A TIME OF NEED - THE STORY OF HERBERT HOOVER AND PADEREWSKI

IGNACE JAN PADEREWSKI
BORN: November 18, 1860, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine
DIED: June 29, 1941, New York City, US

     
         Many years ago two boys were working their way through Stanford University. Desperately, short of funds, they decided to engage the famous pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski for a concert and use the fund generated to help pay their board and tuition.

          The great pianist's manager asked for a guarantee of $2,000. The guarantee was a lot of money in those days, but the boys agreed and proceeded to promote the concert. In spite of working hard, they only managed to gross $1,600.

          After the concert the two boys gave the pianist the entire $1,600, along with a promissory note for $400, explaining that they would earn and send the amount to him at the earliest. But Paderewski denied. Then, tearing the note, he returned the money to them as well. "Now," he told them, "take out of this $1,600 all of your expenses, and keep for each of you 10% of the balance for your work. I will be satisfied with the amount remaining."

Paderewski was a Polish  pianist and composer and also a
politician, and spokesman for Polish nationalism. His
musical fame opened access to diplomats and the media.

         
          Post World-War I, Paderewski, now premier of Poland, was trying to feed thousands of starving people in his native land. The only person who could help was Herbert Hoover, in charge of the U.S. Food and Relief Bureau. Hoover responded and soon thousands of tons of food were sent to Poland.

BORN: August 10, 1874, West Branch, US
DIED: October 20, 1964, New York City, US
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st. President of the United States. Born to
a Quaker family, was a professional mining engineer.

         
           When Paderewski journeyed to Paris to thank him for the relief, Hoover replied: "That's all right... Besides you don't remember it, bit you helped me once when I was student at college, and I was in trouble."

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