The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1914-08-20
ONE OF THE MANY
WHO MADE GOOD
Went Back to His Home
Town and Prospered.
WAS A BOOKKEEPER
Pardoned by Gov. Pingree
He is Now One of Detroit's
Best and Honored Cit
liens.
From the Umpire.
WAS A BOOKKEEPER
From the Umpire.

There is a wide difference between
the man who is always saying what
he intends to do, and the one who
says nothing but goes quietly ahead
and does things. So many ex-pris-
oners are trading upon the soft side
of the public with wonderful tales
of the efforts they protest using to
rehabilitate the whole of mankind,
that the story following IS refresh
ing relief from the hackneyed yarns
about the men who are always
Going to Do
just because somebody may doubt
this story we will say at the begin
ming that it relates to man who is
associated in business with Henry
Ford, the Detroit automobile manu-
facturer. As to the name of the
man you can ask any resident of
Detroit and he will give it to you,
his story is what interests us and it
is told here briefly.
This man we are referring to was
a bookkeeper for concern in De-
tr,it. He stole some money. He
was tried and was sent to prison for
two years but Governor Pingree
pardoned him.
He came back to Detroit and start
ed out TO make a living. AS he was
an expert accountant he decided
that he would specialize in cost ac-
counting and the installation of
complete bookkeeping systems IN en-
terprises which might be in need of
such things.
He got some work and made a
living. He did not get work in
banks and it is said that when he
went into place to fix up the books
and determine the best manner of
accounting for that particular busi-
ness, be found the cashier always in
the position of man who takes no
chances and keeps the safe locked
Nothing daunted. he worked away.
One day he went down to Ford's
automobile plant and what he did
there interested Ford and he kept
him at work. The longer he work
ed the more Ford was inclined to
think that he had discovered a gen.
lus and it resulted finally in an ar
rangement whereby the man just
out of prison was to work all the
while for Ford.
But why prolong the story?
Today the man Governor Pingree
pardoned is a partner of Henry Ford
and one of the wealthiest men in
Detroit. He is director in banks
and member of clubs and is look
ed up to as one of Detroit's best cit
izens. Those who know say that
his skill in figuring costs for Ford is
one of the secrets of Ford's success.
At any rate the man came back"
anG did live down the serious error
of his life. He compelled attention
and respect and did it because he
was not afraid to try.
1t must he that he went through
narrowing and humiliating expert
ences when he was trying to eradi-
cate the suspicion and d;strust of
the public. But think of the deep
inward joy he must experience at
the thought of the triumph he has
achieved. Can you conceive OF any
draught that would be sweeter than
the one that man is able to quaff?
Robert Louis Stevenson said, Il
know what joy is for have done
good work.
We should think that Detroit
man would have that saying by
Stevenson printed in letters of fire
and framed in gold and hang it
where he could see it every hour in
the day. We will wager that deep
down in his heart is voice that
says TO him, when he thinks of that
early crime and his degradation and
the felon's stripes and then his glor-
ious resurrection into a new life full
of honor and usefulness and the re-
spect of his fellow men:
Old man it is just as it should
have been. If you had not gone
down so deep you could not have
come up with such a glorious rush"
Few stories of the kind read as
does the story Of the Detroit maI,,
but every man Of us might we'll take
heart from his experiences.
| Remember this: