The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-12-15
Ezra Cornell.

Ezrs Cornell.
Ezra Cornell, of Ithaca, died yesterday
afternoon, and in him it may be said that we
nave lost one of the most peculiar philsn-
thrOpists of the age. He was, perhaps, We
most thoroughly American in his character
of any prominent man in the country. No
other land, no other nationality, no other
civilization could have produced him. He
was racy Of the soil through and through.
He was a representative of that class of the
people who have made their way
from perjury to affluence by prudence,
industry and perseverance,, who have
not lost in the acquisition of wealth their
native simplicity OF character, and who have
spent the latter years of their lives in doing
good with the money which they have fairly
earned. He was the foremost among those
who have challenged the attention of the
world to that trait of American character
which found expression in the making of
colossal fortunes and the foundation of
colossal charities; and his career may
be used to illustrate those strange con-
trasts and curious designs which give to
utBQcIn AuucIlCdn lilo, VIZ al ~ pIdC-
teal shrewdness, something of an srabesque
aud oriental character. The story OF Mr..
Cornell's life is told briefly elsewhere, andis,
indeed, in all essential points, familiar to the
the public. 1t may be necessary, however,
i'm making an estimate of him, to warn the
reader against allowing the great act OF his
career, the founding of Cornell University,
70 ~ rchaIa -y fha racf Of bic oahiovanaantz
or cast in the shade the strong
and original features of his char
acter. That he took the govern
ment grant of land for a state college, and,
adding capital of his own, created an institu-
ton which was worthy of our era, was a
great work; but it was not an isolated tri-
umph or an isolated piece of philanthropy.
Cornell had previously distinguished him
self by The gift Of a library to ths town OF
Ithaca, of which he was a resident, and was
in the habit of bestowing smaller anO less
ostentati0us charities from day to day,
never forgetting that he was once so poor
himself that he could hardly get a bag OF
flour on trust in the town where be lived.
That he should undertake the building
of a great college and the locating of nearly
a million acres of land was a serious mat
ter for one of ordinary executive liabilities
but for a man who had taken up telegraph
ing when Morse himself despared of its sue
cess, and carried on the construction of
various lines from the first ever laid until
the consolidation of the Western Union
Company, such task was nothing. Physi-
cally he was a splendid man, tall aud strong,
''clear eyed and firm mouthed." He was
bred up a Quaker and ever carried about
with him that air of quietness and reserve
which belongs to the sect. In considering the
sources of his success in life, it may
be said that his main power lay in his calm
persistence. Over the door of the fine resi-
dence which he has built just beneath the
university, overlooking the fair town of
Ithaca and the blue expanse and sloping
shores OF Cayugs Lake, there is carved the
motto 'Firm and True" In that firmness he
conquered. He talked about a plan upon
which he had determined and allowed
friends to show him it's absurdities. Then
ne went straight on. AS the difficulties
grow about him, he coolly considered their
magnitude and went on. Argument,
remembrance, want of faith among
his subordinates, seemed to be ele.
ments in his calculations, and never
disturbed him. Right or wrong he kept on
and spent his money on a wildcat railro ad
with as much faith IN ultimate results as if
the proceeds of his capital were coming in
every day. He had prospered so greatly
that he seemed almost too self reliant, and a
shrewd observer who had grown rich with
him declared that he would probably die a
beggar. 1t was wonderful what O growth
the town of Ithaca. one of the most beauti-
fnl places in the state of New York, achieved
in a few years through his exertions. 1t
has now five railroads where formerly it had
but one, and at least two of these were
built by his money. Every inhabitant of
the town might consider himself as adj
vsnced in wealth and importance by Cor
pell's enterprise. Like many men who
lave carried out great plans, he was curl
ously attentive to trivial details. He once
gave a sewing machine to a poor woman TO
enable her to earn her living, but when she
grew above want by marriage or industry,
passed along the machine to somebody
that needed it worse.
Mrs. Saretoris is expected to arrive in
Washington in q few dsFS.