19063 A Tragic Disappointment 



thus averting all danger of fire, but was then stricken 

 down as he ran outside. 



It was with a very heavy heart that I made my Enormous 

 tour of inspection, for besides the loss of life — sur- ^°"" 

 prisingly small, however — two and a half million 

 dollars' worth of academic property had been de- 

 stroyed, all in the brief space of fifty-six seconds ! A 

 day or two later the Stanford residence in San Fran- 

 cisco, a huge frame building which had itself cost a 

 million and which now belonged to the University, 

 was burned with practically all its contents, includ- 

 ing many valuable paintings, books, and statuary. 

 On this also there was no insurance, it having been 

 Mr. Stanford's policy, as already implied, to be his 

 own insurer. 



During "the second stone age," 1900-1906, ex- corf 0/ 

 pansion in purely educational directions had been 

 sadly limited by the necessity of construction, all 

 disbursements coming out of the earnings, none from 

 the capital stock of the endowment. To repair the 

 buildings already in use and make them earthquake 

 proof involved an expenditure of about ^800,000; 

 complete replacement of the others ultimately cost 

 nearly two millions more. But the board of trustees 

 took up the matter with determination and courage. 

 For me, nevertheless, it meant the abandonment of 

 several intensive educational schemes I had hoped 

 to develop, as it was now obvious that the rest of 

 my administration must needs be devoted simply to 

 solidifying what had already been attained. 



To this end, about a month after the earthquake — 

 that is, on May 23, 1906 — I formulated a plan for 

 the development of the University proper as a center 

 of professional training and research as distinguished 



C 171 3 



reconstruc- 

 tion 



