Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1873-06-28

him at ono o'clock on the day have
referred 70, in order toget a fun de-
velopmcnt OF his plans.
Neither your fGther non, felt
much. interest in the matter. W.
had little faith in mining spccifla-
tons, hayiHg seen more money lost
IN them-than gained, by Thousand
per cent. But we had been so
strongly pressed 10 attend this nlec-
ting that we were constrained 20 be
present.
From the wedding reception,
flushed with Wine-wc had each Ia
ken three or four glasses, and our
heads were not very strong-we
| went 10 the meeting 10 hear about
the maryelously rich deposit Of al
tmoSt virgin copper discovered some
where on the range of the great
I Minnesota cOHglOmcrate belt. Mans
and plans were spread befone Us;
specimens Of copper ore exhibited;
cost of land, and the particulars Of
I working mines, and the money nee
dod for development, set forth I'm
eloquent detail
Il saw that your father, in whose
face was an unwOnted glow, and In
1 whose eyes shone al unusual bright
uess, was becoming much interest
red, and foremost in making inqui-
! ries and getting at facts and figures.
His ordinary GOODNESS and reserve
were gene. eIIShad permitted him-
self to come under the magIfetism
of the plausible individual aWho
wished 10 draw us into his scheme
Of fortune making, and was COM
| pletely carried away by his repros
sentations.
Il too, saw golden visions, and
when your father said, 'Gentlemen,
| mean 10 so into this thing yyas
the first 10 respond, $50 do T. Oar
example was infectious We had
the reputation Of being prudent, far
seeing men; and tho fact that We
saw money in an uudvelOpcd cop
l per mine had a strong iRfiuenCc up-
on those present, none Of whom had
! the. remOtest suspicion that our
Judgment was 0bscured and our yFs-
ioa Htstorted oyfgiucs e-- :.
There were tcs8 iAdiFidualc pres-
cnt st that meeting. Under your
fathers lead and mine, the prelimi-
nary organization Of a Joint stock
company was made, and q commit
tee appointed TO procure q charter.
The capital was 10 be two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, divided
into five thousand shares at fifty
dollars each; the money 20 be paid
in by installments as needed. AS
shown by full estimates aud the re-
suits accomplished in leading mines,
not over nifty thousand dollars
would have to be expended before
paying returns were obtained. The
stock would then rise 70 par, COM
manding fifty dollars a share for ten
paid in.
"Your father headed the subscrip-
ton, putting his name down for
two thousand shares. His faith and
example were potent with me, and
followed with a thousand snOre.
In a few minutes the whole sub
scription was full; and we had a
compact organization Of ten men,
two of whom your father and i,
held the controlling influence; our
proportion of shares being three
fifths OF the whole number. IL was
voted to pay in two dollars, a share,
or ten thousand dollars, in order to
make a cash payment on the land
and 10 get funds for beginning I'm
mediatsly the work Of opening the
mine. The charter would come and
the company organization proceed
TO due course.
'T went away from the meeting
feeling strangely. On going to my
stsre, / remember sitting down al
my desk, and resting my head be-
tween my hands, trying To think
Just where 1 stood and what i had
been doing. remember saying 10
myself, as the excitement under
which l had been laboriug cooled
down and my brain got clearer,
ssHave been dreaming, or acting a
foOl?" l was doing a moderately
profitable business that required
careful working. My capital. while
sufficient to secure success, was not
large, and needed to be we'll cared
for and handled judiciously. /
could not take two thousand dollars
away from it without derangiug my
calculations and limiting in some
degree, my operations. And yet l
had put down my name for thou
sand shares Of stock, at par value
OF fifty dollars each, and might be
called on TO pay assessments 10 the
full amounti / felt the cold sweat
on my forehead. 4 said 20 myselG /
What CANA over me2 i must have I
Iost MY itefsssfn Than ehr thoulft T
dashed iutS MY mind rnaI Iue wine /
drank at your sisters reception had /
been the evil influence which led me /
astray-the binding power that OBJ 1
scured my Judgment. / was star
tied at the revelation startled and /
ashamed.
"But there was now no going I
back upon what had done. / had /
entered into an honorable contract,
and could not, without loss of bust
ness standing, refuse TO meet its re-
auirements. Your father came to i
see me late in the afternoon to talk /
over the mining enterprise. saw
that his fine enthusiasm was gone; i
and did not fail to observe that in
referring to the copper product his
mind rested more upon the work
that had TO be done than on the
splendid results to be obtained. He
was not sure that the sanguine
individual who had led Us
into the scheme was the cool, relia-
BILE man we needed for the manage
ment of affairs in the mining region.
His calm, strong practical mind was
going over the whole ground in So
Der earnest; and il was plain that
the rosy hues which had SO pleased |
our eyes a few hours before were
fading fast sway.
"But he was not one TO look back
after once putting his hands to any
work. lie was sensitive and proud,
and more willing to face an enemy l
and dare a loss, than to acknowl-
edge a mistake. Under the influ-
enee OF his unWonted enthusiasm,
he had drawn a number of capital
lists and men of business into mi
ming enterprise, and he felt pledged
TO the work of its success.
AT an early day our charter was
IN hand when an election of officers
was held and your father made pres
ident of the company. The care and
work, the anxieties and disappOint-
ments be endured for the next year
or two, in his efforts to mansge the
company Affairs, broke his spirits
and impaired his health. Money
was poured into the mine like water
into sand; assessment after assess
ment was made, until each share
holder had paid in thirty dollars
share. 1t was impossible for me TO
take thirty thousand out OF my bus
iness without destroying it; so