Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1909-09-23

- or daughter act as almoner
for the American multi-millionaire?
Writers there have been, both Amer
lean and foreign, who have declared
that the American mans money went
to create nation of human butterflies.
But social history goes to prove that
the average wife or daughter of the
average American man of enormous
fortune stops between butterfly flights
IN social realms to study the desires
and ambitions of husband and father
as to the disposition of the millions he
is so industriously acquiring.
Mrs. Leland Stanford was the pio-
neer in executing the charitable de-
signs Of her husband She spent
$33,000000 for the educational ad
Nancement of California at Stanford
university alone.
Mrs. Russell Sage is close second
with $65,000,000 at her command
which she is dispensing at the rate Of
100000 in the three years following her
husbands death. Russell Sage gave
SO years of his life to acquire sos ,000,-
600. At her present rate of eXpendi
ture Mrs. Sage will spend it all in
carrying out her husbands plans cor
the betterment of the human race in
five years. She has endowed the
work of the Russell Sage Foundation,
whose mission is to better the condi-
ton of the poor through investigation
and education. She has lifted mort
cages from churches and schools, en-
dowed chairs Of learning, built and
equipped industrial schools for girls,
lifted the debt from hospitals and
shown interest in New York city to
the extent of renovating the govern
ors room in the city hall, purchasing
''The Oxbow" for the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, planting mile of
rhododendrons in Central park and
installing Tillinghast window in the
building of the New York Historical
society.
Work of Miss Helen Gould.
Miss Helen Gould comes third in the
list, with more than 100000 900 in gifts
from the enormous fortune left by
kher father, Jay Gould. While her I'M
t9stentatious charities had always
been a matter of interest, it was not
until the war with Spain that the ma
ton became widely interested in her
gifts. At that time she sent her check
for 100000 to the United States gov
eminent to be applied to the general
relief work among United States sol
diers, and within three months, as a
member OF the Women's Relief asso-
citation, she increased her gift by some
$4,000.
From that time on Miss Gould's In
terest in American soldiers and jack
les has never tagged Wherever the
United States flag floats her name is
cheered by the men who serve under
it. The Naval Y. M. c. A. branch on
Sands street, Brooklyn, was built at
her expense as memorial to her par
ents. Later she met the expenses of
building large addition, and the en-
tire output for this one institution is
said to approach closely to $1,000,O00
To the naval Y. M. G. A., at Norfolk
Va, she gave $4,000. The railroad
mems Y. M. G. A. next aroused her in.
terest, and she gave $150,000 to build
q new home for the Y. M. c.. A., at
st. Louis, Mo-, this also a memorial
to her father. Among her gifts, cited
to show the breadth of her interests
may be mentioned innumerable dona
,ttions to the Salvation Army, $4,000
given to the establishment of Uni
versity hospital at Charlottesville. Va;
$4,000 to the Y. M. G. A. at larry,
town, N. Y; $4,000 for the American
College for Girls at Constantinople;
SIC ,0Ge to the evangelists who had
been conducting tent meetings in vari
GUS parts Of New York city and who
were face to face with financial fail
ure; $500 for a club house at larry
town. with gymnasium and cooking
school for the Door: $4,000 to endoM