Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1893-09-04
MANY GIFTS TO CHARITY.
The Late Senator Stanford Used to G.vo
Away Vast Amountslin Washington.

The Late Senator Stanford Used to G ,vo
Away Vast Amountslin Washington.
John B. Mccarthy, who had for
years been Senator Stanford's private
secretary in Washington, was talking
the other day to Post reporter
about the Senator'S expenses du. ing
sessions Of Congress- lie said: MIR.
StanfOrd's charities were enormous in
number, though only a few Of them
got into print 4 have in q safe a
stack OF bank checks six inches high.
They run in value from $lO,oO to
800, all given unostentatiously to
churches, schools, scientific bodies
and needy persons. 1t would be i'm
possible to even approximately esti /
mate the amount expended by him in
this way during the years in which
he followed the practice. Even his
pocket-mOncy account was terrific to
man of moderate. means 1t used
to cost him from S65, ZOO to SIS, 900
every session of Congress that he lived
in Washington. or course these
enormous sums were not expended
upon himself. They went in helping
needy people Senators and repre-
sentativcs besieged him by the score
They wanted donations for churches
in their districts, for societies. for u
dozen different purposes, sometimes
| for destitute constituents l have
never known him to refuse one Of
these requests When he first came
to Washington he would leave the
house in the morning with pockets
full of $50 gold pieces. These he
dispensed here and there. He learned
later that those who begged of him
would have been content with $40
bills He used them for awhile aud
then fell to tives. 1t was his custom
of late to load himself up with thirty
or forty bills of the 50 denomination,
and ne used to chuckle over his
fancied cuteness in getting rid of his
worries so!cheaply. But whether he
carried $40 gold pieces, SO bills, S.
bills, or So bills. he always came
home without a cent.
''The mail Of Senator STAFFORD was
a curiosity in its way. The fame OF
his vast fortune was worldwide.
Dukes, earls, lords, and countesses
wrote to him for money Sometimes
the petitioners would occupy very
humble station in life and ask for
very little. l have read many NOV:
ing stories in this way, many that
were transparency fraudulent. and
many that were sickening in greed.
Here are the pictures of three
brothers, all of them, as you see,
young, tine-looking. muscular men.
They wanted to be adopted, and
promised to be faithful. Here is the
photograph Of an old-time newspaper
writer He inclosod photographs of
his wife and child, and threatened tt
murder them out in the park in front
of this house unless money was sent
him. He did not get it, of course. /
'ln the matter of charity Mrs
Stanford was as bad, or rather as
good, as her husband. She it wa.
who used to give the wraps and rub
bers and WOODEN comfOrters to thu
district messenger boys every New
Years Day. On such occasions 20,
would find me in this room bchint
stacks Of silver dollars on the table
AS each boy passed out he wa
handed coin with Senator Stan
ford's compliments and best wishes
We had 3D. OF the Youngsters ont
year. When the Senator and Mrs
Stanford were not in Washington
when the new year began the littl,
performance went on just the same
remember once Mrs. Stanford
stepped into little Catholic institu
tion of charity here in the city. ,Nea
the front of the building stands
small statue of st. Joseph. and j
was the custom to hang notice upor
the figure stating what gift would b.
most acceptable. When Mrs. Stan
ford called card upon the statue
breast bore the word "Feathers.
She came back and told me to scnt
the sisters 500 worth of feathers.
gave the order and the goods wer,
sent What use was made or tn,
enormous mass do not know"