Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-01
MIR. DEpEw's NARROW ESCAPE.
The Chance Gardiner Hubbard Gave
Him to Take Telephone stock.
From The New Y,rL Tr;h,,o

The Chance Gardiner Hubbard Gave
Him to Take Telephone stock.
From the New York Tribune
The death of Gardiner G. Hubbard brought
forth an interesting, reminiscent story from
Chauncey NJ. Depew. 1t was n tale " tn a
moral. Mr.. Depew was seated at his desk
glancing hurriedly over a huge pile of
newspaper clippings and with trained eye
singing out those things which would be
of interest to him. Coming to the brief an
nouncement of the death of Mr.. Hubbard
he swung around in his chair. and said
musingly:
THAT brings back to me an incident in
my early life which, viewed in the light
or latter day events, goes to show what
wonderful scheme of things entire this
world is, and how marvelously things bal
ance In the end Thirty years ago ] was
counsel for the Harlem re ad, and Gardiner
IT, Hubbard was railway mail inspector.
In the course of our official duties We were
thrown frequently into contact, and came
to know each other we'll / liked him and
ne seemed to like me. We grew more and
more confidential, until one day Hubbard
came into my office, and leaning against
my desk said:
Depew, l have a son-in-law. He is
bright young fellow named Bell. He is n
anu hot very MS lueaS.
He has invented talking telegraph 1t is
a wonderful sort of an arrangement. l
think II has wonderful possibilities in ii for
snort communication for use in villages and
otner places, and will save a great deal I'm
riesscnger-boy fees and so on. / don't
think II, will ever be of much use for long
Instance messages. hut it seems as If ii
might have field of its own
In those days Hubbard had no money
and L had only little. He suggested to
me that l take an interest in the invention
and made proposition that advance Sl0.-
To, Tor which he would give sixth interest
IN the patent. i said L would think 1t over.
The next day i went down town and saw
William Orion. who was at that time presi-
dent of the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany. / laid the matter before him fully
He said to me:
'Depcw, you haven't got much money
ana as a friend don't want TO see you lose
what you have got. That invention is
practically worthless. 1t will never amount
10 anything. If it should. however we own
prior patents upon the idea of which Bells
patents are simply an infringement. Don't
throw away your money.
took his advice, and now 1 am in
position to reflect What would have been
the result? l would be today. or my estate
would be, worth something like 100000, 900.
say my estate, for in the event of my
having secured an interest in that tremen-
cously successful company, l do not think
i should be alive today. Why? Because |
would have suddenly grown rich. | would
have had. aside from my tremendous hold
ing of stock, an enormous revenue that it
would have exhausted me TO spend. There
would have been no incentive for me to
engage in healthy labor and an intellectual
work such as L have been compelled to
keep at i'll order to make my way in the
world. l attribute my life and my health
TO continued and healthful labor. Not over
work or underworld, but just a natural al
lotmcnt and fair share Had l received all
this income and sudden wealth. there would
have been no incentive to work; / should
have deteriorated and would today, per-
haps, be dead, and forgotten as one in life
who was practically unknown. The papers
would have chronicled the death of n ire
mendously wealthy holder of telephone
stock, and there 1t would have ended.
Things certainly move in a marvellous orbit
and the fine adjustment of lights and
shadows, aims ambitions and human pas
s:ons is always marvelously well balanced"