The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-08-31
SWAPPING AS A BUSINESS
CALLING AT WHICH SHREWD MEN
l. GET RICH IN NEW YORK.
They Will Trade Anything From .
Clothes WrinRer to q Sky Scraper
or an Ocean Steamship-Natural
Genius Required of Men-SOme No
table Trades Arranged.


Nowadays people accumulate SO many
things they don't want and want 50 many
things they haven't got that the business of
relieving them of the first and supplying
them with the second through the happy
medium of exchange has grown enormously
IN New York" said the prosperous looking
man with chop whiskers on whose profess
sional card appeared the legend. Exchange
Broker. There are more than 100 men in
this city who follow trading or swapping
as regular thing. and a few of them have
become rich in an incredibly short time.
We buy up all sorts of things from ocean
grey hounds. sky scrapers and churches to
clothes wringers, match boxes and bed
stats, and trade them of to some one who
70 nankering for big ship, Office building.
cnurch, clothes wringer match box or bed
STAT, realizing, as a general thing, a hand
some profit in cash or acquiring property
worth more than that which we offer in ex-
change.
Successful exchange brokers are born,
not made. The ability to swap and come
out ahead every time Is inherent No mat
Ter how shrewd and clever a man may be-,
u swapping Is not natural passion with
him, he is bound to come out at the little
end of the horn eventually. In my own
case, l began to swap with an eye on the
main chance when 1 was little tacker of 6
And lived in a small river town in the Buck
eye state. My first achievement was to
trade pair of tadpoles and a view of a
sore toe to little playmate for three
sticky Jawbreakers-as round, hard pieces
of candy were known in those days. With
this capital l acquired genuine Barlow
knife and a china taw, which were subse-
Quently converted into stil& more valuable
prof. erty. Great oaks from little acorns
grow. From this modest beginning 1 sup
NM I I'D nh,,yt IN $50
dear to the small boys heart by the time
I was 10 years old. At the age of II I
owned junk shor and by the time l had
obtained my majority was sole owner Of a
prosperous hardware store, a small dwelling
and a vacant lot, all acquired through
swapping.
II look back with all sorts of pleasurable
Emotions to one event of my early career as
a snapper. Do you know, 1 once traded
four hogsheads Of New Orleans molasses for
steamboat? Mop, 'tisnt a dream. You
pee, the steamboat, which was an old fash
joined stern wheeler, was on fire at the time,
The dicker was made and it seemed il
bad the wrost end of the bargain. 1t was
like this One night in the early seventies
the steamer was churning down the Ohio,
bound from Pittsburg to Cincinnati, fly
ing light and working short handed, when
IRE started. The boats nose was headed
Tor 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 1t up and take to the small
boats. Every man on the burning steam
boat 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 landing to look on, and there
we found the captain OF the steamboat
3umpuing up and down in the air and cuss-
Ing like a pirate, for he was the owner of
the boat and carried insurance.
Don't you intend to make any effort
70 save something from the boat. captain p
I asked. He came down out Of the air
long enough to interstice his profanity with
The information that he was through with
the blankety blank old hulk and 1t could
are supposed to emanate. Inspiration seized
me On the landing were four hogsheads
Of molasses which I had secured by a
trade that afternoon and l called the cap
tain's attention to them.
i" will you trade your steamboat she
u for those hogsheads?' I asked. He gaped
at me in profound establishment.
Well. of all eternal fools!' said he at
last DO you own them hogsheads?'
I do. I responded. dancing up and
down in anxiety. for the boat was blazing
like a town affre and every minute of
wasted time meant loss Of money to me in
the event of a trade III you want to
swap, say so quick
I" Darned If 1 don't go you,' assented
the captain. 1t is the biggest case of
something for nothing ever struck.
" Boys, you hear the bargain?' said
to the crowd.
Yes piped the crowd, and we'll see
that the captain sticks to it,
" Better see that this foolish young imbe-
cile keeps his end of the swap retorted
the captain, and then, having no more
time for the trivialties Of life. he returned
y
" Come along, fellows l cried and in an
Instant a dozen skiffs, all loaded with strong
youngsters, were racing like mad out to
the vessel. A promise Of liberal pay in
spired them with extra energy, and we all
went to work on the burning vessel with
a sort of frenzy, which resulted in the
extinction Of the flames along about dawn.
OF course the boat was fearfully damaged,
but there was still great deal of valua-
BILE property in sight. So next day 1 had
the hulk towed down to Cincinnati where
the hull and wreckage sold for 81, 500. After
paying the young fellows who had helped
me put out the fire and deducting the act
ual cost of the four hogsheads of molasses
found my profits were a little more than
81 900. The captain never forgave me-"
"You mentioned churches just now, said
the reporter. Ibid you ever swap or sell
one?'
did - exclaimed the exchange broker.
well, l should say so! I've disposed of
two in New York, and three in as many
other cities. The average realty dealer
will assure you that church property is the
hardest to dispose of. For purely CONNER
cial purposes most persons regard a struc-
ture which has been used as church
as extremely unlucky, and will not have
1t at any price, but when you want to dis
pose Of such building you need not seek
purchasers among business men. Some
months ago 1 got wind of congregation
that wished to sell their church build
q new one further up town. Now, near
the locality they had hit upon as most de-
eirable for the new building I had an in
terest in a fine piece of unimproved prop
erty, so 1 hunted up the trustees Of the
church and offered to exchange the ground
for the old church and a handsome cash
consideration. To my proposition they
finally agreed, and the old church became
mine. Some of my friends In the realty
business howled with derision when they
heard of my bargain and made all sorts
of fun Of me. One called around and said
he had a graveyard he'd like to swap with
me. but l promptly agreed to take 1t il I
could get 1t at bargain.
Z" I'll bet you $500 that you don't get
rid of that church within six months Of
fered one Of the deriders.
Done said l. producing my roll and
Swimming or enough to cover the bet. He
was a trifle taken back by my readiness,
but he had made his blum, as nv sinful
little office boys says, and had to make good.
cit was located in a splendid neighbor-
hood, and many handsome and costly resi-
dences were around It, That decided me
how to act. First. put up two large signs
announcing that the property was for sale.
You could have seen them two blocks of