The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1895-03-13
HOW HEGOTS STARTED
A MERCHANT TELLS or HIS WIN
MING sY A SHOW OF HONESTY.

on the business Man Who Called Him
- Sterling. Honest Fellow
"You wish to know how got my
start in Chicago, eh? Well, l don't
mind telling you about it now, although
you may not indorse the means adopt
ell "
Here the merchant p, ince laughed
heartily. withdrawing his cigar for the
purpose. After q moment or two he re-
sumed:
Il had come here from the country, I
d gawky farmer boy, ignorant Of the
ways Of the world and disposed to re- I
gard every city chap as a sharper. Be I
fore leaving home / had n settlement .
with my guardian, who turned over 10 4
me $500 in cash, all the possessions ! I
had in the world.
THE distress Of the panic of 1857 had
not passed, and things were awfully |
dull here After securing a modest
boarding house L applied myself with
diligence to the seeking of employment, I
in the meantime assiduously studying
bookkeeping every evening. The 2l I
years of my life had been spent upon the
farm, and 1 was utterly ignorant Of all
business methods. Hence / sought hum
BILE work. being willing TO begin at the
lowest rung of tho ladder. But some, 4
how didn't catch ON. / must have been
what is vulgarly called an 'ornery' chap
-uncouth in speech, vulgar in manner
and easily abashed. Stall i perseyered,
Offering myself as porter, cOachman,
day laborer, gardener, helper i'll 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, but / spent far more than ]
earned, although / lived very ecOnom-
ically. Month after mouth passed in 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
cor cluded to aspire t. 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 bin
1 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 q boOkkeepor, accountant, ship
ping clerk or salesman, but / found nc
takers The market was suffering from
Gn oversupply of the commodity, ana
the demand was nil.
Finally / decided that something
had to be done. / could not and would
not be penniless in big city. / am nat
urally of a sanguine temperament, but
six months of enforced idleneSs to one
who loves work are enough to beclOud
the sunriost temper. Eut l see you are
getting impatient. A change did final
ly come Cne day Mr. Davis, the heal
of the big dry goods store ON Lake
street, was surprised out of his usual
equanimity by the rushing il of an excit-
ed individual, myself, holding III his
hand a small bundle and saying bro
kenly:
l have found, sir, a package Of
money-a hundred dollars, l think.
am a stranger i'll the city and wish you
to keep it until you find the owncr.
when he found breath, Mr.. Davis,
who recalled me as one who had apple /
! to him more than once for employment,
! demurred, insisting that / should leave
I it i'll the hands of the police.
That will not do, sir. l know your
reputation and can confidently leave the
sum with You. / am desperately poor
and unemployed, and any imPuration
upon my honor would kill me. Ny only
wish is that this money may reach its
owner. You will be sure TO find him.
Mr.. Davis became interested.
Is there amy way of identifying
him-any name or address ip the pack
age?'
- l think not, sir, replied, but the
bills. as you will see, are done up in a
peculiar red cloth-debiege think it is
called-and if you would merely adver-
tise the fact that a sum Of money had
been found, and requird the applicant
to name the amount and the envelops
covering it, you could not possibly mis-
take.
My importantly finally overcame his
! objections, and he took my address, ard
after pronouncing me sterling honest
| fellow. bade me come around in the
: morning.
, Well. that was my start in life.
Mr.. Davis greeted me when returned
, In the morning most effusively.
{ I've been thinking over that matter
3 and confess that admire your honesty.
There's no reason in the world why yon
shouldn't have kept that money. Many
men who are far better of than You
D would have done so.
He ended by Offering me place be-
Q hind one OF the counters at 60 a week,
+ and five years later was his partner
Oh, the money! A number Of par.
: Ties answered tke advertisement, but
they couldn't prove up, you see. for the
best of all reasons The money was my
own, and Mr.. Davis finally returned il
{ TO me- l ran not the slightest risk and
was satisfied that the act would bring
me under the favorable notice of AEr.
Davis