The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-19
BEHIND F. G. BOURNES GIFT TO CATFEDRA
His AhHuence Dates From Entrance Into
Trinity Choir, Where He Met His
Benefactor, Alfred Corning Clark

! could not find anything wrong and was
about to depart he took the young lady's
hand In his and told her how proud he was
Of her and Of her husband-to-be. and how
much Joy II had been to him to have them
plan and build this home into which they
had put their hearts and their souls for
for this home they had built was TO be their
own.
And then. before the girl could realize
that this was his gift and his way Of CIV
Ing. he was gone.
Mr. Clark had moro Of . taste for the
arts than for business. Gradually he
worked Mr.. Bourne In to succeed him In
the Singer company. The tremendous
expansion Of that concern In recent years
ls due to MIR. Bourne.
| After Mr. Bourne became the active head
Of the Singer company MIR. Clark had more
time for the things he enjoyed. The
Mend elssohn Glee Club had been his pet
from It's early days. and he gave TO II the
home II occupied. He gave financial
help and assisted In the education Of
moro young artists. musicians. actors.
soulptors and painters than perhaps
any other man In America.
Although he was deeply religious he
was intense In his devotion to the best
traditions Of the stage. Salvini. Jefferson.
Mod jesks and Duse were his favorites.
and Of the four Modjeska held highest
| rank In his regard.
OF all the rich men In New York he per-
haps was the most catholic in his tastes
and the most char table in his giving
His income was in excess OF 3i.OOO.00
year Out Of this he set aside the amount
he considered proper for his family and
the rest he devoted to the promotion
Of education and the alienation of
poverty.
So well did he guard his giving that
he never became known a. a philan-
thropist. There 10 hardly q mention
Of him in all the books that have been
written about New York and New York
era and few persons among the general
public ever heard OF him except throul b
the marriage Of his widow with the late
Bishop Potter and through the beaut y
Of the Clark mansion on riverside Drive
Through his headship of the Singer
Corporation Frederick g. Bourne has
become u millionaire many times over.
He has a great estate out on Long Island.
II one of the nations most prominen,
yachtsmen. and, like his friend and pa
tron. has been q modest but none the
less earnest helper Of worthy artists
! he 100000 endowment Of tho choir
Of the Cathedral of st. John the Divine
may be viewed almost rs u memorial
to Alfred Corning Clark or to the Choir
Club on the West Side. where Trinity
singers had their weekly gatherings
II it is such 1t has more Of romance and
more Of sentiment than most OF the gifts
which are made by men.
But all the great fortunes connected
with the Singer property are studded
with romance.
| Rarely did man vault from poverty
to riches through moro macs than Isaac
Singer. He was mountebank. q circus
clown and strolling player. and he some
times had "a few dollars. but usually in his
act or circus days he had an empty pocket
and not infrequently an empty stomach
He was q better blacksmith than actor
and better carpenter than clown. but
he would not work At trade. There was
a touch OF genius In his makeup. and he
had knowledge Of mechanics that he
never got from books
While Singer was tramping over the lar
with "A band of players, fat. lazy Elias
Howe had a spasm of compassion for tn,
wife who shaved with needle to support