Show 6 r rI I I i 1 I M 1 1 1 Near t 4 11 0 r r fW p il r l r r i Jt 11 t i Puh rl m u L ILP ne Ij nc y i J D Co By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMANN SHERMAN N AMERICAN classic will willA willbe A be told over and over I- I A again the coming summer In Philadelphia For the f City of Brotherly Lovo has lias announced an exposi- exposi exposition f tron tion In honor of the sesquicentennial of ot the passing of or the Declara Declaration lion tion of Independence by bythe bythe the Second Continental I 1 Congress and time first first visitors will doubtless be many These visitors in seeing the cIty will be Impressed b by a u collection of ot fine buildings of t which the feature Js is a marvelously beautiful Greek temple I 34 massive Corinthian columns It will be necessary to tell them that It Is Girard college collee and for tor theIr benefit will bo be retold this classic Horace Greeley wearing his usual White cravat approached the gate ot of the college You cant can't come In said the gateman stopping the famous edi edl- edItor editor tor Why vh not said Gr Greeley eley Youre n n clergyman The h l h 11 I am I 1 I E Ex fuse use walk me-walk me walk right In I Now suppose out of ten such vIsItors one Is a lawyer and one a n churchman These Those two are likely to have heard the story certainly by reason of or vocation they should see seethe seethe the point of or the Joke For the other eight the Joke must be explained All of which shows that to the average American Girard college means noth noth- nothIng nothIng nothing ing And Its It's more than likely that lIe he has hns never heard of ot Stephen GIrard Its unless founder founder unless he knows his Dickens And Hawthorne ThIs J Ills Ie is 11 a pity for pity for several sc reasons Every good American should know ot of GIrard college To be lie sure It Is not notto to tn the Who of colleges But Butla in Its 78 years of or existence It has been both olle college e nn and home to more than 1 orphan bo boys s as It Is today to o more than 1500 Its future should be still more useful since Its original buIlding and maintenance fund ot of about now amounts to ton n about out and In another century should touch the hundred million mark And as IlS for Stephen Girard Its founder fiction notion hides Its abashed hear at time the story of ot his life lie Was wasa wasn n a human enI enigma ma Ho lIe was a com com- commercIal commercial mercial and financial genius He lIe was tho rich man of ot his da day He le was a public benefactor lie was an American patriot He saved sa the nc ne nation by his financial aId It If Steph a 1 Girard with his hia millions had thIs not not this Is one of ot the tile great Its Ifs of our history Here Is In brief briet the story of the first forty years rears of ot Stephen GIrards GIrard's life lIf He was born Slay May 2 1 i 1750 at Bordeaux France the son of ot a sea captaIn j sailed as a n cabin boy at nineteen was captain and part owner of a small smaIl vessel esel j settled In Phila Phila- Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadelphia delphia In 1760 where he was al- al alternately al alternately shipmaster and merchant Fate Pale so far had not been kind lie He had lost the sight of ot one eye ee In childhood child child- childhoods hoods hood His Ills mother had died when hen he was twelve twel and his stepmother had hadnot hadnot hadnot not loved loed him bim He had Incurred debts He lIc had married Mary Lum a pretty barefoot girl SIrl of sixteen whom he saw at the public pump She had be- be become be become come Insane an and ho bad had put her In Inthe Inthe Inthe the Pennsylvania hospital In 1700 where hIs Ills only child had been born bornand bornand bornand and bad had died Fortune now turned a smiling face on Stephen Girard A lucky lease ofa of ofa n a chain of ot stores sublet at a largo large profit laid the foundation of his for tor- fortune fortune tune tunc Nest Next came a windfall of 50 COO 50 COO During an Insurrection In Haiti several planters stored stord theIr their valuables on two of his ships These planters wIth every ery member of ot their families were massacred In 1895 1805 be he began the building ot of othIs hIs famous fleet for tor trade with the OrIent He had withdrawn from tho ho nom Roman an Catholic church hurch and become a French free thinker tree So he named his first vessel Voltaire the second Rousseau and so on The accompanying accompany accompany- accompanyIng accompanying ing picture Is a reproduction of abronze a abronze abronze bronze bas relief bas on the pedestal of the Girard statue In City Hall liall plaza The written record pictures Stephen GIrard as a dual personality Here isone Is Isone Isone one personality His Ills English was In- In IndIfferent Indifferent In Indifferent different Ills His forbidding appearance Was that of ot a rough old sailor lie He was crabbed Inhospitable unapproachable unapproachable unapproachable He lie would aid no one ono ap- ap applying ap applying plying at Ills his door those he aided must work It out to the last cent lie was vas rl rigidly tru frugal In small mat mat- matters matters matters he was a n miser Heres Here's a limelight view of ot the real Stephen Girard Yellow fever i scourged Philadelphia In 1793 1703 Wash Wash- WashIngton Washington Washington ington Jefferson and und all the federal officials left the cIt city All the Inhabit inhabit- inhabitants Inhabitants ants led fled who could In Au August st Sep Sep- September Sep September and October died BrIng out your our dead 1 I was the cry on every street cry c day Girard dropped hIs business carried out the dead and the sick Ick the most revolt revolt- revolting revolting and dI- dI dIrected directed di directed In ing services at the hospital his little group roup of ot volunteers from Septem September r 13 18 to November ember 10 Girard achieved national fame as m financier and patriot In the War of of 1812 1312 When the First United States State banks bank's charter expired In 1811 GIrard was revealed as the largest stockholder stock stockholder holder He lie bou bought ht the bank and the building for tor and opened the Bank of ot Stephen Girard with a capital capita ot of Banking of ot any kind was wat the subject of bitter controversy In is those days and the private nto bank way was anathema But Girards Girard's bank pros pros- prospered prospered pored Tho The War of 1812 was tas so unpopular In New England that Secretary Galla Galla- tins tin's tins Uns attempt to float n a loan of ot 10 1 10 10 resulted In subscriptions ot of less than John Jacob I Astor and his friends then took 2 2 2 and Stephen Girard staked hIs entire fortune by hy guaranteeing through his bank the remaining 8 8 Would the War of ot 1812 1512 have been won without that Stephen Girard died December 20 I II I 1831 leaving an estate In excess of I His Ills will a most remark remark- remarkable remarkable remarkable able document of about words revealed the maker as a man of ot senti senti- sentiment sentiment sentiment I ment and a n true lover of ot mankind mankind lIe left money for more nurses In la the hospital where his Insane wife had lived and died for coal for tor the poor j for the Ule aid of the deaf and dumb for distressed masters of ot ships j for tor better police protection for city Improvements Improve Improve- Improvements Improvements ments But It was vas to orphans that hta hb heart turned most hence most hence Girard col- col college college col college lege HIs Ills relatives contested the willI the long litigation was carried to thE Supreme court Daniel Webster vain vain- vainly vainly ly Iy argued that the plan of ot education ot of the GIrard school of orphans was derogatory to the Christian rell religion Ion contrary to sound morals and sub sub- subversive subversive ve of law Websters Webster's contention contention- was based ou Stephen Girards Girard's direction that no DO ecclesIastic missionary or minIster ot of any sect whatsoever should ever cyer be connected with the college or even be admitted as a visitor within the collego premises His Ills motive was the will set forth to keep the tender mInds of ot the orphans free tree from the of clashing doctrInes and sectarian controversies and anI to teach them the purest principles ot of morality BO so that they might later adopt such religious tenets as theIr matured reason might enable them to prefer preter The letter of the will has been but to-but but a minister Is lived up to many numbered among the graduates of ot Girard college ollege |