The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1912-10-04
A GENUINE PHILANTHROPIST

interesting account of a genuine phil
anthropist We feel particularly in
terested in the description because
the gentleman named has relatives
living in this city and bears the same
name of once very dear friend Of
ours, the late Prof Edward Tuck,
whose widow is one of our most es-
teemed contributors.
This paper says that the beneyo-
! lencies of the Tucks in America are
well known. Amos Tuck, father Of
Edward, endowed at Dartmouth
school of administration and finance.
Edwards gifts to his alma mater have
amounted to a million dollars. His
other public gifts are scattered
/ throughout New Hampshire, his ma
/ tive state-the Cottage Hospital at
/ Exeter. in which town he was born
/ the historical society building at Con-
cord, the public park at Stratham
and so on-and he has been a special
providence TO his old classmates. IN
New York Mr. and Mrs. Tuck support
diet kitchen. and but few years
since he joined with three other
wealthy men in gift Of $4o,oeo for
the completion OF a fund to build d
home for the aged and a training
school for nurses in the rear Of the
French hospital in West Thirty
fourth street.
In France. his adopted home he
has been an uplifting force. In the
town OF Rueil is situated his country
home which he has named Yer
mont" probably because the word
comes easy TO the French tongue, be
ing contraction OF Vert Mont, Or
Green Mountain.
What Mr.. and Mrs Tuck are doing
in France is told in a late issue Of the
New York Sun.
We make the following extracts:
Close to the historic chateau of
Malmaison. its park running along
the shaded lane which leads to the
beautiful Saint Cucufa woods, where
Josephine, wife of Napoleon, was
wont 70 roam. stands Vermont, the
chateau now owned by an American,
Edward Tuck Mr. and Mrs Tuck
are cited all over France as model
chatelains in every sense OF the word.
for they have quietly assumed every
responsibility that was wont to be
long 10 the lord of the manor Of old
without eXacting any of the tithes the
former owners obtained from the PEG
pie living about them.
When some years ago Mr. and Mrs.
Tuck bought Vermont the people of
Rueil and Malmaison sighed, for an
other piece of fine property had left
French hands and gone into those of
strangers, and there was nothing par
ticularly friendly in their attitude to-
ward the new proprietors or their ac-
quaintances.
There is something spontaneous in
the American character, however,
which pleases the French people Of
every class, and it was not long be-
fore the workmen called upon to i'm
prove Vermont returned to their
homes with pleasant accounts of the
new occupants of the chateau.
When the Improvements were com
pleted the new proprietors felt that
the people around them would enjoy
| popular fete and the grounds we're
opened to the population with music
and refreshments. This was the first
contact between the people living
around them and the chatelains, and
it must be confessed that the result
was not to the credit Of the people in
general, for they carried away every
| thing in the form of refreshments
they could lay their hands on, and
| the wine cellars were short of 5000
bottles of champagne The neighbors
ashamed of the vandalism and are
still ashamed of it, and still comment
on the affair, although it happened
years ago
Soon after establishing their home
at Rueil Mr.. and Mrs Tuck found
that while there were some twelve
thousand inhabitants about Ruell
there was neither a hospital nor a
free dispensary for the sick and poor,
and they decided to found one for
the benefit of the town Sten hospi-
tai, situated at 10 Boulevard de Ma
genta. Rueil thus came into exist
ence thanks to the generosity of Mr.
and Mrs. Tuck, and is open to all per
sons suffering from acute maladies.
Two years were devoted to remod-
cling the building and transforming
it into model hospital Everything
is free-this is the absolute rule.
There is lodging for the directress