The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-30

his case then and there. After he has de-
cided it he dismisses it from his mind, and
the face which he turns to the next caller
is as clear as a May morning.
I am told that Mayor Strong is very fond
of hUmor. He has a homely way which re-
minds you of President Lincoln. He
see a joke as quickly could Lincoln, and
he enjoys funny story amid the most
solemn circumstances. People who come
before him are surprised to hear him burst
into a laugh and tell a funny story in the
midst of a most serious consultation.
Some of them cannot understand how it is
in this love of humor that he rests his
mind. The laugh breaks the strain which
his position necessarily entails. The mayor
is a good storyteller. and his best stories
are the "reminiscences of his own life which
has been a typically American one.
A COUNTRY BOYS CAREER.
Mayor Strongs life story is that of a.
country boy who came to New York and
succeeded. He was, you know, born in
Ohio. His early years were spent upon
farm. and one of his first business ventures
was in a small store at Mansfield, 0. Mans
field is now town of 10000 people. When
Mayor Strong was young / doubt whether
it had 5000, but among its young men it in
3 cluded some of the brightest minds of the
united states, one OF MT. OIOHS dSSO-
ciates and friends was John Sherman, who
had come to Mansfield from school at
Mount Vernon to study law with his broth
er Charley 1t must have been during Mr..
Strong's mercantile experience there that
Sherman became a candidate for Congress
and canvassed the district, going about
with an old white horse and stopping at
the country crossroads to make speeches.
Another young man was Amos Townsend,
who afterward went to Cleveland and
made a big fortune there He was sent
from Cleveland to Congress and was for
years one of THE soundest advisers
Of the Republican party. L think
that Townsend and Strong were
partners at Mansfield. Another man
who has done much since he left that part
of Ohio is Gen. Tom Eckert, who is now
the president of the Western Union Tele-
graph Company. During my chat with the
mayor, 1 asked him how he happened to
leave Mansfield He told me that he was
ambitious, wanted to see something OF the
world, and concluded to try New York He
began his work here as a clerk, receiving
at first a hundred dollars a month. Then
he was sent out West to collect bills for his
firm and succeeded so well that his salary
was increased right along In those days
there were no collecting agencies. The
merchants came to New York to buy their
goods, and as they usully purchased on
time the wholesale dealers had to send
their collectors out West to get the money.
They sent them much as they now send
drummers out to sell goods. Young Strong
soon got a large acquaintance in the west
He was a good mixer, and was so popular
that it is said that he would often take
dinner with a man in the evening or go to
Ir,,.1 vfT1rr e,f 6.a
would the next day appear against him in
a lawsuit He did so well, in fact that he
was soon able to go into business for him
self and Is now one of the rich men of
New York He is, L am told, worth con-
siderably more than a million dollars, and
in addition to a big commission business,
he has other interests of many kinds.
When he was elected mayor he was one of
the directors of the New York Life Insur-
ance Company, president of the Homer Lee
Bank Note Company. and the confidential
adviser of other Institutions. Before he
took the office, however, he said to his as
sociates of the different boards: Gentle
men, for the next three years you will nave
to get along without my aid. ] am now in
the employ of the city of New York, and
will have to work for them" Mayor Strong
has carried out this resolution.
his son, Putrem Bradlee Strong, and the
mayors whole strength is devoted to the
city.
/ asked Mayor Strong a few questions
about the Greater New York. He said he
had no doubt but that the city would pros
per even more than it had done in the past,
ard that eventually it would be the great
est city of the whole world. His IDEAS on
this subject are those of an optimist He
has faith in the United Staets and in New
York He does not believe the country is
going to the dogs, and evidently does not
think the days of prosperity are past
HOW YOUNG MEN CAN SUCCEED.
One of my questions was as to whether
he thought that young men had still a
chance of success in the great metropolis,
and whether the business chances would
be good in the Greater New York. The
mayor replied
'"Fhere are plenty of opportunities for
young men who come here in the right
way"
But what is the right way Mr.. Mayor"
asked.
Amy young man who expects to succeed
In New York" replied Mayor Strong, must
come here determined to rely upon him
self. He must push out for himself, and
not depend upon his friends. The boy who
does that is sure to succeed if he has good
principles and good habits. He must, how
ever, bend every energy toward accom-
plisL.ng what he sets out to do, and he
must be economical in respect to money,
time and strength. If he does this and has
it in him he will have a great success, for
there is no place where the possibilities
of great successes are more than right
here"
(which has the best chance to succeed,
Mr.. Mayor-the boy reared in the country
or the boy reared in the city,"
81 don't think the locality has much to
dc with it," was the reply. THE manner
of the boys rearing often has more. The
country boy has, a rule, had the ad-
vantage of having been made to work He
is usually a poor boy, and his nerve and
muscle have usually been developed by ad-
versity. This may be the case with the
city boy, but in many Instances his early
life has been too easy. His parents have
pampered him. He does not know the
value of a dollar until he learns it by ex-
perience after he has gone into business,
and in this way he starts in behind the
horny-handed son of the country. The
country boys life has tended TO the devel-
epment of self-rellance in him. and he
comes here with the determination to stand
alone"
mot FOR TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS
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