'Alumni Section
President John C. Ym.Uk, '07
Fenton Bide., Portland.
Secretary-Treasurer—
Earl Kilpatrick, ’09, lUt Ferry St,
Eugene.
C. C. BEEKMAN, PIONEER
Much space today is given to a
sketch of the life and activity of Hon.
C. C. Beekman, a very good friend of
the University of Oregon. Alumni
and students naturally know him
best through connection of his namg
with the Beekman oration prize. The
University has known in Mr. Beek
3^an a constant -friend and supporter
from the very beginning of the life
of the institution. As a pioneer Re
gent, he helped to shape the early pol
icies. Many a poor student from
Southern Oregon has found Mr. Beek
man at hand to furnish the aid nec
essary for completion of the college
course. As a citizen of influence and
standing, Mr. Beekman has often spo
ken a much needed word for higher
education.
WHAT ABOUT IT?
Do you want Home Coming Day
changed to the date of the 0. A. C.
Oregon game at Eugene next fall?
If you do, please write in to the Sec
retary of the Alumni. Do you prefer
]|o have the occasion arranged for
some other day? If so, let your
wishes be known. Last week we pub
lished a letter from some alumni at
Salem who wished to have the Home
Coming on the day of the game.
Does this letter represent fairly the
sentiment of the body of alumni? If
so, there is little doubt that the
change can be made. Let us hear from
you.
THE UNIVERSITY HAS
LOST A TRUE FRIEND
Hon. C. C. Beekman, Pioneer Banker
and Early Regent, Dies at
Jacksonville
Hon. C. C. Beekman, former mem
ber of the Board of Regents, and do
nor of the Beekman prize, died at his
home in Jacksonville, February 23,
and was buried in that city the fol
lowing Friday. Dr. John Straub, as
member of the faculty and old friend
of Mr. Beekman’s, attended the fu
neral as a representative of the Uni
versity.
Mr. Beekman served as Regent
from 1887 to 1903, resigning at the
end of that period because of advanc
ing age. He was exceedingly faith
ful and had the reputation of never
being absent from a meeting of the
board without adequate reasons.
Because of his being one of the last
of the original pioneers and a prom
jjient man in the community, his fu
neral was the largest that Jackson*
ville has ever seen. Stores through
out the town were closed and busi
ness everywhere suspended during
the funeral.
Mr. Beekman leaves a widow, son
and daughter. The son, Benjamin B.
Beekman, was graduated in ’84. He
afterwards taught for a year in the
University.
“He served the University long and
faithfully, and we who knew him feel
that the institution has lost a good
friend,” said President Campbell in
connection with Mr. Beekman’s death.
The Portland Telegram published
the following sketch of the career of
Mr. Beekman:
^ “Quaint old Jacksonville is in
mourning. Its oldest citizen, its
wealthiest resident, its pioneer bank
er is dead. Cornelius C. Beekman,
the strangest banker the Pacific Coast
ever had, is being buried today.
“Long before Portland amounted to
a hill of beans, Jacksonville was a
thriving mining camp, and C. C. Beek
man, familiarly known as “The Gov
ernor,” was its strong box. For 65
years Beekman lived in Jacksonville
and had no desire to move away. Born
in New Jersey, Beekman drifted to the
Pacific Coast in the year of the gold
rush and was engaged as express
agent at Jacksonville. For years he
crossed the Siskiyou mountains with
his pack train loaded with gold dust,
through a country filled with hostile
* Indians, and never lost an ounce of
dust
“It was about 1856 that Beekman
established his bank, the most unique
institution of its kind in the West.
And until the day of his death, Mon
day, when he was 87 years old, the
bank looked the same as when it was
opened in the pioneer days when Jack
sonville was a turbulent community,
filled with hard working miners, slick
gamblers and quiet Chinese.
“In the little, dingy room which was
Beekman’s bank, it is said that more
than $15,000,000 in gold dust had been
weighed on the oM-fashioned scales,
and this immense aifiount of gold was
safely conveyed through the Indian
country tb California I>y Beekman iji
person. Much of the gold came from
Kanaka Flat, where even now a “col
or’ can°be found by anyone who takes
a pan of dirt and washes it. Long
after the whites had considered the
Flat worked out, the patient'Chinese
panned and washed fortunes from the
soil.
“Mr. Beekman did banking on a sys
tem of his own. Behind his wooden
counter he had a large drawer, and
in this he kept his deposits when the
vault was full. Beekman, in the early
days, charged a commission for be
ing custodian of dust, and he made a
barrel of money in carrying the mil
lions of dollars of dust to the mint
in California. For many years, how
ever, his method of handling deposits
was peculiar. It was not uncommon
for a customer to bring a deposit of,
say $5,000. Beekman would tie a tag
customer’s name to the sack and toss
it in the bureau drawer. When the
customer wanted his deposit, Beek
man would open the drawer and hand
back the sack—the original deposit,
intact.
“The fewer times a deposit was
handled the better Beekman liked it.
If a customer deposited $25,000, he
was credited with that amount on a
ledger, and when the customer wrote
a check against it for $10, that sum
was charged off. But, if a customer
started writing checks, Beekman
would send for him and suggest that
the deposit be withdrawn and sent to
some commercial bank, as he had no
desire to fuss with checks and book
keeping.
At all times Beekman kept 1UU
per cent of the deposits on hand, and
this is a record which probably no
other bank in the country or the world
ever attempted to make. No customer
ever worried about Beekman’s reserve,
and in times of panic they had im
plicit confidence in the resources of
the vault and the drawer in the desk.
If you put your money in Beekman’s
keeping, it was there any time you
wanted it, for Beekman, unlike other:
bankers, did not operate on the money;
of depositors. Beekman used only his
own money and his bank was only a
sort of accommodation for the com
munity.
“And that little old bank of Beek
man was respected by big city bank-j
ers, even though they didn’t think
much of his way of doing business,
for more than once when big banks,
were pinched they did not call in vain
on Beekman for assistance. His gold
came in mighty handy in a couple of
panics, and enabled some of the more
progressive bankers to weather the
storm.
‘ The bank itself resembled a curio
shop. The walls were plastered with
the signs of pioneer days, and the no
tices of Wells-Fargo. Upon the wood
en counter, much scarred and carved
with initials, stood the scales which
in their day had weighed most of the
gold dust that was taken from the
soil surrounding Jacksonville. At night
an old-fashioned coaloil lamp was the
source of illumination. It cast a sick
ly gleam and the bank appeared more
gloomy and dingy than ever in the
evening. There were no regular bank
ing hours. There were no frills about
Beekman’s bank, but it was as solid
as a rock, and no one ever lost a cent
intrusted to the venerable financier.
“Ostentation and Beekman were
strangers. He was as unassuming as
an old shoe. He paid the expenses of
his own church at Jacksonville, and
did so without giving the impression
I that he was doing anything. If the
' kids wanted an outfit for baseball,
‘The Governor’ saw that they were
| equipped. Beekman, when he did bus
iness, decided laigely on his judgment
of human nature. The man whom lie
I had confidence in had no difficulty in
obtaining a loan, and Beekman did not
press the collection.
“There is many a young man in
: Southern Oregon who received a col
i lege education through the assistance
. of Beekman, and legend has it that
. Beekman never had his confidence
misplaced in any of these proteges.
A number of years ago a young mas
from Jacksonville had to fcnng his
wife to Portland for an operation.
He was soon reduced to the point
where he did not have enough money
left to eat, to say nothing of paying
hospital and nurse bills. In his dis
tress he wrote to Beekman for $250.
The money came «in the return mail,
with a blank note and the request that
the young man fill out the note to suit
himself. Followed then a long pe
riod .of struggle, and it was seven
years before the young man could re
pay oReekman, which he did, plus theP
interest. Beelonan promptly returned
the interest, retaining only the prin
cipal.0
“The site on which the thriving city
of Medford now stands, Beekman
swapped for a horse and buggy. The
site of the library was sold to that
municipality when, at the time, Beek
man could have received several thou
sand dollars for it. Beekman was
ever interested in the cause of edu
cation, and he established the Beek
man Fund at the University of Ore
gon to assist deserving students.
“Only once did Beekman ever aspire
to public office. He was the repub
lican candidate for Governor, and was
defeated by Governor Thayer, who was
on the Democratic ticket. Beekman
lost by less than 100 votes. Thomas
G. Reames, father of United States
District Attorney Clarence Reames,
was a partner of Beekman for sev
eral years, and when Beekman was
candidate for Governor, Reames was
the Democratic nominee for Secretary
of State, and he, too, was defeated
by a handful of votes.
“In later years it became the cus
tom in Medford when any distin
guished visitor arrived, to take him
over to Jacksonville to meet Beek
man, who enjoyed these visits and
never wearied of drawing on his mem
ory, for he knew the history of South
ern Oregon and the good, old gold
days as no other man.”
arc fi-jj*
color
and steadfast w
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CONING
April 2nd
| o
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411H N. »tk St. ST. LOUIS
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New
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STETSON
ND when we say
new hats we don’t
just mean newly made
hats—but new shapes,
new colors, new styles
—in a word, new Stet
sons.
You know what
“Stetson” stands for
in quality, authentic
style, thoroughbred
appearance, as well as
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Wade Bros.
BASEBALL!
Let us sell you your baseball shoes. We are
carrying in stock a line of sizes of baseball
shoes made by Witchell-Sheill, manufacturers
of leading sporting footwear. We can fit your
foot the way it should be fitted. <J To intro
duce these shoes we are selling them for $3.50.
If you are on the squad trying for a place on
the team we will give you 10 °fo discount.
BURDEN & GRAHAM
aaa willamette
Yoran’s .
Printing.
House
Printers and
Bookbinders
TO THE STUDENTS
ALWAYS
75 Eighth Avenue Wear
Printers
Phone 103