The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-11-27
GAINED WEALTH, BUT LOST HIS
EYES.
Story of the Life of a Man Who,
Though Met With Frequent and
Disheartening Reverses, Pluckily
Kept at Work and Made a Large
Fortune Several Times Over.

I liioHCy dCCOTulliS 10 MS tastes Cl WIlilS-
AS hrs offer has recently been renewed
through the prees of the Country. scien-
| lists are encouraged to proceed with
their experiments TO discover whether
I blindness can be cured. Meanwhile
people who have read of the offer want
TO know the life story of the one who
makes it, of the man who, while not ex-
actly Offering "a kingdom for horse"
is proffering the money equivalent Of
his kingdom. namely. his big store and
/ its entire contents. all for an eye.
| g @ {,
A quarter of a century ago ii was
] lawful to imprieon a man for debt. 1t
was an absurd and Impracticable law.
! and Charles Broadway Rouss happened
| to be one of it's victims. On the walls
of one of the cells of the debtors pris-
on, Ludlow street jail. in New York. the
| following inscription may be traced 10
| this day: When i leave here l shall
| become a rich man." 1t was cut into
| the stone by Mr.. Rouss. who was suf-
i fering temporary durance vile, not for
any kind of crime or misden.eanor. but
simply for debt, and the most honest
form of debt az that.
1t happened. however that outside the
prison walls RousS had a friend, y 2
VINO has since become famous as t..e
king of Staten island. This, of course,
was Erastus Wiman. He secured the
innocent debtors release, and was af-
terward instrumental in having the law
changed so that no one could be i'm
prisoned for debt. save when fraud was
proven
True TO his self-made promise Charles
Broadway Rouss became a rich man.
Now six times a millionaire he owes no
man penny. and none owe him. Years
ago he burned his ledger and learned
TO say no, neither asking nor giving
credit. He accumulated the greater
part of his fortune dollar by dollar. in
buying every kind of merchandise at
bargain prices and selling the same at
a small profit. AT his broadway stores
yu can buy anything from a sponge TO
an anvil. This big shop is the head
quarters for Mr.. Rouss' 10000 shops,
which form chain around the earth
His son is named WincsestS ,. his
daughter Virginia. Is it hard TO guess
the name of his native town and rtate?
His father wanted himto be a farmer.
but Charlie declared farming to be
too slow and too unremunerative- So
the boy of Is left he parental farm and
bound" himself to the master of the
village store at 81 week and found
He saved every cent of his earnings
He was the, closest-fisted boy in Win
chester, except when he bought for VI
something which he knew he could sell
for 81. His salary was increased every
six months, and at the end.l three
years he had saved $500. With this
he bought a stock of general rierchan-
disc at auction, rented a store and un-
dersold all competitors. At "a years OF
age he had the largest store in the town
and had accumulated $1,000.
Then came the crash. War was de-
clared-Bull Run was fought. Rouss
loved Virginia then, as now; the SOUTH
ern cause was his. In the Shenandoah
valley salt and sugar became scarce.
Merchants demanded $40 a sack for
salt and % cents a pound for sugar.
Rouss had had the forethought to lay
in large quantity of sugar. He sold
this at cost-10 cents pound. OF salt.
however, he had none. But laying his
plans carefully, he secretly despatched
an agent to the salt works in southwest
Virginia. In good time 1000 sacks Of
salt reached Mr. Rouss' store in Win
chester. Spectators in the town i'm
mediately offered the owner a profit of
$4,000 on his consignment Mr.. Rouss
refused. and sold the necessary article
to the people at COSTS sack In the
Shenandoah valley TO this day they tell
the story of Rouss self-sacrifice. how
he resisted the temptation 10 make
profit of $4,000 in sugar and salt.
AS his beloved state needed the help
Of every son within its borders, Rouss
wound up his business affairs, leaDed
into the saddle and at the first recruit
ing station enlisted in the confederate
ranks He served in the same COM
pany with William L. Wilson, who at
terward became postmaster general
under Cleveland. and who today is one
of Mr.. Rouss' intimate friends. Since
the war Mr.. Rouss has endowed a mu-
scum known as the RcusS Memorial
Battle Abbey, in Virginia. for the pres
ervation of confederate war relics.
Long before the close of the war,
when Rouss surrendered with the sad
remnants at Appcmattox, he had given
his last cent to the lost cause" With
peace the young man returned to his
fathers farm. as he said. to think"
He was penniless and in debt. his own
and his fathers debts amounting to
more than $4,000. BY the time the
1866 crop was gathered Charles said TO
his father: II have thought it all out.
l shall go to New York and make
fresh start. I shall become a second
A. T. Stewart. l intend to pay off my
own debts and yours.
When he arrived in New York City
his fortune amounted to S1.S0. he
tramped the streets, slept at police sta
tons, depended upon free lunch coun
tiers for food. Everywhere he sought
credit for a stock of goods with which
TO start in business in the smallest way.
Everywhere credit was refused
1t was just at this juncture that one
of his creditors in New York caused his
arrest and had him confined in Ludlow
street jail-honest debt his only fault.
While within the prison walls he re-
ceived news of his fathers death. Now
I will nay off fathers debts first he
said TO himself, and it was probably in
that some hour that he turned to the
wall and scratched upon it the inscrip-
ton quoted at the beginning of this
story.
Erastus Wiman. who secured the
debtors release, then gave Mr.. Rouss
business. The king of Staten Island
told the future merchant king that IL
the latter would sell certain stock of
goods. a liberal commission would be
allowed Mr.. Rouss sold the goods and
realized handsome profit After sew
eral like deals. the determined young
man had money enough to hire a small
store on Broadway near Blocker street
and start in business for himself. He
went among the auctioneers and bought
for lump sums all sorts of merchandise
that was to be sold under the hammer
At his store he sold the goods at a
small profit For ten years he saved
and saved. until in 1875 he was again
worth a small fortune and had COR
responding credit.
Now. in his 40th year. came the Sec
ond crash-the financial panic of rs
Again he lost his store. again he stood /
in the street, penniless. and $4,000 in
debt,