172 _ TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



promise of all that can be desired. And when I study the character 

 of our people, I feel still more confident. 



Here in Sacramento we stand on ground consecrated by a degree of 

 courage, intelligence, and skill that inspires exhilarating hope. The 

 ground upon which this beautiful city is built, was wrested from 

 swamps; once it was destroyed by fire, once by flood. Its people have 

 stood sentinel over threatening fires and floods for years. They have 

 lifted the very earth upon which the city stands; they have withstood 

 sudden depressions caused by heavy removals of population; they 

 have successfully contended against terrible fluctuations in values. 

 And yet they have built a city that is the pride of California, with 

 an assured future that gives absolute promise of universal comfort, 

 wealth, and happiness. Is there anything that such a people can- 

 not do? 



~ Look over the entire State and behold the grand work already 

 done. Thirty-five years ago an army of boys came here with noth- 

 ing but spades, picks, and blankets. They were without money or 

 State aid. They withstood heat and cold, drought, flood, famine, 

 disease, and conquered in ^very fight. Behold, how they have made 

 the desert to blossom as the rose. They have established towns, vil- 

 lages, cities, and a State. Order prevails, and prosperity blesses 

 nearly a million of people. Can such a people fail in any enterprise 

 that they may see to be necessary? 



Behold then, boundless courage, quick intelligence, persistent 

 energy, and pliant elasticity, side by side with opportunity, and 

 know that only success can come. 



In the department of fine arts our course has always been pro- 

 gressive. Year after year we have placed on exhibition a representa- 

 tive collection of works produced in the State of California. This 

 year we open to you a new gallery, designed with the utmost skill of 

 the architect, so that with an ample room and an unimpeded light 

 you may be able to discover more easily all the beauties of light and 

 shade and color contained in the pictures on the walls. In all fairs 

 throughout the State there is no part more frequented by visitors 

 than the art department. High and low, rich and poor, the educated 

 and the uncultivated, seem to derive an equal satisfaction from view- 

 ' ing, criticising, and admiring the works of art offered for inspection. 



This should be to us a source of great encouragement. First, 

 because it is a sure indication of the natural refinement and taste of 

 the community in which we live. Secondly, it is indicative of a 

 state of prosperity in material affairs. The motto of all industrial 

 communities is, "Business first, and pleasure afterwards;" and the 

 fact that So many working men and business men can find time to 

 examine and discuss works of art, argues a certain measure of suc- 

 cess. 



California has, in the comparatively short period of her existence, 

 done a great deal for art, and I may say that she holds a high rank 

 among her sister States for the number and ability of her artists, and 

 for the generous patronage she has bestowed not only upon resident 

 artists, but also on those of the Eastern States and foreign countries; 

 but she has still a great work to accomplish in the future, if she is to 

 take that place among the enlightened communities of the country 

 to which she will be fairly entitled, by reason of her climate, her 

 natural local advantages, her wealth, and general intelligence. 



We have no lack of art teachers of greater or less capacity; but of 



