Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-02-18
Phases OF q Ruined Life.

So hoW fARMEkS b BOY BECAME MILLI0r
nAIRE BUT is NOW CONVICT.
Sc In the small town in Iowa thirtee
y. years ago there lived rich and prosper
in GUS merchant-oue widely known and uu
Ie iversally respected. He was one of ou
W modern types of the selfmade man. A
1t tarmer-boy he had sought a place il
D the village as clerk in country store.
In three ye airs he became partner and il
Is five sole proprietor The town grew ant
/ his business grew with it. Profits wer,
large in those rapidly growing Western
2 towns, and even then supply scarcely
= equalled demand, With good beginn
0 ing in the world, and a keen eye, un
bounded energy, and a fund Of good ma
c ture, so necessary to the business man, te
: develop this beginning. with few wants
f and simple solid trust to the foundation
t Of experience, success was certain. The
= war came; it was to his business but q
new lever. He was largely engaged in
dry goods; VIC all know how they
, went up. He saw the advantage; he
, bad nerve, and went in largely. lis
bills at this time with Clafin T. Go. we're
enormous. He was well known in New
York, and called perfectly good, 1t was
the golden age with him. In the back
room of his store he had whole cords of
sheeting aud calico which were worth 800
per cent. more than they had cost.
1t would not have been surprising if
uch monstrous fortune had a marked er.
ect upon the mind Of this simple, straight
forward business man; if he had felt the
secure foundation of experience less
necessary; if he had seen new horizons
opening up greater possibilities in the fu-
ture; if he had planned Napoleonic
schemes of commerce in wider field,
1t is not known that he had these dreams:
what we do know is that his judgement
became unreliable and played him false
that during the ensuing FIVE years he los,
money nearl y as fast as he had made it
that he fnally sold out and came to New
York with saved remnant Of his i'm. !
mense fortune, but with unbuunded am.
btiou and the utmost confidence in his
own abilities.
Benoni Howard was one of the few
business men whose honesty and liberalty
during long career were never by any
human being doubted. He always paid
everything that was demanded of hin,
and with interest. This was with him a
mania. 1t extended beyond the pale of
his business into his moral life. He had
something of the Indian in his nature,
for he never forgot favor nor forgave an
injury. "I'l! be even with you vet was
his favorite remark, uttered in his quiet.
determined way, and those who knew
HIM best looked to themselves when he
made that remark. The subsequent his.
tory of the man is the story Of single
act and its results--an act of resentment
1t was this fatal quality, resentment,
which was the shoal on which his life was q
wrecked.
In 1865 Benoni Howard became pro. o
orletor Of the immense establishment a
Inown as the New York Match Company q
n Forty.sccond street. The business car. b
led an here was something enormous. He v
bought of the Government no less than ]
even hundred thousand dollars worth of a
evenue stamps. The Government al. p
owed him certain percentage on these n
lrawbacks. A Misunderstanding occnrrcd il
ere, the Government, according to his b
gurlng not allowing him what the con. b
ract required He felt that he was an ct
Injured man; he applied strong language c'
0 the Government officials and was SC
romptly snubbed 1.-The Government CT
as cheated me I'll be even with them d'
ct, he said as he walked away. jo
The enemy, however. was too strong nj
'r him. The Government watched him, it
nd found that he did not buy as many ca
amps as he used, and they su6dently ez
'ade descent upon him, shut up his di
'ctory, broke up his business, and threw he
i'm upon the world a ruined man. Tn.
amped boxes Of his matches had been
und in the market, and it was upon this
ct that the action was takeu. Nothing az
ore serious was suspected until nearly ~
year later, when fisherman in the East 81
liver found buried in the mud, aud GOV. III
ed with wax and verdigris, a copper plate an
r printing revenue stamps, and bearing tn
e name OF Benon Howard. Howard made oP T
'sperate effords to get that plate from CHI
e unsuspecting fisherman but the de- an
ctlves were too quick for him, and out lot
him for the fatal piece of copper bear ma
g the name Of the ruin match manu-
oturer. 4a w4a br,
He was not the only man involved, nc
uouor. .lo. rid