The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-01-24

or four hundred per cent. on money
which he should have loaned freely, as
n matter of friendship or gratitude. at
the least. But here he 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 was to do
all the work"
$50 you declined his offer?" said l.
"Not by n joyful" said Johnny. al
jumped at it. If he had shown the
least sign of getting away, would have
followed him one thousand feet straight
up into the air, rather than lose him
l 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
it will be all right 1t was all right. I
went to my manufacturer. He agreed
to make the things at the price which
looked reasonable to me. He guaran-
tced everything. He promised that l
should have the first thousand any time
day before yesterday, if insisted up
on it. Then l went to make arrange
mcnts to 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
viscd me to go to the regular wholesale
houses and PROSTATE myself on their
thcsholds.
81 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 visited the third next day. Then
l went to the first and accepted his
terms.
The business was now fairly under
way. was devoting my whole time to
it without salary, and was supporting
myself in some mysterious way which
l have never since been able tc remcm-
Der. But know that it left me three
hundred dollars in debt. When the
first thousand were ready-about n
month after The timo agreed upon-I
went to see the first wholesaler. He
said: Jones (tho second wholesaler) is
putting the same thing on the market
You must stop him. look to you to
protect your patent did some fine de-
tcctive work, and found out that r. C.
Billings, one of the men had applied
to for money to start the business, had
started it himself. l 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
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 Il receipt for me. Then all the
people who had trusted me on Paynes
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
My dreams were more than realized
by others. They are rich men to-day
while ! am wearing Il winter overcoat
which would look shabby if the statue
of Horace Greeley wore it over hs
bronze, ready-made pantaloons."
HOWARD FIELDING