The Washington herald., 1913-01-18

In affairs. Along with quiet days as
citizen, a neighbor. and a country gen.
tleman, came maturity and the wise les
sons Of varied experience.
Married n Fortune.
No man in Virginia lived more or with
greater zest henceforth than Colonel
Washington. His marriage brought him
great Increase Of wealth. as well as in
crease of responsibility. Mr.. Custis had
left many thousand acres of land. and
forty-hve thousand pounds sterling in
money, substantial fortune TO the
young wife and the two little children
who survived him: and Washington had
become. by special decree Of the Cover
nor and Council in General Court trus-
tee and manager OF the whole II needed
capacity and knowledge and patience OF
no mean order to get good farming out Of
slaves. and profitable prices out Of Lon
don merchants; to find prompt and
trustworthy shir-masters by whom to
send out cargoes. and induce correspond
ents over sea to ship the perishabls
goods sent in return by the right vessels,
bound TO the nearest river; and the big
ger your estate the more difficult its
proper conduct and economy. the more
disastrous IN scale the effects Of mis-
management.
Tobacco Potent Factor.
No doubt the addition Of Mrs. Custis's
handcome property to his own broad and
fertile acres at Mount Vernon made
Colonel Washington one Of the wealth
lest men in Virginia. But Virginian
wealth was not TO be counted till crops
We're harvested and got to market. The
current price Of tobacco might leave you
with or without a balance to your credit
in London. your only clearinghouse. as
oh rtrfn },a
too. must be made over sea and through
factors Both what you sold and what
you bought must take the hazards OF the
sea voyage. the whims Of sea captains.
the chances OF a foreign market
To be a farmer and merchant at once.
manage your own negroes and your own
overseers. and conduct an international
correspondence: TO keep the run OF prices
current. duties. port dues. and commis-
sions. and know the fiuctnating rates Of
exchange; TO understand and meet all
changes. whether in merchants or IN
markets. three thousand miles away re-
quired an amount Of information, an
alertness, a steady attention 70 detail.
sagacity in farming and a shrewdncSs
in trade. such as made A great property
a burden to idle or inefficient men
Successful Business Man.
But Washington took pains to sue
coed. He had a great zest for business.
The practical genius which had shown
in him almost prenaturely as boy now
grew heartily in him as a man OF for
tune. Messrs. Robert Cary & Com
pany. his factors in London. must soon
have learned To recognize his letters. in
the mere handling. 'by their bulk M
detail escaped him when once he had
gotten into the swing Of the work They
must be as punCtiliOus as he was, they
found in seeing t. every part Of the
trade and accounting with which he in
trusted them, or else look TO lose his
lucrative patronage
He was not many years I'm learning
how 10 make the best tobacco in Viz
ginia. and 10 get il recognized as such in
England. Barrels OF -four marked
George Washington. Mount Vernon.
were ere long suffered to pass the in
speCtors at the ports Cf the British West
Indies without scrutiny. II was worth
while to serve 50 efficient a man to his
satisfaction: worth while or not, he
would not be served otherwise.