Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-01-15

or four hundred per cent. on money
which he should have loaned freely, as
a matter of friendship or gratitude, at
the least But here ne was offering To
take half of the profits for putting in
the capital which, by the conditions of
his offer. was To be returned to him be-
fore got anything. And l was TO do
all the work"
$50 you declined his offer?" said |.
Not by a jugful, said Johnny. II
jumped at it. IL he had shown the
least sign of getting away. i would have
followed him one thousand feet straight
up into the air, rather than lose him.
closed with him. Then he said: You
won't have TO show any money. Just
tell the people who take your order for
these things that I'm back of you, and
il will be all right 1t was all right. L
went 20 my manufactures. He agreed
TO make the things at the price which
looked reasonable to me. He guaran-
teed everything. He promised that
should have the first thousand any time
day before yesterday. if insisted up
on it, Then went To make arrange
ments 70 have the stuff put on the mar
ket. went to several of the large re-
tailers of goods in that line. They all
said that they didn't handle anything
unless il came from the regular whole
sale houses. They intimated that their
souls were not their own, but were OBJ
tanned from their regular wholesale
houses on very hard terms. They adj
vised me to go to the regular wholesale
houses and PROSTATE myself on their
thesholds.
II went and FRUSTRATED myself. 'You
should sell this thing for five dollars
said the first wholesaler. 1T will cost
one dollar and twenty-five cents to
make. We will act as your distributing
agent if you will pay the cost of manu-
facture and distribution, and guarantee
US seventy per cent. of the difference
between cost and selling price | took
that proposition home and had the
nightmare with it. Then / went to
another wholesaler, and got substan-
tally the same reply, after which
went home and had substantially the
same nightmare. There were only three
men on the list, so the retailers said,
and I visited the third next day. Then
/ went to the first and accepted his
terms.
THE business was now fairly under
way. l was devoting my whole time to
it without salary, and was supper ing
myself in some mysterious way which
/ have never since been able TO remem-
ber But know that it left me three
Ill Il L
first thousand were ready-about a
month after the time agreed upon-I
went to see the first wholesaler. He
said: Jones (the second wholesaler) is
putting the same thing on the market.
Yo1 must stop him. look to you to
protect your patent did some fine de-
tective work, and found out that r. C.
Billings, one of the men had applied
20 for money to start the business, had
started 1t himself. I also found that C.
j. Mills, another who had refused me,
had started the manufacture. and pro-
posed to make his sale through the
third wholesaler.
'Old Payne said that must have a
lawyer. l got one He secured an in
junction restraining Billings from turn
ing out the goods, and then Mills got
one restraining US. These legal strug-
giles occupied n year. at the end of
which time Payne sued me for two
thousand dollars had never seen his
two thousand dollars, but he produced
copy of our agreement. which was. in
effect, n receipt for me. Then all the
people who had trusted me on Paync's
account sued me for the money. At
this juncture Billings and Mills com
bincd and won their suit against me.
Then they put their goods on the
market and they sold like gold bars.
Ny dreams were more than realized
by others They are rich men to-day.
while am wearing winter ovcrcoat
which would look shabby IL the statue
Of Horace Greeley wore IL over his
bronze, ready-made pantaloons.~
HOWARD FIELDIxe.