Endowment Fund — Memorial Tablet
Miss Wister’s name was placed on the tablet by the contribution of two large amounts, one from the Women’s Committee and one from the Auxiliary.
The tablets beautifully designed by Mr. Paul Cret, the noted architect, are placed on each side of the entrance to the inner lobby.
The delightful luncheons held bi-weekly instilled in the workers much enthusiasm and were attended by from 300 to 400 people each time. At these the following well-known public and private individuals and artists appeared, all giving freely of their time and often of their money to help the great cause:
Miss Margaret Anglin, Mr. David Bispham, Mrs. A. J. Cassatt, Mrs. Edward H. Coates, Mr. Cyrus H. K. Curtis, Mr. Walter Damrosch, Mrs. Minnie Maddern Fiske, Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Mr. Walter Hampden, Dr. John Grier Hibben, Mr. Josef Hofmann, Miss Estelle Hughes (Winner of Stokowski Medal), Mr. Sascha Jacobinoff, Mr. Otto H. Kahn, Mr. Hans Kindler, Rabbi Krauskopf, Mme. Matzenauer, Miss Violet Oakley, Judge Patterson, Bishop Rhinelander, Dr. Thaddeus Rich, Mme. Samaroff, Mr. Oscar Schwar and a group of men from the orchestra.
The thrill of these occasions will never be forgotten by the campaigners. Only those who participated can have any idea of the enthusiasm and excitement prevailing among the workers who eagerly awaited the reports. After speeches and music of a very delightful nature, the chairmen were called by name and saw their totals written on a large black-board. Many of them went to bed the night before with nothing in their pockets and arrived at headquarters in the morning to find their able assistants had brought in the required two thousand and more. It is marvellous that Mr. Bok could, besides running a campaign, manage such brilliant affairs as these were, twice each week. It was no unusual sight to see four hundred men and women come in exhausted and discouraged, and go forth with renewed vigor to beg money. The spirit of excitement ran through it all, for raising money is as uncertain as gambling in that the pursuer never knows when he accosts a victim what the outcome will be, large, small, or nothing, and many surprises were experienced. The competition was great, for Mr. Bok had offered $1,000 each to the first ten committees to raise their quotas.
The Officers and Directors and the members of the Women’s Committees and their Auxiliaries swarmed at the Ritz. Over it all was the influence of Mr. Van Rensselaer, with a courteous and cheerful word for all the harassed.
Philadelphia Press, September 28th, 1919:
“400 Enlisted for Campaign to Save Philadelphia Orchestra.
Volunteer Workers will Receive Final Instructions
at Ritz-Carlton Luncheon Tomorrow
$1,000,000 Fund the Goal
Failure may Mean Loss to City of Asset
of Incalculable Value
“Musical Philadelphia is watching with a great deal of interest and anxiety, the movement on foot to ‘make the Philadelphia Orchestra safe for Philadelphia’ by raising the endowment of $1,000,000, for otherwise, it has been announced that this organization must be seriously curtailed in its activities.”