/Mr. Harral Ayres...10/£3/53... 8
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE THE MOST REV. ARCHBISHOP ARTHUR J DROSSAERTS, D. D.. LL. D.. ,ONORARY CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMISSION
/eV PAUL J. FOIK. C. S C.. PH. D.. CHAIRMAN /REV. JOSEPH G. O’OONOHOE, SECRETARY DR. JOSEPH I. DRISCOLL. LL. D. STATE DEPUTY REV. JOHN S. MURPHY. LL. D. STATE CHAPLAIN REV. PETER GUILDAY. PH. D. LL. D.
DIOCESAN HISTORIANS
REV. M. S. GARRIGA. ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN ANTONIO REV. JOHN S. MURPHY. LL. D., DIOCESE OF GALVESTON REV. JOSEPH G. O'DONOHOE. DIOCESE OF DALLAS REV DANIEL A. LANING. DIOCESE OF CORPUS CHRISTI REV. HENRY D BUCHANAN. DIOCESE OF EL PASO REV. A. A. BOEDING. DIOCESE OF AMARILLO
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HISTORICAL COMMISSION
HEADQUARTERS
ST. EDWARD'S UNIVERSITY AUSTIN. TEXAS
So few people can be made to realize that the sources which they possess have any appreciable value in building up the fabric of history. For some time I have been trying to obtain important papers that will throw light on the activities of certain empresarios in South '.Texas, but I have failed for several reasons. The persons holding the documents wish to make use of them first, providing in the written account a commentary or a tradition that must be appraised for what it is worth. So frequently this attitude of mind is not attended with a well balanced historical judgment, and the real historian must untangle the yarn messed up by the incompetent treatment of others. These failures are only too prevalent in most of the matter that has been published by feature writers who can make no critical claims for the veracity of their v/ork. There are persons who rush into print without having properly evaluated their findings. Even Homer sometimes nods and hence the necessity of a check up by scholars.
This brings me to the stage in this discussion that is pertinent to your inquiry, namely: the organization of a group with a
more definite objective---persons with historical training and
scholarship who are willing to sacrifice time and leisure, not in vapid vaporings, but in honest digging into original source materials which are the foundation stones upon which history must be built. The qualifications of each member can be measured chiefly by achievement. Hence, by the fruits you shall know him. These results are attainable only by persistent effort by those who are eager to perform this service in the interests of historic truth. The work will be accomplished by the stimulating effects produced by a true and correct appreciation of fellow workers in the field of endeavor. Progress and development must be demonstrated at intervals so that research may be continued until a definite goal has been reached. The dynamic force engendered by this cooperation is cumulative. This creative power supplies the sinews of history, which are kept in splendid condition by exercise or application. It is my opinion that there exists a necessity for such a live organization, the members of which should meet frequently to compare notes and to give papers revealing hidden facts, incidents and events that will fit into the mosaic which will be harmonious in all its details, presenting a panorama of real life as it existed in its pristine pulchritude through all the decades of advancement and refinement to our own day.