The story of the passing of the great suit is known to all the old students of the university.
It was brought to trial in San Francisco in the United States District Court, and the university side of the question had the strong support of the great jurist, John Garber.
The decision of Judge Boss was against the claim of the government. It was appealed and came before Judges Morrow, Gilbert and Hawley, who again found no merit in the government contention. It was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, and here our case seemed hopeless. The Supreme Court moves slowly, and our lifeblood was ebbing fast. It takes money to run a university, and our money was almost gone. To delay the matter was to destroy us, and no one but ourselves had any interest in pushing along the decision. Finally Mrs. Stanford went to Washington to appeal to President Cleveland. She told him our story, and beseeched him to use his influence for a speedy settlement. Once for all, let us know the future and we will stand by it. At last, President Cleveland saw his duty, and through his influence the Stanford case was placed on the calendar of the United States Supreme Court for speedy trial. Joseph Choate, whose name every Stanford man should hold in grateful memory, supplemented the work of John Garber. The case came to trial, and by a unanimous decision, the work of Justice Harlan, Stanford University was again free!
The boys celebrated the victory as Stanford boys can. The United States Post office on the campus, a wooden shack now removed, was painted cardinal red, to its great improvement in appearance, and once for all and forever the future of the university was assured. This was the end of the dark days, but not of the days that were difficult. There were still eight millions of dollars to be paid. There was still the uncertainty as to whether Mrs. Stanford could survive to pay it, and the estate must come into her hands before she could give it to the university. She made many attempts to facilitate this transfer. At one time, we have the pathetic figure of the good woman going to the Queen's Jubilee in London, with all her own possessions, half a million of dollars worth of jewels, in a suit case carried in her hand. She hoped to sell these to advantage, when all the world was gathered in London. But the market was not good, and three fourths of them she brought back to California again.
And this seems the appropriate place for the story of the jewel fund. It is told in an address made at the foundation of the Library Building, and again and finally in a resolution of the Board of Trustees. On May 15, 1905, 1 said:
