The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1900-11-10
How TO MAKE And
KEEP A FORTUNE.
Millionaire Charles 7. Yerkes in His
. Own Life Story. Tells the Secret
; Of Amusing Wealth.
By Charles T. Yerkes. Multi Millionaire

which he likes and stick to it.
That is what l have done all of my
life.
1 have made the bulk of my fortune
by a combination of good luck and
good judgment. Some of it 1 did make
by speculation, but just as certain as
the sun rises aud sets, if 1 had contin-
ued to speculate l would be broke to-
day.
1 have said the man who speculates
is an idiot, and 1 believe it. 1 have
said that l have never seen a ticker
player who made any money and kept
it, and 1 mean by that the man who
goes to the ticker when it starts and
does not leave it until it stops for the
day. mean the man who speculateS
in securities that he knows nothing
about and acts upon information he re-
ceives at second, third or fiftieth hand,
with no intention of ever actually
holding the stocks he puts up his mar
gins for.
Now, a man like Russell Sage 1 do
not class as a Spectator. He buys
stocks for the stocks themselves or to
secure an interest in the corporation
FOR buineSS / do not think
he ever speculates. His business is a
lender of money and ar investor. and
il is that which has made him a power
in Wall street.
There are big men in that street who
are spectators, pure and simple, but
the actual buying of stocks to hold n
occasionally selling them to an advan-
tage as a business deal l do not call
speculation.
l was a Spectator when I was a
stock broker, and a heavy one.
l lost a fortune and made it again,
with a little more besides, but 1 formed
the opinion which l have expressed
that the man who speculates is an
idiot.
Then, too. 1 stopped.
l have not speculated since 1878. I
lost my money in the panic which was
caused by the Chicago fire in 1871 and
l made it again in the panic which
followed the Cooke failure in 1873. I
formed a partnership with John p. Bell
in Philadelphia after that, and the ex-
press terms of our agreement were that
the firm should 10, speculate for itself.
We made a good deal of our money
out of the spectators instead of spec
ulating ourselves. A good portion of
it. however. we made in business, trad
ing for business men.
i have been asked how 1 made my
money if l { didn't speculate.
I didn't begin life as the typical bare
foo boy on the towpath. had some
money when l started-not a great deal
but some. l began as q note broke
in the days when Philadelphia mer-
chants used to receive notes from their
customers for goods fhaU gold
l did sweep out Try own Office for n
time, but l was successful III my bust
ness. and after Il little time l arose to
the dignity of having a boy to do those
things. l made money dealing in pa
per and then brarched out as a stock
broker. L became a member of the
Exchange both in Philadelphia and
New York. and it vas not until after
/ had plenty of money that l began
20 speculate.
When ] GId go into it l went into it az
a considerable extent, and then when
the news of the burning Of Chicago
came ] was caught. / lost everything
l had made as { broker ard was forced
t" wait [or two vars for a chance to
recoup. When l heard that Jay Cooke
had failed went on the market as Il
bear and made money rapidly. Then I
Iu;r.
Since that day l have never specu-
lated.
People think l live solely to make
aorey. That isn't true at all. Money
means very l.,tIe To me. | work be
cause ! ike il.
You lock back and around you over
the men who have made fortunes tCc
themselves and you will find they are
men who enjoy tEtir work.
| enjoy mine, and to that more than
anything else / attribute my success.
] have lots of fun at my work, and
that is the reason l stay at it and do
not retire and buy a yacht or live in
Europe. or do all or any of the things
which l am constantly accused of being
about to do. l like it better to stay
here.
The mar who worries over his work
cant succeed.
The successful man must take his
work easy.
If he worries. he will break down
md he forced to retire.
he should have some hobby to Occu-
by his mind after he caves his desk,
otherwise he will be morose n be
one of those men who throw a pail over
their homes when they come into the
housewife sit alone in the library
while their wives tell the children they
must NOT make a noise, because father
is here"
1 have a several hobbies in my
time-nonsensical or otherwise.
Just now it is pictures. When l was
younger. it was raising fish, and / had
a complete hatchery fitted up in my
house.
1 repeat, 1 am all through with spec
ulation, although il must have been
born in me, for the first business deal
I ever made was a speculation pure
and simple.
THE FIRST VENTURE.
1t was when I was a boy at home.
There was an auction store in the town
and l used to go there sometimes and
listen to the auctioneer. One day l
noticed a lot of a 1t was the same
kind of soar we used at home and we
bought it from a grocer around the cor
ner. It occurred to me that l might
be able to make some money out of
that soap. 1 went around to the gro
GER and asked him how much he paid
for tina kind of soap. He old me
nine cents a pound. l asked MIN if he
would buy some Srom me for eight, and
he said he would. So I hurg around
the auction room until the soap was