Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-12-16
GIVES AWAY MONEY.
Philanthropy as a Business, Conducted
in Business Like Ways.

If you had annually 81 .0OO. 900 or so to
spare, and wanted to balance your ac-
count with the world by giving it away.
how would you go about the task?
OF the many hundred men and
women in the United States whose
fortunes aspire toward seven, eight,
and nine figures several notable ones
have put this question seriously to
themselves, and have answered it by
going about the business of giving
away money wisely as they went about
it's accumulation. And a mighty bus
mess it has become, this business of
philanthropy. when it is remembered
that in America-the domain of the
dollar no more than of the helping
hand--upward of $s0.0O0,OOO a year is
given away.
AS is we'll known, Andrew Carnegie
maintains special bureau or corpor-
alton, organized under the New Jersey
la We, for the sole purpose of looking in
to the applications directed to him.
over in Hoboken. says the New York
News. where this bureau has it's being.
are five men who act as directors OF
this unique private trust company.
Yet while their business is to carry out
the wishes of the wealthy ironmaster
the grain is sorted from the chaff be-
fore it reaches him. And how?
First it may be answered nearly all
Carnegie donations are unsolicited.
being it is said, largely the result of de-
auctions drawn from reading the news
papers. System is the watchword in
the big Fifth avenue mansion overlook
ing Central Park. Arriving in his
study of a morning the first thing the
master of the house does is to skim
through the morning journals. He
makes a few mental notes as he READS.
and is debating to his secretary the di-
rect results of his newspaper perusals.
His secretary, James Bertam, may De
called his chief almoner. for nothing
ever reaches Mr.. Carnegie but passes
first through his hands. Most OF the
letters relate to gifts of organs or IL
brary endowments, accomplished or 10
come. "A dozen library and organ re-
quests are averaged every day.
Upward of $1O0,0O0.000 has already
passed in this way under the eye OF the
secretary Rertam and out through the
hands of the Hoboken bureaus to ben
lt1CdTleS d. Aollo"S. SAaAeO~
ssI. 511.472; Scotland, S17.713.750; Holland
81, $50 900; England and Wales, $1.554,ooo;
Canada, $1.016.o00; Ireland. sS65.oeo'
Cuba. s252, 900. and miscellaneous con-
tributions amounting to some s5,Ooo,ooo'
Only less picturesque than the Car
negie system is that Of John D. Rock
efelIer, whose Bertram is Starr J. MUIR
ply. His department is organized as
well and heedfully as any OF the sur
rounding departments through when
money is made. His system OF cnarity
is ironclad. Everything must follow a
prescribed course. Following the ex-
ample of his employer he absolutely re-
fuses to discuss in advance any case OF
prospective charity.
As an example Of the profound sec
recy which governs this bureau III It's
investigations an amusing story Is
told of two rival movements to start a
female college in the Middle west
One of them secured an earlier start py
means of a secret donation from MI
Rockefeller, and it was not for some
time that the rival institution undeF'
stood why it's appeals for aid from INT
same source were met with silence
Everybody knows that the Chlcage