, 1874-12-10
OBITUARY.

Tho telegraph brings intelligence this morn,
| ing Of tho death Of Ezra ConNELL, founder oI
Cornell College, and one Of the most libosal aud
! publlc-splrited 'men in America. Mr. ConyE1E
was born in Wcstchostor County, New York, jan.
II, 1907, and WAS consequently almost Us years O.
ago. Els carly lifo WIS that OF most pioneers
childrcn-a struggle for bnro existence. intenst
fed and prolonged by all tho disadvantages ol
solitude and tho necosRitios Of incessant bodily
labor. Ho lad fow opportunities for book
learnlug, which deprivation, however, was noi
source Of much sorrow to him at the time.
Ho inclined rnt4er to out-of-aoor employment
and had material genius, IT tho phraso may
DO applied to mind bent upon study o!
natural forces. Flo cared only for books AZ
,noa,1s Of information IN respect to tho principle.
OF mechanics, aud even for this kind OF knoTl
edge lie was moro largely indebted to observat
tion and experiment. It Aa8 been 6aid
that he mas q natural mechanic, Aavine
Al ATTITUDE in tho uso Of tools and ma
ohinery with wonderful resources OF invention
and combination. uo was among tho first tn
ronlizo tho Importance OF tho magnetic Telegraph
discovery, and tho -lch field for labor aud capi-
tal which Its general introduction was certain to
afford. 1Io en,barod iu tho now entorprleo with
Ais whole hcart aud mind. abandoning all other
pursuits In order to givo la undivided attontion
to tolography. Tho roturns from lia inyest-
nonta woro spoely md largo, and. they being
prlldontly applied In purchases of real o5tato,
aIr. CORNELL soou became one Of tho ueaihios,
men In tho United Statos.
When ho Ind arrived at this stage Of life, th&
want Of lboral instruction on lila own pnst, ant
pcrltars d lAulab!o dosirc to hand down lliH namt
IN lettora Of gold to poHterity. turned his aiton
tlon to tho eauAc Of education. Ilo oudowoa
public library in Ithaca, n. T., whore ho had
previously taken mp a residence aud t1on c11l-
,oiycd tho idea Of founding in tho aa,no place
Ill institution OF learning which should he
lot only college, Ill our so.oallol universities
hon wcro, or Nh acadomy, as many oi
ho pretended oollogos woro. hut a gen
iuc exponout Of tho worry highest
In tho land. Mr.. CoRNxLL's pima
'oro perhaps too ambitious. He uHol to say, Ii,
10 early days OF Cornell University, that l.a
ould have an institution In which anybody could
'arn anything; and his persistence III
Its iaea subjoctod him to soma gontla
nd aomo ill-naturod riliou1o. Dut ho per-
sted nll tho salno. aud tho rosul,
sufficiently magnificent aud glorious ia
cop l'ls memory gteon among many genera.
ona No Ahyo mt nav tho alHco Or tho TINA
) toll what Cornell University IL, or what il
rom!ses to be. It is enough 10 say Tint Il IL
10 Ut tho most completely eauippod nml
idowod schools, In tho United States; aud @
iii cortalnly III no mean praise Of IN
'torprlRo which had tho disadvantage of
arti'g,, 15o years behind Harvard aud
alo. Il should b. remembered, too. in eatl.
ating Mr: ConSELLs lifo-work, tllnt tho found.
& of tl,e University at Coruoll Cayo al imme,
ato md very strong stimulus to Yslo aud
atyard. and to tAo cause Of education ron,
ally. @NA'