The President's Report

Utah Historical Quarterly

Vol. 22, 1954, Nos. 1-4

THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT*BY JOEL E. RICKS

FIFTY-SIX YEARS AGO, in the midst of a glorious celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Utah's founding by the Mormon Pioneers of 1847, the state of Utah's first governor, the Honorable Heber M. Wells, called a meeting of Utah's most prominent citizens, "for the purpose of taking the necessary steps to organize a State Historical Society." In December of 1897, the first articles of incorporation were adopted. In the enthusiasm of the hour, stirred by the memories of the pioneers and their great leader, these prominent citizens of Utah announced four major purposes of the society: "The preservation of manuscripts, papers, documents and tracts of value, the establishment and maintenance of a public library and museum, the dissemination of information and the holding of meetings at stated intervals for the interchange of views and criticism."

Without money and without a home for the society, the founders were unable to achieve these worthy objectives in full. They did, however, hold annual meetings, and the program of the first meeting, held January 17, 1898, in Salt Lake City, illustrates the sole activities of the society in the early period. This program was as follows:

Address by the President of the Society, Franklin D. Richards

Address—The True Mission of History, Dr. Ellen B. Ferguson

Address—The Utah Pioneers, Joseph T. Kingsbury

Vocal Solo—Miss Nellie Holliday.

For the first twenty years, despite the devotion of its mem- •bers, the society was able to do little more than hold annual meetings and keep alive the hope of better things to come. Then things began to happen. In 1916, the 19th annual meeting was held in the first real home of the society, rooms provided in the State Capitol. In March, 1917, the Twelfth Legislature passed "an act to recognize the Historical Society of Utah as a State Institution" and the act restated the purposes announced by the founders. It was some years later, however, before the legislature provided very modest funds for the society. State law placed the direction of the society in the hands of a board of control nominated by the governor and approved by the senate. During the last thirty years the members of the board of control, under the leadership of such presidents as Andrew Jenson, Albert Philips, Hugh Ryan, William J. Snow, Herbert S. Auerbach, and Levi Edgar Young, have worked unselfishly and ably to serve the society and to make the objectives of the founders realities. In 1928 the Quarterly was first published; it was a modest but valuable pamphlet of 32 pages. Tonight I am happy to announce that the October issue of this year contains 120 pages. I hope the quality of this latter issue is equal to the first pamphlet.

I believe we now have achieved, at least in part, the objectives of the founders: We preserve manuscripts, papers, documents, and tracts of value, and maintain a public library of choice books dealing with the history of our state and the West. In the last ten years the number of books in our library has increased from 1,000 to approximately 8,000 volumes. The founders' objective of disseminating information is carried out in the publication of the Quarterly, and through thousands of letters, and tonight we are further following their objectives in holding this annual meeting of the society.

The activities of the society have increased considerably in the last few years. In 1942, Governor Maw proclaimed the historical society the Department of War History and Archives. In 1949, Governor Lee instructed the Centennial Commission to place the records of the 1947 centennial celebration in the office of the society.

The legislature in 1951 passed an act creating a state archives under the direction of the society. Under this act, microfilm records have the legal status of the originals, and what may be accomplished through the microfilming of journals and records in increasing sources of Utah history and in saving space is almost beyond comprehension. It is estimated that 3,000 square feet could be saved in the Capitol Building alone.

Local historical societies, chapters of the Utah State Historical Society, have been organized during the last three years. In 1951, a chapter was formed in Logan, and it has done remarkable work in preserving Cache Valley history during the last three years under the leadership of its three presidents—Dr. William Peterson, Dr. Leonard Arrington, and Dr. J. Duncan Brite. This fall a chapter was organized in Provo, called the Utah Valley Historical Society, under the presidency of Dr. Russel B. Swensen. We hope at the next annual meeting to be able to announce the formation of additional chapters.

The members of the board of control have served faithfully and energetically through the years, formulating the policies which have been followed by a very fine office staff under the direction of a very able leader, our executive secretary-editor, Dr. A. R. Mortensen. I believe we have been careful stewards of the modest funds allotted to us. Our most urgent need at present is greater housing space. Until we have it, our activities necessarily will be limited. We look forward hopefully to securing more adequate quarters, to increasing, with your help, the membership of the society, to meet more effectively our archival responsibilities, and to form more local chapters of the historical society.

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