PRESENTATION OF THE SCARPITTA BRONZE BUST 
OF 
HON. FRANK SPRINGER 
TO THE 
STATE OF NEW MEXICO ® 
Significant and memorable was the presentation of the bronze bust of 
Mr. Frank Springer to the state of New Mexico on the evening of September 8, 
1922. The spirit of the celebration, its setting and its import, made it an historic 
event in the annals of a state overwhelmingly rich in traditions, thrilling events 
and picturesque episodes. To the hundreds of people who had gathered in the 
Saint Francis Auditorium to do honor to the man who had wrought so much 
for them and their commonwealth, and had achieved distinction and success in 
law, in business, in science, in statesmanship and in wise giving, it was an unfor- 
gettable occasion. 
The glamour and the shouting of the 1922 Fiesta had filled the fore part of 
the week, and were followed by the earnestness and interest of the sessions of 
the Southwestern Division of the American Association for the Advancement 
of Science. Friday evening had been set apart by the Association for the exer- 
cises which proved to be the climax of a week crowded with stirring and notable 
incidents. It had been a typically sunny Santa Fe day, followed by a night rap- 
turous with a brilliant harvest moon. The members of the Science Association, 
just returned from a field excursion to San Ildefonso, where the' Tewas had 
delighted them with a tablita eeremony of wonderful color and grace — joined 
with the friends of Mr. Springer from far and near in filling comfortably the 
St. Francis Auditorium of the new museum. There were present former and 
present business associates from as far away as New York and St. Louis, from 
cities and tov/ns in New Mexico and adjoining states; there were men and 
women in the audience who had won world-wide distinction in the fields of 
science, literature, art, music and the professions; there were represented the 
Indian, the Spanish American, the pioneers and the new comers to the South- 
west — as cosmopolitan and fine an audience as ever gathered to do honor to a 
fellow man. 
There were spontaneity and dignity about the program which transmitted 
themselves to the audience ; a warmth of feeling and simplicity which character- 
ize a neighborhood gathering rather than the formal state event ; and yet, withal, 
the impressiveness of a solemn service in cathedral or abbey where all hearts 
are lifted to one purpose. Under the indirect, mellow glow of the high ceiling 
3 Presented at the third annual session of the Southwestern Division of the American Association for 
the Advancement of Science at the St. Francis Auditorium of the New Museum, Santa Fe, N. M., Friday 
evening, September 8, 1922. Present account reprinted from El Palacio, Santa Fe, October 2, 1922. 
153 
