The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-05-19
WHERE EASE Is FOUND.
SAG HARBOR IS A NEST OF PHI
LOSOPHERS.
Place where People DO business Whe"
They Please and They Please and
Go Fishing and Blackberrying the Rest
Of the Time.
Especial Correspondence


year or more. Sometimes his son runs
it, Sometimes the printers do. Some
times it runs itself or seems to: but IT
gets there all the same. And it is not a
bad paper either. If man here makes
ND his mind when young that he won
work for living and keeps it so made
up he gets along somehow, though how
nobody exactly knows. and it's doubtful
if me does himself. There's "A positive
genius here for getting along in an easy,
informal. don t-care-a-cent sort OF way
was in a paint shop here the other
day. The proprietor was boosted up
on the top of an empty box near the
store 1t was half past 10 in the morn
ing. Around him were several Of the
towns people who rarely have much
else to do at half past 10 of a spring
morning save keep themselves easy,
talk the thing over, tell how the uni
verse ought properly to be wound up
and kept in running order or how many
eels were caught in the cove yester-
day, or who is going 70 get married and
why they should not get married. a
man entered in a hurry quite an I'M
usual thing here) and said: us my paint
ready" "What paint asked the pro
prietor, without moving from his box.
"Why." said the customer, IL came here
at half past this morning and told
your clerk all about it and how wanted
it mixed"
"You did, hey:' replied the proprietor.
"Well, | should like to know what bust
ness my clerk had to open this shop at
such an unearthly hour as half past Z in
the morning." BY this time he had got
off his box and commenced leisurely TO
besir himself regarding his customer.
What kind of paint do you WANT he
asked. Red" replied the customer.
what do you want red paint for" Ito
paint carriage wheels" How many?
One carriage wheelf' mo, four wheels,
said the customer
you see" said the proprietor, ad-
dressing himself to me, 1--WE do bust
ness in Sag Harbor with dignity. We
don't Jump around and hurry from our
seats as they do in New York when a
customer comes in. We wait and if
he's in hurry give him time to cool off.
BY this time the customer had fallen
in with the chat Of the party and seemed
to have forgotten his hurry. As turned
to leave the proprietor followed me out.
He hadn't finished mixing the paint and
seemed in no hurry to finish. He stood
bv the front door and discoursed in this
vein: THAT man I'm putting this order
up for was off his center when he came
in here. He was in a hurry. That's a
state of mind we don't encourage in this
town. You see how easy and comfort
able he is now. He thought when he
came in he wanted to paint that carriage
today. But he doesn't He won't paint
it today. He's got too much sense, now
that he's got some company and is COM
fortably fixed in the store, to do any
painting today Nobody acts in that
way if we can help it,
Now / was born here; haven railways
lived here; wish had. | lost twelve
years of my life by going away. | was
for part Of that time boss Of the paint
ing department in one of the biggest
carriage factories in New York city. ]
got big wages, worked early and late,
was full of care and responsibility, took
little case or comfort, and at the end of
each year found myself no better off
than at the end of the last. |
got sick Of it at last, and came
back TO Sag Harbor. found people
here who, during all the time had been
away, had done next to nothing, and
were about as well off as l. They had
small shops, did two cent business,
owned their skiffs, and if they pleased
shut up those shops and went fishing or
sailing or blackberrying or beach plum
ming in the summer | said to myself:
Here is liberty, if there isn't 50 much
money. pitched in and did likewise
Now l can live in house, with some
land and grass TO step ON, and not in the
sixth story of a rabbit hutch, called II
fiat, really tenement house in disguise
Here | have some air fit to breathe,
some water fit to drink, lots of clean salt
water to battle in and a fine country 10
look ON from my windows. | can shut
mp shop when | please, and if customer
comes and I'm going out sailing and
haven't the time TO wait on him | can
tell him to 20 somewhere else.
SO he talked on. His customer seemed
10. IY.l f..r
in such a hurry, and had harmonized
with the group inside.
The leading town tailor gave me III
similar vein his experience thus:
Yes, | went 20 New York years ago,
and was boss cutter of big firm there
stood it for four years. | worked my
self nearly to death, got more money
than | can make here, had no time 10
myself, couldn't 30 a-fishing nor smell
any clean salt water, so said one day to
my employer, I'm going to retire from
business and go to Sag Harbor to live
What" said he Retire. You re-
tire from business! Why, I've been
working like slave here for over twenty
years and haven't time nor money
enough yet to retire on
"'Well, have" said; I've got SiOO
clear, and I'm going TO Sag Harbor
again. I've got a small house there. and
I'm going to buy a boat and do some
tailoring and some fishing and some Der
rying.' Aud do. I'm at liberty here
when | wish 10 leave the shop and go in
the woods and take walk That's
worth $50 a month to me clear NeU
YORK TO me was prison. | got more
money for staying in it, to be sure"
But can't stay in prison even if I'm
well paid for il. In New York you may
make more money, but you have less
privileges Here you have more priyi-
leges and less money. What's the differ
ence whether you get money or what
money will buy? | had 10 pay rather
extensively in New York for an occa-
sional sniff of country air, if not in act
ual money III time and sSength it re-
quired to reach place where any was
10 be had Here have it all the time