The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-01-19
WORTH MILLIONS.
A Valuable Idea and Who Got
the Cash.
Howard Fielding Tells a story Which
Is Pointed at People Who Would Like
to Go to Work for Themselves
"A Needed Lesson.
fcnPYRIGHr. lsos.1

! tCOPYRIGHT, 1881
This story is addressed to that man
! (if any such there be- who would like
/ to quit working for somebody else and
berin to make little money for him
/ self, by way of variety. ] do not mean
/ TO insinuate that he cares more for his
I interests than for those of his en-
/ plover. for that were treason, but only
that his poor, weak human heart will
sometimes long for q change, especially
on those DAYS when he is locked for
getting to the shop FIVE minutes late by
a clock that is ten minutes fast and
then asked to work four hours over
time without extra pay.
1t is not my story; oh, dear, no. 1t IS
the story Of an unsuccessful man who
cannot pay his rent promptly by check
on the first of the month; who has to
get along WSth the aid of all the mod
ern conveniences; who buys furniture
and pie and Chinese laundry tickets on
the instalIment plan. He opened his
heart to me with these words:
Il was born poor and honest, but
have succeeded IN eliminating one of
these microbes from my system, and
understand that people do not have ii
twice. Poverty, however, is ike mala-
ria. You may have it as many times as
you want to. ! am glow 10 make up
my mind, but one day l decided that I
would like to be rich. ] did not ask to
be too COMPOUNDED rich, you know, but
TO have just so much that my friends
would attribute It TO treason and pira-
oy, and enemies to bull luck and stu
pidity.
Just about that time an idea came
to me. l was at dinner in q place
where the bill OF fare cries beans, beans,
and the customer IS never satisfied.
had ordered coffee, and was about to
partalze of something which looked like
piece Of the Missouri river on the
breaking mp of hard winter. Then
the inspiration hit me I do not know
whether it came out of the coffee, but
the stuff looked as If it might contain
almost anything. 1 paused with the
cup half way between a cracked saucer
and broken spirit, and gazed at that
idea for about fifteen minutes.
ut was the mental picture of an arti-
Gle the like of which could be sold to
forty thousand people in New York city
clone, in single year, for three times
the cost Of manufacture. set down
the cup, and drew from my pocket
number of envelopes containing bills.
On the venerable back of the oldest of
these / figured my income as Ii would
be year from that day, when the idea
should be fairly In operation l went
over the process several times, because
! did not wish to lose dollar by care
less arithmetic. The sight of the great
and glorious total filed my heart
80 full of JOY and peace that when, an
hour later, the bouncer throw me out
of the place, in the svowed belief that
j was blind drunk, gave him a quar-
ter for his courtesy, and readily prom
ised not to come back any more"
What was it, Johnny" said L; "a
patent lightning rod?"
No." he replied, nor il wasn't some
thing which will be Indispensable to
every travelling man when we all learn
to fly. It was good stuff, and forty
thousand were sold right hero. But
wait TIA tell You about IL l needed
capital to begin with. My own savings
wouldn't start the business, and my
credit wouldn't start water down hill.
The sum required YVES not large. In adj
dition TO what I had, about ono thou
sand nine hundred and ninety-nine
dollars and fifty cents. making two
thousand in all, would do at a pinch.
1t looked easy to raise that amount.
you would never suspect it,
have Il considerable acquaintance among
really wealthy men. There's old Israel
Hopkins. / ence did him q considerable
service in political way. IL was when
ne lived in Rutland, Vt. and be told me
l could have anything l wanted when
the democrats carried the state went
to see him at his office in this city. He