This, to Bok's mind, was an even worse system, since it
entirely excluded the public, making the orchestra dependent on the
continued interest and life of a single man.
In 1916 Bok sought Mr. Alexander Van Rensselaer, the president of the
Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and proposed that he, himself,
should guarantee the deficit of the orchestra for five years, provided
that during that period an endowment fund should be raised, contributed
by a large number of subscribers, and sufficient in amount to meet,
from its interest, the annual deficit. It was agreed that the donor
should remain in strict anonymity, an understanding which has been
adhered to until the present writing.
The offer from the "anonymous donor," presented by the president, was
accepted by the Orchestra Association. A subscription to an endowment
fund was shortly afterward begun; and the amount had been brought to
eight hundred thousand dollars when the Great War interrupted any
further additions. In the autumn of 1919, however, a city-wide
campaign for an addition of one million dollars to the endowment fund
was launched.
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