The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-09-08
A BIG WAGER.
Man Who Risked and Lost HIS
Livelihood on a Wager.
Joseph Westlake, of Benton Harbor,
Now Penniless. Once Bet Basket
Factories with . Rival

There is q man in Benton Harbor
who long ago made bet which ruined
him. Now he is pointed out by the res
do you see thar MANI" said a driver
to a party he was taking about the
place one day not long ago. He pointed
over his shoulder to a STOPPING figure
that was ambling ;Esong in the shade of
the elms and naples.
There was nothing at all striking
shout the man. Indeed. so far as APP
pearances go, he was of such decided
mediocrity that he did not lack much
of coming under the head Of inferiority,
and at that distance a physiognomist
or psychologist wou ID have pronounced
him on the same pls me mentally.
THAT man doesn't curt much Of a
driver, "but the time was when he could
buy and sell anybody in this part of
Michigan and still ha we money to throw
at the birds. His na1 ne is Joseph West
lake. Back in the &c IS, when the man
ufacturing and fruit industries of Ben
ton Harbor were in their infancy, he
started basket and box factory. 1t
was run on small :5cale at first, but
as fruit raising attain ed greater impor-
lance he increased his facilities for
turning out baskets. and within a
couple of years the business was not
only on a paying ba sis but yielded a
pretty fat income to themsnipulator
about thattime al rother factory was
put in operation down by the river,
and so great vhs the demand for their
wares that both concerns could have
become rich by sticking to legitimate
business. But fight there Westlake's
Unborn propensit y for dabbling in
things that did n, Vt belong to him broke
out after suppre ssionsof three years or
more.
''He was born gambler. From the
time he was old Ell OugE, to talk he was
happiest when ma king a bet of some
kind, and it seemed that the bad luck
that had generally rtten ded all his haz.
ards of fortune onl y served as stimu.
lus for further expe riments in that line
To be sure, his bet ting had never been
done on a very eXte;Rs1ve-scale UP to the
time of his investment IN the factory,
for what property he, had was in his
mothers NAME, and the only way he
could get at it was by first obtaining
her consent, anaNyas the old lady was
aware of his great fault and strove to
guard against the graft. of his
desires, that was no tsuclran easy thing
to do.
"His basketmalsin r business was IN
the third year Of its existence when the
mania attacked him. Both factorie.
were going at full ut, and there was
considerable rivalry between the two
as TO viii, VI could turn OUT
the greater product. me evening West
lake met his cempetite q m drug store,
and as usual they int .rchahged a few
remarks relative to the irw work.
"'Tn bet you said Eestlake, that
can turn out more be ,kets than you
can between now and til e1ctof Septem.
Der. So-confdent am th ut 1 am willing
to stake my factory ON ; t.
His rival had Just put in some new
and had take a on several
additional hands, and he new that the
capacity of his plant had not yet been
fully tested. Westlake spc Ike in all ear.
nestness, and after con. sidering the
proposition for a few MON ants he said:
"'I'll take you up on that. Let's
make It out in black and white
They went to a notary the next day
md had a contracs drawn up whereby
It was. agreed that the one VINO manu-.
facturcJf the smaller Irlnber of baskets
shouid,forfeit his factory to the other.
''On the LIST day Of September they
took anNaccnntof stock. and the figures
showed that VW<stlake had made 1890
baskets less than the rivae firm. West
lakes friends wanted-him to fight the
claim, but his disappointment had
taken all the life out Of him, and he
turned over his entire factory without
the least show okpesistanoe- That one
disastrous bet WIS practically the end
of his career, and from them on he has
been Whist you ac him nova dead
weight on his mothers handsA"-Chica-
60 Tribune.