word California" is a
benediction.