NOVEL PHILANTHROPY.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8880, 3 August 1907, Page 1

NOVEL PHILANTHROPY.

{Four roubles, “Russian Currency (about two dollars), were the solo capital of Abraham Gordon when he married in Russia at the age of fifteen. That, however, was over twenty-five years ago. In the meantime, according to the New York Sun, Gordon has prospered, and when his eldest daughter married in Boston lie gave her a dowry of 2000 dollars, set his son-in-law up _in business, and then began looking around to see how he could further celebrate the event. We read of his novel philanthropy:— Having an establishment in Medway, Mass., Abraham Gordon happened to know there were a good many poor girls in those parts, working for four dollars or so a week, who wanted to get .married, and had been wanting to do so for varying whiles. But they couldn’t; not for lack of fellows, for that wasn’t the trouble, but the need of a few dollars necessary to start up housekeeping. Gordon, remembering his hardwon four roubles, and how useful they had proved, realised that about 25 dollars would help a girl to avoid a long and wearisome wait, and perhaps would bring about a marriage that might never come to pass. So when his girl Rosy’s wedding guests were gone he and his three other daughters had put the house in order, he wrote out several 25 dollar cheques and sent them to town treasurers in Milford, Medway, and Hallistou, Mass. More than one poor girl has benefited by the offer of the cheques, and one of the girls even had some money left over and wanted to travel to New York on it and see Gordon in his store at 33, West Twentieth street, to thank him. Ho was pleased with the intention, but ho did not advise her to spend the rest of the money that way. Gordon says that he isn’t any Rockefeller or Carnegie, but that ho has a pretty positive position that those philanthropists could spend their money in ways that would come a great deal nearer getting right home to where it is needed. He says that anybody who has “begun pretty small” will find lots of wavs to make his gifts really count. He docsnt’ see why experts should bo needed to find proper ways of giving money away. “When your three other daughters are married will you repeat your bridal endowment scheme?” Mr Gordon was asked. “Well,” he answered, “that depends how the world treats me. I hope to do better when the other girls got married.”