The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1885-02-05

OF the heart. where presided the imuge OF
the loved and lost.
1t was under these sad and afrectjno
conditions that Mr.. Stanford realized that
ne was only the trustee Of the vast wealth
that had been assigned to his care. and
under this condition he determined to de.
vote 1T to the betterment of mankind. in
the endowment of colleges, the enlarge
ment OF charities and the relief of
the people OF the Commonwealth
where he had gathered his riches and
achieved his successes. In associatiNg
his departed sons name with some of
these charities, it only evidenced that he
recognized. the cruel shock which awakened
hlm from the delusive dream of happiness,
and that he wished to perpetuate the sad
incident as a lesson to others who might
build their hopes upon earthly riches and
human affections. His proposed gifts all
look to intellectual culture and moral ele-
Walton, as well as the relief of the masses
from the burdens of hard conditions. If the
statements we have seen are correct. after
his requests to charitable and educational
institutions, his wealth is to go the State,
and the broad humanity of this is seen in
the uniform operation of the benefits to
all conditions of society. Under his own
administration and during his life time, he
wishes to adjust the great trust, and so
place it that the greatest good to the
greatest number will flow from it after he
has surrendered it. To leave it to others
to dispose of would be Sinking the re-
sponsibility that has been placed upon
him, clinging to that which he cannot
take with him, when the Ellis of life" are
DER, and which might only serve to ad-
minister to the greed of those who might
not profit by the lesson he had so sadly
learned. In these determinations entered
into with equal earnestness by his wife, we
cannot see the indications OF diseased
mind as the newspapers recording
them, assert. 1t evidences to onr mind
an awakened conscience and. solemn
sense of the responsibilities and duties the
acquisition of great wealth imposes To
meas re the conclusions Of Gov. Stanford
by the guage of filthy lucre and the uses
to which it is ordinarily applied, his re-
puted course might be called insanity, but
regarding it from q high moral standpoint
and sense Of responsibility for his .'tal-
ents" which have been entrusted to him,
it presents an illustration of the faith
full servant who improved the talents"
and rendered an acceptable account of his
stewardship. 1t is Harder for camel to
go through the eye of needle than for a
| rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heay-
en-one that goes to the pearly gates bur
dened with the of weight riches boarded,
while suffering humanity pleaded in vain
for amelioration and relief 1t is the
abuse of riches and not their wise use
which constitutes theinhibition, and Gov.
Stanford has chosen the wiser course in so
distributing his trust as to better the con-
dition of the people and contribute to the
moral and intellectual advancement of So
ciety, so that broa der and more enlight-
ened comprehension of duty might be in
culcated and practically observed. 1t
would be better for the world were such
insanity contagious it would seize
upon the Vanderbilts and Astors and
Goulds, and result in the application of
their millions to the assuagement of hui
man suffering, the removal of ignorance,
the development of intellections. and the
diffusion of knowledge, that it might be
used for the betterment of the human
race. What will their stacks of bonds and
securities, their gilded palaces and tin
selled equipages, profit them after the
''clods of the valley have ratified upon
their collins, and few crocodile tears
have been shed over their remains Their
wealth will not purchase a passport be-
yond The portals of the graye-no tears of
gratitude will moisten their last resting
place-no memories will be cherished ex-
cept those of sharp bargains and harsh
eXactions, evoking excavations rather than
blessings, and their possessions left to
testify to the sordid greed and the utter
vanity of all human ambitions.
Leland Stanford has determined on
wiser disposition of his means. Burdened
with wealth he has arranged for the needy
to share it, to dedicate it to improve the
conditions of community and lay the
ground for rational happiness for
generations to come. He will be the hap
pier himself, while he lives, in having
caused others to feel a glow of gratitude,
and after "lifes fitful fever is o'er'' he
will live in the memory of those who come
after him as benefactor of his race-a
memento more enduring than chisselled
marble or imposing obelisk-speaking for
all time to come for humanity and Of an
example others may follow to the advance
ment of christian civilization
The grave levels all earthly conditions, |
and then the Judgment for the deeds done |
in the body. Shekels piled mountain high |
will avail nothing except rs testimony of |
the manner of their use Dives and |
Lazarus tell the story. and it would be |
we'll enough for the sordid and mercenary
to study that incident and appropriate it's |
lesson. Blood will not tell then. Bonds |
and stocks and estates will not be counted |
in the summing up. 1t will be whether |
or not we have visited the sick, clothed the |
naked, given water to the thirsty 'In- |
asmuch as We did it unto one of these We |
did it unto me" will be the law, stern and |
memorable, and by it all-rich and poor,
bond and free, proud and humble-have to
be jugded.
We have referred to this matter for the
reason that the newspap rs have invaded
the circle of Mr.. Stanford s private affairs,
inspected his motives from their stand
point, and because he has seen proper not
to consult their wishes in the arrangement
of his private concerns, but has gone out
of the ordinary way of appropriating
what belongs to him, he has been adjudged
insane. Had he selected few of the but
terilies of society and endowed them with
wealth to be expended in dissipation and I
crime, it would have been considered very
proper. But as he has seen fit to indicate
permanent investments for the good of /
community and associated the name of
his deceased son with them, it is assumed
that his mind is wreck. We have en-