Real Prince Charming Saved
University of Oregon in 1883
By Sam Frear
Emerald lliDortrr
Fairy tales, soap operas, and
Hollywood movies have told with
almost monotonous repetition the
story of a Prince Charming who
wins the heroine’s undying love
by entering the scene at just the
proper (and last possible) mo
ment to remove the conniving
villain and save the day for all.
In reality, however, Prince
Charmings are few and very far
between. It is rare when history
records occurrences that even re
motely resemble the fantasies
prepared for the fairy tale, soap
opera and movie set.
But the rare exceptions do oc
cur, and Oregon can point to its
role in the career of Henry Vil
lard, once a penniless immigrant
■whose life made reality of ideal
ized success stories and who hu
manized the fairy tales by an ac
tual rescue.
Villard's rescue did not con
sist of slaying a ferocious dragon
or saving a young princess from
the jaws of death, but it con
tained some of the same elements
—he saved the University of Ore
gon, when it was a young insti
tution in a young state, from the
hands of receivers by providing
desperately needed money when
it was on the verge of closing its
doors.
Born in Bavaria
Villard was born in Bavaria,
Germany, in 1835. Eighteen years
later, when what is now the state
of Washington was carved out
of the Oregon Territory, he ar
rived in New York with only
a few dollars in his pocket and
started out on a career that ulti
mately led him to millions.
His first job was with a Ger
man-American newspaper in New
York City, but in five years he
had risen to cover the Lincoln
Douglas debate of 1858 for sev
eral English language newspa
pers in the East. And two years
later he was covering the Re
publican convention that nom
inated Abraham Lincoln for pres
ident of the United States, and
later was a correspondent during
the Civil War.
Villard first returned to Eu
rope in 1866 to cover the Austro
Prussian war for the New York
Tribune. But he got there after
the war was over and after a
year’s stay on the continent he
went back to New York. But he
was soon to return to Europe be
cause of his health. In the next
few years he made several trips
to Germany.
Germans Want Help
On one of these Villard was
approached by a group of Ger
man stockholders who wanted
his assistance, as an American,
Stock Market Climbs
Record Average High
NEW YORK (AP)—The stock
market rolled up a new record
high mark Tuesday with an ad
vance featured by strength in
steels, railroads, and chemicals.
The Associated Press average
of 60 stocks was up $1.30 at
$163.30, highest level the aver
age has ever reached. The prev
ious peak was March 4 when it
touched $162.60.
Gains ran to around 4 points
at the outside while losses went
to between 2 and 3 points.
The railroad component of the
average reached a new high since
1929 of $133 with a gain of $1.60.
The industrials were up $1.50
while utilities gained 20 cents.
The market was not particu
larly broad with 1228 individual
issues traded of which 627 ad
vanced and 360 declined. Ninety
nine new highs for the year were
scored, and there were 15 new
lows.
Volume came to 2,779,000
shares, compared with 2,680,000
shares traded Monday.
in some financial dealings they
! had with the Oregon and Cali
fornia Railroad company.
Agreeing to represent the in
vestors, Villard returned to the
United States and immediately
came out to the west coast to
check on the dividend status of
the railroad. In 1873 and the
succeeding years he managed to
rise in the organizational struc
ture of the railroad and eventu
ally he reorganized it to link with
the Central Pacific railroad in
California.
His dealings with the Oregon
and California Railroad revealed
his talents as a financier, and
Villard came to Oregon, hoping
to build a railroad that would
link it with the east coast. But
the government had already
granted the right to build a Co
lumbia River route east to the
Northern Pacific Railroad.
Spending most of his time in
New York, Villard worked not
only in raising finances to pro
mote an Oregon railroad ven
ture, but in the recruitment of
immigrants for the young state.
First Monopoly Formed
He returned to Oregon in 1879
with some five million dollars he
had riased from eastern invest
ors to buy* the Oregon Steam
Navigation company. And to
gether with the Oregon and Cali
fornia railroad, he formed the
Oregon Railroad and Navigation
company, the first monopoly in
the state.
Through various financial ma
nipulations Villard managed to
squeeze the Northern Pacific out
of its exclusive rights in the
Columbia River development of
a railway to the east. In 1881 he
pooled his interest in the ORNC
with the Northern Pacific and
formed a holding company, the
Oregon and Transcontinental, to
handle the financial arrange
ments of the merger.
Two years after taking con
trol of the Northern Pacific Vil
lard pushed it to completion of
its 2000 mile eastward run. In
Gold Springs, Mont., in 1883,
Villard drove in the golden spike
that symbolized the completion.
Immediately after this, how
Campus Briefs
^ The YWCA cabinet will
meet today noon at Gerlinger
hall. Members who are unable
to attend should contact either
Eileen Lindblad, executive sec
retary, or Germaine LaMarche,
president.
• Canoe Fete committee chair
men will meet in the Student
Union at 6:30 tonight. Budget
reports must be turned in at the
meeting, according to Len Cal
vert, finance chairman.
0 Helen Bersie/ George Port
er, Susan Walcott, Jean Paulus,
John Wells, Richard Crew and
Thomas Montgomery were con
fined to the infirmary Tuesday
for medical attention.
0 Freshmen may now get
“Skull and Dagger’’ petitions on
the third floor of the Student
Union. A picture of the applicant
must accompany the petition.
0 Young Democrats will meet
tonight in the Student Union at
7, according to Bob Biggs, presi
dent.
0 The Oregon Alpine club will
meet tonight at 6:30 in the Stu
dent Union.
Gut?(/m ft
SELL fr THRU THE
WANTADS
1 ever, Villard lost a good part of
his fortune when the railroad ran
into financial difficulties, and he
returned east again to raise more
capital.
He went back to Europe for
this and he managed to interest
German investors In his far west
ern railroad. By 1889 Villard was
back in Oregon with his standing
as Director of the Northern Pa
cific regained. He held this po
sition until 1893 when the rail
road again went into the hands
of receivers.
Prince Charming Arrives
It was in 1883, the year of his
success with the Northern Pa
cific, that Villard had a chance
to play his role of the Prince
Charming that saved a destitute
maiden. That year he received a
plea for financial assistance from
the Board of Regents of the Uni
versity of Oregon.
At that time the school re
ceived little support from the
state government, or from the
public, and it “was so embar
rassed by indebtedness that it
probably would have been obliged
to close its door had not Mr. Vil
lard come to its relief by paying
its floating debts.”
Deady hall was the only build
ing on the campus, crowded and
over-used. And it was this sole
physical asset of the University
that would have been sacrificed
to pay for a $7000 indebtedness.
But Villard paid the floating
debt in response to the plea, and
in May of 1883 offered an ad
| ditional $50,000 to the Univer
sity if the state would levy a tax
that would be sufficient for
maintenance of the University
“on a modern scale.”
This was done and Villard's
gift was used to build a nucleus
of a library, to hire additional
instructors, and to pay for schol
arships.
It was this timely gift that
literally rescued the University
from bankruptcy. The University
used the financier’s last trip to
Oregon in the summer of 1899 to
express its profound gratifica
tion in "a most pleasing recep
tion given to him at Eugene City
at the State University of Ore
gon.”
It was on this last trip that the
former immigrant, journalist,
1 editor, teacher, banker and rail
j road financier was able to see
| the fruits of his labors. In spite
of all his dreams while building
with the Northern Pacific, Vil
lard was totally unprepared for
the tremendous growth of the
state, a growth in which he was
in a large part responsible.
Emerald..
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Red Cross Jobs Now
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Miss Jessica Hunter and Earl
Shepber of the He<l Cross per
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United States, Europe and the
Far East.
The Red Cross is recruiting
young women for paid positions
overseas, on the basis of world
wide mobility. They are needed
to staff clubmobiles visiting serv
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I in Korea and for fixed centers
which have been established in
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According to Karl W. On
thank. graduate placement direc
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on positions in the Far East.
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‘‘The assignments in Korea are
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In the Red Criss Supplemental
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