The record-union., 1898-01-01
IN GAY new YORK.
THE WONDERFUL CAREER OF
CHAS. BROADWAY ROUSS.
Knickerbockers Are Coming Into
General Use-Opera. at Pop
ular Prices.
Irregular Correspondence of Record
Tpin \

| Irregular Correspondence of Record
| Union.)
NEW YORK, Dec. 27.-Coming up
Broadway the other day 1 passed by
two men that seemed to be attracting
| considerable attention. One wore a fur
trimmed overcoat, the noticeably dusty
| extremity of which reached the shoe
tops, and sealskin cap that had seen
| better days" He was evidently blind.
| though the eyes were open and even had
a bright expression, but the face bore
/ that vague appearance rarely ever seen
excepting in cases where the light has
failed. His companion, who led him by
the arm was waiter, evidently from
some nearby restaurant When the
great building that houses the dry goods
/ business of Charles Broadway Rouss
was reached the pair went inside, AMI
/ then the curious spectators who hadn' I
recognized the blind man knew that
he was the famous head of that estab
lishment; the most pictured and talked
about dry goods merchant Of his time.
| The story of the life of this man reads
like a tale from the Arabian Nights, :"
| it being almost incomprehensible that
an individuals efforts unaided by such
| supernatural powers as the lamp of
Aladdin, should meet with such sue
| cess as has been his.
| A friend of the writer's upon visiting
| him recently at his place of business,
was received in Mr. Rouss' character
| istically outspoken maner. The busi-
ness in hand related to the local camp
OF Confederate Veterans, of which both
were members, though they had not
! before met.
| Mr. Rouss inquired as to the rank
which his visitor had held in the Con-
| federate army and then said: We'll,
shake hands on that; l was high pfi-
vate myself, but lately l have come TO
believe that l am the only one left, as
everybody seems to be at least a Cap
tain" He then inquired if his visitor
| indulged," and upon learning that he
did, said: IF you will open the door Of
that closet you will find on the shelf
bottle of pretty good stuff and some
glasses. While not a teetotaler myself,
l have enough sense to be temperate" :"
Thus refreshed, the blind merchant pro-
ceeded to business.
| Shortly after the war Mr. Rouss, pen
niless and unknown. arrived in New
York and spent his first night upon the
| benches of the City Hall Park. To-day,
blind and aged, he comes to business as
regularly as any of his clerks, though
a multi i-millionaire apd the founder Of
a business system that has made his
name famous in the mercantile world.
True to his genius Mr. Rouss is eccen-
trc, and like all successful business men
| he is fond of telling how he did it. Be
tween the two elevators in the building
| is a great sign which reads as follows:
| He who bilt, GUNS & occupies this
marvel of brick. iron & grant, is
years ago walkt the streets peniles and
S51 900 in det-only to sho that the
/ capitalists of to da were por men TWEEN
! ty years ago and that many felo fac
| ing poverty to-da may be capitalists a
quarter of century hence if he vii.
| PLUCK adorned with ambition bakt
| by onor brite, vii always comand sue
ess even without the almity dollar.
THE proprietor tho no smoker enjoys
| the flavor of a good cigar but the nasty
old pipe or poisonous cigarette viii not
be tolerated in the house-prefer dead
rat or polkat.
''Opie for the firm"
Visitors making their headquarters
here are requested to leave their dollars
and vaiuables with the cashier, or at
the hotel The alert and sure footed
buncos are everywhere. The woods are
| full of Them
"One hour now may save you years
in the credit hel of mercantile life.
You are welcom to an hour in this
concern free to see for yourself which
is the surer, shorter, quicker road to
/ sucass-the old credit gauntlet or ten
and twenty per cent off for cash before
| delivery.
| "One moment pleas look at few
stubborn facts in our window.
Half an hour through our ware
house, containing one million auction
values vii be very apt to shak your
| faith in the credit system, and build
| your fortune on the solid rock of cash
| before delivery
CHAS. BROADWAY ROUSS.
| Mr.. Rouss has been the chief contrib
utor to the various newspaper charities.
such as the Free Ice Fund" sick
| Babies Fund.- etc In fact. he is
known generally as philanthropist Of
| liberal proportions. A certificate of
| ludHES 1iOUl Tie v IL 1Eluld J<eSiSidI
hangs in one of the great windows. It
was given because $4,000 was spent
| for the building of the water works of
the city of Winchester. He also save
to the Lee Memorial Association recently
like amount to help build a monument
| to the South's favorite hero.
| In appearance he is of medium statue
with dark complexion and gray nair
and moustache. His features, like his
character, are we'll described by the
word blunt.
From time to time Cuacks and So
| called eye-specialists make attempts to
secure the one million dollar reward
which Mr.. Rouss offers to anyone who
will cure his affliction. and paid sub
stEute who has a similar disease of the
| eyes undergoes each proposed operation
1t was explained to me the other day.
| however, by one of the greatest of au
thorities on the eye. that this particular
blindness. being a decay of the muscles
of the eye cannot be cured till inanimate
objects are made by science to live. Still
Mr.. Rouss lives in hope, and continues
to try each new experiment-througn his
| substitute.
Down town where the Bowery begins
! and Third avenue ends, in front of the
Cooper Union, and almost in the very
shadow of the statue of old Peter
Cooper himself, may be seen every
| evening in the week two white horses.
From the curbstone, for the avenue h re
| is se~y broad. one might assume that
these two gaunt white horses We're
| marble also, so still and mobile is their
posture. They are relics of the days
hefnre tie iniroduction of the cable and