The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 73, July 1969 - April, 1970 Page: 576

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

houses, it presents an occasional problem to its occupants. The story
is told of a former First Lady who wished to install steam heat. When
informed that such unconscionable spending would defeat her husband
for reelection, she replied that she had rather be warm for two years
than freeze for four. Steam was installed and the governor was returned
to office.
Over-all, state capitols reflect a preference for the classical, with many
variations including Italian Renaissance, Romansque, and Georgian.
Texas, as might be expected, has one among the largest in size; and
Maryland's (1772) is the oldest still in use for the original purpose.
The third section of this volume is devoted to a complete listing of
the chief executives who have served the nation, the states and other
subdivisions. Pictures and information about the capitols of Samoa,
Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are included, which are
probably not collected elsewhere in one printed form. Part Four con-
tains an alphabetical list of executive mansions and state capitols with
the building dates, styles of architecture, and costs.
Executive Mansions and Capitols of America is an important com-
pilation of photographs and text deserving of inclusion in libraries
everywhere.
Austin, Texas ROBERT L. WAGNER
Book Notes
Mission San Fernando. By Rev. Francis J. Weber. (Los Angeles: Western-
lore Press, 1968. Pp. xvi+65. Illustrations, notes. $1o.oo.)
In large measure the history of early California is that of the Catholic
Missions. Mission San Fernando, the seventeenth established by the Fran-
ciscans in California, has been characterized as "a citadel of civilization
within whose adobe ramparts religion and learning and human mercy
could make head against the outer barbarism." Father Weber describes in
detail the establishment, growth, decline, and restoration of Mission San
Fernando. The purpose of this mission was to Christianize and civilize the
Shoshone Indians who inhabited the San Fernando Valley. The Shoshones
were duly Christianized and taught farming, animal husbandry, and crafts,
until the secularization of the mission in 1834. Thereafter San Fernando's
influence with the Indians waned. After 1847 there was no resident priest
at the mission and it fell into private hands. Years of neglect and misuse
took their toll, and by 1896 the mission buildings had deteriorated almost
to the point of extinction. Beginning in 1897 the Landmarks Club and

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