62 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



^E5 



S! 



Paying a Debt vs Buying a Monument. 



When Judge Clason walked into the 

 office of Attorney E. L. Scofield and 

 laid down forty-seven thousand dol- 

 lars with instructions to use the money 

 for what Stamford most needed, he 

 put into practice a tremendously im- 

 portant principle too often forgotten 

 or, if not forgotten, too often disre- 

 garded by many so-called or would-be 

 philanthropists. Upon this act the 

 angels smiled, and all good men and 

 women said in their hearts, "Here is a 

 philanthropist — just what the word 

 means — a lover of mankind." 



There was no selection of the most 

 conspicuous corner to be occupied by 

 a statue of himself, as was done in the 

 drinking fountains in San Francisco, 

 afterwards pulled down by an indig- 

 ant public when the policemen were 

 engaged elsewhere ! 



There was no imposing upon the 

 community of an edifice to represent 

 such a monument under the condition 

 that I pay for the beginning and you 

 will pay for all the rest, with the ex- 

 pectation that the local community 

 would at once shoulder the burden, as 

 is the case with some gifts of public 

 buildings for literarv or scientific uses. 



There was no patronizing adoption 

 of a natural scientist of supposedly 

 phenomenal talents, whose light was 

 expected to shine on the corner, 

 faintly for himself and brilliantly for 

 the donor, he to be unceremoniously 



dropped when he was found to be no 

 prodigy, but only hard working, self- 

 sacrificing and generous, as was the 

 situation with Luther Burbank and his 

 outrageous treatment by the Carnegie 

 Institution. Judge Clason did not say 

 that this shall be built as I wish and 

 used according to my plans. No. He 

 said to his attorney, "Find out how the 

 city needs it and where best placed." 

 There was no exhibition of himself on 

 the part of Judge Clason. He did not 

 proclaim to the public, "Behold! Here 

 am I, a great giver, a great patron. 

 See what I am doing." No. He was 

 inspired by only two ideas : first, I owe 

 a debt to humanity; second, and I am 

 going to find out the best way to pay 

 it for the welfare of humanity. He 

 was evidently willing that the money 

 should be buried out of sight, or, per- 

 haps, used, if that were best, to pay a 

 town bond ; for any purpose so long as 

 it was for the "greatest need" — even 

 if he and his money should have no 

 tangible or conspicuous expression. 

 He did not specify — no, hear his 

 words, "All I ask is that they 'call it 

 square.' : Not a bit of credit balance 

 for forty-seven thousand dollars. 



The beauty of such an act from such 

 a man no words of laudation can ex- 

 aggerate, no commendation make 

 prominent enough as an example to 

 other men. What credit, I wonder, 

 will be for him on the books of the 

 Recording Angel? 



