The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1899-09-26
SWAPPING AS ACALLING
a BUSINESS AT WHICH sHREWO MEN
GET RICH m NEW YORK.
They wIn rr,he AnrlnIn- rrn.n u l1n,,...

"HhScr To SKY >crlper or an Ocean
stonnshiP-Na'uval Genius Required
Notable Trades Arranged
Nowadays people accumulate so
many things they don't want and want
so many Things they haven't go. that
the business o. relieving them of the
first and supplying them with the
second through the happy medium of
exchange has grown enormously in
New York, " the prosperous-looking
man with chop whiskers on whose pro
iessiona! card appeared the legend.
Exchange Broker, said recently TO
n Sun reporter. There are more
than one hundred men in New Yorl,
City who follow trading or swapping
rs regular thug, and few of thcm
have become rich in an incredibly
short time. We buy up all sorts OF
things from ocean greyhounds. sky
scrapers, aud churches TO clothes
wrlnSers, match boxes, and bed Stats.
and trade them off to some one who is
laundering for a big ship, Office build
ing, church, clothes wringer, match
box, or bed Stat, realizing. rs a Pcn-
crai thing, handsome profit in cash
or acquiring property worth more than
that which we offer in exchange.
Successful exchange brokers aro
born, not made. Tho ability 10 swan
and come out ahead every time is in
hcrcnt. No matter how clevor and
shrcwd man may be, if swapping is
not natural passion with him, he is
bound to come out at the little end of
the born eventually. In my own case,
began to swap with an eye on the
main chance when was little tacker
Of six and lived i'll small river town
in tho Buckeye State. Ny first
achievement was to trade pair Of
tadpolcs and view Of sore toe 20 q
little playmate for three sticky Jaw
breakers-as round, hard pieces of
candy were known in those DAYS.
With this capital | acquired q genuine
Barlow knife and china taw. which
were subsequently converted into still
more valuable property. Great oaks
from little acorns grow. From This
modest beginning suppose amasscd
about $50 worth of treasures dear to
the small boys heart by the time
was ten years old. At the age of sew
entoen | owned junk shop, and bv
the time ! had obtained my majority
l was solo owner Ola prosperous hard
ware store, 4 small dwelling and
vacant lot, all acquired through swap
ing.
II look back with all sorts of pleas
urable emotions on one event of my
carly career as snapper. Do Won
know, once traded four hogsheais of
New Orleans molasscs for a steamboat?
Mop, 'isn't n dream. You see. the
steamboat, which was an old-fashioned
stern wheeler, was on fire at the time
the dicker was made, and it seemed as
If / had the worst end of the bargain
1t was like this: One night in the
early seventies the steamer was churu
ing down the Ohio, bound from Pitts.
burg for Cincinnati, flying light and
working short handed, when fire
started. The boats nose was headed
for the Ohio shore and the crew set TO
work to put out the fire, but the
flames gained so rapidly on them that
they were compelled TO give it up and
tako 90 tho small boats. Every man
on the burning steamboat reached tho
landing at our town in safety long be
fOro the old stern wheeler BEGAN 10
push over that way. Attracted by the
fire, NIL OF us young fellows went down
to the landing to look on, aud there
VIC found the Captain of the steamboat
jumping up and down in the air and
acting like wildmau, for he was the
owner Of the boat aud carried no in
surancc.
Don't you intend TO make any CT
fort to save something from the boat.