The Washington herald., 1912-09-08

capable of ascertaining what calfskinz
are worth at home.
mo man can change the law OF supply
and demand Attempts are made to dc
SO, as in corners Of wheat. cotton. and
pork, but they are unnatural and soon
break down. More than 100000 calf
skins are produced in this country an
nually. They are worth from 80 cents
to $50 apiece. About 2o.oo0.o0o skins
are worn out by our people In shoes,
pocketbooks, and reticules. The bulk
OF our supply. therefore, Is bought In
foreign markets, and Is beyond local
control. Antwerp fixes the prices paid
for South American hides; Chicago fol
the wet salt hides of the United States
Buyers from all over Europe go to the
Board of Trade at Antwerp and bargain
with the brokers. Hides unloaded on
the docks OF London are catalogued by
lots and sold at auction. The bidders
really mako the price. It is the same
in Liverpool with cotton. and American
cotton at that. though London estab-
fishes the worldwide price Of wool In
deed. groups Of men composed Of pur-
chasers and of brokers, acting for pro-
ducers. regulate the prices OF many
staples. both here and abroad. They
have accurate information from the
sources Of supply. and are enabled to aci
with Justice and intelligence.
How He Built His Business.
"A great deal Of business everywhere
Is done on honor. Men in this country
and in Canada shipped calfsl<ins to me
for years and accepted my own figures.
They felt that they would be fairly
treated A manufacturer Of pocketbooks
asked me to stop and see him the next
time / passed through New York. He
bought $4,000 worth of calfskins, not
knowing what he was to pay until after
he received the bill. CalfslSins ordinarily
are sorted into eight or ten classes. That
is the rule of the trade. We sorted
them. however. into ninety classes. !
saw, while still q very young man. that
should be compelled to do business
along original lines II I hoped to be-
come anything more than a local dealer.
Hyde Park, my home. was a small vii
lage. Only one railroad came into the
town Moreover, ] was many hundreds
of miles away from the farms of the
Middle West, the source Of our largest
supply Consequently, I had to be a
specialist. Skins were shipped to me
from all sections of the country. On one
occasion a CONSIGNMENT was received
from Seattle. They were cured and
scientifically sorted and part of them
went back across the continent to tan
ner in Victoria, British Columbia.
Your observation about prices" SEN
ator Page continued, led me out Of the
subject about which I was talking, but
what I have said in desultory way
about my own experiences has a bearing
perhaps. on vocational education. Nc
boy can know too much about the worn
he means to live by after he gets out In
the world. As was saying q while ago,
often go abroad on business. Germany
where boys learn trades. asserted. IL
fast becoming the foremost manufactur-
ing nation in Europe. The greatest tan
ner of calfskins on the continent Is
Baron Cornelius Heyl. OF Worms. The
Gar of Russia visits him whenever he
goes to Germany. Carl Freudenberg, OF
weinheim, ranks next to Baron Heyl
sell calfsxins to both Of them. They
paw the freight across the Atlantic, as
/ have shown, tan the skins. and send
them back to the United States. Our
manufacturers turn the leather into
shoes.
A Rich Man in Overalls.
Everything in Germany Is thoroughly
done. Their tanneries are made of stone,
and will stand for ages to come Our
tanneries are built of wood. Mr.. Freu-
denberg and I have talked about the
German method of educating hoys to
be scientists and mechanics, and to md
themselves while still going TO school
Nevertheless. Mr.. Freudenberg sent his
son Walter to Hyde Park that he might
learn the calfskin business at my ware
house. The boy put on overalls and
remained with me for six months. He
learned to sort skins and to cure them,
and 1t was not a white-shirt job. / was
pleased that he came to me, that he
came to the United States, but the point
that I want to emphasize pertains to the
practice of the Germans of educating
their boys and girls 50 that they can
make the best possible use OF theiI
lives. We don't stop to think that book
keepers can be hired for SIS a week while
bricklayers are getting IS or more for
eight hours of work. Education with us
has not been made practical. Even
American textbooks are helping to pull
our country boys into cities and towns.
We need to ennoble what we have here
tofore Thought were the coarse and
common things of life. There are law
yers enough, and doctors, too, / sup
pose"
What promising fields in business still
remain open to young menu / asked.
Youth has more opportunities to-day
than ever before. but youth must be
diligent, humble and intelligent. Money
can be made in furniture. chemicals and
leather and other things. Ability, thor
oughness and originality will succeed al
most anywhere. This being the age OF
great corporations, We think that many
old ways to success have been closed
But that is not so. Corporations are in.
variably at disadvantage, because the
shareholders have lost personal touch
with their establishments and mus,
depend on hired managers and superin.
tendents. The small man starting now
should start just as small men started
forty years ago. He cannot rush in
capture the market and ride to his work
in an automobile. II he is modest, con.
fident and painstaking, however. and
has ideas. and II he will put on over.
alls when he is obliged to. his business
will grow, and the circle of his custom
ers will increase year by year. Present.
ly he will be rich.
How Joseph Hecht Got Rich.
II began at Hyde Park, az have
said. Capt. Hyde, one Of my Revolu.
tionary ancestors. owned all the land II
the neighborhood-it was granted to him
for his services as a soldier and surveyor
Ny father became nearly incapacftatec
by an accident and had to- depend on my
help. Traditionally, therefore, and
through necessity. I was rooted to thai
isolated and one particular region. Were
I a young man to-day should maks
calfsl<ins my specially and open q shor
under the caves of the largest calfskir
concern in country. I should &c
where business was done on greai
scale in the confident belief that I could
do some business myself IL gave II my
personal attention and originated new