The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1894-10-11
HOW HEGOT STARTED
A MERCHANT TELLS OF HIS WIN
MING BY A SHOW OF HONESTY.

ON the BUSINESS Man VINO Called Him
"a Sterling. Honest Fellow"
lyon wish to know how I got my
start in Chicago, eh? Well, l don't
mind telling you about it now, although
You may not iDdorse the means adopt.
ed. "
Here the merchant prince laughed
heartily. withdrawing his cigar for tho
purpose. After a moment or two he re-
sumed:
Il had como here from the country,
gawky farmer boy, ignorant of the
ways of the world and disposed to re-
gard every city chap as a sharper. Be-
fore leaving home / had settlement
with my guardian, who turned over to
me $500 in cash. all the possessions l
had in the world.
Tho distress of the panic Of 1867 had
not passed, and things were awfully
dull hore. After securing modest
boarding house ] applied myself with
diligence to the seeking of employment,
in the meantime assbuously studying
bookkeeping every evening. Tho 21
years Of my life had been spent upon tho
farm, and | was utterly ignorant Of all
busircss methods Hence | sought hum
bic work, being willing to begin at the
lowest rung of the ladder But some,
how didn { catch ON. l must have been
what is vulgaTly called an 'ornery' chap
-uncouth in speech, vulgar in manner
and easily abashcd. Still persevered,
Offering myself as porter, coachman,
day laborer, gardener, helper IN grocery
stores--in short, any kind of work that
demanded muscle without too much ex-
perience. Once in awhile ! got job Of
saving wood, cutting grass and tending
garden, bat / spent far more than |
earned, although / lived very econom-
ically. Month after month passed i'll this
way until nearly one-half Of my capital
was exhausted.
my necessities led me TO much cogi-
/ tation, and having made rapid progress
/ in my study OF bookkeeping as well as
/ in knowledge of good English finally
concluded to aspire 10 something higher.
| A prerequisite to this step was the doff-
ing Of my old jeans suit, which had be-
come decidedly seCdy. The tailor's bill
made big ilroGd upon ny diminishing
/ capital, ard the thought of it set my
/ teeth ON edge. Out / went day after day
| among the merchants, offering riy serv-
ices as u boGIkeepcr accountant, ship
/ ping clerk or salesman, bat | found ne
( takers. The market was suffering from
an oversupply Of the commodity, and
the demand WAS nil.
Finally / decided that something
had 20 be done. could not and would
not be peunilcss il q big city. | am nat
urally Of sanguinc temperament, but
six months Of enforced idloness to ono
who loves work nro enough to becloud
/ the suunicst temper EIt fco you are
/ getting impatient A change did fnal-
/ ~ como. Ono dag Mr.. Davis, the head
Of the big dry cooG3 ,tC.o Gu Lake
street, was surprised out Of his usual
/ cquanimi,y y the l., Ling IL Of an cXc.t-
ed individual, nlye,lf, holding in his
band a small bunC.e AID saying Lro-
] Llnly:
1 have fornd sir, package Of
mcrcy--a hundred doilGr, | think.
am a stranger in the city aud wish you
to keep il until you C.:d the owner.
when he found breath, bir. Davis,
who recalled ne Rs ono who had applied
to him more than once for employment,
demuTcd, insisting that l should leave
il in tho banda Of tAe police
That will not do, sir. / know your
reputation and can confidently leave tho
sum with you. | am desperately poor
and unemployed, and any imputatiol
upon mg honor would kill me. My only
wish is that this money may reach its
4.
Mr.. Davis became Interested
" Is there any way of identifying
him-any namo or address in the pack
aGey
think not, sir, replied but tho
bills, as you will sec, are done up in =
peculiar red cloth-dobioge think it is
callcd--and if you would merely advor-
tise tho fact that sum of money hail
been found, and required the applicant
20 name the amount aud the envelope
covering it, you could not possibly mis-
take
My importantly finally svercame his
objections, and he took my address, and
after pronounciug mo a sterling honest
fellow, bado me como around in tlr1
morning
Well, that was my start in life.
Mr. Davis greeted me when returned
in the morning most offusively.
I've been thinking over that matter
and confess that | admire your honesty.
There's no reason in the world why yOr
shouldn't have kept that money. Many
men who are far better off than you
wcald have done so. "
lie ended by offering inc place be-
hind one Of the counters at 50 week,
and five years later | was his partner.
Oh the money A number Of par
ties answered ttN advertisement, but
they couldn't provo up, you SEQ, for the
best of all reasons. The money was my
own, and Mr. Davis finally returned it
to me- ran not the slightest risk and
was satisfied that the act would bring
me under the favorable notice of Mr..
Davis.
"Xpg thpro was dacpDtio,, In ~ .,i