Votume VI. No. 20.
A UNIVERSITY BENEFACTOR.
Memorial Tribute to Mr. Lampson by
a Classmate.
To the Editor of the Yale Alumni
Weekly:
Sir:—W illiam Lampson, whose
recent death and gifts to
Yale, have made him in
some sort a public character, was my
classmate. To.not more, I suppose,
than three or four of his class—one of
these not now living—can he be said to
have been intimately, or even well,
known. One would find it difficult per-
haps to name another man more com-
pletely unknown to our Yale world for
the past 25 years. His great, almost
unprecendented gift,—really unprece-
dented if regard be had to its propor-
tion to the total of his estate,—has in-'
evitably lifted him into fame. I gratify,
therefore, a reasonable public interest,
as well as my personal feeling, by here
trying to tell what manner of man he
essentially was,asIsaw and knew him.
If any one imagines, as many seem
to do, that men rise suddenly, or at the
last supreme moment, to some great or
noble act pitched quite above the ordi-
nary plane of their lives, one does not
well heed the laws of character or the
workings of human nature. To those
who knew Mr. Lampson well, there is
_nothing unusual or unexpected, least
of all unnatural, in what he has done
for Yale. By nature, as well as unbrok-
en habit, he was unobtrusive, quiet, re-
served, highly reticent, except to the
few he cared for and trusted in. By
nature and habit, he was, too, strong-
willed, self-reliant , independent, even
to the point of apparent, if not real,
disregard for others’ opinions or feel-
ings. In one large aspect, Shakespeare’s
familiar words describe him;—
_MOLty. and := sour. to
loved him. not;
“But, to those men who sought him,
sweet as summer’’.
those that
Rather unambitious himself in college,
no man whom I there knew was more
appreciative of the success or -good
work of others, whether in scholarship,
or in other lines. He had naturally, if
any man can be so described, an ex-
eellent taste in literary matters. He
exercised himself with great diligence
in college in reading and in composit-
ion. Whoever knew his choice of books
or had looked over his writings as a
Yale “Lit” editor has discovered the
truth of this remark. He enjoyed in-
tensely his college life, his few friends,
and one of two of his instructors. Our
classmate, S. B. Haton, his most inti-
mate friend to the last, has elsewhere
spoken of the fascination which Pro-
fessor Thacher had over him. It was
touching and in every way beautiful to
see and now to remember.
Special family circumstances turned
him three years after he left college to
the seclusion of a business life in the
small village of LeRoy, which remained
absolutely unbroken for his remaining
382 years of life. The death of his fath-
er 25 years ago left him in sole charge
of a iarge and prosperous bank. The
death of an only and greatly-loved sis-:
ter saddened him beyond his power to
resist. This was followed by the death
of one of his two younger brothers; and
he was left with but one survivor of
his household, an invalid and crippled
brother, whose death preceded his own
by only two mopth= Waithfy] ig g
- their predecessor! To
NEW HAVEN, CONN., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1897.
secruple, to his financial, as well as
personal, duties through all this, he
stood at last at the age of 57, alone.
Sorrow, seclusion, loneliness, desolation
of heart, had done their. work. ‘He
must sink overwearied, as at nightfall,
when it was yet but the mid-season of
day.’’
But the man of 1862 in college was
not changed in spirit or habits of
thought, at the last. One bright vis-
‘jon attended him on all his way,—the
vision of his college life and his friend-
ships there. When, therefore, he was
left without living relatives to care for,
it was in perfect keeping with his
character and the sentiment of his life,
to give to Yale the fortune which he
had inherited and had so wisely and
skilfully kept and greatly enlarged.
If there be those who would say ‘bet-
ter to have given it while he lived,’ I
would reply he could never have done
it; his aversion to notoriety or public
personal notice of all kinds was too
ingrained and profound. In truth, as
I write these words my only misgiving
is that I know well he would forbid
me, if he is now the same spirit he was
when here.
Mr. Lampson, as I have _ intimated,
had remarkable tenacity of purpose,
remarkable strength of will, amounting
in the eyes of some, to obstinacy. No
doubt, he had, like all of us, the effects
of his qualities; but it is a complete
mistake for any to think he could not
change or was deaf to arguments
which ran counter to his ways or even
his prejudices. Let me illustrate this,
In politics he was a life-long Democrat.
I think most of our class will recall
nothing of him more clearly than the
apparent bitterness or bigotry of his
political opinions. In the last national
canvass he was, like so many others of
us, brought face to face with the ques-
tion whether we should forget all other
issues and stand for financial honor
and decency at the price,—the cruel
and bitter price,—of voting for one
who, on almost .all other issues, em-
bodied what we held to be gross and
dangerous political heresies. I know no
man to whom this brought greater sac-
rifice of feeling than to Mr. Lampson;
but he met the issue as became him;
and the last time, absolutely the last
time, he left his house was when he
was carried to the polls to cast his vote
for McKinley.
One reflection which comes to me in
recalling my classmate is the tremen-
dous hold which Yale has upon her
sons! Wherever the scenes of their
lives may fall, how widely soever they
may stray in place,or habit, or thought,
the heart, untraveled, fondly turns at
last to the old home of so many in-
fluences and friendships.
And another’ reflection,—and one it
may be well to state,—is: What a re-
‘sponsibility rests on those now at Yale
the reward of
really deserve
all this devotion, to keep full high ad-
vanced. the great standard of power
and influence which have prevailed
there in the older days, is a duty not
to be met by numbers only, nor by
outward appliances chiefly,as too often
seems to be thought, nor by achieve-
ments in directions opposite to the old
ones, but only by steadfast fidelity to
those lofty ideals of scholarship and
character which gave Yale all her
power over William Lampson.
- D. H. Chamberlain.
New York City,
February £0, 1897.
who thus enter into
Price Tren Cents.
MR. LAMPSON’S BEQUEST. —
Disposition of the Property—An
Alumni Hall Mentioned.
The will of the late William Lampson,
62, who died in LeRoy, N. Y., on Sun-
day, February 14, has been made pub-
lic since the last issue of The Weekly.
Mr. Farnam, treasurer of the Universi-
ty, returned to New Haven last Friday
after a trip to Rochester, where he at-
tended the funeral as Yale’s Official
representative. Property which at the
‘latest estimation has been valued at
between $400,000 and $500,000 has been
left to Yale: University. It is at present
impossible to obtain the exact figures
of the value of the property, as it has
not yet been appraised, and it is hard-
ly probable that the matter can be en-
tirely cleared up within a year. It was
thought at first that the amount would
apyoximate $1,000,000, but later re-
ports show that this is not true. The
will specifies that $150,000 shall be de-
voted to a University building, to
serve the purposes of a lecture and
alumni hall, and that the remainder of
the bequest be appropriated to chairs
of instruction. primarily in English,
Latin and Greek. In case the funds are
more than enough for this purpose,
they can be devoted to other chairs of
instruction. These provisions allow the
Corporation considerable latitude in the
appropriation of the bequest. The Cor-
poration will not determine exactly
what will be done with the bequest un-
til it is formally delivered into their
hands, which will not take place until
at least a year has elapsed.
MR. EATON’S ACQUAINTANCE WITH HIM.
Mr. 8. B. Eaton, ’62, who was a class-
mate of Mr. Lampson at Yale, has
given the following interview to the
New York Tribune:
‘“‘William Lampson and I were class-
mates in the class of 62 at Yale, and
the class friendship then begun con-
tinued through his life. Probably I
knew Mr. Lampson better than any of
his classmates or any of his other
friends, and I certainly saw more of
him. Mr. Lampson came from good
New England stock. One of his ances-
tors was a Colonel in the Revolutionary
Army. Sir Curtis Lampson, his uncle,
was one of a well-known group of
American financiers living in London,
including George Peabody and J. §S.
Morgan. After graduating from_ col-
lege, Mr. Lampson went abroad for
two years, studying at Heidelberg.
Upon returning to this country, in 1864,
he entered the Columbia Law School,
and took the regular course, although
he never practised law. He then acept-
ed a position in his father’s bank at
LeRoy. A few years later his father
died, and upon William was thrown
the entire care of the family ( a widow .
and four children), together with the
property. One brother was married, but
died without oiispring. The mother and
sister died, and William Lampson and
a brother, known as ‘the Colonel,’ were
left alone, living together in the large
family mansion for the rest of their
days.
“The two best known pieces of prop-
erty belonging to the estate, and now
apparently going to Yale, are the Bank
of Le Roy and Ingham University of
Le Roy. Ingham University consists of
three or four large buildings, located
in the center of Le Roy, and in old
times was a prosperous seminary for
young women. Mr. Lampson had
loaned money on the institution of late
years, and in the end took it on a
mortgage foreclosure.
“Vr. Lampson was always interested
in education, and cherished an especial
fondness for Yale. His last visit there
was made in company with myself,
about six years ago. The next year
after this he and I made a visit to
Harvard, and he was interested in ex-
amining the new buildings, especially
Sanders Theater. He talked freely
about erecting a similar one for Yale,
but not long afterward decided that
the best gift he could make to the Uni-
versity would be one yielding cash,
which decision he followed out in the
terms of his will. Prot... Thomas
Thacher held complete sway over
Lampson when fn college, and the
memory of him had much to do with
influencing Mr. Lampson so favorably
toward Yale.
“While Mr. Lampson was a member
of the Metropolitan and University
clubs, of this city, he seldom visited
them. He was fond, when on a visit
here, of roaming about the city, study-
ing the improvements and exploring
old quarters which he read of. His
only brother died a short time ago,
and this is supposed to have affected
him seriously. In business, Mr. Lamp-
son was sagacious and conservative.
He never speculated in any sense of
the word and never once sold or
bought a share of stock in Wall Street.
His business methods were what are
now called old-fashioned. His invest-
ments were principally in securities,
and I shall be surprised if when they
are turned over to Yale they are not
found to be an exceptionally sound
and gilt-edged lot.”’’
> a> i
“Lit.” Editors Elected.
The meeting for the election of the
Ninety-eight board of the Yale Literary
Magazine was held last Tuesday night,
February 23. The following men Were
nominated: F. Wyckes, F. A. Lord, A.
D. Baldwin, E. C. Streeter, D. D. Bur-
rell, G. Morris, and H. D. Gallaudet.
The final ballot resulted in the election
of the following: Arthur Douglas Bald-
win, of Maui, H. I.; David DeForest
Burrell, of New York City ; Gouverneur
Morris, of New York City; Edward
Clark Streeter, of Chicago, Ill., and
Franklin Atkins Lord, of Morehead,
Minn.
>
The Wniversity Taxation Ques-
tion.
It has been definitely settled that the
Yale Co-operative store on the Campus
shall be taxed. A hearing was _ held
concerning the matter before the Board
of Relief Friday morning, Feb. 19.
Prof. Reynolds, president of the Co-
operative corporation, and Mr. Vincent,
‘appeared before the Board and_ said
that they were willing to pay tazes on
a fair valuation of their property,
which was estimated at about $3,000.
Prof. Reynolds stated in addition that
the store was operated for the benefit
of the students, that there were about
650 members but that it owned no capi-
tal stock. It was then decided by the
Board of Relief that the store and its
contents should be taxed.
The valuation .of $1500 has been put
upon it and the annual tax will amount
to $383.75.
At a session of the Town Board of
Relief from Taxation, held Saturday,
Feb. 20, the assessment of the property
of Yale University, which amounted to
$439,782, and from which the Universi-
ty had filed a formal appeal ta _ the
Board came up for discussion. The on-
ly action which the Board saw fit to
take was the passing of the following
vote: “There has been no action on
the Yale University property for the
reason that no representative of said
Corporation appeared before the Board.
to enable this Board to obtain the facts
necessary for acorrect judgment of the
case.”’ The vote of the Board signi-
fies that the assessment levied by the
Assessors on the Yale property will
stand. When the attempt is made to
collect the tax the University’ will
probably make an appeal by counsel to
the court.
—_—_—_~+4____—_
The Yale Freshman Union is making
efforts to arrange a debate with the
Columbia Freshmen.
