The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-01
FROr1 BOBBINBOY TO MILLIONAIRE
Andrew Carnegie Writes Of the Turning Points That Led
to His Success In Life.

Having earned my own living for
fifty years, and been my own master
for thirty-one, I rejoice to look back
upon my start in the world, with no
other capital than honest poverty and
a good home No boy can have greater
incentives to success in life than these.
Sharing the fruits Of my father and
mothers industry, / learned in my in
fancy TO respect work, and longed 10 be
a contributor to the common purse
We lived in Dunfermline. thirteen niles
from Edinburgh. Scotland. Ny father,
William Carnegie, was successful
master weaver; my mother, q hard
working housewife, who yet found time
&c instruct me, until l was s. in read
ing, writing and ciphering-the equip
ment that gave me my first better
nent
It was my first ambition to be mas
ter weaver, like my father: to have
four looms of my own; to employ APP
prentices; 10 make speeches in the
evening, as ne did. on public questions
he was a consistent Radical. And l
might have become 4 weaver but Tor
something that happercd when l was
10 years old, and had already been go
ing to school for two years.
FIRST TURNING POINT.
One evening I heard my father tell
my mother that steam looms were COM
ing into the trade and bothering him.
This steam machinery, he said, was
best handled in big factories, which
made it bad Tor the independent master
WeaVers. Ills work was falling of.
He was not getting So many orders
from the merchants, who had been in
the habit of sending him the raw ma
teriai 10 be woven up.
Not very long afterward-it was in
1S47-he came in one day from deliver
ing some finished damask, looked at
me quizzically, and said:
Andy, I have no more work
Where should we go? the same con-
ditions that drove US from Dunfermline
might confront US anywhere else in
Scotland. But we remembered that we
had relatives who had crossed the At
1antic. and settled near PittsburS.
'.We1l go there. too" said my mother;
its best for the boys to begin life in d
new country
we reached Allegheny City in 1913.
] was only Ii years old. but my heart
was big for the future; l was deter
mined 20 make my way in this new
country.
EARNING HIS FIRST MONEY.
My father went to work in a cotton
factory, and I followed him as bobbin-
boy. From sunrise to sunset l worked,
glad to feel that each day added 20
cents to my credit on the book. Sat
llrday noon I drew $1.26 with a feel
ing not so much Of pride as OF joy 10
have money 10 take home.
SIX days a week I breakfasted by
candle light. and five days week L
got home after dark But nothing
could have induced me 10 give this up,
except an offer of better work. This
] soon get from a good Scotch friend
of ours, John Hay, who had a bObbin
factory. I was set TO firing the boiler
with wood chips-and to tend the en-
gine-TespOnsible work, too, for a boy
of Is, not big for his age. Gradually l
grew nervous under the strain of mind
ing this engine. and working all alone
down III Hays cellar. l would wake
ZIP at nights. sitting bolt upright IN
bed. hands clcEched, broWs knitted,
from dreams about trying the steam
gauges and finding them wrong!
Mr. Hay needed d clerk upstairs in
the office He knew I could write
good hand. and he offered me this place.
After filling this position for some
time 1 heard that boys were wanted
in the Ohio telegraph office in Pitts
burg. I felt IS though my fortune
would be made if l could get into that
Office. so my father went with me and
persuaded the superintendent, James
d. Reid, to employ me. Mr. Reid ofteY
told me. in after years, that he remem
bered exactly how / looked that morn
ing in my little blue jacket, with my
white hair
PROUD OF \ JOB AT $3.50 a WEEK.
Now that Ia got my job, at $3.50 per
week. ] was on thOrns for fear l
couldn't keen ii. I knew nothing about
the streets OF PitJsburS, and the buai-
ness houses. to which l had to deli9er
MESA ees. So ] started in and learned
all the addresses by heart, up one ide
OF Wood street and down the other.
Then l learned the other business
streets in the same way. Then l felt
safe. How pleasant il WaS 10 me TO
work now III clean, bright office. with
desks and paper and pencils about. IN
stead of down in a dinSy cellar or IN
noisy factory. The noise of the tele-
graph Instruments Fascinated ne.
u red to understand It, by listening. by
going to the office early and playing
with the key. Mr.. Reid finally agreed
to help me to learn. and ! was soon
able 10 receive any message by ear
alone. and at that time there We're
possibly only two other people in the
country who could do this. l had be
come an operator. but 1 was still get
ting a. messengers pay.
One morning. when 1 was in the Of
flee early, 7 heard a death message
come over the wires from PHILADELPHIA.
I knew that sort of message required
prompt handling, so l wrote it out and
delivered il at the proper address.
From that time the operators began to
use me TO sub" Cor them. Then AR
Reid made me an operator. and l had