The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1868-12-03
Helmbold and His Secret.

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The papers tell us that when Judge Pier
pont, the bondholder and Office seeker, sent
twenty thousand dollars to the merchant
prince, Stewart, to be used for the promotion
Of Grants election, Helmbold, the Broadway
Apothecary and celebrated ssbuchu man,
plankel up his forty thousand in behalf of
Seymour. Where did the money come from
This is a text upon which we would indite a
short exhortation to the merchants Of the
South, and especially of Staunton.
Five years ago Helmbold was poor man,
| but full Of business tact and shrewdness. and
resolved not to remain SO. He cast about
and found the philosophers stone in the bar
rels of printing ink there were turned out
from the manufactures of the North and dis
tributed to every portion Of the country
This he awaited himself Of and by judi
cious, but most liberal system of advertising
chiefly in newspapers, has, in a very brief
period, amassed fortune The more he
spent the greater his gains, until his bills ROW
amount to hundreds of thousands, and his
receipts to perhaps millions. Nor was it a
mere experiment with him. He gathered
wisdom from the experience of others. In
casting his eye over the business world, where
he saw meagre few who had amasscd for
tunes in quiet sort Of way, he also saw that
in nearly every .ainstance where man had
anything worth having, and advertised 1t free
", he had grown to wealth. He had, there
fore, only to follow in the footsteps of his
predecessors, and he did it wisely and we'll
And now, why cannot our Southern mer
chants and business men Of every sort, learn
wisdom from these same examples and prac-
tice the lesson inculcated There is not a
solitary reason why they should not; but as
general rule they seem inclined to invest in
everything else that holds out kalf the prom
isc of reward. They reject the true secret
of success, while others are making fortunes
before their eyes by embracing it. We can
say, truly, that during our long connection
with the press, and close observation of the
workings of trade, We have hardly known an
instance where man advertised his goods
wares and merchandise on a large scale and in
the right place, and failed to prosper. We
have in our mind, at this time, number of
Virginia merchants whom the war left poor
and yet who, by keeping themselves and their
business constantly and prominently before
the public, have risen to Independence Why
should such facts be lost upon the great body
of our business men?
But some will tell you: "The times are
dull, and am not making enough to adver-
tise." The premises lead to exactly the OBJ
posite conclusion. If business is dull. make
it. sharp by whetting on the great grindstone
of the press. It will'attract people to your
deserted doors and build up busiress for
you; while if you continue to hide yourselves
''under bushel, you may be sure the dull
times will continue, for nobody will find you
out This is fast and active age, an age in
which bold strokes win the prize, and those
who lag behind and trust to the old fogyish
habits of the past will soon find themselves
distanced by their more enterprising compct-
itors.
Another will say: II have tried adyertis-
ing and found it did me no good" This is
also mistake. You may have tried it after
a fashion, but not with that good judgment,
system and perseverance that you would 60
Into any other enterprise which you believe
would pay when properly followed up You
have either done it by fitful starts, followed
by equally ftful stops, put your advertisements
where nobody would read them, or else you
have displayed bad judgment in going into
business that meets no public want, and which
nothing short Of Omnipotence could inspire
with life and activity.