The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1885-01-01
CYRUS THE CASH BOY.

to 11ohes-HtS Methods OF Money MAX
ing-orsat Enterprises Engineered.
New York Morning Journal 49,, l.,
The procession in celebration Of the
first Atlantic cable has long since been
collapsed by grander pageants, and At
lantio 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 q 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 OWL
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,
q Roman nose, bluish-g grey eyes, and
the sanguine face of born Yankee.
As he was then, so Mr.. Field is now
a trife stouter, perhaps, and with o
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;
r L.,
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 50 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 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 Mr.. Field
has lived to see the name of A. T.
Stewart as thoroughly painted out as if
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 a copartnership in this
city. His venture was unsuccessful.
and in few months he was bankrupt.
The blow was a 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: II
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 a 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 Gis-
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.. Hnpt-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 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
prejudices prevented.
In 1879 he celebrated, at his Gram
Grey Park residence, the silver wedding
of the cable project, and here as in
England the best society did honors to
his achievements. William M. Evarts,
in his commemorative address, de-
clared Columbus said; Here is one
world, let there be two But Cyrus w.
Field said; Here are two worlds, let
there be one.' and both commands were
obeved."
Mr. Field is the owner of the Wash
ington building and other real estate
valued at $40, OO0, 900. In stocks, bonds
and other securities has $40, 900 600
more
He owns q country house at Irving
ton and a mansion opposite that of his
former business associate and recent
rival, Samuel j. Tilden, in Gramercy
Square In Mr.. Fields shirt front
flashes one of the largest and purest
emeralds in the world, and one often
wonders as he admires that Jewel
whether Mr.. Field really values it high
er than the diamond pin presented to
him when poor cash boy by A. T.
Stewards clerks.