Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-11-01
HOW HEGOT STARTED
a MERCHANT TELLS OF HIS WIN
MING BY A SHOW OF HONESTY

II SUcrlihg, Honest Fellow"
You wish to know how not ,,-
start in Chicago eli? Well, / dom,
mind telling you about it now, aItbongl
you may not lpdOrso the means adont
ed. " "0OpV'
Here tho merchant prince lauohed
heartily, withdrawing his cigar for tbe
purpose. After n moment or two be re.
sumed:
Il had come hero from the country
a Gawky farmer boy, ignorant of tho
ways Of the world and disposed TO re.
gard every city chap as a sharper. Re.
fore leaving homo 1 had a settlements
with my guardian, who turned over n
me $500 i'll cash, all the possessions 7
had i'll the world.
The distress of the panic of 1857 had
not passed, and things were awfulIv
dull here. After securing a modest
boarding house l applied myself with
diligence to the seeking of employment.
Ill the meantime assiduou.ly studyinp
bookkeeping every evening. Tho 2I
years Of my life had been spentuDon the
farm, and was utterly ignorant Of all
business methods. Hence sought hmm
bic work, being willing to begin at the
lowest rung Of the ladder. But some
how dldn catch on. | must have been
what is vulgarly called an 'ornerv' chan
-uncouth i'll speech, vulgar in manner
and easily abashed. Still pcrsevered,
offering myself as porter, coachman.
day lahorer, gardener helper in grocery
Stores-ln short, any kind of work that
demanded muscle without too much ex
pericnce. Once III awhile l got Job of
saving wood, cutting grass and tending
garden, but | spent far more than |
earned, although l lived very econom-
lcally. Month after month passed i'll this
way until nearly ono-half of my capital
was exhausted.
My necessities led me to much cogi-
tation, and having made rapid progress
III my study of bookkeeping as well as
i'll knowledge of good English 1 finally
concluded to aspire to something higher.
A prerequisite to this step was the doff-
ing OF my old jeans suit, which had be-
come decidedly seedy The tailor's bill
made big inroad upon my diminishing
capital, and the thought of it set my
teeth on edge. Out went day after day
among the merchants offering my serv-
ices as boollkeeper, accountant, ship
ping clerk or salesman, but l found no |
takers. The market was suffering from |
an oversupply of the commodity, and |
the demand was nil
lu I
had to be done. / could not and would
not be penniless in big city. l am nat
urally of sanguine temperament, but
six months Of enforced idleness to one
who loves work are enough to bocloud
the sunniest temper But see you are
getting impatient. A change did final
ly come One day Mr. Davis, the head
of the big dry goods store on Lake
street, was surprised out of his usual
by the rushing in of an excit-
ed individual, myself, holding in his
hand a small bundle and saying bro
kenly:
" Il have found, sir, a package Of
hundred dollars, think. /
am a stranger in the city and wish you
10 keep it until you find the owner.
"When he found breath, Mr.. Davis,
who recalled me as one who had applied
% him more than once for employment,
lemured, insisting that should leave
Il in the hands Of the police.
That will not do, sir. ! know your
aud can confidently leave tho
um with you. ! am desperately poor
md unemployed, and any imputation
lpOn my honor would kill me. My only
wish Is that this money may reach It's
wner You will bs sure 10 hnd him. 3
Mr. Davis became interested, N
" is there any way Of identifying =
im-any name or address ~ the pack u
ger n
! think not, sir, lroplied, but tho d
illf. as you viii foe, are done up in a e
eouliar rod cloii--debiego ! think u b. %
allod-and II you would merely adyr "
Ise the fact that sum ~ money bad a
nou found, and required the applicant q
D uamo tho amount and the enyelopr ,
oyrrug a. you could pot possibly mis A.
lkn Z
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