The weekly Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1872-1887, 1875-02-27
David Maydole and his Hammers.

s. ErarEs-.r -
Mr. James Parton, in one of his lee
lures, tells show some men have become
rich" In connection he relates the story
of the great American hammcrsmith. 1t
proves the frequently urged lesson, that
the sure way to prosperity is the honest
way-to do everything wcll-brttcr than
anybody else, if you can. Last winter, in
Norwich, n beautiful town ncar the center
OF New York, l went over David May
dolc's mandatory, where one hundred
men were employed in making hammers,
enough men, you would suppose, to sup.
ply the world with hammers. lie is one
OF the most perfect examples of II King of
business l have ever met with in my life.
II every King Of Business were such as
he, we should havct the millennium the year
nttcr next. A plain little man lie ~, past
sixty now, but III the full enjoyment of
life and in tho full enjoyment of his work.
Upon being introduced to him in his
Giiicc, not knowing what to say, and not
being aware that there was anything to
be said or thought about, hammcrs-hav-
ing, in fact, always taken hammers for
granted said, "And here you make
hammers for mankind, Mr.. 3Iaydolc?r
"Ycs," said he, give made hammers
hero for twcnty-eight years."
SWELL, then" said I, still mt a loss for
n talk-opcncr, "you ought to be able to
make a pretty good hammer by this
time"
mo, sir" said he, ~ never made II
pretty good hammer; l make the best
hammer made in the United Statcs.n
And so hc does; every hammer made
most carefully by hand, md tempered
over q Glow fire us dclicatcly rs Dclmon-
lco's cook broils q steak for his pct gour-
mand. Then the hickory handle is put
TO it that has been seasoning for two
years; and it is q hammer that dare
show itself anywhere in the world.
81; There Is thought, and conscience, and
good feeling, and high principle, and
business sense in it.. 1t speaks its ma
kcr's praise whcrcycrit goes, and ms long
ns it lasts, and 1t will last very long in
decd.
He did the honor to give Tic ono, which
has ever since hung conspicuously in
my room, ~admonishing me to work, not
fast, too much with a snowy polish,
nor any vain prctencc, but rs we'll as
can every time, never letting one thing 90
till / hare done all that was possible to
make it what it should be.
Upon our return to the office utter roinp
over the works, lie told his story. tits a
representative story. Twcnty-ninc years
ago, when lie was u roadside blacksmith,
six carpenters came to the villrgc from
the next county to work upon q new
church, ono of whom, having left his
hammer behind, came to the blacksmith
to get one made, there being none in tho
village store.
shake me II good one" said the car
pcnter, "as good Il one as you know
how.n "
"But," said the young blacksmith, who
had already considered hammers, and had
arrived at some notion of what Il hammer
ought to be, and had II proper contempt
for chcapncss in all its forms, "pcrhap:
you don't want to pay for as good II one
AZ I can makc.'
YES, l do; l want n good hammer"
And SO David Mayd0lo made n good
hammer, the best one, probably, TINT had
ever been nude since Tubal Cain, and one
that perfectly satisfied the carpenter
The next day the mans five companions
came, cacli Of them wanting just such n
hammer and, when they were done, the
employer camo and ordered two more.
Next, the storckccpcr Of tho village or.
dercd two. dozen, which were bought by
II New York tool merchnnt, who left n
standing order for as many such hammers
MS David Maydolo could make. And
from that timo to this hc las gone on
making hammers, until now Inc has ono
hundred and fifty mon Mt work. lie has
never tried to compete with otllors in
price. lIe has never reduced u price be-
cause other men had done so. His onl7
care has boon to make rs many such rs
people wanted, and 10 more, md TO sell
thcM attn fair price.