The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-11-02
TO MAKE AND
KEEP A FORTUNE
Millionaire Charles I. Yerkes in His
Own Life Story, Tells the Secret
Of Amassing Wealth.

VI sAi'NSS''' - >'>''.
ANY man who las health, good bust
ness Judgment, energy and ambition shouio
not sneculate 10 make money.
He should pick out some good business
for which he is adapted anu which he
likes and stick to it.
7 have made the bulk of my fortune by
a combination OF good luck ana Sooo
Judgment. Some of it l did make by
speculation but just as cer'dli do cue
sun rises and sets, if l mad continued 70
speculate ] would be broke to-day.
nav. said the. man who speculates IS
an idiot, and ] believe it l have SAID
that / have never seen a ticker player
VINO made money and kept 1t, andtl mean
by that the man who goes 10 the llcher
when it starts and does not leave II IN
til it stops for the day. mean the man
who speculates in securities that he Knows
nothing about and acts upon infoff1a,loh
he receives at second. thiru ana liitletll
hand. with no intention of ever actually
holding the stocks he puts up MS margins
for.
Now, a man like Russell Sage ! do not
class as a Spectator. He buys stocks tor
the stocks tn nlSe.VeS or to secure an N
terest in the corporation for business pur-
poses / do not think ne ever speculates.
HIS business. is a lender Of money and an
invoStor, and it is that which has made
him q power in Wall Street.
There are big men in that street who
are speculate pure and simple, but lie
actual buying OF stocks to hold and occa-
sionaIly selling them to an advantage as
a business deal | do not call speculation.
l was a Spectator when / was a stock
broker. and a heavy one.
/ lost a fortune and made 1t again, with
a little more besides, but / form d the
opinion whicll l have expressed that the
man who speculates IS an idiot.
Then, too, / stopped
] have not specuated since 1873. | lost
my money in the panic which was caused
by the Chicago fire in 1871 and 1 made it
again in the panic which followed the
Cooke failure in 1873. / formed d partner
ship with john P. Bell in Philadelphia
after that, and the express terms of our
agreement We're that the firm should not
speculate for itself. We made "a good dea!
of our money out of the Spectators in
stead OF speculating ourselves a good
portion of it, however, We made, in busl-
ness, trading for business men.
| have been asked how made my money
f I didn't speculate.
1 didn't begin life as the typical bare
foot boy on the tow-l1ath. l had some
money when I started-not a great deal,
but some. ] began as i note broker III
the days when Philadelphia merchants
used TO receive notes from their custo-
mers for goods they sold.
did sweep out my own office for q
time, but L was successful in my bust
ness, and after a little time / arose to
the dignity of having a boy to do those
things. I made money dealing in paper,
! and then branded out as a stock broker
[ became a member Of the Exchange, both
N Philadelphia and New York and it was
not until after had plenty of monsy that
/ began to speculate.
When l did go into it I went into 1t al
| a considerable extent, and then VIXEN
| the news OF the burning of Chica go came
! was caught. l lost everything had made
as a broker and was forced to wait for
| two years for a chance 10 recoup. Wher
heard that Jay Cooke had failed
went on the market as a bear and made
| money rapidly. Then L quit.
Since that day 1 have never speculated.
People think live solely to make mon
ey- That isr't true at all. Money means
very little to me- work because I like
| it.
You look back and! around you over
| the men who have made fortunes for
themselves and YOU viii find they are
| men who enjoy their work.
enjoy mine, and to that more than any
| thing else / attribute my success. have
lots of fun at my work, and that is
| the reason I stay at it and do not retire
and buy yacht and live in Europe. or
| do all or any of the things which 1 am
constantly accused of being about to do.
Ike ii better 10 stay here.
The man who worries over his work can't
succeed.
The successful man must take his work
easy
If he worries. nc will break down and
be forced 10 retire.
He should have some hobby to occupy
MS mind after he leaves his desk, other
! wise he will be morose and be one OF those
! men Who throw a pail over their homes
| wien they come into the hoiise.who sit
alone in the library while their wives tell
the children they must not make noise,
because father is here
have had several .,oesnies in my time
-nousensical or othc-r Sc.
Just now 1t is pictures. When was youn-
ger, It was raising fish. and had d com
plese hatchery fitted up in my house.
I repeat, I am all through with specula-
ton, although it must have been born
in me. for the first business deal ever
made was speculation pure and simple.
THE FIRST VENTURE.
1t was when ] was a boy at home.
There WAS an auction store in the town
and uscd TO 50 there sometimes and listen
to the auctioneer. One day / noticed a
lot OF soap. 1t was the same kind Of
soap ne used at home and We bought it
from a grocer around the corner 1t oc-
CURED 10 nlss that l might be able TO make
some money out Of that soap. / went
around to the grocer and asked him how
much he paid for that kind of soap. He
told me nine cents 4 pound. asked him
II he would buy some from me for eight.
and he said he would. So I hung around
the auciion-room until the soap was put
I'D. There was considerable bidding, and
[ finally bought the lot of 1t for six cents
a pound. After they had asked my nan,
ard had suns on: With my hosisll voice,
/ vac very :nuci. fr,ssterea, ran around
the corner, and ~. cut CT breath, recalled
the promise TO hu. at eight cents TO the
grocer He stuck to the bargain, and !
delivered the soap over to him without
holding It myself and pocketed stle profits
~