
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 17, 1990                   TAG: 9004170222
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: KAREN TUMULTY LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA                                LENGTH: Medium

BEN'S PENNY SAVED BUYS CONTROVERSY

This city owes much to Benjamin Franklin, including the first library, the first hospital, street lights and the academy that grew into the University of Pennsylvania. And when he died 200 years ago today, he left Philadephia one final gift - 1,000 pounds sterling, worth around $4,000 in the currency of the new republic. Franklin made a similar bequest to Boston, his birthplace.

Now the use of his bequest is turning into a test of how well Franklin's values have survived.

Under Franklin's directions, the money was to be used for 200 years following his demise to make loans to young apprentices seeking a start in business. Such a loan from two benefactors had given Franklin his start as a printer.

Changing times rendered Franklin's idea impractical, so the cities adapted it. Boston, for example, has since 1960 used the fund to make loans to 7,000 medical students.

But after two centuries his will releases the money to the two cities and their respective states to do with as they please. And despite less-than-attentive management of the obscure fund, Philadelphia, Boston, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts stand to come into a total of $7 million.

So what noble purpose might befit the last wishes of a man who had so many good ideas of his own?

The first idea that came to mind at Philadelphia City Hall: splashy annual parties that would draw tourists, such as the Freedom Festival and Festival of Firsts.

While Franklin liked a good time as much as the next Philadelphian - maybe more - many were outraged at the way the city planned to honor his memory and intentions.

In the resulting uproar, Mayor Wilson Goode appointed a panel of Franklin scholars to collect ideas and make another recommendation. Committee Chairman Whitfield Bell says that a recommendation will be made soon.

by CNB