The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-01-11

Ex-Governor F. NJ. Drake has been very III at
his home at Centerville. We hope that his health
may improve and that he may be spared for many
more years of usefulness Gov. Drake was a man
OF such largeness of heart such breadth of gener-
oslty, that the ordinary man failed to understand
or appreciate his motives lust as the savages at
trlbuted to witchcraft many of the common places
OF civilization, SO did men give false Interpretation
to the actions of Gov Drake because they were SO
small minded themselves that they could not real
lzes that any man could be so entirely generous
and large hearted from pure and unselhsh motives.
They could not do SO themselves and thus could
not understand it in another. For two years it was
our pleasure to be a close and intimate friend Of
the ex-governor. Daily almost hourly contact
with the man served only to increase our admiration
and respect for him. 1t would be breach of con.
hdence for us to tell of the hundreds Of acts of
quiet and transformations philanthropy which he
did. The most remarkable thing was the way in
which he kept the objects of his charity in mind
His was not the giving of the rich man who relieves
apparent distress to be relieved from its pres
ence than from any other reason. When he once
made up his mind that a man was needy and
worthy of help, he followed the man up and
watched over him with the tenderness and careful
had been first called to his mind we have known
him to institute Investigations of his own and if the
case still demanded charity we have known him to
give again, and again and again Charity was not
his only virtue as we knew him He was uncom-
promlslngly honest He was too shrewd a business
man to at once irrevocaby commit himself on any
question, but once having done so nothing could
move him even though it were apparent that he
he he al IL
man who would do anything for friend that he
might in honor do, but who could not be driven or
Ibulldozed hairs breadth. 1t takes more than an
ordinary man to make the success that Gov Drake
has made Ordinary do not take up bad in
/ vestments and make them profitable, ordinary men
lido not rise in the ranks from private soldier to
colonel OF regiment and brevet brigadier general
Ordinary men do not have the nerve to face the
danger of the plains and wres fortune from dsast-
Ier the way he did. Ordinary men do not endow
colleges and become the mainstay Of their support
Rockefeller has given much, but we venture that
lin proportion he has@not given tenth as much
as has Gov. Drake. There is no more exciting
/ fiction OF adventure than the real facts of Gov
brakes life From the young adventurer driving
ibis herds the continent, the aborer carving
ore with bleeding hands, the young merchant the
Icast-away the Pacific, the private in the ranks
of war, the colonel left for dead upon the field of
battle, the railroad builder, the merchant, the
banker, the lawyer all in one the successful capt.
talist, the large hearted phlanthropist the COVER
nor of great state, all these are pictures taken
from the life of Gov. Drake. Our hearts should
go with him upon his bed of pain; he is typically
Iowan, monument of what be wrought with
the old log school education and brains and
honesty.