The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1884-11-06
CYRUS | THE il CASH BOY:

New York Morning Journal. u -
: The procession id celebration of the
first Atlantic cable has long since been
eclipsed by granaer pageants, and At
!antic cables have become as much mat
ter of course as ordinary telegraph lines;
but at that time New York had never be-
fore seen so splendid show IN the
streets. The city was SO crowded with
sight seers that the people slept in arm
chairs at the hotels, or camped out in the
parks. The military parade, the civil
societies, swelled the large line; the
trades union sent tableaux on
wheels representing various artisans at
work. Then, standing in an open
barouche and bowling to the right and
left in response to cheers of the crowd
came the hero of the OCCASION, Cyrus
w. Field, a. tall, nervouslooking gentle
man, with light brown hair and beard !,
a Roman nose, bluish-grey eyes, and
the sanguine face of born Yankee.
AS he was then, so Mr.. Field is now
trife stouter, perhaps, and with a
tinge of silveramong his auburn hair.
The years since this great triumph have
touched him lightly.
A born Yankee Mr.. Field certainly is.
He first saw the light at Stockbridge,
Mass, on October 80, 1910. He was
the youngest son of New England
clergyman, who subsequently removed
to Haddam, Conn. His brother, David
Dudley, was given collegiate education
instead of classical education Cyrus
received $25 in cash and his fathers
blessing. With these treasures and fair
knowledge of reading; writing and
arithmetic, he was sent to New York
and obtained situation as cash boy
in A. T. Stewards store, at the liberal
salary of So week. For three years
young Cyrus worked and starved in
the employ of the dry goods mil
lionaire, and then better and bright
.er life was opened to him as travelling
salesman for a paper maker at Lee,
Conn: Even in Stewards establishment
Cyrus made his mark by his energy and
ability, and when he went away the
clerks clubed together and present
ed him with diamond pin and fare
we'll supper. A. T. Stewart gave him
nothing. Strangely enough MIR. Field
has lived to see the name Of A. L.
Stewart as thoroughly painted out as il
that millionaire had never lived.
Comforted by one good supper and
adorned with his presentation pin, Cy-
rus threw himself into the work of sell
ing paper with such zeal that in two
years he had mastered the business
He then formed copartnership in this
city. His venture was unsuccessful,
and in a few months he was bankrupt.
The blow was heavy one; he had been
recently married, and had lost every
dollar, but Mr.. Field bore his misfor-
tune with his accustomed courage. He
started in again, and on the first day
that he took possession of his new OF.
fee he made the sanguine remark: IL
shall make fortune here in twenty
years." Better than his word, he made
his fortune in twelve years and retired
still in the prime of life, to enjoy that
rest which he had never before known
since his boyhood.
In leisure moment he formed an
acquaintance with one Gisb orne, who
had conceived the project Of an Allan
tic cable, and had procured charter
for the laying of the cable from the leg
islature of Newfoundland. The CHS
borne's work had ended; but he talked
it over with Mr.. Field, whose leisure
hung heavily upon him, although he
had travelled through Bogota, Guaya-
qui and Ecuador with Church who paint
ed the Heart of the Andes" to try and
while away the time. Mr.. Field be-
became interested in Gisborne's scheme
and one night, while studying the geo
graphical globe, which still stands in
his library, his interest famed. into en-
thusiasm, and he shouted: ut can be
done and it shall be done" The next
night he called together his friends
Peter Cooper. Moses Taylor, Marshall
O. Roberts, Chandler White and Wilson
G.. Hupt-and preached Atlantic ca
BILE to them until they were converted
to his plans. A stock company was
formed, the necessary capital for pre-
liminary expenses subscribed; his
brother Dudley acted as lawyer of the
enterprise, and Cyrus sailed for Eng
land to wrest the money for the cable
from British investors. No monk Of
old ever preached the crusade with
better vehemence, and in a wonderfully
short time, ard in defiance of innumer.
able difficulties, the cable was com
menced and the ships chartered to lay
it.
Before the Atlantic cable was an &C.
accomplished fact Mr.. Field had labor
ed upon it for twelve years and crossed
the ocean fifty-one times. The first
cable would not operate, but lay
dead in it's ocean grave. The seconC
cable spoke for three weeks, then part.
ed and was dead as the first In 1866
the Great Eastern succeeded in per-
manently uniting two worlds. Ther
all the terrible labors of twelve years
were forgotten in the triumphs of sue
cess. Congress voted Mr.. Field med
al; the queen of England knighted his
associates, and he would have been 81,
Cyrus had not his American birth anc
prejudices prevented.
In 1879 he celebrated, at his Gram
Grey Park residence, the silver wedding
Of the cable project, and here as il
England the best society did honors t.
his achievements. William M. Evarts
in his commemorative address, de
clared columbus said; Here is on
world, let there be two But Cyrus W
Field said; Here are two worlds, lie
there be one,' and both commands wer'
0' Mr.. Field is the owner of the Wash
ington building and other real estat'
valued at SIC, 900, 900. In stocks, bond
and other securities has 500, 900 ,O0(
more.
He owns country house at Irving
ton and mansion opposite that of his
former business associate and recen
rival, Samuel J. Tilden, in Gramerc,
| Square. In Mr.. Fields shirt from
flashes one of the largest and pures
emeralds in the world, and. one Otter
wonders as he admires that iewe
whether Mr.. Field really values it high
er than the diamond pin presented t.
him when a poor cash boy by A. I
Stewards clerks.
The recent spell of hot weather j
regarded as phenomenal occurrence
at the east, and the extreme heat wa
uniform throughout the entire Atlanti
slope, East of the Alleghanies, extend
ing to the entire West and Northwes
the last two or three days of the term
Day after day, in New York Phila
delphia and Boston, the Their
| mometer Indicated nearly 80 de