The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-10-24
But how am 1 going to get it P,

Seems to me hat we are worse OF
than We were when we were poor"
he grumbled, as he put $40, 900 IN his
pocket, and started out to make the
purchases.
On the way he met an old man with
gray hair and whiskers, trudging
along and carrying q big carpet-bag.
"Can you tell me where I can find u
good hotel?" asked the stranger.
81 don't believe there are any left
open," replied the ~ex-factory hand.
"Oh! l guess they are doing bust
ness on the same plan that others
l have come across are" said the
stranger.
well, the proprietor is on hand,
and he will e you a room If you
will make up your W bed, and cook
your own meals l have made up two
beds, and cooked five meals, since I
left home, and paid a pretty good sum
for the privilege"
Where did you come from ?"
About thirty miles out In the our
try. I've got a nice farm out there,
but the help all quit, and as l am q
rich man now, l thought I'd move into
the city, where I could enjoy life a
bit: No trains running, 80 1 had to
walk.
We'll, there must DO something
going on. wonder where I a get
a newspaper
There hasn't been one published
for two ~ three days. Competitors,
pressmen, st~ereotypers, reporters, and
clerks, / understand, are all planning
to start in business for themselves"
~ don't see that Pm any better off
here than | was on tho farm" said the
stranger thoughtfully.
When the eX-factory hand got back
home, with a barrel Of flour on top of
his load Of coal, he was apparently
troubled.
Mary" he said, as he tried to get
the coal dust off his face and hands,
it seems to me mighty funny hat the
people who had money before are
about the only ones who are willing to
work now. The man who owned the
coal-yard was willing to give me a lift
in loading the wagon, the head of the
dry-goods firm a willing to wait on
me, n the man who owned the
grocery store was willing to help get
the flour on the wagon. They were
ready to work in their line Of bust
ness"
Perhaps" said his wife, "the
because they were willing to work when
they had money"
Now it struck the ex-factory hand
that there might be some truth in
that, and, after thinking the matter
over, he won't back and got some moro
coal and some more flour. Then he
rented u barn a few doors away, and
put his horse in it.
Now such q state Of affairs could not
last very long. Whether ~millionairies
or not, people had to have supplies,
even if they had to carry them home
In baskets. and it wasn't a great while
before every one in the n~eighborhood
discovered that the ex-factory hand
would not only sell them supplies, but
would deliver them himself, and he
had a great rush of trade.
Might just as we'll do this as to sit
in the allcyway and smoke a pipe all
day." he said. There's just as much
fun in one thing as another, and, be-
sides, it makas that million of mine
get bigger instead Of smaller"
And so it happened that there were
other people in other localities doing
two men, one spending money and the
other earning it, and every ono knows
what the result will be. The farmer
woke up one day to the realization of
the fact that his wealth was fast
dwindling away. People who still
stuck to their stores had raised prices
also.
production has ceased" they said,
II we are not particularly anxious
to sell. There is no telling when we
may want the stuff ourselves
The farmer scratched his head,
thought the matter over for half a day,
and then went out and bought a horse
and wagon and started back for his
farm.
~ reckon" he said, as he drove
back, THAT there are some folks that
are going to want wheat, and corn, and
vegetables awful bad before long, and
that the man that's got 'em is going to
be a pretty big gun. There's nothing
to amuse a fellow in the city now, any
how"
A few other men got the same idea.
Some were farmers, and some were in
there were no employees, and when a
man did go to work, he had to work
for himself, and do all the work alone,
except in n or two instances where
partnerships were formed.
Things got started again slowly and
in u very primitive way. One man
who felt time hanging heavy on his
hands, hired n street car and some
horses to begin making regular trips
on one of the street car lines. He had
to look after the horses himself, and
he made the fare five cents, q worry
reasonable sum in the circumstances.
He only made three round trips a day,
but he took in $50 or $50 q trip, and
carried his money home in q sack every
night. Then other people followed his
example.
1t was long before any g." or
steam railroad trains we're running,
because it required more !. ~ to run
them, and things had to reach /. point
who're ONE man wpa willing to enter
the employment of another before any
thing could be done. That time came,
however, and gradually everything
was started again. OF course wages
were higher than they were before,
and 30 was everything else, and times
were hard-very hard. There seemed
TO be a shortage of nearly everything,
and a man with only q hundred dollars
was poorer than q man with only ten
dollars had beer under previous con-
ditions.
OF course, when everything got
going again things eased up q trife,
and whom a man had Il chance to look
around a little he found that some peO-
pie were poor, some were in moderate
circumstances, and some were rich.
In fact, the conditions were the same
as they had been before the distribu-
ton of wealth.
"All may be equal in heaven" said
the philosopher, who found that no
had 1888 left Of his 81, 900, 900, but
on earth we can't all be bosses, and it
strikes mo that the man who wO,,lxa