The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-12
.oyF WoMAN'S GREAT WORK
LELAND STANFORD AND THE
MI" ,yJTERsITY AT PAL0 Alto.

tt,,pce the Fortune Left by Her HuS-
tord Plans for tho Public Good.
A.. 7 slond Stanford OF California Is stopping
ho rifth Avenue Hotel. President Seth Low
"iah, lcarn q great deal from her about how to
NV. NV . creat university over q financial crisis.
W. w. sanford has had n successful experience
I,,e that line, Her efforts to save from ruin
~. =, crcct Leland Stanford. Jr.. University at
Nv ,lto Cal, at one time rated among the
IE".,tbicst institutions OF learning In this coun-
". we hrourht her fret into prominence. Dur
W. h0r husbands lifetime she was entirely
ht.Ilod from business cares. She en-
SUI SUI with interest into all of his
D.r,rort schemes. but she had no share
No management Of any OF his great enter
m All of her attention was devoted to her
-, = ufe her friends, and those who stood In
w." "osn need OF friends. But when Mr.. Stanford
~, hor as she always expresses 1t, In 1893. she
",SdorIv found herself charged with the man
cement Of some OF his largest business inter-
- During the financial panic OF that yearshe
~ n rrcat struggle to save the university. but
Wv ,hc recent rise in Pacific securities she has
.,o,,ly increased her wealth. which.she holds in
,r,st nc stcwardess for the bettermcnt OF man.
r,nd Her later life has been more or less OF a
struggle so to finance the great fortune left her
nv bor husband as to preserve II and make 1t
remunerative.
Ms stanford is a woman Of pronounced
financial ability, though she insists that her
.nccsss in making business enterprises profit
,h,e ia due solely to economy and q complete
tal,b IN the guidance of the Almighty. Her in
,orest in money making Is purely secondary.
bnt sh. realizes that without money she can
No, narfect the Palo Alto University. the thing
on earth which lies nearest to- her
Loort Mrs, Stanford Is not fond OF
,ouinc the public about the interesting in
cilrnts OF her later life, but she is enthusi-
,stic concerning the university and its pros
rects. She is also an ardent expansionist and
has inst as firm a faith in the future OF Cnlifor-
min n her husband had when he started life in
snN way rs a trader in the mines. She
almost never uses the word Il" In talking
and invariably speaks Of her great enterprises
and fortune as II they were in the hands Of a
company,
You want to hear about the Leland STAN
ford University, what its prospects are and
what my hopes are concerning 1t ?'' she said
TO a Sun reporter. My hopes for the univer-
sitv extend through the next century on
through eternity. That has kept me cour-
ageous and strong. A woman never realizes
what it is to be a helpful woman until she has
some object before her thnt is going to benefit
humanity and gets her life absorbed in It. All
other things seem trivial. but God in His
own way brings us to realize these things.
Our experiences bring these results. and
He rules us in all things for our ulti-
mate good. 1t does not always look so
at the time. but it is so. We can't express all
We fell about the university; it has gone out OF
our hands and passed into the hands OF an all
wise. all loving Creator. AS He is q God Of
love there is nothing beyond Him or beneath
Him if We trust Him. II we could all feel that
way there wouldn't be all Of these disturbing
elements in the world. We would all be one
brotherhood, one sisterhood. Now you can
understand how inadequate it is for us to say
what we are going to do with the university.
1T is particularly prosperous this year.
There are over twelve hundred students there
from every State in the Union and from foreign
countries. For the past three years we have
had students from every State except Della
ware, but this year she. too. has sent her quota.
Then they come from Russia. Japan. Canada.
Scotland and quite a number from Germany"
How about the Chinese % asked the re-
porter. knowing that Mr.. Stanford had rather q
good opinion Of the Chinese a strange thing
in a Californian.
We have no Chinese was the reply. "The
Chinese as a race are not so greedy to acquire
knowledge as the japanese. Tho japanese
seem actually hungry to learn the English
language and American ways, and they have a
great deal Of ndaptabiiity. We employ quite Q
number Of Japanese to keep the administra
ton rooms and halls in order. and they always
sNend their evenings porting over their books
One man. who is at the head OF all the Jaran'
ese employees, hus been with us ten years. anC
h" is 50 indetatigably eager to learn that he
spends every spare minute in study. Thu
IIipa-a lilrn . 1anrT tttGt ann1Dh 70 n "a p IN 9
legitimate trade orto become efficient servants
but the japanese reach out much further. anC
are a wonderful race.
We have between 300 and 400 girls in thu
university this year. and they are on eIactl,
the same footing with the men. The student!
are not coerced in any way in the line of study
Each one is lett to mark out his or her Owl
MAJOR study. We have found that this ha!
been a great advantage. for the student find
that he is not obliged to take up a study that il
distasteful.
The first thought OF the university came t.
US in March. 1894. the month our dear boy lef
US, and one Of our chief aims has been from it
inciplency to make IT a place where youni
people could be fitted for practical life, In thi
We have been successful. The school 70
manual training is n good example. Severa
years back we had over a hundred students Il
tn" carving and furniture department alone
and the boys were allowed to sell what the
made for their own benefit. We are particu
larry interested in that. for there is nothinI
Ike ~e'evating labor. This influence has bee
most helpful in the institution. A carpenter j
held in the same estimation exactly as a lawye
or an artist, You know the Saviour Of Mankin
Wasa carpenter: He was a master and He dig
mined labor. With q developed brain and Bkille
hahds we have a master workman. The tw