The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1894-10-06
oWnEG0T STARTED
q ueRcHAnT TELLS cT HIS WIN
MING BY 4 SHOW OF HONe5TY.

You wish to know how got my
start in Chicago, Oh. We'll, don
mind telling you about 10 LOW, although
YOU may not iDdOfsO too means su"p0'
eI. "
Hero tho mcr halt prince laughed
heartily. withdrawing bis cigar Tor tho
purpose. After q mlmC4t Cr r"o Lo tu-
sumcd:
Il Lad come here from tho country,
a gawky farmer boy, ignorant OF tho
ways of the world and disposed to re-
gard every city chap as a sliarIcr Be-
fore leaving home 1 had settlement
with my guardian, who turned over to
NE $500 IN cash, all tho possessions l
had i'll tho world,
1.-The distress Cf thcparic Of 1897 had
not passed, and things were awfully
dull here After securing q modest
boarding house ! applied myself with
diligence TO tho seeking Of employment
in the meantime assiduousiy studying
bookkeeping every evening. The "a
wears of my lifo had been spent upon tho
/ farm, and was utterly ignorant OF all
business methods. Hence | sought hum
bic work, being willing TO begin at the
lowest rung of the ladder. But some
how didn't catch OH. | must have beeu
what is vulgarly called an 'orncry' chap
-uncouth in speech, vulgar in iaanner
and easily abashed. Still persevered,
Offering myself a. porter. coachman,
day laborcr, gardener, helper in grocery
stores-in short, any Lind of work that
L. ,tttaf.h ax
perience Once in awhile got job ci
saving wood, cutting grass and tending
garden, bat | spent far more than !
earned, although l lived very cconom-
ically. Month after month passed in this
way until carly ono-Ealf Of my capital
was exhausted.
"My necessities led no TO much cogi-
tation and having nido rapid progress
in ny study OF bookkeeping as well as
in knowledge of good English l finally
concluded 70 aspire to something higher.
( a prerequisite 20 this stcp WIS the doff'
ing Of my old jeans suit which had be
come decidedly soedy. The tailUr's bill
made IL big irroad upon my diminishing
capitGl, uld the thought OF it set my
teeth Oh edge. Oat / went day after day
among tho merchants, Offering my sew
ices as "A loohkcepcr, accountant. ship
ping clerk on salesman, but found N
takers The market WAS suffering tron
IN uvcIsupply of tie commodity, AM
the dolnand was nil.
Finally | decided that something
had to DO doao. could not and wOul'
not be penniloss in "a big city. lam nat
uIally Of salgrino temperament, ba
SIX months of enforced iuIvIe-S to on
who loves work aro enough to beclou'
the sunniCst temper. Eut / 700 you ar
getting impatient. A change did final
ly come. Ono day Mr.. Davis, the hoa'
of the big dry goods stCro On LAX
street, was surprised out of his usua
oquarimity by the rushing in Of an cNoil
ed individual, myself, holding i'll hi
hand small SGnGie GLd saying trc
kenly:
81 have found, sir, n package {
moncy--a hundred dollars, | think.
am stranger in tho city and wish yo
to keep it until you 1ud the owner.
when he found breath, Mr.. Davi!
who recalled me rs ono who had apple
90 him more than once for employment
domurred, insisting that / should leaN
,, it in the hands of the police
"'That will not do, sir. ] know yor
reputation and can confidently leave II
sum with you. | am desperately poC
and unemployed, and any imputatio
& npon my honor would kill me. Ny onl
wish is that this money may reach i
+ owner. You viii he sure to find him
MIR Davis became interested.
rs there any way of il1ntifylr
hini-any name or address in tho pacI
l. age:'
~ think not, sir, replied, but II
bills, as you win see, are done up in
peculiar red cloth--debie,e think it
: callod-and If you would merely aGve
tiso tho fast that q sum of money la
been found. and required tho applicar
to name the amount and the envelol
sovcring it, you could lot possibly Iii
a. take.
81 My importantly finally overcame h
" objections, and he took my address, al
I. after pronouuoing mo sterling hone
"a fellow, bade me come around i'll q
morning.
We'll. that was my start in lif
mt Mr.. Davis greeted me when returnI
III the morning most cffusively
- I've been thinking over that matt
and confess that | admire your honest
There's no reason in the world why "
r. shouldn't have kept that money. MAJ
~ men who are far better off than "
would have done so. "
lie ended by Offering ME n place /
hind one of the counters at SO wee
l. and five years later was his partner.
" "Oh, the money! A number Of pa
ties answered tfr advertisement b
n they couldn't profe mp, you see, for {
best Of all reasons. The money was II
own, and Mr.. Davis finally returned
TO me. ] ran not the slightest risk al
ma was satisfied that the act would bril-
me under tho favorable notice of N
Davis
Yes, there was deception in it, a
/. ] am not saying that IL was commer
~ able But did no one an injury, and
I H.. IS