The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-04-07
Rockefeller on Success.

Asarule the most satisfactory and
impractical talks we have ever seen
are those Of millionaires who essay to
give young men the benefit of their
experience. We once heard a famous
clog dancer offer to teach anybody in
five minutes how to dance with clogs.
With some degree of elaboration he
explained the character Of shoes to be
worn, and the kind of clogs that would
give the best results, consuming in
this way some three or four minutes Of
his time Then he said: "You sit
down this way, and adjust your clogs
in this manner; (and rising to his feet
and dancing), then you do this, and
that is all there is of it. y
That is just about the way in which
the average millionaire explains to the
anxious inquirer how to make mil
lion. His advice is generally, when
boiled down, about this: You save
money and make fortunate investments,
and keep on doubling your money until
you have a million. Anybody could
give that recipe. What the young
man wants to know is how to save
money and make fortunate investme ents,
and keep on making them and that is
something that no millionaire can tell
him. That is where the special money
making and money-saving faculty
comes in, which is specially developed
in some men, and is not in the great
majority. Ii is talent-a superior
intelligence along particular line,
which lifts it's possessor above the
mediocre herd, and makes him leader
in finance. just as superior abilities
make an Edison in electricity, Dana
in journalism, Mark Hanna in pol
itics, or Gladstone in craftsmanship.
However, there is somewhat more Of
interest than in the average million
aire S talk, in little address deliver
ed by Mr.. John D. Rockefeller before
the Young Mems Bible class in the
Fifth Avenue Baptist church on Sat
urday night, in New York. Mr.. Rookie
feller made as the text of his talk a
little pocket ledger which he kept AZ
years ago when he began working, and
he advises every young man to keep
in black and white record of all the
money he receives, and how he spends
it; and, said he: "See that you pay
it away in such manner that your ia
ther or mother may look over your
book, and see just what you did with
your money" Mr.. Rockefeller's ledger
shows that from September 26, 1855
until January l, 1856, he made $50,
and out of that he paid all his living
expenses and saved money. The next
year his earnings swelled to $50 a
month, and he felt that he was cap
italist. His ledger shows that from
November, 1855, to April, 1856, be
paid 5000 for clothing, and during
the same period there is record of
1888 cents given away to various
charities, Sunday school and missions.
So exact is the record that it shows
the contribution Of a single cent every
Sunday to the Sunday school; 10 cents
to foreign missions; SO cents to lit
erary society; 35 cents contributed to
Christmas present for his Sunday
school teacher, and 20 cents to the
poor people in the church. All the
time he was saving money, and in a
few years there is 81 900 shown in ac-
cumulated savings. Apart from the
idea of keeping the daily ledger Of re-
ceipts and expenditures, however mi
mute, there are two other thoughts in
Mr.. Rockefeller s talk that are inter
esting. Said he:
"What is success Is it money ?
Some Of you have all the money you
need to provide for your wants. Who
is the poorest man in the world [ tell
you, the poorest man I know Of is the
man who has nothing but money,
nothing else in the world upon which
to devote his ambition and thought.
That is the sort of man that I con-
slider TO be the poorest in the world. !"
Again he says money is good if
you know how to use it, I believe it
is religious duty to get all the money
you can, fairly and honestly to keep
all you can, and to give away all you
can. ."-Augusta Chronicle.