The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1895-02-25
HOW wHEG0T STARTED
a MERCHANT THIS OF MS wIH-
MING sY A SHOW or HONESTY.

On the Buain~sa man Wh@ Called hh@
- sterling. Hon~st Fsil~w.-
s.You wish 20 know how gnt my
start in ChicAgo eh2 Well dont
mind telling ycn about 10 now. altbouEh
you may not iBlorsa the means adopt-
ed /"
Here the merchant prince laughed
heartily, Withdrawing his cigar for the
purpnsa After = moment o. two he re-
sumed:
81 had come here from the country.
q gAwky farmer boy. ignorant q The
ways Of the world and disposed 20 re-
gard every city chap - = shArpeE Be-
fore leaving home ] bad . settlement
with my guardian. who turned over 20
me $500 In cash. all The po@@nons
had In the world
The distrens cf the panic a 1887 had
not passcd. and things were nwfully
dull here After securing . modest
boarding house I applied myself with
diligence 20 the seeking of employment.
IN the meantime a&Gidnonsly studying
Bookkeeping every evening. The ~
years Of my life had been spent upon the
farm. and was utterly ignorant q all
bukinesa methodS Hence I sought hum
ble work. being willing 60 begin - the
lowest rung Of the ladder. Bn1 some
bow didn q catch On must have been
what is vulgArly called an 'oncry' chap
-unc0uth An specch. vulgar In manner
and easily abashed Stfll psrsevensd.
Offering myself - porter. goodman.
day lAborer, gardener. helper IN grocery
stores-in short. any kind of work that
demanded muscle without too much en-
perienca Onos In awhile ! got . Job a
saving wood. cutting grns and sanding
garden. but spent far more than I
earned. although lived very eoonon-
ically. Month after mouth pzs@ed In thia
way until nearly one-haf Of my capital
was exhausted
my necessities led mo TO much oogi-
tation. and having made rapid progrssa
I'm my Etndy u bookkeeping ~ well ~
In knowledge Of good English finally
concluded 20 aspire 20 something higher.
A prcroquiEite TO this step was the dof-
ing Of my old jeans suit. which had b.
como decidedly scetly. The tailor's bill
made q big inroad upon my diminishing
capital. and the thought Of 10 set my
teeth on edge. Out 1 went day after day
among the merchAntS Offering my serv-
ioes a. n bookkeeper. accountant ship
ping clerk or salesman. but found nc
takers The market was suffering from
an oversupply Of the commodity. and
the demand was nil
Finally I decided that something
had TO be done. could not and would
not b. penniless in n bigcify. I am nat.
urally nf n sanguine temperament. but
six months of enforced idleness TO one
who loves work are enough 20 bccl0ua
the sunnicst temper. But I Ece yuu nrr
getting impatient A change did final
ly come One day Mr.. Davis. the hcad
Of the big dry goos,s store ca Lake
street. was surprised out Of his usual
equAnimity by the rushing Ia Of an cxcit-
ed individual. myself. holding in his
hand n small bundle and saying bro
kenly:
IL have found. sir. = package Of
money! hundred dollars. think
am n stranger in the city and wish you
60 keep II until you ind the owncr'
when be found breath. Mr.. Davis.
who recalled me as one who had applied
90 him more than once for empluymenf.
demurred. insisting that I shoald leave
ia in the hands Of the police.
. That will not do. sur. I know your
reputation and can confidently leave thr
sum with you / am desperately poo1
and unemployed. and any impufafioE
upon my honor would kin me Ny only
wish IL that this money may reach its
owner. You will Be sure to fnd him
Mr.. Davis became interested
Il there any way Of identifying
him-any name or address In the pack
Ager
I think not. sir. replied. but the
bills. ~ you will see. are done up In .
peculiar rcd clOth-debiege think it 10
called-and N you would merely advcr-
tise the fact that . sum Of money hal
been found. and requirsd the applicant
20 name tho amount and the envelops
covering H. you could not possibly mia
take
Ny importantly finally overcarns his
objections. and he took my address. and
after pronOuncinE me sterling honest
fellow. bade me come around In ths
morning.
WNAAH h1@A M@M IL &N@4M II AAA@
Mr.. Davis Rrccted me when 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 OF than you
would have done 80
he ended By Offering me . place b.
hind one of the counters at es = week.
and i've yeArs later ! vas his partner.
oh. the moneyi A number q par
ties answered tfS advertisement but
they couldn't proee up yOu Hee. for the
best Of all rcasooA The money wns my
own. and Mr. Davis finally returned e.
% me ran not the slightest riAk and
WA EAtiEhed that the act would bring
me under the favorable notice q Mr..