The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-02-24


 ceiYed his cash commission In this wa.
 his fortunte accumulated rapidly.
 The Illinois Central Railroad turned
 over most of it's farm lands in Illinois to pr. Pearsone to sell. These extended
 all the way from Chicago to Cairo anC
 for fifteen miles on either side of th'
 line. The land was cut up in larg' farms and sold on the doctors weekly ] trips.
 By 1870 Dr. Pearsons had accumulated
 a great fortune. He had sold his home
 at AS Van Buren street, and he and his
 wife moved to the Palmer House, where | they lived for fourteen years. He waf
 heavily interested in street railway pro-
 perties and other Chicago enterprises
 and was rated as one of the great capi- l talists of the city
 But his plans for getting rich were not
 yet fulfilled. He began buying pine i lands along White and Muskegon rivers
 in Michigan and accumulated 16,O0( ' acresA His sales of farm lande by that , time had passed 100000 acres. He be- gan to clear away the timber from his Michigan lands, selling the logs at a | great profit. He made trips to the log ging camps twice each month and sold
 the logs at wholesale himself. When the big Chicago fire came it
 burned nine houses which Dr. Reasons had built on the North Side, but he got contractors to rebuild them in eX-
 change for his pine timber. He owned in all 100 houses and stores on the North Side, all located south of Lincoln
 Park, and which have long since been
 given away to charitable institutions.
 Dr. Pearsons and his wife then built q
 suburban home at Hinsdale, sixteen
 miles from Chicago.
 When the City of Chicago reached the
 verge of bankruptcy, in 1875, Dr. Pear sons, who was still living at the Palm CT House, was elected Alderman of the First Ward. Monroe Heath was elected Mayor, and Murray F. Tuley, now Judge of the Circuit Court; Addison Ballard, o. B. Phelps, Eugene Cary, John M. Smyth and Jacob Beidler were among the other Aldermen.
 The city had been paying it's debts in scrip, and had reached the end of it's credit. The tax levies were in dispute, as they are now, and, although they were soon declared legal, they could not be collected in time to meet the city's obligations then due. The City Adnipi- stration staggered through two years. and finally was almost ready to repudi- cate it's obligations. Many of the muni- cipal bonds were due, and the Eastern bondholders were in an uproar.
 Dr. Pearsons did not belong to any political party, but was claimed at that time by the Democrats. Oscar Field, a First Ward liveryman, was nominated to succeed him, but the Democrats in- sisted on Dr. Pearsons becoming a can didate again, and lie was elected by the votes of both Democrats and Republic ans. Mayor Heath at once made him Chairman of the Finance Committee.
 The financial condition of the city had reached point then when the city's credit was practically worthless. Re the bonds then due was seri- ously considered. Dr. Pearsons refused to listen to any such proposition, how ever. He quietly took a train for New York; where the bondholders were clam 1ring the loudest, and appeared one day before the city's creditors in the Ameri- ,an Exchange Bank.
 
 sons had satisfied the creditors by offer ng to pledge his personal fortune for he redemption of the bonds Then he went to Boston, where another meeting )f Chicagos creditors was being held. The overjoyed bondholders, who knew Or. Peasons' personal responsibility, | invited him to dinner, and on various occasions of the kind rendered him which heVdeclined as has declined such things all his life. When l le came home to Chicago he was given Tn enthusiastic welcome as the man yho had saved the city's credit.
 When Daniel A. Jones, the builder of he Presbyterian Hospital, died, leaving | tn estate of s3,OO0,000, Dr. Pearsons was made one of the executors, sharing with he widow and Mark Kimball, a person l bond of $2,50000O. Up to that time )r. Pearsons had placed loans aggre- ,ating $40,C00,000 on farm property.
 At that time the First Presbyterian yhurch was SS2,000 in debt, and it's realtors were pressing for payment. )r. Pearsons never has belonged to a hurch in his life, though he is a, re- gious man, and all his gifts have been 0 religious institutions. When the aembers of the church called meeting ne night to try to raise the debt, pr. 'earsons pledged $10000 and then made
 personal plea for funds. This plea is aid to have been the greatest ever lade for money in a Chicago church. he people in teh audience stood up, ond fter another, and made pledges until he whole $S2,000 debt had been wiped ut. One woman put down $500 where he had intended to subscribe $50, and as so moved by Dr. Pearsons speech nat she paid the whole subscription. When 1890 came Dr. 'Pearsons made P his mind that the time was at hand IT him to begin giving away the for Inc he had made. He began carrying Ut his plan exactly as he and his wife ad formed it when they came Chicago 1860 and began to grow rich. His fits were made first to Beloit, College, | Beloit, Wis This was because in 51, while he was visiting there, pr. got into an argument with an who denounced co-education pr. pointed out the inexpensive ,llege building then being built, and to the unbeliever that he in- nded some day to grow rich and help lat college. I In making his gifts pr. Pearsons fol- C wed his own investibati tions and decid- { for himself whether the object was r
 I c l.