Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-07-20
STANFORD'S GENEROSITY.

A Millionaire Whose Inclination Was
to- Be Liberal to All Corners.
Mr.. Stanford gave freely from his
fortune for benevolent purposes. Be
sides the great cndoWmantS coming
from his bounty he gave away "A
fortune each year privately. Having
a reputation for philanthropy, the APP
pealS made to him for assistance We're
almost limitless in number, and there
is hardly a known scheme for drawing
out money from the charitable which
was not tried ON him daily. He en-
deavored to place his gifts where they
were deserved and was always salts
fed that, even if he were deceived
the money he gave, would do good in
the end.
Many men more, or less prominent
in public life have found ia him a
good friend at times when they have
been short. He gave out a great deal
of money in personal loans, OF which
no record was taken, and the greater
part of which was never returned.
But short time ago a payment of
81 900 was received from representa-
tive in congress who was a stranger
to the senator, but to whom he had
lent the money without a thought as
to whether or not it would be repaid.
A southern congressman who failed
few years ago and disappeared from
public view, borrowed 100000 from
Mr. Stanford before being overcome
in his struggle against debt. A late
sergeant at-arms of the senate got
loan of a similar amount in the same
! free-and-easy way.
A negro preacher trying to spread
the gospel through a benighted region
i of the south was given $4,000 without
more ado about it, Another negro who
was working an imaginary charitS Hte
| institution got a few hundred dollars
from the Senator. These are but I,
! few sample cases, of which there was
an indefinite number each day. The
senator spent about 100000 year i'll
Washington. and of that sum more
| than half was given away. He was
always giving in charities, great and
small. He inaugurated the custom of
giving the page boys of the senate 50
at Christmas time, and every year
since he came to Washington he has
given each of the boys in the two tele'
graph messenger services of the city
silver dollar and pair of gloves
at New Years.
There are thirty or forty pensioners
on his bounty who got money from MIN
at the capitol every day. When be
first went into the senate he used to
carry $50 in gold pieces in his pocket,
and he would give these to the habit
utes of the capitol who sought from
him loan After a while the senator
! cut down his pocket pieces to 50 bills,
which he found just as we'll, and later
still he got down to the practical basis
of thirty five 50 bills, which he put
in his pocket each day and distributed
among his capitol pensioners He
never brought a dollar home. This,
of course, did not interfere with his
giving his check for larger sums
which were BORROWED from him at
frequent intervals by persons in vari,
Gus walks of life.
A great many attempts to get money
from him in other ways than by loans
or gifts were made One method, said
by the Philadelphia Telegraph to have
been tried on several occa3l ms, was
to force upon him some papers pretend
ing to represent some claim or other,
with the request that he examine them
These papers he was liable to stuff
into his pockets and lose without dis
covering what they were. Then he