The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-09
SWAPPING AS A BUSINESS.
CiTTING 1T WHTCH SHREBD
uEN err RICH ~ NEW IURK.
They VIII Trade ANYTHING from Clothes
NrtrErr 10 u Sky Scrnper or mn Ocean
S.cnn,hip \nturni Gcnius K"uuired'of
,Irn -~uuc Sutnhir Trades Arranged.

,htpg, 'ii,r d"rt want and want so many
,h.ra,,ln, hnv"rt got that tn" business ~
ren y,.g th"m 81 tho first and -uruiyiug them
wit No. -rru',i through th" happy medium Of
exchange has grown enormously in New
Yo.s ,td the .rr-p"rpuS-lppking man with
sion vuslrr~ ou who's" professional! earl
nrr,,".l ~" legend, "fxcLange Broker"
"IIr.. az. NOR" than on" hundred men in
N 'i'Y who ioAON trading or swapping
r. regular thing. and few OF
tiufr hn," hrrumn rich IN an incredibly
shnltnrvc We luy NJ all sorts Of things from
ocra, gg"ynpWuda. sky srrarcrs. and churches
t. r.u'nue wiiuE"rs, match boxes. and bed
.n'. ani trad" them of 10 some one who s
haak"rrg ior hg ship, Office building.
church, clothes wrinEor. match box or bed
slat. realizing, a. II general thing. Il handsome
NO. In cash %" acquiring property worth moro
than that VIII "h w" offer in exchange
'~ur'rssfu exchange brokers are born.
nor urir. The ahtityto swap and come out
tlcuI every time j. inherent No mattor how
clover and ~h'"'rd a man may be- If swapping
I. i,t p. natural passion with HIM. he is bound
tn,,''a out at the lit lie end Of the horn event
ualr In m" own caS". began to swap with
an 81, Oh the main chance when was II little
tarhrr ~ iX and lived in - small river town in
e.. Eu,koyr state. My first achieve
mnut vas to trade II pair Of tadpoIes ana
view u a sore toe to u little playmate
for thrcc sticky yawbroakcrs-as round,
hart pieces o! candy were known in
tho days. With this canitai | acquired II
genuine Barlow Fuif" and china taw. which
w.. subsequently converted into stl more
VI. ,s.H'" Ir.rnrty. Great oaks from little
a"rn. Er.~ from this modest beginning |
sIrposr ANA Sod about 500 worth OF treas
ure. hear to the small boys heart by the time
Twas lp year, old. At the age of II owned II
luuk shnp. and by the time had obtained my
majority | vas sol" owner of II prosperous
hardware store. a small dwelling and IA vacant
lo', "a acquired through swapping.
g. look back with all sort, Of pleasurable
enc Oils Oh ono event of my early career as a
swepr"I. DO YOU know. | once traded four
j .>moads Of New Orleans moiasses for n
stcumhuatH Mop tisnt dream. You sec.
thu steamboat. which was an old-fashioned
Stern wheeler. was on fire at the time the
decker was made. ana il seemed as II / had the
wurst end e the bargain. 1t was like this
one light IN the early seventies the steamer
was charming down the Ohio. bound from Pitts
burg for Cincinnati flying light and work
In short-handed when fire started. The
boat nose was headed for tho Ohio shore
and tue crew set TO work to put out the fire.
but the flames gained 50 rapidly on them that
the small boats. Every man on the burning
steamboat reached the landing at our town in
safety long before the old stern wheeler began
to push over that way. Attracted by the fire,
all Of us young fellows went down to the land
Ing to look on and there we found tho Captain
OF the steam boat jumping up and down in the
air and russng like pirate. for no was the
owner Of the boat and carried no insurance.
"'Don't you intend to make any effort to
save something from the boat. Captain?' |
asked He came down out Of the air long
enough to nterstice his profanity with the in
formation that he was through with the blank
ETY. blank old hulk, and it could go to that place
whence all blankcty blanks are supposed to
emanate. Inspiration seized me. On the land
ing were four hogsheads of molasses which
had secured by a trade that afternoon. and
called the aptaiu's attention to them
Twill YOU trade your steam boat a., she is for
those hogsheads" | asked. He capped at me
Well OF al! eternal foo g = said he at last
DO YOU own them h. gsheadsT
do | responded, dancing up and down
In anxiety, for the boat was blazing like a
town ailrc. and every minute OF wasted time
meant loss OF money to mo in the event Of u
trade. II you want to swap. say so quick.
Darned il | don't go YOU assented the
captann, rs the biggest case OF something
Boys, you hear the bargain p l said to the
49,. Yes, piped up the crowd. and Wen see
90 Better see that this foolish young imbecile
Keeps his end Of the swap retorted the Cap
trivialites OF life. he returned with renewed
feryor to his cussinG.
o1Sn nF s al o sSsd a %h in s s9 n
s% with sne q Liberal sG pay al Rsp :,
frenzy. which resulte in the extinction Of the
was fearfulIy damaged. but there was still a
great deal of valuable property in sight. So
Rn day had the hull down to sds
lad helped me put out the hro and dsdlstnr
moasses. found my profits were little more
than $1,000. The Captain never forgaye me-
.mnDid I?"' exclaimed the, exchange broker.
We'll. | should say sol I've disposed OF two
The average realty dealer Will assure you that
church property is the hardest of all to trade
persons regard a structure which has been
used as church as extremely unlucky. and
w not haze it at any Pcs put You
need not seek purchasers among business
men some months ago got wind OF con;
build a new one further uptown. Now. near
the locality they had hit upon as most deSira-
nnc piece Of unimprovcd property. so | hunted
up the trustees OF the church and offered to
exchange the ground Tor the ola Cnurcn anu
handsome cash consideration. To my promo
elton they finally agreed. and the old church
became mine. Some of my friends in the
realty business howed with derisi0n when
they heard OF my bargain and made all sorts OF
fun of me. One called around and said he had
agrayeyard he'd like to swap with me, but |
promptly agreed to take it II could get it at II
.,"Ti'il bet you $500 that you don't get rid OF
that church within six months offered one OF
tho deriders.
bone said !, producing my roll and skim
ming on enough to cover the bet. he was a
trihe taken back by my readiness; but he had
made his bIutt. AS my sinful little once boy
says. and had to make good. Then l started
out To- dispose OF the church
II WAS located in IA splendid nelghborhood.
and many handsome and costly residences
We're around it. That decided me how to act.
tirst. put up two large signs announcing that
the property was tor sale, You could have seen
them two blocks OH Next. called urou the
owners Of several Of the finest houses in the
vicinity, explained that had customer who
wished to purchase Il residence near, me
church. and that ] had come to inquire II the
L"ighhorhood was as "minently respectable.
no. To say exclusive, as had been represented.
Hl course, | was assured that the neIghDor-
hood was all that is desirable and included
within It's precincts society leaders. rich hrok-
ero and professional men Of eminent position
lapDly indebted to yDl Tor your