River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-11-06
CYRUS THE CASH BOT.
! How Cyrus ". rield Rose Prom Poverty
to Riches-Hls Methods OF Money Max.
ing-Great Enterprises Engineered.

New York Morning Journal
The procession in celebration of the
first Atlantic cable has long since been
eclipsed By granler pageants, and At
lantic 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 50 crowded with
sight seers that the people slept in arm
chairs at the hotels, or caniped ont 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 Blowing to the right and
left in response TO cheers OF the crowd
came the hero Of tue occasion, CYRUS
W Field, a,tall, nervouslooSing gentle
man, with light brown hair and beard.
Roman nose, bluish-grey eyes, and
the sangline face of q 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 30, 1910. He was
the youngest son of New England
clergyman, who subsequently removed
to Haddam, Conn. His brother, David
Dudley, was given acollegiate 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. L. Stewards store, at the liberal
salary of 81 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 cluDed together and present
ed him with diamond pin and fare
we'll supper. A. L. Stewart gave him
nothing. Strangely enough Mr.. Field
has lived to see the name OF A. L.
Stewart as thoroughly painted out as II
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 copartnershlp IN tins
city. His venture was unsuccessful,
and in 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 Gisborne, 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 III Gisborfe'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: 1t can be
done, and it shall be done" The next
night he called together his friends
Peter Cooper. Moses Taylor, Marshall
| D. Roberts, Chandler White and Wilson
G.. Hunt 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; ms
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
1 better vehemence, and in 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 ac-
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 its ocean grave. The second
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. Then
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 Sir
| CYRUS had not his American birth and
preiudices prevented.
| In 1879 he celebrated, at his Gram
| ercy Park residence, the silver wedding
of the cable project, and here as II
| England the best society did honors tc
/ his achievements. William Nj, Evarts
/ III his commemorative huuiO0S, VIC
| clared columbus said; Here is one
world let there be two But Cyrus W
Field said; Here are two worlds, LEI
there be one. and both commands Were
| obeyed.
Mr.. Field is the owner of the Wash
ington building and other real estate
valued at $40, 900, 900. In stocks, bonds
and other securities has $4,000 Ot
/ more.
He owns country house at IRVING
ton and mansion opposite that Of his
former business associate and recent
rival. Samuel J. Tilden, in Creamery
/ Square. In Mr.. Fields shirt front
flashes one of the largest and pures
/ emeraIds in the world, and one Otter
wonders as he admires that iewe
whether Mr.. Field really values it high
err than the diamond pin presented tc
him when a poor cash boy by A. L
| Stewards clerks.
/
The recent spell of hot weather il
regarded as a phenomenal occurrence
at the east, and the extreme heat wa
uniform throughout the entire Atlantic