d some valuable historical material, including Father Palou's
"Noticias," Doyle's "History of the Pious Fund," Willey's "History of
the College of California" and some interesting papers of Martin
Kellogg, George Davidson, Bernard Moses, William Carey Jones and T. H.
Hittell. From that time it has had no active existence. There has not
been a meeting of its board of directors since 1893, and since then most
of them have died. It has no maps and no manuscripts, and its library of
500 printed volumes was stored away in San Francisco, in the basement
cellar of the gentleman who is still nominally its president, until two
years ago. It never owned a building in which to do its work, was never
endowed, and to all intents and purposes has been dead for twenty years.

When we look beyond the Rockies, however, we begin to appreciate the
work that is being done by the State historical societies organized for
the purpose of collecting, preserving and diffusing historical
information concerning their respective states. The statistics outside
California, unless otherwise indicated, are down to 1905. The
Massachusetts and Pennsylvania societies are prototypes of the privately
organized and endowed organizations of the Eastern states, which,
without official patronage, have attained strength, dignity and a high
degree of usefulness, while Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas
similarly stand for the State-supported institutions of the West. Twelve
societies or departments own their own halls--those valued at $100,000
or over, being Wisconsin, $610,000; Iowa, $400,000; Pennsylvania (1910),
$340,000; Massachusetts, $225,000; and Kansas, $200,000. Thirteen are
housed in their respective State capitols, seven are quartered in State
universities, and six are in other public buildings. The largest State
appropriations are: Wisconsin (1910), $31,000; Minnesota, $20,000; and
Iowa (1910), $12,000. The Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin
societies are, of course, the wealthiest in endowments; possessing,
respectively (1912), $420,600, $170,000, and (1910), $63,000 in vested
funds. The largest libraries are Pennsylvania (1910), 285,000 titles;
Wisconsin (1910), 332,000; Massachusetts (1912), 170,000; Kansas (1910),
191,000; and New Hampshire (1910), 117,500.

Only a little less important in degree are a large number of historical
societies which represent some town or section. For example: The Essex
Institute of Salem, Massachusetts, with