Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1901-11-22


way inns, Il don't think any of 'cin
can equal the early experiences of Tim
Hartman, who died in ST. Louis many
years ago, leaving nearly million dol
lars 10 be fought over by his heirs. lie
made his first good sized pile Oh pat
ent medicines. then he picked Up a
great deal more on real estate, and mt
last he rounded out with speculation in
Montana copper but he was known as
Doc Hartman TO the time of his death
by his few intimate friends.
But the story that I'm going TO tell,
and the one which he often told him
self, concerns his very earliest expert
ences In the accumulation OF money
Tim Hartman started life with 81. He
kicked around as barefooted boy
and pretty mean one, too-in little
| town In Connecticut until he was ~
years old. and NJ that time he had be-
come so fresh and so full OF wind and
! general cussedness that his father one
day told him he was no good. never
had been and never would amount to
picayune. The old gentleman. Just
TO carry out the bluff told Tim thai he
had good mind 10 cut him off with a
dollar and make him earn his own liv-
Ing. Tim Strengthened up and called
/ the bluff. He told the old man that he
would take the dollar and get out then
and there and hustle for himself. The
old man handed him crisp 81 bill and
told him that he'd be glad to see him
make fortune with il.
"The first thing that cuss did was to
go about IN n few back yards that he
knew Of and gather together lot Of
empty bottles which were Of no use to
anybody. Then for 10 cents. he bought
large cake Of Il kind OF white soap
that was then, and still is. on the mar
ket. He melted this soap and. after
borrowing an ancient pair OF candle
molds from an old granny in the neigh
borhood, made two beautiful looking
candles of soap. He next filled his bot
ties full of choice rainwater. Then he
made for himself one of those little
three legged tables like the chuck a.
luck and shell game sen use outside
the circus and struck out on foot for n
county fair that was being held about
10 miles away.
when be got there. he put up his lit
tie table outside the grounds. where
the crowd was pretty thick. lighted one
of his soap candles and began to extol
the virtues Of DR.. Hartman's Famous
Grease Eradicator,' contained In the
bottles set before him.
"'Now. ladies and gentlemen he
would shout in Il stentorian but plauSi |
bic voice. this marvellous liquid. so
harmless that it can be drunk with i'm /
punity by the smallest infant and yet I
so penetrating that ii will seek out and |
destroy stains and discolorations from |
the most refractory substance. was dis !
covered by accident by the famous sci /
enlist. Or Hartman. the eminent schol- |
ar, while he was wandering DER the |
wilds of Patagonia. Ii Is colorless. you |
see. as the waters from heaven, and |
yet observe the effects OF its startling
properties"
AT this point Tim would reach for |
his soap candle and. inverting it. would !
smear a lot OF the grease over the J
sleeve of his coat.
Now. every one Of you knows. la
reaching over and uncorking a bottle
Of his rainwater. that there Is nothing
so penetrating and ineffaceable as 10
: grease from a candle. and yet IL is a
stain that we are all likely TO suffer al
most every evening OF our lives while
toying with that common article OF the
household. the candle. You will OBJ
serve that my sleeve Is smeared with
the annoying substance. Behold
Here that country bred fakir would
spill couple OF drops of his rainwater
on the soap and with rub or two
would produce a beautiful lather. An
other swipe and the soap would have
entirely disappeared from the sleeve,
leaving not trace.
Nov. we make this famous eradi-
Gator in such enormous quantities Tim
would continue, that In order TO intro
| duce IL into every home In this broad
land we will dispense with 1t at the
nbsurdly low price of . cents. nickel
bottle. Step right up! Step right
up
"Then. when the public was surging
forward to purchase the rainwater,
Tim would pause occasionally to drink
q bottle OF 1t, just to show that 1t was
absolutely harmless.
We'll the stuff went like hot cakes.
When Tins bottles were all exhausted.
he bought more. and when the fair was
over he went to another and another
until he had travelled oil over the coun-
try. Then. in some way or other.
don't know how. he got hold Of some
old patent medicine. and, being a gen
ius. OF course he made a big 60 OF It.
30 that's the way Tim Hartman almost
became q millionaire" - New York
Times.
Evarts and the Author.