The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1919-08-19

benefactlons prepared by the Carne-
gle Endowment for international
Peace shows.
Andrew Carnegie began a race
against time when, in 1901, at the
age of 65, he resolved to give away
his enormous fortune. He held it
"disgraceful'' for a man to keep on
gathering idle millions. In the COM
paratively few years which the ac-
tuary could allow him, he would dis
embarrass himself of practically all
he had. No man had ever launched
q philanthropic campaign of such di-
mensions.
His was then fortune of just
about a quarter billion dollars, the
largest ever acquired by foreign
born American, second only to the
John D. Rockefeller wealth as the
largest individual accumulation in
the United States, and, built, as it
was, of per cent steel bonds, it
would, without so much as turning
over ones hand, have approached
half billion by the time Carnegie
could call himself an octogenarian
on November Is, 1915.
To give this stupendous sum away
in about half the time he had taken
to gather it, was a purpose Carnegie
had fairly well fulfilled when death
overlook him today. He had dis
tributed about s30o,ooo,ooO. It CIV
ing money away at the rate of over
$20,000,000 a year, or more than
$4,000 day.
How Give Away $300,000,000
He declared, when he gave up
gathering wealth and announced an
era of distribution, that he expected
to find it more difficult to give his
millions away than it had been to
acquire them. "How would you give
$300,000,00O away?". became such a
popular equery that an English ad-
vertiser who employed it, received
no less than $4,000 suggestions as to
how Carnegie could rid himself of
his wealth. Twelve thousand per-
sons solved the problem in part by
askingg for some of the money for
themselves.
The answers which Carnegie him
self gave and backed up with his
millions have made him the most
original if not the greatest of phi
lanthropists.
Before he sailed for Scotland in
1901 he left letters announcing gifts
of $9,O0O,OOO. His first big gift was
the setting aside of $4,000,000 to
supply pensions and relief for the
injured and aged employees of his
steel plants-"an acknowledgment Of
the deep debt which / owe to the
workmen who have contributed so
greatly to my success" He added
an extra million for the support of
libraries for his workmen, and took
up his library hobby in wholesale
way by giving s5,2oo,0oo to New
York city for the erection of sixty
five branch libraries in the rnetrop-
oils. Another million he gave for a
library in st. Louis.
81 have just begun to give money
away" he said in announcement Of
these gifts. He kept it up as fast as
he could with discrimination. On
libraries alone he spent upwards of
$53,000,000. He gave them to some
two thousand English-speaking COM
munities throughout the world. One
of his libraries is in the FIJI islands.
He remembered Pittsburg, the
scene of his steel-making triumphs,
ny SSGdU11SI1lllS tuS1C q SIScIe AAAooA
tute, including the largest of his IL
braries, a museum, magnificent
concert hall, and the Carnegie
archaeological schools, with a total
endowment of $16,000,000.
He built great national institu-
ton in Washington, which should be
the foundation head of advanced
work in Investigation, research and
discovery" and placed in the hands
of it's trustees a total endowment of
s2O,0OO,000.
To his native Scotland his largest
single gift was a fund of S10,000,-
600 to aid education in Scottish uni
versities.
The Hero Commission.
He carried out his pet idea of a
hero commission, endowed in 1905