Evening journal., 1907-08-31
What | Know About
Delaware Politics and
Other Things
SEVENTH ARTICLE.
By Washington Hastings

/
ana ana as was never gigantic in stature and had never
peen able to TIP the scales at more than hundred
pounds this vanity was. perhaps, pardonable.
unueu nl my duties IN the store which about this time
were ameioracd very materially and much TO my sats-
lactlon by the employment OF coored boy deliver
$50 800, ~ customers ana open up IN the mornings
o'clock IN the summer time and IN wlnter--sweep out
dust or and so forth all of which heretofore
ioeu pS me youngest fellow In the store the cub"
as he called there wore only two Of as and
was the younger, they belonged to me- scarcely need
State that glad to be rid of them
About this time-mid summer Of 1S5S-I began to cast
ABOUT ana consider in what line of business would seek
be up had long before determined that would not
spend my life standing behind any mans counter if
coulu % possibly ma anything else TO do thought I
was taking time by the foreock and that / need he in
no hurry about ~ that when the time there would
pe lots or people who would want my services and 1
would have no dslculty i'm getting employment. But
when the time did come found out, to my sur
Prise that had made mistake. Instead of everybody
wanting me found that nobody did that instead Of
accepting position TO be offered by any number
oi employers, (Which seems 10 be fashionable
days. was to have some difficulty in getting anybody
to accept me- Indeed, absolutely nobody, i'm any line
OF business that suited my notions wanted
me Employers Ina those days had learned the trick
Of inviting young men to accept positions in their
lshments SO, when the 18th Of March 1860 came
around had not accepted position because no posi-
ton had accepted me; or In plain United States LAM
guage was out Of work / could have remained with
Mr.. McClees, as he cordially invited me To- do until
could find another place but thought that if did
would perhaps never find And so, when the time
knocked around" for while doing odd Jobs at post
ing books making out bills for small store keepers
etc, when vacancy occurring in Edward McCloes Office
at his lumber yard 1 went with him. I think could
have stayed with him as long MS wished IN ss h ,,s
always good friend TO me- but did fancy the um-
Der business suppose very fastidous and the
world looked large and So looking the Delaware
hepublcan" one morning noticed the dissolution the
partnership of Gibbons Brothers, at the old Wilmington
Rolling mli now at Tenth and Church streets. then,
or streets evon east of Poplar then Immediately
put on my coat and started for the mill
found that Richard p Gibbons was to continue the
pus,nSss aone ana that he would want young man in
young man, middle aged and old man. for forty
seven years II was a small concern. one building
train OF rolls one engine one boiler and two pairs of
shears; employing men; with capacity for making
about five hundred tons Of finished plate iron year
have lived TO see it grow to buildings five
eans furnaces six forge fires six boilers ten engines
ten pairs of shears three trains Of rolls three steam
hammers two lifting cranes and four carrying cranes;
ana employing a times two hundred and fifty men, with
an annual capacity OF i've thousand finished
plate iron and thousand charcoal iron bloons
working In day time only
worked for Mr. Gibbons for four years ! soon found
that could do all the Office work. which only was en-
poyeu 20 40 IN two hours day easily; the remainder
of the time / spent in the mill made IL a point to
set on good terms with the men, and especially with
e ,hiee skilled ana important men in the mill
az possblc and TO them, IN addition what learned
from my employer am indebted for my early education
m lhe mahuIacture or IRON As have said, served Mr.
Gibbons for four years, and learned to know him we
better perhaps than any other man in Wilmington
num- ior ne did not know many people-scarcely
intimatey-and did not wish TO- lie minded his own
business and wished everyone else mind theirs so
r as ne and his business were concerned he asked for
no advice ana gave none, very little that reluct
anty; he was very firm and set in his judgment and
opnion-almost ohstinate-and nothing and nobody on
earth could affect change them when once formed
lie was oxacting but he iust he owed man 1--WE
cents he would walk five miles pay It II necessary
and he wanted the treatment return he didn't
always get It, lie was ominently peculiar man. lie
knew what he thought world around him and no
would tell who asked him very promptly but he
didn't care rap what the world thought Of him. He
was kind, thoughtful and generous to all but he was
unapproachable except to a very few: he was for
giving; he has told me that he man in his
life never intended TO- have known Of delino,,ent
10
TO him for more iron when they had contract for
work. and they got IL; and before the old bin was nad
Indeed some of them paid guess unless his
executors have succeeded in collecting them
II certainly was a CLOSE man That rs 70 saw no
knew the value of money and did waste any of his
lie had no for horses carriages and not much
for street cars Automobiles he considered an abonno
tion lie cared nothing for the theatre for clubs his
home good enough for him. / have heard mon saw
that he was "moano man If tbeso char,ctoris,,s
constitute meanness then he was; but do not think so
know him To be kind, pen-hearted generous man
when proper objects in his opinion presented themselves
ana have carried his money. than once. TO the
homes of the poor ana needy IN the vicinity MILL
where death had entered sickness prevaed the only
and that the money not TO be spent rum. And
he took his chances the latter condition because he
knew it could not always be guaranteed.
Mr. Gibbons did not do a large business He did not
wish to- ne did not want any business than he
remainder might 70 somebody else People thought
he was an "old fogy' in this respect and he per-
tecty willing for them to have that opinion him if
pleased them
an 'e la OF looV alter Lincoln had been elected things
loohea olue The intended secession Of the Southern
states was openly proclaimed ana state conventions for
the avowed purpose OF passing ordinances were
pns vaieu N classes on men, ana especially those who
had money or property exceedingly troubled
Gibbons took very pessimisc view the situation
that was largely his dispostonas did everybody else
lie thought that this State would probably secede with
the rest Of the Southern States even IL did not
there would probably be war and. being border State
Delaware would be battle ground; over run
with soldiers of both sections property would be de-
s9yeo ne banks cleaned out and the ruin Of everybody
follow. He had considerable idle money I'm bank at that
time and concluded that II would be safe in iron in
his mill yard as anywhere, else So he commenced 70
buy charcoal iron blooms by the pile them
upon the bank-"blooms' his raw material from
which he made his charcoal iron boiler plates And he
continued 20 buy until ne invested about forty thou
sand dollars in them and the mill bank was piled full
The price was low, everything az that
juncture running about forty TO FIVE dollars
ton After the war commenced and the government
ana became large purchasers the