The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-07-20
SMALL TOWNS Big MAN
ONE SUCH WILL BE FOUND IN EVERY
INDIANA COMMUNITY.
He l. Always willing to Give His
Attention To a scheme That Looks
Good Financially.

gladiator Of enterprise. He is more con-
spicuoUs than all others, as he has long out
grown the community both by capacity and
resource. and although not the richest man
IN town is by no means the poorest. He is
at the mead Of more new enterprises and
his name appears on more corporation pa
pers in the county recorders Office than
any other man in the community. For
what schemes he doesn't originate himself
others bring him to work out. No mar I'm
town has more friends or enemies. but his
friends offset the influence Of the latter,
and, plus his own efforts, he succeeds in
keepiug at the head OF affairs.
He conducts a real estate, insurance and
loan business on the second floor of his own
building over on one side Of the courthouse
square. On top of his desk are fifteen or
t~enty incorporate seals OF various enter
prises from a merchants mutual plate glass
insurance company to an electric railroad,
and his safe is full Of minute books and
stock books. He transacts business on the
street, at home and even out OF the second
story window Of his office. While standing
on the corner a teamster will come along
and pay him some money for eulvert gravel
he had been hauling out of a pit on his
farm north Of the town: walking 10 the
ArAA - ACA IL sees n FARMER ana DuNS a
hundred fieeces Of wool on spec" He will
be sitting at the window Of his Office with
his feet on the sill when some one in the
courthouse yard will put his hand UP to his
mouth and yell, out: 'Oh, Charlie, wish
you'd put 600 more on my household goods
bought a piano yesterday" Later he will
possibly see a farmer on the other side Of
the street, and after jumping UP and lean
Fur ONT tho uFfuICu- Mill zhon+. ssOL ILL.,.
I got that money loaned out for you"
All right-be up pointing excitedly to
the hardware store) just as soon as 1 go
over here and get me some gate hinges"
During the long summer afternoons you
will frequently find him with a few of his
business associates lying over in the court
house yard. and there they work out. many
a scheme and consummate many a trade
as they unconsciously pull up grass with
their fingers.
Besides all his companies he Owns an in
terest in two or three stores over town and
has 'grub-staked" a couple Of young fell
lows in a newspaper adventure. About
every six months he goes either to New
York or to some OF the Western money CEN
tiers to float a scheme. He is a man of edu-
cation and imagination, and on the whole
the very one for a hero of a modern real
istic Indiana novel. If you SO up into his
office he always has something new and en-
tertaining TO tell. You are as apt to find
him depressed as in the opposite mood, but
the former state is invariably Of short
duration. for he takes everything philo-
sophically.
FOUND IN HIS OFFICE.
The other day he was found in his Office
before his desk. elbows on his knees, his
chin resting in the palms of his hands,
looking intently at the floor. Yes he
said, in answer to the question if one of
his schemes had been turned down. There
IS a conservatism about this town that is
truly distressing at times. Some Of my as
s~ociates are OF the opinion that what this
town needs is a few frst-class funerals.
That is. OF course, an Old-fashioned rem
edy. but I take a ~anguine view of it. You
see the forces in a town like this. or any
other town for that matter, are divided
into two classes-the conservatives and the
progressive, and il is a question Of which
one p-redominates as the ruling spirit. If a
man has a project that needs money his
first inclination is to go to the wealthiest
man in town, and right here is where ne
gets turned down, and goes away wishing
for funerals.
The individuals who amassed great
wealth have no inclination to be enterpris-
ing-they don't have 10 be; all that is nee
essary for them to do to keep their money
IS 10 sit still and say NO It's natural, 1
guess, for the man with a very little money
20 be enterprising, as he has everything 10
gain and not much to lose. Men with a
little money are in the majority and con-
sequently there is plenty of enterprise.
aft - O ~rro-t3o, - oo++s-- -.-
10 consolidate the fellows with a little cap
ital, for if they mass their wealth together
the men with large individual fortunes will
not be in il. and they can have funerals or
not just as they please. Aggregating small
means to a single purpose in order to cope
with large individual wealth is in the spirit
OF consolidation and Capitalization Of this
time. This town is an ideal place for this,
as every one has a little money and the
single individual wealth is small.
The organization Of our hotel companies
here Is a good Illustration of my meaning.
IL had been whistled around after the town
got 10 booming that We needed a good
hotel; other towns had philanthropic cit
liens who had taken pity on the travelling
public. built fairly good hotels and Incl
oenJally-Only acknowledgements TO
their memory. The old hotel here was a
joke: we didn't have any philanthropic citi-
zens and our only alternative was to raise
the coin.
Well, IL got 70 a point that one night
three Of US schemers met up in this office
and we organized the hotel company. The
next day 1 went over 10 an old lawyer, who
owned the ground where it now stands,
and got an option in consideration for my
effort 10 sell the ground for $4,000 Then 1
had the plans made for the building and
took bids on the construction in order TO
be sure Of ourselves as to costs. In the
meantime it had been talked about in the
papers and q water-cOlor perspective OF the
exterior exhibited in one Of the store win
coWs. About this time some OF the very
fellows who had been the loudest urging a
new hotel began 10 knock by saying it
was all wind and a scheme of ours TO make
9 lot OF money. They even eye-balled US
when we went along the street as though
we were getting ready TO gum-shoe some
body. The principal argument that 1
knew would be used against IL was that
81 was too near indianapolis, but 1 got
around the actual possibility by arranging
HH-~