Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1900-01-02
WilIets writes of Charles B. Rouss in
National Magazine
Pa Picture Of he Ailiondi,e Merchant and
PliidnthroDisf.

WtlletS Writes OF Charles b ttOusS IN
National Magazine
Pa Picture Of he lfilionaie Merchant and
flfsan0.ropist.
IGilson wiliets IN National sIagazinel
"A million dollars to anyone who viii
restore my sight. Such is theoffer made
by Charles Broadway Rouss, the only one
of New York's 1900 millionaires who is
not permitted to enjoy his money accord
ing to his taste or whims. AS his offer
has recently been renewed through the
press of the country. scientists are en-
couraged to proceed with their expert
ments to discover whether blindness can
be cured. Meanwhile. people who have
read of the offer. want to know the life
story of the one who makes it, of the man.
who, while not exactly offering king
dom for horse, is Proffering the money
equivalent of his kingdom. namely, his
storeand itsentire contents, all for an eye.
a quarter of a century ago, it was law
full to imprison a man for debt. It was
an absurd and impracticable law, and
Charles Rouss happened to be one of its
victims. On the wall of one of the cells of
the debtors prison, Ludlow street jail, in
New York. the following inscription may
be traced to this day: when leave
here 1 shall become rich man 1t was
cut into the stone by Mr.. Rouss. who was
suffering temporary dprance vile. not for
any kind of crime or misdemeanor. but
simply for debt, and the most honest form
of debt at that
1t happened, however, that. outside the
prison walls Rouss had friend, one who
has since become famous as the King of
Staten Island This, of course. was
Erastus Wiman. He secured the innocent
debtors release. and was afterwards in
strlmental in having the law changed so
that no one could be imprisoned for debt,
save where fraud was proven.
True to his self-lnadc promise, Charles
broadway Rcuss became rich man.
Now six times a millionaire. he owes no
man penny and none owe him. Years
ago he burned his ledger and learned 10
say no, neither asking or giving credit
lie accumulated the greater part of his
fortune. dollar by dollar. in buying every
kind Of merchandise at bargain prices,
and selling the same at Il small profit
As his Broadway store you can buy any
thing from sponge to an anvil. This
bigshop is the headquarters for NJ. Rouss'
10000 shops. which form a chain around
the earth.
His son is namsd Winchester his
daughter, Virginia I it hard to guess
his native town and State? His father
wanted him to he a farmer, but
= Charlie" declared farming too slow
and too unrcmuaerative. So the boy of
fifteen left the parental farm, and
bound himself to the master of the
village store at one dollar week and
found" He saved every cent of his
earning. He was the closest listed boy
inWinchester, except when he bought with
one dollar something he could sell fortwo
As his beloved State needed the help c.
every son within its borders, Iiouss wound
up his business affairs, 1eaPed into = sad
die and, at the first recruiting station,
enlisted in the Confederate ranks He
y served in the same company with William
J.. Wilson. who afterwards became post
master general under Cleveland, and who
today is oreof Mr.. Rouss' intimatefriends.
Long before the close of the war, when
Rouss surrendered with the remnants at
at Appomattox, he had given his listcent
to tie lost cause" He was penniless
and in debt, his own and his fathers
debts amounting to more than $4,000.
He went to New York and when he ar
rived in the city his fortune amounted
to $3.50. He trlmped the streets, slept
in police stations. depended upon free
lunch counters for food. Everywhere he
sought credit for stool; of goods with
which to start in business in the smallest
way. Everywhere. credit was refused.
Ii was just at this juncture that one of
his creditors in New York caused his ar
rest and had him confined in Ludlow
street jail-honest debt his only fault
While within the prison walls. he received
news of his fathers death. Now will
pay off fathers debts first" he said to
himself. and it was probably in that same
hour that he turned to the wall and
scratched upon it the inscription quoted
at the beginning of this story.
Erastus Wiman, who secured the
debtors release, then gave Mr. Rouss the
opportunity fer second start in business.
Mr.. Rouss' career appears 10 revers.. -
familiar maxim, making it read: Mott
ing succeeds like failure" II the face
ofdifIicultics that would have discouraged
men less determ ned, he went to Brook
Ign, hired a store and again attended
s nall auction sales, this time asking nc
credit, but buying for cash. and undersell-
ing everybody for cash. The store rent
was fifty cents day. He paid the fifty
cents every evening. In few weeks the
store was not large enough to hold the
stock he was able to buy. He moved to
a larger one. and, for the same reason,
continued to move until, in six months.
he had moved six times. Eight months
after his second failure he again had
money in the bank
Working thus, Mr.. Rouss, after many
years, became known and respected in
all the markets of the world. He had be-
come second A. T. Stewart. And Just
rs he reached the goal and the breathing
place on the mountain top whence he
might look backward and see to what a
dizzy height he had climbed, his eyesigbt
1esan to fail HIM. Having won a for
tune, he lost the power to enjoy it. He
saw the world as through a haze, and
fnllly it faded from his sight. With
riches had become perpetual darkness.