Speaking of business, the Endowment Funds of the Association were at first in the hands of three trustees but now are in the care of a Corporate Trustee, the Girard Trust Company. But enough of details! Many forces have combined to make it possible to maintain an orchestra. Some years ago Peggy Shippen wrote: “This remarkable performance (Mahler Symphony), which attracted music connoisseurs from many cities, and which will remain a lasting credit to our town, was the result of a combination of forces patiently brought together by the will, power and genius of one man—Leopold Stokowski. * * * * * “Such triumphs of art scored in this city do more than all the advertising in the world to place Philadelphia in the lead of the great American centers. The Mayor has spoken of advertising this city; these things do this legitimately by adding to its opportunities. The sooner we realize that it is by honest work and the real thing well done that we can impose respect for our city and State, the better. * * * * * “It is in the last decade or so that those interested have realized the necessity for ‘coming together.’ This policy seems to have been adopted since Alexander Van Rensselaer accepted the presidency of the Board of Directors. No one could be selected in this entire city better calculated to bring together the elements indispensable to the success of such an undertaking. Himself a musician, all his life identified with musical interests, he is one of the most widely popular men in this community. * * * * * “As the audiences grew and became critical, exacting a higher quality of music, Mr. Van Rensselaer and his board rose to the occasion and met the requirements of growth. “The Women’s Committee, besides developing the interest in the success of the orchestra, has helped with the Guarantee Fund, which, of course, is the pivot upon which turns the success of the undertaking. Without the backing of money, to pay for the best procurable talent, even the greatest genius is helpless to produce adequately a great work of art. “It was the combination of Mr. Van Rensselaer’s patient and broad policy, of the women’s inconspicuous but telling work of years upon the musical intelligence of the community, first under Mrs. A. J. Dallas Dixon’s direction and then under that of Miss Frances Wister, that provided the fertile ground upon which the genius of Mr. Stokowski brought out the almost superhuman result of last week. “The same success will attend similar methods in other fields. The theory of ‘splendid isolation’ does not apply to our epoch.” * * * * *