The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-03-30
MY CORRESPONDENT EDWARDS.

MY CORRESPONDENT EDN ARDS.
| am flour merchant. My office and
warehouse are in South street, in this
city. | buy and sell flour in the Corn
Exchange; | also sell it through my cor
respondents, both home and abroad.
Edwards was one of my country CORE
spondents. Springfield, Mass, was
where Edwards resided.
Every man has his own peculiar bust
ness history, and | have mine. Not
long ago Edwards became singularly
connected with my business career; and
since people keep asking how it came
about, | will tell the plain truth about
it, because Edwards is silent.
From my earliest childhood desired
to be miller. There was a fascination
about the rumble of the mill-stones, the
endless mounting up of the elevator
cups, the perpetual sitting of the long
white bolts, and the chatter of the COOP
ers and their barrels. 1t was all this
that finally made me flour merchant
Everyone thus has his peculiar taste
in early life, which in general affects
all that follow. My taste was for the
mill and flour, and | have retained it
all through life.
But this taste for flour and the manu-
facture of it leads sometimes to quite
unexpected results. Twas satisfied with
the working of the little old-fashioned
country mill and water-power until |
made some money, Then | wanted a
bigger, better mill, so that could make
money faster. Some said $50 to
Ohio; others said: Minnesota is the
best State in wheat; but old Bruce
who had been nearly everywhere, said
You go to Illinois and you'll like it
better than anywhere else" And old
Bruce was right.
/ went to Illinois, and liked it so well
that | had no thought of going else
where. lmade money on every barrel
of flour turned out of the mill for four
years. 1t was good luck. But some
how all the luck, good or bad, seems to
come together. About this time | in
vented the Invincible Bran-Duster, and
that was the greatest luck of all
People outside of Touring mill don't
know much about bran, and less about
the machine called the bran-duster.n
But the miller knows all about it; and
he knows that it will save hundreds and
hundreds of dollars every year in a
large mill.
Our fathers thought if they separated
the flour from the bran by sitting it
through fine silk-bolting cloth of Dutch
manufacture they had done all that
could be ne-hour-making was per-
feet. 1t was a mistake, and the bran
buster proved it.
My bran-duster was called the Invinc-
IDLE Bran-Duster because it appeared to
clean the bran wholly from flour. 1t
was a great saving, and millers knew
it. | sold those machines for 500 per
cent. profit, and was not wholly salts
fled then. But when little cross-evcd
Chicago man, with his pants tucked in
to his boots, and borrowing fine-cut
from every man he met, went upstairs
and down, all over my mill, and asked
questions till was tired out answering,
| offered to sell him a machine at cost
to get rid of him.
But he didn't want machines; he
wanted to buy the patent and have the
thing in his own hands. | asked that
cross-eyed man fifty thousand dollars
for my patent, and laughed, to think
that at last he must see how bored was
:" Yes, my friend, Just pay me fifty
thousand dollars, and you shall have
the patent and the independent fortune
it will bring you"
"That's what | am going to do,
reaching for another man fine-cut and
making very free with it. You fix
the papers and the money is ready for
you"
| have had kind feeling for Chicago
ever since. But when that little cross
eyed man sat down and told me such a
long story about his wife, the smart
est, prettiest, best little woman in the
State''--I felt guilty, and it seemed
somehow like | was robbing that nice
woman. But, then, she couldn't be so
smart, or she never would have married
such fool as he was.
| was an old bachelor then, and w est
ern bachelors always despise them
selves if they think they have cheated a
woman. 1t is all right to cheat man
in a trade-he must look out. But /
continued to have that guilty feeling
about that cross-eyed mans wife, and |
hoped to meet her some day. Then |
intended to act the part of an honest
man by her. / sent $4,000 of the
money paid me by the cross-eyed man
to Dewey IL Blossom, my New York
correspondents, with instructions to de-
post it in some good bank, there to re.
main to my credit until wanted. Then
felt less guilty toward that injured
Chicago lady.
A man in business never knows how
much money he wants; nor does he
know at all times how much he may
use in his business. That was why