Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-22
NEW YORK NOTES.
What II Going ON In the Busy Metrops

l NEW YORK NOTESs
What il Going ON I'm the Buoy Aetropoiia
DIFFERENT WAYS or RuxNrSa A MAMMOTH BUS
INEss-rHE EASY MAN AND THE NERVOUS
| HrsrLER-PtAYrNa LANDLORD ron a DAY
TIE roroH KLEMESf At PLEASURE REsoRTs.
Special Correspondence Of The Evening STAR
NEW YoRK. August 20. 1891.
| Ihad an opportunity today 10 zee the differ
ent way in which men OF the same general type
conduct the same kind of business. spent
much Of the morning talking with two Of the
leading merchants Of the city, men who are at
the head Of great establishments which have
from ], 200 TO 800 clerks on the pay rolls. and
could not but contrast their meth
ods Both are eminently successful men,
and in both cases you could not help admiriug
| their dispatch Of business. The difference,
| after all, was tempsramsntaL One came in a
little late, with IN easy, breezy manner. and
chatted on miscellaneous range Of topics, in
"a rich dow Of anecdote and shrewd
business common sense, for nearly an
hour. He had no mail to open and nobody
| seemed to have any business with him; in fact.
one might have thought that he had very little
| influence with that administration. believe
two people came up to the lattice work Of his
| private Office during the hour. and both he
| waved aside good-naturediy and settled back to
| an unfinished anecdote. Finally some one
| came that he really wanted to see, and as our
conversation had far exceeded the time limits
that were reasonable he brought the talk to
/ an end and waved the newcomer in for his
| innings. expressed my astonishment at his
neglige. well" said he, with a smile. there
| is great deal goes on IN this shop that don't
know anything about. have general system,
but after all believe that a merchant is like a
poet-he Is born so. ! come to many decisions
| by an instinct. can't explain and haven
any well-defned idea myself perhaps but
was born and brought up in this business and
| 30 was my father before me, and suppose it's
in the blood"
IN STRIKING CONTRAST.
A Few moments afterward / was ushered into
| the presence Of a wiry, nervous, irritable mer-
chant, who reminded me of Meredith's descrip-
ton Of an old maid in Lucille" 'all steel and
tenuity." He, too. is q wonderfully successful
| merchant, one OF the most famous in America.
but he had that worn, hunted, worried look
prostration and premature old age.
Perhaps his fretful look came from
| having to entertain what apparently was
group OF country cousins, who were taking up
the most valuable time of his day asking about
| his relatives by their first Names and showing
a great interest in his domestic concerns.
In his routine, of course, one could OBJ
| serve the iron system which Is necessary
to all these colossal business enterprises,
and yet there hurried, fur
rled way about him that was in marked con-
trast to the nonchalance of his neighbor AMI
rival. And yet it may be that he will last
| longer and outshine the man who has an equ-
poise Of temperament which makes him seem
like an idler, while he has his hand on the helm
OF one of New iork's most complicated and
| important stores.
LANDLORD FOR DAY.
I 81, l..
| king for day have just heard story,
which is old enough to be new, touching on
much the same subject. l don't think it has
ever gone the rounds OF the press" GER
tainly not in our day, and 30 perhaps it
| is worth repeating. Many Years ago two
Youngsters were starting hotel on Broadway.
| They encountered the usual obstacles of lack Of
| acquaintance and reputation and their enter
prise was rather languishing. This threw q
good deal of compulsory leisure on their hands
and one day, in desperate mood, they thought
| they would drop the cares of trade and 60
| fishing. So they asked leading dry goods man,
who kept large store just opposite, if
| and let them have an outing. The mer-
| chant said he would if they would introduce
him to the employees of the hotel IA one who
had just bought the concern. This they agreed
| to do, and every one was called up to the Office
| ana told that their neighbor, the dry goods
| man, had bought the hotel and would hence
| forth be their proprietor. and that they must
| take their orders from him. The partners
| then went fishing.
A9REAT oRGIE.
The merchant was notorious wag in q de-
| mure way. and he at once began to use the
| temporary sovereignty which he had thus &C.
quired in very peculiar fashion. He de-
nsnded to know what liquor there was in the
bar and the cellars. and finding there was
otn h.
ders that in honor of his purchase
| there should be free invitation given
| to all employees of the hotel and their
friends and neighbors, and any body who hap
pened to be around. to come in and drink as
| much as they wanted to. The employees, high
and low, began to open the bottles, and the
news was quickly carried across the stree. to q
famous gambling resort, which was promptly
emptied OF its patr ons. who preferred such an
unlimited orgie even to the delights Of
buckiug the tiger. 1t took but a very short
| time to finish up all the liquor in the place
This done the new proprietor said that to still
further celebrate the change in ownership
everybody was welcome to help himself
to anything he could find to eat in the
house. This precipitated q second on
| slaught, ard the larder soon wiped as clean
as the bar and cellar had been. As last
step the genial new proprietor invited
everybody who cared to do SO to go to bed in
the house. either with or without taking off his
his guests. and then, to insure the safety OF his
friends thus given the freedom of the house,
the doors apd windows were securely fastened.
THE NEXT MORNING.
When the true owners returned from their
| fishing early the next morning they found
everything bolted and barred and were OBLIGED
finally to break their way through window in
order to get in at all. and once in, a scene Of
devastation met their eyes which was simply
| appalling. Gradually the facts came out and
there was q rather violent scene in
| the Office. The two men and their
jocOse neighbor didn't speak as they passed by
for weeks after this, but presently they became
very good friends. for this wild jest was just
| what the house needed. 1t flew all over the
town and made the hotel famous far and wide
The story was told and retold and we may be
sure it lost nothing in the telling. and
numberless bumpers were drunk and suppers
| ordered to the memory of such an original and
| such a vociferous and halcyon episode. The
| consequence was that the hotel entered on an
imuc date prOsperity which il has sin, "a