Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1893-10-24
CHARLES BROADWAY ROUSS.
Easract from "New York, Tie
Metropolis"

States and thousands OUTSIDE OF II
have heard of Charles Broadway
Rouss, and yet how comparatively
few there are who have read this ex-
traordinary story, Nothing more
marvellous than the history of the
man has ever appeared in the pages
of romance. He came to New York
in the ragged uniform of an almost
broken-hearted Confederate soldier
who had been surrendered at Apo
mattox with four dollars in his pOck-
ct, while now he possesses an indie
pendent fortune. Apart from the
great commercial success which he
has achieved as a merchant, his orig
inal traits of character, the pathos,
and what may be termed the poetry
of his life, the failure and the sue
cess of his remarkable career, emf
nently lit him for place in a work
like "New York, The Metropolis.
Charles Broadway Rouss was born
in Woodsboro, Maryland, in 1886,
but when a mere child was taken to
live in Berkeley county, now in West
Virginia, whence after some years he
moved to Winchester, in the famous
Shenandoah Valley. Here he lived
and was prospecting in q modest way
as merchant when the tOcsin of
war sounded throughout the land,
and men with hearts in their bosoms
sprang to arms in defence of the
cause they deemed right. Young
Rouss did not hesitate as to his
choice; he Joined the Confederacy ;
he belonged to the immortal army of
Northern Virginia, of which Robert
f. Lee was the commander-in-eh chief ;
he fought under the immediate eye
of Stonewall Jackson, and those who
know him best bear witness that a
more magnificent soldier or one more
unselfishly loyal did not carry mus
ket during those four years of fierce
strife that began at Fort Sumptcr and
ended at Appomattox. After year
in the cornfield he came to New York
to begin the world anew, not know
ing what the future had in store for
the war-worn soldier of lost cause.
But if he had only few dollars in
his pocket Charles Broadway Ropss
had in his heart the grim resolve to
succeed, and here may be the prope.
place to observe that his capacity did
not subject him to limitations as to a
calling. Any one who reads his
Monthlg Auction Journal will at once
realize that journalism has lost in him
a great editor, literature perhaps q
great poet. Any one who has heard
him speak when the mood was on
him to throw out sparks of fire, could
have no difficulty in imagining that
he could mould himself into an ora
tor. But he had a young and grow
ing family; he had some experience
in the business, and it may be that
it was necessity drove him into the
dry goods trade, as it was opportu-
nifty made of Oliver Wendell Holmes
u physician, and of Henry Stedman
banker. However this may be,
lie did become dry goods merchant.
We are told how lie began the bat
tie of life, and the story is both in
teresting and instructive. He paid
fifty cents day rent and like sum
for maintenance, and grubbed and
plodded pluckily along, the world
hearing very little of him until 1876,
when it was incidentally informed
that this ex-Confederate wanderer
from Winchester had forty branches
of his business in different cities in
the Union.
This piece of news was published
in the daily papers of the time in
connection with his failure in bust
ness. For he did, undoubtedly fail
once, and the failure taught him the
lesson of his life. At this time his
store was in Duane street, and when
a balance was struck he found him
self S51, 900 poorer than when he
began business eleven years before.
Why he failed was because he had
been doing business on the credit
system. Every one knows the re-
suit; also that the first thing he did
when fortune favored him was to pay
off his S5l 1000 Indebtedness to the
last farthing, principal and interest.
From that time everything he
touched turned into gold-not, how
ever, through blind chance or good
luck, but result of cool, mathemat-
ical calculation, great energy, hard
work and perseverance.
He was obliged to enlarge his
premises, and being about it all, he
did the thing in princeIy style. His
store on Broadway is the wonder of
New York, not so much on account
of its size as because of its stateli-
ness and architectural beauty. 1t is
noticeable. that in the biographical
sketches of famous architects we see
in the daily papers now and then,
all of them who in any way were con-
nected with this building, composed
Of iron and brick, are proud enough
Of the fact TO have mentioned in cold
type. 1t is twelve stories high, to
which he is about to add two more,
all of them, from basement to attic,
covered with goods which are ship
ped to all parts of the United States
and Canada, as we'll as the republics
Of North, South and Central Ameri-
"a. A young man calculates that
were those stories flattened out they
would cover an area of five square
acres. That is surely mammoth
store, and yet it is too small for the
business of Charles Broadway Rouss.
He will soon have 20 enlarge. The
man is literally devourer of work
He labors sixteen hours day on an
AVERAGE He lOOks nFtar ~, -