The Washington herald., 1912-02-11
.6erbert Kaufman.
Breaking Into Millionaire Class;
How SIS Clerk Became Publisher.
By BEN BURBANKS.

r. VERY now and again some up country
- youth breaks out OF The corral, lopes
down into the loop, snd gleesomely
grabs on a million collars or so. He
does it while the wise boys are not
looking. and has the coin slowed away safely
IN his Jeans before they ever knew it was
there.
1t has been several years now since this
particular story began TO happen and the
million dollar gleesome grabber who forms
the subject Of this biography broke into the
business game In Chicago and began to play
with his own deck and in violation Of all the
bewhiskered rules.
I'm tired Of being SIS a week clerk"
he said to himself one morning before break
fast guess III Just chuck that job and
90 into business for myself"
He had saved up thousand dollars. And
4 thousand dollars is whole lot OF money.
II looks as big as Mount Popocatapetl to a
SIS clerk
Poor George" whispered the few friends
to whom the clerk announced his momentous
decision. " He'll lose that thousand before
he knows what has happened. Then hen
come sneakinE back for his Job. Poor
GeOrge!''
Had Only 81 900 Capital.
But poor George-the same being George
H. Currier. publisher-knew naught OF these
sad whispers. He was busy breaking into
the millionaire class. He planned to make
a success OF the magazine business In Chi
cago. and with only thousand collars to
start with! 1t was manifestly, clearly. and
logically impossible.
Mr.. Currier-fresh. as We say. from the
corral, and gazing through the rosy glasses
OF youth-did not know he was attempting
an impossibility. He had not yet reached
the I'm inns" in the dictionary OF life.
So he took his precious thousand, and while
his friends were shaking their heads and
trying 20 look as sad as they did not feel,
he waded into the magazine business.
Instead OF sneaking back after his SIS
Job. as every sane and reasonably right
minded person had a right TO expect, Currier
eantered along the magazine route. right
past the hesdstones that marked every mile
of the way, and the impossible, rather than
the inevitable. happened.
Before three winters had passed Currier
was making theNnest and tidy little sum OF
$4,000 year out Of bis magazInes-S60o
week instead OF $15.
II Just ldRPNuSA- M NAAAAcL
he understands the wherefore and the why.
does not attempt TO explain. II a man
breaks the bank at Monte Carlo. or corners
wheat, or finds a gold mine. or gets a-fortune
from some far away, uncle whose very name
he had forgotten-then the event may be ex-
plained. But when he "shoestrings
dollars into big publishing bust
ness within an incredibly short space Of
time then there is nothing adequate TO say
except that he just did It
4
Sold Papers in Texas.
1t was in Arlington, Tex, that Currier
got his frat Job, and plunged at the same time
INTO the seethlng sea Of Journalism. He
,old copies Of the Dallas News to the drum.
ners at the Arlington hotel. and delivered
he papers to its regular subscribers. col
Getting the money when he could. He was
only years old at the time. But there were
10 laws In force against child labor in Texas.
md, as we have hinted. the family, not being
-ich, needed the money the young man
earned.
He made good on his job. He had a nat
lral instinct for selling papers, and in course
e time went to Dallas and got a regular
position on the News Journalism was his
'chool. and after he had taken primary
curse on the daily he went to work for the
Western Newspaper Union. which had q
,ranch in Dallas for the distribution Of " pat
mt insides" " and boiler plate" to the
ountry weeklies Of the state.
In 1888 Currier then being IS years old.
here were big doings in Chicago on account
the worlds fair. and his company trans
erred him to the main once at this point
ie was clerk IN the advertising department
By hard work. loyalty. faithfulnessto detail,