The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1895-03-09
HOWHEGOT STARTED
A MERCHANT TELLS OF HIS WIN
MING RV A SHOW OF HONESTY.

ON Sterling. Honest Fellow"
"You wish to know how got my
start In Chicago, eh? Well, / don't
mind telling you about it now. although
| you may not indorse the means adopt
! ed"
Here the merchant prince laughed
heartily. withdrawing his cigar for the
/ purpose. After . moment or two he re-
/ sumed:
II had come here from the country,
q gawky farmer boy, ignorant Of the
ways Of the world and disposed to re-
gard every city chap as q sharper. Be
fore leaving home / had settlement
| with my guardian, who turned over to
me 5000 in cash, all the possessions !
/ had in the world
The distress Of the panic OF 1857 had
not passed, and things were awfully
dull here. After securing n modest
boarding house ! applied myself with
diligence to the seeking of employment,
in the meantime assiduOusly studying
bookkeeping every evening. The 81
years of my life had been spent upon the
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 ON. must have been
what is vulgarly called an 'Ornery' chap
-uncOuth in speech, vulgar in manner
and easily abashed Still perseyered.
offering myself as porter, coachman,
day labOrer, gardener, helper III 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 j spent far more than l
earned. although lived very econom-
ically. Month after month passed in this
way until nearly One-half of my capital
was exhausted.
My necessities led mo TO much cogi-
tation, and having made rapid progress
in my study of bookkeeping as well as
I'm 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 seedy. The tailor's bill
made big iEroad upon my diminishing
capital, and tine thought Of it set my
teeth ON edge. Out went day after day
ices as a bOOkkoeper, accountant. ship
ping clerk or salesman, but / found nc
takers. The market was suffering from
az Oversupply of the commodity, ami
the demand was nil.
Finally / decided that something
had to DO done. 1 could not and would
not be pennilcss in n big city. am nat
urally Of n sanguine temperament, but
six months Of enforced idleneSs to enc
who loves work are enough to beclOud
the sunniest temper. But SEQ you are
getting impatient. A change did final
~ come. One day Mr.. Davis, tho heal
of the big dry goods store ON Lake
street, was surprised out of his usual
cquanimity by the rushing in of an excit-
ed individual, myself, holding in his
hand a small bundle and saying bro
kenly:
i have found, sir, a package OF
monoy-a hundred dollars, / think. /
am stranger in the city and wish you
to keep it until you find the owner.
when he found breath, Mr. Davis,
who recalled me rs ono who had applied
10 him more than once for employment,
demurred, insisting that ! should leave
it in the hands of the police
That will not do sir. know yout
reputation and can confidently leave the
sum with you l am desperately poor
and unemployed. and any imputatior
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 any way Of identifying
him-any name or address in the pack
age?'
think not, sir, replied, but the
bills. as you will STE, aro done up in q
peculiar red eloth-debiece / think it is
called-and if you would merely adveT-
hse the fact that a sum Of money had
been found, and requiryCl the applicant
20 Rame the amount and the envelops
covering it, you could not possibly mis-
take.
My importantly finally overcame his
objections, and he took my address, and
after pronouncinR me sterling honest
fellow, bade me coine around in the
morning.
Well. that was my start in life
Mr. Davis greeted me when i returned
In the morning most effusively.
I've been thinking over that matter
and confess that admire your honesty.
There's no reason in the world why you
shouldn't have kept that money. Many
men who are far better off than yon
would have done So -
He ended by Offering me place be-
hind one Of the counters at sc a week,
and five years later was his partner
oh, the money A number Of par
ties answered tte advertisement, but
they couldn't proFe mp, you sec, for the
best Of all reasons. The money was INV
own, and Mr.. Davis finally returned il
to me- ] ran not the slightest risk and
was satisfied that the act would bring
me under the favorable notice Of Mr..
Davis