The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-04-11

on It."
At the end OF his first year young
Cosden received en- increase In pay
amounting to a dollar or two a week.
and each year thereafter an increase
of the same size until he had COM
pleted his course at the School Of
Pharmacy, when his pay was raised
to SIS, the usual salary Of such q
clerk.
BY this time he had become so &C.
customed to working day and night.
carrying on his duties at the store. and
spending all the rest Of his time in
study. that when the Irregular study
was over he didn't know what to do
with himself in the evenings. Three
days a week he had to be. In the store
until 10 o'clock. but the other three
evenings he quit at $3.50. He tried to
roam around town for one or two OF
these evenings of, but found II much
more agreeable to go back to the store.
where Mr. Cahoon was glad to have
his help on the books. In this way
Mr. Cahoon got to know the young
man better, and the young man OBJ
tanned wider knowledge Of the bust
ness. Occasionally some one would
SuSbtst mp W SOhVy ch -
summer evening. but to young Cosden
that seemed as large an undertaking
as a trip to Europe.
The first result Of this voluntary
work during his free evenings came
when he was put in charge OF the
stock. This occurred in 1898, four
years after he had arrived in the city
from Delaware. With the promotion
came increase in pay. and he moved
into boarding quarters little larger
than his first tiny room. Not much
larger, though" he says, "for | knew
enough to avoid wasting money on
mere comforts when there was some
thing much more important in view"
For seven long years after going to
work Cosden worked and worked and
saved and saved; and then, in 1901,
when he was IS. his employers gave
him the chance to buy a few shares
of stock in the business. All during
those seven years he had regularly
deposited in "A bank a small sum Of
money every pay day-a dollar two
dollars. then a little more. 1t never
was much, but just as regularly as
pay day came around he would be
there at the bank: and the bank
people recognized him as young man
who saved not sporadically, but with
an unremtting habit. So when he got
the chance to buy little of the Riker
stock he put up some of his own cash
and the bank loaned him the rest
that was needed.
knowledge that he was a part owner
in the business served to make him
work all the harder. and before long
he was made secretary of the COM
pany. Now his job was u do the buy
ing: TO be in a way superintendent
under the general manager, Mr.. Ca
hoon: to act in emi-officlal capacity.
Two years went by, during which he
was getting dividends on his stock.
part being needed TO carry the bank
loan Of course. and an enormous
sllary-s25 week And he kept
right along, saving money and pay
ing off the loan.
1T was atou; that time. in 1902 or
1908" he said. that l did something
at which | often laugh. nowadays,
wondering how l ever had the nerve
to attempt it. Perhaps the fact that
I was just 80 and unaccustomed to
large affairs. served to give the
needed audacity. At any rate heard
that one of the older partners in the
business. ID. J. Runyon, wanted TO sell
his stock and retire. He owned one
quarter of the stock. and | spoke to
him about the matter.'
Mr. Runyon must have been much
amused. and evidently enjoyed a joke.
for he told Cusden that he would sell
his shares for $4,000. Cosden took
him up on the spot and signed con-
tract 10 buy at that figure. Then Mr..
Runyon wanted payment OF 10000
on account To close the deal. and
Cosden said ne thought there would
he no difficulty in that. SO he went to
the president of the bank where he
had been making little deposits every
pay day for nine years and explained
the matter. After this he made an
appointment with Mr.. Runyon to meet
him at a lawyers office and fix things
up. MIR. Runyon was there and 50
was Cosden. and when Mr. Runyon
saw Cos.ien take out bank draft for
slO.0 900 and calmly hand ii over, "he
looked az if he'd been struck by
lightning"
Cosden left the stock as collateral,
and had arranged To take up a certain
illI'NHN va ~ '''' u s'o'' ~ ''''' N''-
culated so exactly as to his salary
his living expenses, the bank charges
for carrying his loan, &c, that he
knew to penny how things were
coming out provided dividends kept
up, and he felt sure they would not
merely keep up but increase. The
next six years were the longest he
ever lived: hut at the end of them he
made the final payment and owned
one-fourth of the Riker business. BY
this time he had been in New York
little less than fourteen years and now
was 80.
Not long before Mr.. Cosden paid
for all his stock. Mr.. Cahoon retired.
and the Delaware farmer boy be-
came general manager of the business.
Before this he had made up his mind
that two drug stores could be managed
just as successfully as one, and in
1904 or 1905 he opened the first branch
at Broadway and Ninth street. Pretty
soon Mr.. Cosden received a PROPOSE
ton from the head of the Bolton
Drug Company. which had five stores
going in Brooklyn. Like Mr.. Cahoon
Mr.. Bolton had worked long and hard,
and wanted to take life more easily.
SO he proposed to Mr.. Cosden that he