The Monitor-register., 1896-05-22

nan son who is not so favored can DOS.
sioiy know, and compared with which all
other fortunes count for little.
1t Is because / know how sweat and
happy and pure the home of honest poy-
erty is, how free from p~erplexing care,
from social envies and euulations, how
loving and how united it's members NAV
be in the common interest of supporting
the family, that l ~sympathizs with the
rich mans boy and congratulate the poor
mans boy; and it is for these reasons
that from the ranks of the poor SO manv
strong, eminent, self-reliant men have
always sprung and always must spring,
Ii you read the list of 'Tmmortals who
were not born to de-" you will find tina,
most of them have been born to the
precious heritage of poverty.
1t seems, nowadays, a matter of uni.
versal desire that poverty should be abol.
ished. We should be quite willing to
abolish luxury, but to abolish honest
Industrious, self denying poverty would
be to destroy the soil upon which man.
kind produces the virtu es which enable
our race to reach a still higher civilization
than it now possesses.
ENTERING A NEW R
L came now to the third step in my ar
premiership, for l had already taken two.
as you see, the cotton ~ractory' and the
"bobbin factory" and with the third
the third time is the chance, you know,
deliverance came. l obtained a situation
as messenger boy in the telegraph Office
OF Pittsburg when l was fourteen. Here
| entered a new world.
Amid books, newspapers, pencils, Den
and iuk and writing pads, and a clean
office, bright windows and the literary
atmosphere, / was the happiest boy alive.
My only dread was that [ should som a
day be dismissed because l did not know
the city; for it is necessary that a messen.
ger boy should know all the firms and
addresses of men who are in the habit of
receiving kilograms. But 1 was a stranger
in Pittsburg. However, l made up nv
mind that l would learn to repeat success
sively each business house in the princi.
pal streets, and was soon able to shut NV
eyes and begin at one side of Wood street
and call every firm successfully to the
top, then pass to the other side and call
every firm to the bottom. Before long l
was able to do this with the business
streets generally. My mind was then at
rest on that point.
Of course every ambitions messenger
boy wants to become an operator. and
before the operators arrived in the early
mornings the boys slipped up to the in.
struments and practiced. This l did. and
was soon able to talk to the boys In the
other offices along the line, who were also
practicing.
One morning l heard Philadelphia call.
ing Pitssburg and giving the signature
'Death Message" Great attention was
then paid to death Messages" and
thought l ought to try to take this n
| answered and did 80, and went off and
delivered 1t before the operator came.
After that the operators used to some-
times ask me to work for them.
Having q sensitive ear for sound | soon
learned to take messages by the ear
which was then very uncommon-I think
only two persons in the United States
could do it then. Now every operator
takes by ear, so easy is 1t to follow and
do what any other boy can-if you only
have to. This brought me into notice.
and finally / became an operator and
received the-to me-enormous recon.
pense of twenty five dollars per month
three hundred dollars per year!
This was a fortune; the very sum that
| had fixed when l was a factory-worker
as the fortune l wished to possess, be.
cause the family could live on three hun
dred dollars a year and be almost, or
quite independent. Here it was at last
But | was soon to be in receipt of extra
compensation for extra work.
The six newspapers of Pittsburg re-
ceived Geographic news in common. Six
copies of each dispatch we're made by a
gentleman who received six dollars q
week for the work, and he offered me a
gold dollar every week if I would do it,
Of which l was very glad, indeed, be-
cause l always liked to work with news
and scribble for newspapers.
The reporters csme to a room every
evening for the news which l had pre-
pared, and this brought me into most
pleasant Intercourse with these clever
fellows. and besides, l got a dollar a week
as pocket money, for this was not con.
sidered family revenue by me.
/ think this last step of doing some
thing beyond ones task is fully entitled
to be considered business" The other
revenue, you see, was just salary obtained
for regular work; but here was a 'little
business operation" upon my "
account, and / was very proud indeed OF
my gold dollar every week.
The Pennsylvania Railroad shortly
after this was completed to Pittsburg,
and that genius. Thomas A. Scott, was
its superintendent. He often came to the
telegraph office to talk to his chief, the
general superintendent, at Altoona, and
I became known to him in this way.
CLERK TO A FAMOUS MAN.
When that great railway system put
up a wire of its own, he asked me to be
his ''clerk and OPERATOR" So / left the
telegraph ofice-in which there is great
danger that a young man may be perma-
nently buried, as it were-and became
connected with the railways.
The new appointment was accompanied
by a-to me-tremendous increase of
salary. 1t jumped from twenty five to
thirty. five dollars per month. Mr.. Scott
then receiving one hundred and
twenty-five dollars per month, and 1 used
to wonder what on earth he could do
with 80 much money.
remained for thirteen years in the
service OF the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company, and was at last superintendent
OF the Pittburg division of the road,
successor to Mr.. SCOTT, who had in the
meantime risen to the Office of v~ice-presi-
dent OF the company.
One day Mr. Scott, who was the kindest
men, and had taken a great fancy for
me, asked if I had or could find five hun.
dred dollars to invest.
3 Here the business i~nstjnct cama into