Page:History of the University of Pennsylvania - Montgomery (1900).djvu/186

Franklin's well known inscription on it, which will bear repe- tition here : In the year of Christ MDCCLV GEORGE the Second happily Reigning (for he sought the happiness of his people) Philadelphia Flourishing (for its inhabitants were public spirited) This Building By the Bounty of the Government And of many private persons Was piously founded For the Relief of the Sick and Miserable, May the God of Mercies Bless the undertaking The Hospital and the University have the same parentage, and their kinship is recognised to this day, for the Medical Department of the latter has always found its chief school in the means furnished by the former for the development of medi- cal and surgical science, and most of its professors have earned their eminence on the basis of the tuition they have found in Hospital residence here. It was in April, 1752, that Franklin, with great zeal and interest, lent his aid to establishing the first Insurance Company on the Continent, The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, of which the Hon. John Smith was the first policy holder and the first Treasurer; an institution whose vigor and security to day make its policies the first on the list of all those granting indemnity for the Hos- pital and the University buildings in case of their loss by fire. With such a citizen as Benjamin Franklin, though he was not native to the soil, can we wonder at the people of Philadel- phia, under such inspiration and leadership, establishing so many institutions of value whose age to day proves the strength of their foundations ; it could not be otherwise that Philadelphia was flourishing, " for its inhabitants were public spirited." Rarely has it fallen to the lot of any citizen known to history to have behind him so many works of value and beneficence as we