The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1901-12-11
AUCTION SALES
MRS. sTANFoRD'S WORK

X versty of property estimated to have value
IL of 100000 Mrs. Stanford has virtually
completed the task which passed into her hands upon
the death of her husband The University at Palo
Alto is now founded and endowed with a wealth
which is believed exceed that of any other inst-
;ution Of learning in the world Moreover much Of
The endowment is in the form of property which will
augment in value with the development of the State
and the of population and consequently the
university will have many years of growth before it
reaches the full of the gifts the founders
have bestowed upon it.
Under any circumstances the actual transfer of so
large endowment into the hands of trustees of an
institution designed for the general good would be
a notable event. In this case, however there is
something more than mere transfer of wealth. The
deed of gift represents the completion of one of the
most difficult duties an American woman has ever
been called upon to perform. 1t was no slight task
that fell the lot OF Mrs Stanford when Senator
Stanford died. She was called upon to take charge
OF vast property, to arrange with lawyers for the
settlement of the various questions involved in the
probate of the will and the distribution of the es
tate to guard her interests and those of the univer
sy in all the complications arising out of the rela
tons of the Southern Pacific Company to the Gov
and to its creditors to manage the business
OF the extensive farms and vineyards of the estate
and, finally, to provide funds at all times for the
maintenance of the university without sacrificing the
funds and properties designed for the permanent en-
dowment.
All Of those duties Mrs. Stanford has performed
not only with noble fidelity to the wishes of her
husband and devotion to the welfare of the uni
yersity, but with conspicuous She has done
something more than save the estate. She has in
creased its value and the endowment is much larger
than at first estimated
In carrying out the great task intrusted to her
Mrs. Stanford not only met every difficulty of labor
or of finance without Sinking but frequently made
great personal sacrifices for the purpose of ac-
complishing the noble end she had in view That
she had able and faithful counseors and advisers at
all times is to be conceded but those advisers did
not always agree and in many crisis she was com
PEELED to rely upon herself alone and to act upon her
own judgment The credit for final success belongs
therefore, fully to her, and it will be cordially given
by ali who have any knowledge of the labor by which
it has been attained.
CALIFORNIA; good fortune is nowhere more strik-
ingly shown than in the process of events by which
at this early stage in her history as an American
State she becomes possessed of two of the foremost
universities in the world The future of each inst
tuition is assured For the present Stanford is richer
than the State University, but in the end the latter
will derive from taxation and from the gifts of liberal
citizens endowment that will exceed even that of
the great institution at Palo Alto. They will never
have any rivalry other than that of generous nature
Like Oxford and Cambridge in old England and
Harvard and Yale in New England they will mu-
tually advance another by melting healthful
emulation in all lines of endeavor from athletics to
scholarship. In that consciousness the people of
California may congratulate another upon the
munihcent foundation of Senator Stanford and upon
the fidelity and efficiency with which Mrs Stanford
has brought it to realization