Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1893-07-18
MANY MILLIONS.
SPLENDID ENDOWMENT % TiiE STAN
ToRD UNIVERSITY.
lsan Francisco Arronaai. J


The newspaper accounts Of the estate
left by the late senator stanford have
started speculation ss 10 the value OF hi.
endowment Of the university which
hears his name. Few people have any
definite idea Of the actual sum OF money
represented by the property which Will
come into the possession Of the trustees
Of the university when Mrs. Stanford
dies.
That property consists Of three pieces
Of land-Palo Alto, 500 acres, Of which
a large portion II under high cultivation.
being planted In vines which have been
found TO suit the soil; Gridley, 1,0pC
acres, which have been planted 10 wheat
and will probably be gradually planted
In vines and VIVA, 80, 600 acres, Of which
between 400 aud 5000 acres are planted
In vines. OF these three, the vina estate
ID, OF course, the most valuable. There
are In round numbers, 5000, 600 grape
vines on the estate, which yielded last
year 900 tons Of grapes. When all
the vines now planted are ln full bearing
the product will be something Ike
10000 tons Of grapes per year; and the
vineyard IL growing from year to year.
A large portion Of the VIVA estate IL
used Tor raising horses Of all the various
breeds, and other portions are employed
az cow-pzstures, sheep-pastures and hog
pastures. IL 10 difficult 10 form an ade-
auate Idea Of the money value OF such
land at the present time, and almost
impossible 20 guess what IL Will be when
a better knowledge Of the pecularities
Of the soil and climate and the handling
Of the grapes will enable California
wines TO command the same price a. the
foreign product. But land which Will
grow Ave tons Of grapes 10 the acre
has definite and well known value In
France and Germany, and there IL no
reason Why 10 should be different here.
Il IL worth ~ nearly ~ possible e5,0oo
an acre In the Gironde and on the Kline,
and though 10 could not Be sold for any
such sum at present In this State, u Will
earn interest on that amount. Thus the
VIVA vineyard alone represents an endow-
ment to the college Of ss,000, 900 and q
present Income Of about half million q
wear. This, it will be remembered, 10 ex-
elusive Of the PAlo Alto property, the
Gridley ranch, and the fifty odd thousand
acres Of land 1t vlna not planted In vines.
n all the land In the three properties
which II suited TO vine-growing were
planted In vines, 10 would represent the
enormous sum Of e200, 000, 900 and IN
annual Income Of over ell 100000 .
year.
No university In America has any
thing Ike such an endowment. Accord
Ing to the college registers, the leading
universities are endowed - follows;
Columbia. enm0
Harvard. u
ralo. loueD
Usivss,ssy Of California. i@sss
JeAas nspkina. As
The endowment Of the leland Stan
ford coapos b. sdded 20 ths list, becsuse
no ons can tell its real amount. Ths
vina vineyard rspresents $1,000, 900 at
preseut, with Q posslble extension 20
over ten tins that amount In ths early
future; but no ons posssssea The infor-
mation required % spprsiss Pslo Alto
or GhdIsy. 10 nay b said, without
fssrine consrndicsion, that 10 resources
are faf In sxcsss Of thoss OF any Other
educati0oal establishmsnt In the work.,
snd thai & yin nsver nssd % deny ttseif
anything, iron . Library 20 On obesrv.
atory o. laboratory, on the ground OF
sxpsnss. 10 b quite possibls thet whsn
H. properties which are devoted % its
supoors yisld thsir fall Income, k wui
nnd b pcsslbls - abolish al No. nor
tui3ios ard = rstuee ~ ehar6s for
besrd bslew 1T With . vspn would