The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-06-07
hOW WEALTH Is LOST,

some I'nsnrcrs and Paupers who wer,
Vince Worth Hundreds of thousands nj
Dcilars. VI
\. Ihe recent death of one of the old.
,line merchant princes Of Boston. who
leaves an insolvent estate, and the still
p,ore recent failure of an old-establishe,l
s1osUon house that had weathered the
slree great financial storms of 1887.
:oof and 1873, recalls some remarkable
instances of financial ruin, caused by
speculation in untried fields,
In 1858 there was a large firm engaged
IA the boot and shoe business, probably
ot mat time the largest in Boston, which
concluded to dissolve. The aggregate of
sne available cash means of the firm was
Sl,zoU,OOO and there were three iii the
,1,t ,mrm, each of whom took his S4OO, OOO
Inc senior partner invested his money
al paying securities, and died few yeats
.iter, having doubled his capital; the
Junior partner did the Same, and when
ne died he had nearly trebled the
amount. The other partner accepted
me honor,ry position of president of
pank, and became interested in wild.
cat speculations in mining and new
Inventions, and to-day he is almost u
pauper.
About forty years ago young man
began as porter i'll a large concern ON
South Market street; he rose gradually
from one position to another till he had
acquired knowledge and money enough
TO start tor himself, and he chose the
then new field of st. Louis. Bv indus
TRY, application and shrewdness he be-
came one of the leading merchants of
that city. About twenty years ago he
decided to retire from active business
and return to his native State. He had
a clear cash fortune of $S0O,OOO. Pur.
chasing beautiful estate within twenty
miles of Boston, and adding thereto by
elegant aud costly buildings and out
buildings and Conservatives, he settled
down to enjoy himself. But he was not
satisfied. He invested his all in
patent, and that man to-day is laboring
hard to gain daily bread for himself and
family.
In 1858 one of the leading commission
dry goods merchants in Boston over
reached his competitors in trade. and
made himself whole in that terrible finan.
cal crisis, when most of our Leading
houses went to the wall. As collateral
security for notes given for about $780,
~
railroad connected with coal mine.
Discovering that this stock held as col
lateral represented more than q majority
OF the whole stock, he employed brokers'
Al Wall street to bear the stock and buv /
it for IL song. He succeeded and he al /.
terward admitted that he cleared S4OO,- |
900 by the operation. The war came on,
and he succeeded in obtaining from the
DOyprDDNaIt cavorol lor,,a
the close of the war he could chink out
at least two millions of dollars in solid |
cash. But he was not satisfied. Rail- .
road schemes were all the rage, and he
went in, seeing in the future his two
millions swelling to ten millions. He
has lost his own money and led his
neighbors to ruin, and is to-day an OBJ.
iect of pity.
ing lawyer was retained by a railroad
corporation III New England, then labor
ing under great difficulties He soon got
Mt the true inwarlness of the situation.
and, availing himself of the knowledge.
invested right and left n it's securities at
low figures. Those securities afterward
became appreciative values, and he
found himself almost millionaire. He
I'.'i iSit'SSi o Sllciltill cSttte, became
liberal patron of the arts, leading agri-
culturist, and was esteemed for his be-
nevolence. His income was almost prince
ly, but others were worth more, and he
was still young. His ambition was to
mount to the top, and in one brief year,
from being the possessor OF 5000, 600, he
died recipient OF charity.
In 1913 young man from a neighbor-
ing town, who had been fortunate
business man till the crisis of 1887,
started afresh. A few years found him
Mt the top of the ladder, his credit good
and his transactions immense; he had
acquired a second and handsome for
tune. In day, as it were, he lost all,
and he had not money enough to buy his
MONDAY meals. Not discouraged. he
began again at the bottom aud laid the
foundation for third fortune, which
was destined to be threefold greater than
the other two. But he was a man never
to be satisfied. Three years ago he could
have sold out his immense real estate
and realized three and one-half millions
Of dollars cash. Three months ago he ,
was forced to borrow money from his
friends for the actual necessities of him ,
self and family. y.-BOstOn T'areUer. {