The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-09-22
How New York CapitaIlsts WORK


1ne new York correspondent of the
Boston Journal writes: 4-a Ea9
The hardest working men and the
hardest working institutions In New
YORK, are those which are most suo.
cessfuI. To the outsiders IL secIns on
easy thing to make money and To 1soa,, W,
II. Banking was easy work a new yeits
ago, md is now in the old fashioned in.
stttutions who have no country and no
foreign exchange. But no factory or
mpchlne shop keeps men ON the iTlmp
as does a 1--we bank in this wide-awake
CITY. was in one of these institutions
yesterday which is not yet ten wears
old. Its army of clerks have TO be on
hand early in the morning, and they
cannot leave until their Days work II
done, which is often not till long amer
the gas Is lighted. Its capital is two
millions, its daily receipts seven million
aollars. IL receives daily from two
hundred and fifty to four hundred let-
ters, all of which have to be registarad
and answered before the business Of tho
day ends. No bank clerk on a saIHrSy
Of a thousand dollars a year goes Ia
his bank as regularly, or works ms
many. hours, as William b. Astor.
Mho HII counts up his forty Millions
hls Little one story office, a stem
or two from Broadway, on PRINCE
street, with its iron bars, mnkinfS
u resemble n police prison. Is the
den where he performs his daily tnil
anu l! OUT OF an MS wealth and labor he
Sels only ms Hictuals and clothes. .
de attends personally to all his hnsi-
ness, knows every dollar of rent or in
come that is to become due. nnvg oI,t
every dollar, makes his entries in bis
own hand, and obliges Observation-Disclosures
to come to him for Information while he
docs not go to them. He generally
comes down in the omnibus at an hoy.lyy,
hour of the day, and remains cIoseII,
absorbed in business until five o'clocIS
he rarely takes exercise and finds HE
pleasure in the closest attention to bti-
siness. A friend of mine rode 10 WASH !
ington with him in the same car from
New YORK. He neither spoke nor got
out OF his seat, and hardly moved. from
Jersey City to Washington. He usuaIiv
leaXes his Office at five O'Clock, and
walks slowly up Broadway to Lnfny-
cite Place. He is over six feet hiII
heavily built, with decided Gerr1aii
look, small hnzy eyes, ms IL he was hnlf
usp, asleep, mend round us pumpkin, and
about as destitute of hair. He IL eX-
ceedingly hosPitable, and in the "sea-
son" gives dinner TO his friends yynelr-
ly, at which the richest yiands. ON SER
vices of gold and silver, are presented
TO his guests.
commodore Vanderbilt never work.
ed harder in his life, never worked more |
hours, than now. He has aconfidenfioI
clerk who works like a packhorse, who
mas been in his employ for thirty Years. |
! BESIDES this, Vanderbilt does his own
business, makes and executes his own |
contracts, and this, with the business |
ne does on twenty millions, is no small |
toll. The Commodore goes down TO |
MS business regularly every dav. nnd |
can be found ut certain hours; his only
euchre and fast horses.
Moses Taylor, whose dividends from |
ms coal stock alone this year reached /
me pretty little sum of "a million of dol
lars, begun business in New Yorl,
when he was sixteen years of ago. kGnt
ms own books with his own hand, nnd I
has done so ever since. His library in
his house on Fifth avenue is a re0nlnr
Every night he brings mn
his business with his own hand. His
vast business personal TO himself. and /
his business ns trustee, are kept by him
sell. he makes nll the original entries
of sort and kind, and goes to his office 4
Tor no Information, and he Knows Just
how things must be there, to be right.
And should every record kept by his !
bookkeepers and clerks be DESTROYED.
II would make no difference with him
for he has tho originals in his own
hands. Many merchants spend the af- [
ternoon in riding, or in games, or in the
excitement in the evening Stock Board;
but Mr.. Taylor finds his recreation in n
bath, good dinner, II comfortable sizes /
Ia, and an evening devoted to work. /
such q man would mako money and |
keep il.