The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-14
STANFORD UNIVERSITY.
By q Student.

BY Student.
Stanford University was founded by
Leland Stanford and Jane Lathrop
Stanford in memory Of their only son.
Leland Stanford. jr., who died Of ma
larial fever in Italy. March, 1854. The
child OF many hopes, heir to a vast es-
tate. he had reached the period when
the question of education becomes par
amount. Certain phases Of the educa-
tional movement had already Interest,"
ed him keenly and. though still In his
sixteenth year, he had laid many plans
Tor his future course. To his parents.
stricken with grief. the most fitting me-
mortal OF the life, SO rudely interrupted,
seemed the promotion OF education In
some OF Its many forms. and, with mod
esty and simplicity. these two con-
ceived the idea of leaving their great
wealth in such way that 1t would do
Tor the children Of California what they
mad hoped for their son. A special act
OF the legislature was sought, and in
November, 1885. the Act Of Endowment.
| embodying the character OF the institu-
tlon and the gift of eighty thousand
acres of land in the rich valleys Of Cali
fornia was made public.
The place chosen for the new univer-
sity was the Palo Alto estate, in the
Santa Clara Valley, the seat Of MIR.
Stanford's country resident. The Santa
Clara valley has long been famous for
its beauty, fertility. and excellence OF
climate. Easy of access to the metrO-
polls of the coast, free from the rigors
of eastern winters and the extremes Of
eastern summers. with rare ocean
quality in the air. the students at Palo
Alto have one succession Of springtime
and autumn. The buildings are placed
| in the head plain sloping up from the
bay to the foothills Of the Sierra More
| ma, and the ground Is high enough 30
that glimpses of the water may be seen
through the trees. The Lick Observa-
tory, crowning Mt. Hamilton some thir-
ty miles away may easily be seen on q
clear and bright day. Just behind are
mountains whose heights look down
upon the Pacific over long stretches OF
| redwood forest.
The buildings themselves, planned on
the Old Mission architecture, are unique
| and harmonious In effect. Gathered
| about a court five hundred and twenty
eight feet by two hundred and forty-sixs
| enclosing an area of three and quar-
ter acres paved with asphalt and diver
sified with eight immense beds Of tro-
pical plants and flowers, are the twelve
buildings of the inner quadrangle. They
are built of soft butf sandstone with red
tile roof, connected by continuous
open arcade facing the court, and are
one story in height Other buildings
already erected are the two dormitories.
the art museum, the two gymnasiums,
| various engineering structures and
| numerous cottages.
1t was 1891 before q president was fin
ally chosen or the buildings sufficiently
advanced to warrant the starting Of the
university. The number of students en-
| rolled that year was about five hun
a,,, nlvoA akr.A
ents have grown to eleven hundred; the
instructing body has increased from
thirty to eighty. All the various stud
ent activities which give color to aca-
| demic life-the daily and weekly papers,
| the literary societies, the musical Or
ganizations. the collegiate and intercol-
| legiate athletics-have taken vigorous
root. The student spirit Is beauty, self
reliant, manly and womanly. The dor-
mitories are successfully managed by
students on the cooperative plan;
while several hundred students live
outside the halls-in private homes. IN
| chapter houses and boarding clubs.
More than a third of the students are
young women. and here, as every
where in the west, education Is a mat
| ter of course and excites no antagon-
isms. The idea In founding was -
university for both sexes" for I'VE deem
| 1t of first Importance that the educa-
| tion of both sexes shall be equally full
and complete, varied only as nature III.
dicates. The rights of one sex. political
or otherwise. are the same az those OF
| the other sex, and this equality OF
rights ought to be fully recognized"
| The sudden death of Mr.. Stanford, In
| the early summer Of 1898. made neces-
| sary temporary postponement OF all
plans for enlargement of work and In
crease of facilities. A year later, the
| government of the United States, inter-
| posed with a claim. growing out OF Its
relations with the Central Pacific rail-
road, amounting to almost the entire
apprised value of the estate. Mrs.
Stanford. with untiring vigor. succeed-
| ed in pushing the case through the var
ious courts with as little delay as pos-
sible, and the final decision OF the SUI
preme court of the United States favor
| ing the estate, was handed down March
2, 1896.
The university. though still In Its In
fancy and hardly half completed, mas
excited a powerful influence In the edu-
| cational world, and with Its young "a
Guilty, broad and comprehensive courses,
an endowment greater than that which
any other university now enjoys, there
is no reason why some day 1t snail not
lead the college world.
| KATHARINE Y. HASKELIA !