# Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son

* "Young fellows come to me looking for jobs and telling me what a mean house they have been working for."
Letters from
A Self-Made Merchant
To His Son
* Being the Letters written by John Graham, Head of the House of Graham & Company, Pork-Packers in Chicago, familiarly known on 'Change as "Old Gorgon Graham," to
* his Son, Pierrepont, facetiously known to his intimates as "Piggy."
* Boston: Small, Maynard & Company: 1902
* Copyright, 1901-1902, by
* THE CURTIS PUBLISHING CO.
* Copyright, 1901-1902, by GEORGE HORACE LORIMER
* Copyright, 1902, by SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY (Incorporated)
* Entered at Stationers' Hall
* Twentieth Thousand
* Published October, 1902
* Plates by Printing & Publishing Co. Albany, U. S. A.
* Presswork by The University Press, Cambridge, U. S. A.
TO
CYRUS CURTIS
A SELF-MADE MAN
CONTENTS
| | | page |
| I. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. | I. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has just become a member, in good and regular standing, of the Freshman class. | 1 |
| II. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at Harvard University. | II. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at Harvard University. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont's expense account has just passed under his father's eye, and has furnished him with a text for some plain particularities. | 15 |
| III. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at Harvard University. | III. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at Harvard University. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont finds Cambridge to his liking, and has suggested that he take a post-graduate course to fill up some gaps which he has found in his education. | 29 |
| IV. From John Graham, head of the house of Graham & Co., at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont Graham, at the Waldorf-Astoria, in New York. | IV. From John Graham, head of the house of Graham & Co., at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont Graham, at the Waldorf-Astoria, in New York. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has suggested the grand tour as a proper finish to his education. | 45 |
| V. From John Graham, head of the house of Graham & Co., at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont Graham, at Lake Moosgatchemawamuc, in the Maine woods. | V. From John Graham, head of the house of Graham & Co., at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont Graham, at Lake Moosgatchemawamuc, in the Maine woods. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has written to his father withdrawing his suggestion. | 57 |
| VI. From John Graham, en route to Texas, to Pierrepont Graham, care of Graham & Co., Union Stock Yards, Chicago. | VI. From John Graham, en route to Texas, to Pierrepont Graham, care of Graham & Co., Union Stock Yards, Chicago. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has, entirely without intention, caused a little confusion in the mails, and it has come to his father's notice in the course of business. | 69 |
| VII. From John Graham, at the Omaha Branch of Graham & Co., to Pierrepont Graham, at the Union Stock Yards, Chicago. | VII. From John Graham, at the Omaha Branch of Graham & Co., to Pierrepont Graham, at the Union Stock Yards, Chicago. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont hasn't found the methods of the worthy Milligan altogether to his liking, and he has commented rather freely on them. | 81 |
| VIII. From John Graham, at Hot Springs, Arkansas, to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | VIII. From John Graham, at Hot Springs, Arkansas, to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has just been promoted from the mailing to the billing desk and, in consequence, his father is feeling rather "mellow" toward him. | 93 |
| IX. From John Graham, at Hot Springs, Arkansas, to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | IX. From John Graham, at Hot Springs, Arkansas, to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has been investing more heavily in roses than his father thinks his means warrant, and he tries to turn his thoughts to staple groceries. | 113 |
| X. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at the Commercial House, Jeffersonville, Indiana. | X. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at the Commercial House, Jeffersonville, Indiana. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has been promoted to the position of traveling salesman for the house, and has started out on the road. | 127 |
| XI. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at The Planters' Palace Hotel, at Big Gap, Kentucky. | XI. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at The Planters' Palace Hotel, at Big Gap, Kentucky. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont's orders are small and his expenses are large, so his father feels pessimistic over his prospects. | 141 |
| XII. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at Little Delmonico's, Prairie Centre, Indiana. | XII. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at Little Delmonico's, Prairie Centre, Indiana. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has annoyed his father by accepting his criticisms in a spirit of gentle, but most reprehensible, resignation. | 157 |
| XIII. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, care of The Hoosier Grocery Co., Indianapolis, Indiana. | XIII. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, care of The Hoosier Grocery Co., Indianapolis, Indiana. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont's orders have been looking up, so the old man gives him a pat on the back—but not too hard a one. | 177 |
| XIV. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at The Travelers' Rest, New Albany, Indiana. | XIV. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at The Travelers' Rest, New Albany, Indiana. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has taken a little flyer in short ribs on 'Change, and has accidentally come into the line of his father's vision. | 191 |
| XV. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at The Scrub Oaks, Spring Lake, Michigan. | XV. From John Graham, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, to his son, Pierrepont, at The Scrub Oaks, Spring Lake, Michigan. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has been promoted again, and the old man sends him a little advice with his appointment. | 209 |
| XVI. From John Graham, at the Schweitzerkasenhof, Karlsbad, Austria, to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards, Chicago. | XVI. From John Graham, at the Schweitzerkasenhof, Karlsbad, Austria, to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards, Chicago. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has shown mild symptoms of an attack of society fever, and his father is administering some simple remedies. | 223 |
| XVII. From John Graham, at the London House of Graham & Co., to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | XVII. From John Graham, at the London House of Graham & Co., to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has written his father that he is getting along famously in his new place. | 243 |
| XVIII. From John Graham, at the London House of Graham & Co., to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | XVIII. From John Graham, at the London House of Graham & Co., to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont is worried over rumors that the old man is a bear on lard and that the longs are about to make him climb a tree. | 259 |
| XIX. From John Graham, at the New York house of Graham & Co., to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | XIX. From John Graham, at the New York house of Graham & Co., to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | |
| | The old man, on the voyage home, has met a girl who interests him and who in turn seems to be interested in Mr. Pierrepont. | 275 |
| XX. From John Graham, at the Boston House of Graham & Co., to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | XX. From John Graham, at the Boston House of Graham & Co., to his son, Pierrepont, at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. | |
| | Mr. Pierrepont has told the old man "what's what" and received a limited blessing. | 301 |
ILLUSTRATIONS
By F. R. GRUGER and B. MARTIN JUSTICE
| 1. | "Young fellows come to me looking for jobs and telling me what a mean house they have been working for." | Frontispiece |
| | | Facing p. |
| 2. | "Old Doc Hoover asked me right out in Sunday School if I didn't want to be saved." | 4 |
| 3. | "I have seen hundreds of boys go to Europe who didn't bring back a great deal except a few trunks of badly fitting clothes." | 20 |
| 4. | "I put Jim Durham on the road to introduce a new product." | 38 |
| 5. | "Old Dick Stover was the worst hand at procrastinating that I ever saw." | 50 |
| 6. | "Charlie Chase told me he was President of the Klondike Exploring, Gold Prospecting, and Immigration Company." | 62 |
| 7. | "Jim Donnelly, of the Donnelly Provision Company, came into my office with a fool grin on his fat face." | 72 |
| 8. | "Bill Budlong was always the last man to come up to the mourners' bench." | 84 |
| 9. | "Clarence looked to me like another of his father's bad breaks." | 98 ​ |
| 10. | "You looked so blamed important and chesty when you started off." | 128 |
| 11. | "Josh Jenkinson would eat a little food now and then just to be sociable, but what he really lived on was tobacco." | 146 |
| 12. | "Herr Doctor Paracelsus Von Munsterberg was a pretty high-toned article." | 166 |
| 13. | "When John L. Sullivan went through the stock yards it just simply shut down the plant." | 184 |
| 14. | "I started in to curl up that young fellow to a crisp." | 200 |
| 15. | "A good many salesmen have an idea that buyers are only interested in funny stories." | 216 |
| 16. | "Jim Hicks dared Fatty Wilkins to eat a piece of dirt." | 248 |
| 17. | "Elder Hoover was accounted a powerful exhorter in our parts." | 268 |
| 18. | "Miss Curzon, with one of his roses in her hair, watching him from a corner." | 294 |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1937, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 86 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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