The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-08-21
TIE LATE SAM NOBLE.
A Tribute to His Memory by
Bill Arp.
THE W0RKINGMAN'S FRIEND
a Man Who Worked Hard and
Attended to His Business.
For The Constitution.
zone crowded hour OF glorious life
Is worth an age without name."

mako so many mistakes in quoting authors that
am in the cautious state now, for am sure
20 hear of my blundcrs. il l misquOte Scrip
ture In a single word the preachers get after
me. Not long ago l wrote that Pope said,
"Man wants but little here below" and had
several reminders by mail that it was not Pope
but Goldsmith. OF course 10 was and i knew
1t, for / had spoken "'rhe Hermit" at school
when a boy and know every verse Of 1t by heart
now. II is the sweetest ballad ever sung and
always bring pleasure when we recall its tender
touching lines. | wish that every boy and
girl in the land would read the Vicar or Wake.
Held-uSt to enjoy that ballad, il for nothing
else. And every lad and lassie should commit
TO memory that other beautiful ballad that
tells how Colerdge won his Geneveve-his
bright and bcauteous bride. ] wish the youth
OF the land would let alone some of the mod
ern sensational fascinating fiction that spoils
tho appetite Tor good standard reading, and go
back to some of the good old solid authors
whose works and thoughts have outliyed
thousands Of the sensations Of our day, and
Will continue TO outliye them.
Bat Is Il true that one hour or one day, or
even one year, Of glorious life is better than an
age Of obscurlty2 Wei, OF course, that depends
upon the character OF the glory on the one
hand, and the extent OF tho obscurty on the
other. II man is working for name and
for fame and glory, and gets it for an hour or
"A day and dies, he is not much ahead of him
who lives 10 u good old age and made no mark
and left no sign. These crowded hours are
pretty hard hours, and the wear and tear OF
Them deserves a reward that rarely comes. But
p man cant avoid his natural constitutional
tendencies. Some are born eager, nervous
ambitious, and some are sluggish and indilier-
emit Some erect goal to work to, and some
don't want any goal.
was revolving these things in my mind
when read of MIR. Samuel Mobiles illness. for
! supposed that he would die. They all die
whom the first serious illness comes-these
men OF brain who keep the brain up to a
straiuiug tension. One OF my boys
took mp his violin tho other morn
ing, and the first touch OF the bow
caused 4 string to break. All night it had
been drawn TO the highest tension and needed
rost- aud the first agitation the first pressure
OF the bow was fatal,
Sam Noble was an eager man. He was more
than earnest and his Will power was tremend
Gus. lie really lived longer than he had any
rght to. Ills viii kept him alive and going
and les lived % accomplish his purposes. He
had many crowded hours and days and years.
He put as much labor on his mental and ply
seal forces in one year rs most men do in n
whole life. ! remember when lie toiled in the
foundry acd the rolling mill and the machine
shop thu man of all work and how vigorous
h, step and eager his walk when in his prime.
Jie never had time to tarry by the way. re-
me!uhff when he would snncrintend the Corn
wall WORT by day andride from there to Rome
by nghi-twonty-lour miles and attend to inn
psrtant business and DO back at his post at sun
use.
THIS was not rarely done, but frequently.
His strong frame and iron will seemed nCapa-
bic of being tired 1he night watchers Of
Rome knew we'll his habits, and would say;
"Sam Noble camo in again last night at TO- on
the black pony, and left this morning before
day Don't he beat all for work? but IL will
toli on him after awhile see il II don't"
e / remember when the great iron collapse of
rs came over our infant Industries and crushed
them, Etna and Stonewall and Round Noun
tain and Barlow and Ridge Valley and many
others surrendered, and some were sold out BY
Nut the fires of Woodstock, as il
was then called never went out. BY
day and by night the molten mass continued
90 roll from her furnaces and every train car
rlod her charcoal iron to northern markets.
Iron lad fallen from forty dollars ton TO
eighteeu. and the wonder was how Admission
could survive the shock.
Sam Noble saw the impending crash and ut
once shipped by express several parcels of their
iron To different points up north. He followed
Them in person. Arriving Mt Springfield,
MAss., he went into the government armory
with piece OF charcoal pig under his arm lie
laid II doWn by the trip hammer and said, "Aiy
friend. am one of the craft j used to work
am making iron now and want
yoU g. try this sample" The man
lid So willingly When it was to n white heat
ho put 10 under the steam hammer and crushed
" lHtN ihliu Auu dpubttu ~ ana Nctutu
and hammered again and again. Iio
bent 1t and twisted IL with his tongs. and after
careful and patient inspection, said This is
the ba-. iron that ever handled where was
Il made"' Mr. Noble told him, and said "My
trionu. wish 10 make n customer of this ar
m0rt VIII you lrelp mep" The man called up
the superintendent and had HIM TO inspect the
IRON aut the result was new customer at n
good living price, and SO he followed up the
other pI'CelS and made more customers and
h. nf Ia tDrs ,,l,,
had iron OF their own TO sell-and
would -v.i it before they would Try
70 seu the conSiCnments of othoIS-Mr.
Noble saved their comm ssions and got better
price Ih, plan showed his sagacity in the
time Of peril and II kept tho Admission fires
bot tie knew no such word rs fail. lie was
tnVeutifc a resources and aggressive in exc
outing ali hi> plans and schemes, Some years
ago he said o. me; ~ am troubled about these
humhio peopie spending their money for beer
and iet whisky, Their families need that
money and they shall have it. They spent
won't -toui thou and dollars last year nj orr
saloon aad nay share of that money burns in
my pocket. ! am going 10 break II up. Their
families shall have it," Not long after this he
closed tha saloon- IL was the only one in An.
niston aud he made the workmen speech
thrilling speech that was convincing and ef
joCtivc and the workmon sustained him
ana the WAGES that had been spent for boer
were placed in tho bank and drew interest,
AMI new llto was given to the humble homes
OF the aooring people We met one Of then,
IA Grrmau-as we were walking around, and
SAN Noble took him by the hand with cor
dial greeting and said "Nou arc almost well
again, fannie You look good deal better than
you eid week ago How are the wife and
CnllreuN'
AN we'll. bless God and you, too. Mr. No,
bic We are all right, and III be at the fur
mace again IN Monday / have six hundred
dollars iN tie bank nowand don't mind little
silkues, now and then: hut you know when
we used GO run the beer never had dollar in
hnn@ Bless God, and you,too MIR. Noble, for
stopping it,"
O,d DR. johnson said 10 his friend
Bosv that il was every mans duty
% d1 something for postcrty. SO as 10 PAY
tue debt We owed to our ancestors. III "A man
can DO auything else he can plant n tree or a
vino and ict its fruit or its shade comfort those
who live after he is dead sam Noble has done
this and uOre. He has planted many trees and
many WHO'S. He has created values He has
added - ,be real wealth of the country, and
Rveh homes and employment 10 thousands
He i- JetH, bat all these things still live and
WI continue 10 live For over twenty years
le h1, ci a crowded lifc-a life that was
Wo.ih t.uS ior Il has proved a blessing TO
Una .A>- Who were most IN noad.
t'chAI Golden. the great English states
Wat hA~ iAs epitoph upon his monument