"Resolved,—That the City of Harrisville accepts, with profound gratitude, from Mayor George Ingram, the munificent gift of buildings for a City Hall and Public Library as stated in his lettersof ——; That the City accepts the three noble gifts upon the conditions in said letter, which it will faithfully and gladly observe, as a sacred trust in accordance with his desire."Resolved,—That in gratefully accepting these gifts, the City tenders to Mayor George Ingram its heartfelt thanks, and desires to express its deep sense of obligation for the elegant buildings, for years of wise counsel and unselfish service, and for the free use of valuable patents. The City recognizes the Christian faith, generosity, and public spirit that have prompted him to supply the long felt wants by these gifts of great and permanent usefulness."
"Resolved,—That the City of Harrisville accepts, with profound gratitude, from Mayor George Ingram, the munificent gift of buildings for a City Hall and Public Library as stated in his lettersof ——; That the City accepts the three noble gifts upon the conditions in said letter, which it will faithfully and gladly observe, as a sacred trust in accordance with his desire.
"Resolved,—That in gratefully accepting these gifts, the City tenders to Mayor George Ingram its heartfelt thanks, and desires to express its deep sense of obligation for the elegant buildings, for years of wise counsel and unselfish service, and for the free use of valuable patents. The City recognizes the Christian faith, generosity, and public spirit that have prompted him to supply the long felt wants by these gifts of great and permanent usefulness."
Similar resolutions were adopted by the county commissioners.
Nearly three millions were thus disposed of by the mayor and his wife. Close attention to business, and the severe labors in behalf of the city, undermined the health of George Ingram, and his physical and mental strength failed him at the wrong time, for his ship was now approaching a cyclone on the financial sea.
Tariff matters had been drifting from bad to worse, politicians were seeking to secure advantages for their constituents by changes in the tariff schedule, speculation was running wild in the stock exchanges of the country, cautious business men and bankers in the larger cities discovered an ominous black cloud rising out of the horizon. Bank rates of interest increased, more frequent renewals were made, deposits dwindled, country bankers weakened, and financiers in the metropolis were calling loans made to the interior. With the financial cyclone at its height, the demands were so great upon The Harris-Ingram Steel Co. that creditors threatened to close the steel plant.
The cry for help went up from the Harris-Ingram mills, but their trusted leader was powerless. George Ingram lay insensible at death's door, the victim of pneumonia. For a week, the directors of the steel company struggled night and day with their difficulties. Gertrude could neither leave the bedside of her dying husband, nor would she give her consent to have the Harris-Ingram Experiment wrecked. She had already pledged as collateral for the creditors of the steel company all their stock and personal property, and had telephoned the directors to keep the company afloat another day, if in their power.
The ablest physicians of the city were standing at George Ingram's bedside in despair, as all hope of his recovery had vanished. Gertrude stepped aside into her library, and was in the very agony of prayer for help, when in rushed her brother Alfonso, whom the family believed dead. He had come from California with his wife, and stopping at the company's office, had learned of the terrible trouble of his family.
Lifting up his broken-hearted sister, who for a moment thought that she had met her brother on the threshold of the other world, he kissed Gertrude and said, "Be brave, go back to your husband, and trust your brother to look after the steel company's matters."
Alfonso learned that one million dollars were needed at once to tide over the company's affairs; he drew two checks, for five hundred thousand dollars each, upon his banks in San Francisco and requested the creditors to wire to the coast. Before two o'clock replies came that Alfonso Harris's cheeks were good, and the only son of Reuben Harris had saved the "Harris-Ingram Experiment." Mariposa's band of beaten gold had worked its magic.
A public funeral was given George Ingram. He was a man the city could ill afford to lose, and every citizen felt he had lost a personal friend. All business was suspended, and the mills were shut down. For two days the body of the dead mayor lay in state in the city hall he had built and given to the people. The long line of citizens that filed past the coffin continued through the night till dawn, and even then, great throngs stood in the rain with flowers for his casket.
As a token of their high regard the people voted to change the name of the city of Harrisville to Harris-Ingram, the suburb which was annexed, and to place a bronze statue of George Ingram on the tower above the city hall, which now became his fitting monument. Labor and capital united in electing for the head of the great Harris-Ingram Steel Company, Alfonso, the millionaire and artist-son of Reuben Harris.
[A]The True Discovery of America.Captain R.N. Gambier.Fortnightly Review, January 1, 1894.
[A]The True Discovery of America.Captain R.N. Gambier.Fortnightly Review, January 1, 1894.