The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1911-07-05
complete retirement OF DR..
D. X. Pearsons. the great Chi
cagO philanthrOpist, whose

cage pnllantnrOplSt, whose
achievement in giving away
his millions makes the benefactions of
Rockefeller. Carnegie and others look
in proportion petty, Is accomplished.
While Rockefeller and Carnegie give
only a portion of their vast income.
DR.. Pearsons has practically freed
himself of his entire fortune. $6,OOO,-
600. He will spend the remainder Of
his days at the Hinsdale sanitarium.
with an income Of only $4,000 a year
to supply his needs for the rest of
his life. He was ninety-one years old
April II.
Dr.. Pearsons' last act was to put up
Chicago. at auction. His health has
been remarkably good. and he pro-
poses to take the best care Of him
self and to be constantly under the
scrutiny Of able physicians. Conver-
sation with friends. Il little reading, a
good deal Of walking and watching
the growth of the institutions he has
founded or endowed are to be his
amusements.
Cooked His Own Meals.
DR.. Pearsons was born at Bradford,
VT, on April IA, 1920, and entered
Dartmouth college as a freshman in
1912. In speaking of his college ex-
periences he said recently: II rented
a room in an attic and chopped wood
to pay the rent. ! cooked my own
potatoes and johnnycake, and these
We're the best meals l ever had.
| Whenever l could afford meat it was
pork. and l cooked it in a sheet iron
stove by thrusting 1t over the Goals
on a poker. l live now on the plain
est food and haven't touched meat in
five years"
For a time after the philanthropist
secured his degree Of M. d. he prac.
ticed at Chicopee, Mass, where in
1S47 he was married to Miss Marietta
Chaplin. Four years later the couple
travelled west and located in Chicago,
where DR.. Pearsons became interested
in real estate. 1t was from this source
that he accumulated his fortune,
every dollar of which was honestly ac-
quired.
For sixty years DIR. Pearsons has
been a noted character in and about
Chicago. He is n solidly built man.
and not ever his ninety-one years
have eradicated the atmosphere Of
physical aud mental power which he
carries. In a recent interview DR..
Pearsons spoke Of the Joy he had got
out Of life in distributing his wealth
to small colleges, fOrty-seven of which
he calls his children.
Been at It Twenty-Five Years.
1T is just twenty-five years." he
said. "since l started giving my money
away. 1t has been my sole business,
and l have found it harder to give
away money wisely than to make It.
Collins are not made to carry money
in.
1.-The other day a man called on me
and said, If you had kept your money
during these last twenty-five years,
had devoted yourself to making more
and carefully reinvested II, do you
know how many millions you would
now haveT BE had an estimate, and
it was not far from right, and he
thought ! had made a great mistake
by not holding on to my money and
with not having made more.
"But he was mistaken. am a rich,
er man for what l have given away.
When ! die l shall not be rich in mon
ey, but l am rich in the Joy Of doing
GOOD. Mrs. PearSOnS and had M
children Of our own, but Providence
gave us Il large family Of children in
the Christian colleges Of our country.
There are forty-seven Of them which
l think l can call my own. and they
are now scattered in twenty-four states
"They range from Montpelier semi,
nary in New England. where l attend,
ed when a boy. across the continent
to Whitman. Pomona and Pacific uni