The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-18
Gov. PIL[SBURY DEAD
Continued From. First page.

ling condition he foresaw, its future
greatness, and possible influence, and
from the first he lent himself to its up
building. 1t was at that time under
burden of debt and unable to get any
legislative appropriation.
In 1851 congress had granted DC, 900
acres of land for the purposes of state
university in Minnesota. In 1856 there
was mortgage of $4,000 on this land,
and mortgages on the buildings then
erected. The crashs of 1857 left the in
Stitution in totterfng condition. Its af
fairs were so .unpromising that Gov.
Ramsey, in a message to the legislature.
said he feared thatethe only way out of
the tangle was the sale of the lands i'll
payment of the debts. Had this become
necessary the future of the state would
have been different. In 1868 Mr.. Pills
bury was appointedta regent of the uni
Verslty and ne proceeded at once to
grapple with its financial problems. He
succeeded in getting the law changed so
that the authority of the regents in the
affairs of the university was almost alb
solute. He saved t0 the university $4,000
acres, and the present site of the uni
VerSlty buildings now worth million
dollars. -5t.-~.
His many contributions to education
are we'll known When serving his last
term as governor he offered to build the
hail of science at a cost of $3.50, 600, say
ing in his address tos the legislature:
AS the state has, not enough money
wish to help the university myself.
hall at an expense of $50, COO and present
it to the state. ALI ask is some assur-
ance that when I am dead and gone this
institution shall be kept for all time,
broad in scope, powerful in influence, as
firm and substantial in its maturity as
it was weak and struggling in the days
of its BIRTH, The legislature accepted
this gift gratefully, vcicing the appreeia-
ton of the people of the state.
From 1868 to 1876, with the exception Of
one interval he was a state senator.
during which tinenhe gave. much. atten-
ton and studyssto the needs CT the uni
verSity.
During this time ehe was also engaged
in the numbering business and real es-
{aoe, ana IN me construction OF raliroads.
He was director of the Minneapolis &
st. Louis and 500 railroads, and director
of several banks He was prominent in
all undertakings of civic character,
tutions and individuals on many occa-
siens. No one ever asked advice from
him that he did not give it freely and
with sincerity ..sa
In 1875 he was nominated and elected
governor of Minnesota, which position he
held for six years. He was the only
governor the state ever had who receiv-
ed three terms The nomination first
came to him entirely unsolicited, and he
persistently refused to accept the third
nomination, but it was forced upon him.
His career as governor was an active
and most honorable one. Aside from
the one great work which stands out
prominent in it, namely the payment
of the repudiated railroad bonds, it was
full of activity thatfcOntributed constant
ly to the upbufIding of Minnesota. Gov.
Pillsbury possessed5to an unusual degree
the confidence ofEthe people. He entered
upon his term of office at a time when
discoura cement was widespread among
the people. His reputation for liberality
and integrity gave the people hope. In
his inaugural address he urged the neces-
Sity both of rigid economy and liberal
Xpenditure-en1phasizin the difference
between true anda false economy, and
insisting that public education should be
literally supported at all times. In this
address for the first time he took high
ground on the public ownership of rail-
roads, but aboTei- all his utterances was
that urging with cogent force the just
and speedy liqaida ton of the long repu-
dated ,railroad0boIds 1t would take
pages to relate theiJentire history of this
agitation. The people of the state were
at that time solidIy opposed to it. Gov.
Pillsbury believed that if the people were
appealed to on moral grounds and once
brought to understand the moral behind
the legal obligation, they would do what
was right. He pressed the idea on the
legislature, but that body was at first hos
tile; when he won the legislature the
people defeated the proposition but he
persisted. Defeated again and again, he
pleaded for what he considered merest
justice, and for what he deemed essential
to the untarnished honor of the state,
and he won at last during the last year
1lO was III tic SONSIAOI
During his term of Office the terrible
grasshopper scourge came upon the state.
The legislature, while willing to do any
thing to relieve the terrible suffering,
appropriated much money in an unsvS-
tematic manner, and Gov Pillsbury with
shrewd business instinct, vetoed many
lll-adV1sed expenditures. He at once in
Vited CORRESPONDENCE from experts on
the subject of grasshopper determination,
and in a proclamation he embodied the
results of his Investigations. He asked
the governors of other afflicted states
to meet at Omaha to consider the subject.
He was chairman of the meeting. At
their recommendation, congress made a
thorough investigation of the subject.
The cry of distress from the Minnesota
farmers at this time was most pitiable
Gov. Pillsbury travelled incognito all over
the state investigating thoroughly the
conditions of the sufferers. 1t was in
the dead of winter, and he often slept in
cabins where the snow blew in the chinks
He discovered most terrible privations,
and over and over again he rendered inn
mediate assistance from his own pocket
When he returned and presented his re-
port as an eye witness of the Sufferings
of the farmers widespread sympathy was
created, and contributions for relief work
came flowing ins freely. He arranged for
the systematic and extended rescue OF
the sufferers fromother periious condt-
ton. He urged the citizens of the state
to come to the help OF these people, and
offered to Distribute ne money contribut-
ed himself, am account for its use. There
was a quick response, and noble work
was done. | n his message of 1877 he re-
viewed the grasshopper plague in all its
phases, and asked an appropriation from
the legislature ITO supplement volunteer
charity, and theiappropriation was forth
coming. ThroughoutLh his term he was eSpe-
cially friendly to education, and pleaded
for aid to schools, and took an active in
terest in all schoolework and educational
advancement. He advocated, and through
his efforts secured, the change which
substituted biennial for annual sessions
of the legislature. thereby saving much
money to the people OF the state. When
the st. Peter asylum was burned, in 1880,
he advanced money from his own pocket
to rebuild the asylum at once. During
his administration his acts were marked
the best interests of the state entirely
apart from political considerations In.
his appointments he was nom partisan, al