Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-04-14
WIN. E. DODGE.
His Early Life as Described by Himself in a
Lecture in New York City.
THE SUCCESSFUL CAREER OF
THREE CONNECTICUT PEDDLERS.

and was so prominently identified
with enterprises of religion and phi
lanthropy that his name had become
honorably known throughout the
country. He was born in Hartford.
Conn, the 18th of September, 1906.
After acquiring a good common
school education. he came to this
city with his father in his 18th year.
In very interesting lecture on "Old
New York." delivered by him in
| Association Hall three years ago be-
| fore great audience of well known
citizens, he said:
Eighteen hundred and eighteen
found me a boy in a wholesale dry
goods store, No. 364 Pearl street, near
Peck slip. My employers were two
most worthy Quakers. A promise
made by father to the junior partner
that when he went into business
was to be with him, will account for
my leaving school so early 1t was
very different thing, in those days.
to be boy in store from what it is
now. fear that many young men,
anxious to get started, would hesitate
long before facing such duties as had
then to be performed
''ln May, 1927, commenced at No.
213 Pearl street the wholesale dry
goods business. A retired Connect
cut merchant, with whom 1 had done
business most of the time while a
clerk, had son just graduated from
Yale, whom he was anxious to place
in New York, and, having heard that
was intending to commence for
myself, proposed copartnership
with his son. He offered to furnish
an amount of capital, which. with the
small sum | had (mostly savings from
my salary, would make, for those
days, respectable beginning, and
furthermore, promised to indorse for
us to any reasonable amount There
are few events in mans life more
important than that which introduces
him into active business on his own
account, and as my partner had no
experience, felt the responsibility
the more. Here / will venture to re-
late an incident, as think it may be
of service to some of my young
friends who are looking forward to
mercantile life.
"A few weeks after we started, and
when our stock of goods was small,
three young men stepped into the
store. each having two large tin
trunks which he carried in his hands.
aided by large strap over the
shoulders. saw at once they were
Connecticut peddlers, for had often
dealt with such when clerk. They
were attracted by some article in the
window After giving them its price,
and while they set down their loads
to rest and talk, | said pleasantly:
81 see you are, like myself, just start
ing in business. Now let me make
you proposition: There is plenty of
room in our store; each of you take
one of these pigeon holes under the
shelves, put your trunks there in
place of carrying them around while
you are picking up your goods, and
just order all you buy to be sent here.
We will take charge of all your pur
chases, pack and ship them, and you
can come here and examine your
bills. write letters and do as you like,
whether you buy dollar Of us or
not. l want to make at least show
of doing business, and it will really
be an advantage to us, as well as a
convenience to you They were
pleased with the offer, accepted it at
once and left in search of such things
as they wanted.
My young partner waited until
they got out, and then, with consider
able excitement and wounded pride,
said, We'll, are those what you call
customers?' / said, Yes; you know
that tall oaks from little acorns grow.
We shall see by and by what they
will make Suffice it to say that for
the six years l remained in the dry
goods business they were my most at
tached customers. They were all re
spectacle young men, not afraid of
work nor ashamed of small begin
nings They are all living. One has
been President of New England
bank for more than twenty years;
his brother, years after, moved to one
of the large towns of Ohio, went into
business, and has grown to be the
man of the place, associated with the
railroads and public improvements
of the State; the other, who was from
manufacturing town in Connecticut.
has long been connected with the
large mills of the place, a man un-
usually respected. These are exam
pies of hundred of our most success
ful and honored citizens. who have
begun with little or nothing. but by
industry. economy and prudence have
risen to the highest positions in our
city and country. If the history OF
our citizens of wealth were written,
we should find that full three -fourths
had risen from comparatively small
beginnings to their present position.
II call to mind an old man from
Wheeling, Va, who. though wealthy,
still dressed as he did when travel
ing peddler; he was a very large
buyer, and his credit was beyond
doubt; he had number of wagons
peddling all over the West, and
made Wheeling his headquarters.
l had secured the confidence OF this
man, and sold him large quantities OF
goods, but my partner thought it
rather degrading to have so rough a