Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1900-01-04
MAXIMS OF A MAGNATE.
WHILE COMPILING THEM HIS CON.
SCIENCE HAS AN AWAKENING.

lie ADidn't Want to Inspire ANY Other
rarm-r Lad to Follow His Devious
~ EAth to Wealth. So He Declined to
Write Ais Autobiography.
The millionaire sat at tile writing
table IN his library xnd rofeotively
cheued the end of a pen. He was
abont to undertake the first literary
labor OF his life-an photographed
sketch which the editor of magazine
devoted to the edification of American
youth n1&ked him to contribute to
its sHour notable achieve
ments ho Hold of commercial en-
dea ve rote the editor, ':have
.z.:.s your n1Efe synonym OF sue
cess. An account OF the steps by
which you have reached your present
eminence cannot fail to be at once in
teresting, instructive and inspiring"
When you talk that way to q mill
ionaire, as a general thing, you have
got him.
There seemed no reason why there
should have been any difficulty about
the matter. Yet he had been sitting
there for three-quarters Of an hour
and the only word he had written was
81"
Asa matter of fact. this shining ez-
ample, who had probably made"
more dollars than any other man of
his age in the United States, had
never taken time to look back and
consider the stages OF his progress.
Apparently the process was not a
, pleasing one, for he was frownins
| darkly at the heavy oriental window
| hangings. At last he took the splint-
! cred pen from his mouth, dipped i. in
! the lrkstand and wrote:
| Il have always been guided by these
/ maxims.
'F,et mp early and keep bnsy
ID ont let Il good thing get away from
Let the other fellow put up.
| Never get gay with the boss.
Hold Oh TO your coin and keep holding
on.
'yon can't be n good fellow ana DO busi-
ne.t .ttrIends de1ni are al, right. but look out for
J them"
He leansl back IN bis leather-up-
Hols.ered chair and read over what
he had written, then frowned again.
They're all right. as far as ] can
see. he SAID, ''but somehow they ain t
going to look well in print
Uer rose and went over to where q
large unabridged dictionary was open
OF its stand anl made number OF
,tierences. Then he returned 10 the
-ablc and wrote:
Rise early ana let no part Of the day be
! without Its profitable employment.
''Be alert TO recognizes opportunity and
quick to take advantage Oft
'Exercise a prudent reserve In business
transactions.
IF employed, let your employer find VOC
polite. diIigent and cheerful.
''Practce rugali.y-deEy Yourself al
forms Of expensive entertainment and in
diligence.
Purely sentimental considerations ca.
not be allowed to influence OF govern bu~i.
ness matters"
"Ihat sounds iittle better, though
it's about The same thing" said the
millionaire. ''if any young man fol,
lows those precepts he can get rich il
he doesn't have bad luck. =
He began to bite his pen again, fol
the autobiography was beginning to
simmer intangibly in his brain. He
was fighting the battle over. A boy
on farm at the beck and call OF every
body. debarred from even ordinary
comforts anu all advantages, sArewt
by nature, shifty by necessity, witt
the parsi!nony Of niserly father
always before his eyes. The tardy
escape from The farm by the IN
mourned death Of that father, his EN-
ployment in the village store. Thel
years Of persistent effort, crawling
squirming, clboeing, saving, starving
cheating, lying, passing from petit,
fraud to bolder swindle, with ever
increasing gains, sitting every gener
GUS impulse, every noble emotion
sacrificing love as we'll as he had long
since sacrificed honor, striving viii
the fear of the law for the fear of til,
Lord and finding his reward for it al
in whats a-s4zsssss ss< = sas's ss,,,ts >-~-'s~
he look ell around the room, and III,
luxury that he saw seemed on the
! whole fairly satisfactory answer t
; the question. Yet there nust hav
been some doubt about the matter
for he began to think of other reason
why it had been worth while Anon
them we're some highly complime ntar
references to his generosity from Ger
tain well-known divines. There wa
the memory Of foes oyerborne an
trodden down; of competitors remorse
lessiy crushed; Of the adula:ion, th
unfeigned reverence of men, Of thi
letter, for instance.
He took up the lett er and read
over again. It was certainly fatter
ing. The mere fact that he had bee
asked to tell the public the story Q
: his life was hattering. And 1t shove
! what the public wanted-its great an
fever!sh desire-i,s ideal. 1t vante
success and its fruitiou-iollars an
J cents
. Your notable achievements, :,
: They were .ce-tainably notable; til
} cor@er;ng O. staple products, sh
, watering Of stocks the manipulate
OF markets. giiG +. others, but eac