The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-08-29

Personal Habits of Cyrus w. Field, Austin
Corbin and Commissioners blackboard.
Correspondents of the Indianapolis Journal.
New YORK, Aug. 2Z-The popular notion
about millionares represents them as sybarites
who use their great wealth toindulge themselves
in luxury and ease This notion may be correct
in some cases, but it certainly is wrong when ap-
piled to New York men of money They are
among the busiest men we have in the COM
munity Almost all of them have made
their own fortunes. and their terrible struggle
in the arena Of commerce has left them grim
and hardened gladiators, whose only pastime Is
grinding labor. They do not retire when they
have made great fortunes because they must
have occupation to keep them in good health and
spirits They love their work and do plenty OF
it, and to do it we'll is the greatest pleasure
they know. This. of course, cuts them of
to a great extent from the enjoyment
of travel and many amusements which
other men love, but love of work
seems 10 compensate for everything else.
Charles A. Dana said recently. apropos Of the
eight-hour movement, that the trouble with men
who love work is that they find sixteen hours
day too short for them, and would like
to steal from the hours devoted to
sleep. The man who did not like work,
he continued, was greatly to be pitied. Mr..
Dana himself is quite old enough to retire to his
place on Long Island and live among It's books
and art treasures but he would shoot any man
who seriously suggested that he should do So
His heart is wrapped up in the paper which he
has created and maintained as much by hard
work as by superior intellect.
Walking down Broadway, almost any day
in the week, the TALL erect figure OF Cyrus Field
may be seen. His hair and beard are white aa
snow. and more than eighty years have
passed since he saw light his fathers
little farm, but his eye is bright and
his step light they were fifty years ago.
In spite Of his years he performs work which
the very quickest aud cleverest of Wall
streets young men might be pardoned for con-
sidering excessive. He dictates every day many
thousands of words in answering letters and send.
ing messages, attends half dozen meetings OF
companies in which he is interested, visits banks.
studies out new projects and attends to the affairs
of old ones with lightning rapidity. Mr.. David
Dudley Field who has also passed fourscore years.
attends to his great legal practice most diligent-
ly and at the same time works on his great
undertaking of codifying all the laws of New
York State, a task which almost all lawyers
agreed at first was too hercuean for humanity.
He has seen the Penal Code win its way to rec
ognition and adoption, and he now sees the
Civil Code on o fair way to the same success. In
these great works he leaves his own monument
as surely as does Cyrus Field in the first Allan
tic cable; but he cannot yet throw off the har-
ness
Austin Corbin is another of our restless con-
stantly toiling millionaires. Everybody in New
York and Brooklyn knows him banker and
as the owner Of half dozen railroads and sew
eral of the largest and finest seaside resorts on
the Atlantic coast. He has made his way up
from poverty to So, 900. 900 and is now seventy
years of age have often been in his Office and
the hard work he did made a very deep impress
sion on me. put the same question to him as
l had to the others, 'You have cot more money
than you can possibly spend. Why don't you
stop and enioy yourself2' IF you offered me
$40 600 to go away on pleasure trip and offered
to have carried in the most comfortable and
rapid manner. to see the most interesting sights
in the world would not go. l get my enjoy
ment attending to my business. 1t is great
machine and / like to hold the lever that
controls it OF course have to do a vast amount
of work to keep myself thoroughly familiar with
the details of nay business but like it. What
would this country to if all men who pro-
jected great enterprises dropped their control as
soon as they made fortunesW A gentleman who
visited Mr.. Corbin's beautiful residence on Long
Island was surprised to find Mr. Corbn at his
bedside at suprise-about o'clock-urging him
to come and take walk. They walked several
miles before breakfast and the visitor found
that this was regular habit with his host. STATE
Fish Commissioner Eugene G. Blackford,
treble millionaire leaves his mansion on one
of Brooklyn's most beautiful avenues at
o'clock in the morning very frequently and
hurries to his corridor in Fulton Market. There
he dons an old suit of clothes which most
common fishermen would despise and from that
time until 10 o'clock he is buster than any or
his men. No work is beneath him, and when 10
o'clock comes he is fish scales from head to foot
At the hour named he takes bath, puts on his
ordinary business suit again, and after hurried
breakfast, rushes off on some mission connected
with his eommissionership. This may take him
all the afternoon, it may only take him an
hour If the latter. he finds plenty of matters
connected with his business on which to employ
his time till o'clock comes, when he rushes
over to his home, swallows his supper as fast as
he can, and rushes out again to be present at
church meeting, where he does days work at
tending to the congregations business
These gentlemen are all happy, healthy and
strong They are genial with their friends.
pleasant with their acquaintance and full Of
Kindness in their homes. Morally they are ex-
cellent men, and in this they are like the great
majority OF New York's great rnoney-makers. for
the great money-makers are great workers, and
great workers have time or thought for vice
Having means enough to open to them the
door of all worldly pleasure the millionaires Of
New York yet find that the greatest enjoyment
is to be found in hard work. honestly performed
What powerful refutation this is of the slam
ders which represent work as a curse inflicted
upon humanity for wickedness. And what a con-
ISOLATION to poor men. SYDNEY REID