Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-03-05
MONEY AND GENIUS MOBILE
Financial Misfortune Common
Among the Greatest Thinkers
of the World.
REVIEW OF NOTABLE EXAMPLES

tion Of leaders and thinkers. wherefore
IN the light Of historic instances the
Rev. DR.. Newell Dwight Hills may well
take heart Of grace.
His dramatic story OF his luckless spec
ulations IN western timber lands told
from tho stored pulpit Of Plymouth
church. stnl rings n .he public ear.
And yet how like a repeat OF history
Il scer1s. The very mention OF It brings
before the minds eye vision OF scores
OF the worlds great who fell into the
same error and retrieved u by unremit-
ting toll. just as Dr. Hills proposes to
DO.
The clergyman Is peculiarly subject TO
the advices OF well-meaning friends and
the artifice OF the charlatan. for al
though he has breadth Of vision his nina
has so little to do with the things Of
earth that he has little real understand
ing Of the trend OF affairs.
Il was careless OF my temporalites,'
ysu remember the impecunious Goldsmith
makes DR.. Primrose say In The vicar
OF Wakefield" Trusting all his money 10
the merchant in the neighboring town
the vicar distributed aims TO the poor
and dispensed hospitality With open
hands When disaster came upon MN
he did the bent that he could Withdrew
from his associations and faced the world
with high courage and firm resolve until
again fortune smiled anew.
Although the minister is moro liable
TO financial error than other classes OF
professional men the history OF modern
times il filled with instances OF leaders
OF thought who have fallen into the same
pitfalls.
watch the Basket.
The homely wisdom which Samuel l..
Clemens MARK Twain puts into the ut
tcrances OF his hero, 'Padienhead VIZ
son." are hard-earned axioms coming
from his own financial reverses
He warns US in one OF the in'm'tanle
paragraphs 20 beware OF putting ones
eggs In different baskets. for better II is
20 put them all in the same place and
watch the basket.
Rev. DR.. Dwight Hills Is following In
the footsteps or Sir Walter Scott OF
Marx TWAIN. OF General Grant and Of a
host Of others. who found themselves AT
middle age in much the same prediea-
ment
The great historic instance is that OF
Sir Walter Scott. lie saw himself the
head OF a great publishing house pro-
duclng costly books and rare editions
and issuing scholarly reviews from the
ever busy press The fall Of the house
OF BalIantyne e. Co, OF which he was
one OF the secret partners for years, was
one OF the great failures In the publish 4
ing trade. His commercial advisers, 80
confident were they of his genius. fol-
lowed his directions without question.
Finally came the crash under eiao.oOO
debt, for which the novelist assumed the
responsibility Despite his advancing
age and his growing infirmities. no
evolved poems and novels from his fertile
brain and repaid a largo portion OF the
staggering debt. In course Of two years
the earnings OF his pen contributed
aU0oo TO his creditors.
Mark Twain had for many years re-
ceived large royalties. Through the ad- |
vice OF friends no was induced TO invest
in the firm OF Charles /. Webster a Co.
OF New York City. When disaster came
he pledged himself to pay off the full
amount. BY writing increasingly and
lecturing around the world he did II.
A Mistaken Impression.
The erroneous impression prevails 20
this day that the late II. II. Rogers.
Standard on millionaire and long his
friend. contributed money to tide the
author over his period OF misfortune. As
matter OF fact. Mr.. Rogers never gave
cent. He constituted himself general
manager for Mark Twain. and gave the
bua.ness OF authorship the benefit OF
that acumen and common sense which Il
sc oftes lacks. The indebtedness was
discharged. and the name OF Samuel l..
Clemens vii; always be connected with
an honorable and courageous life.
The last days OF the life Of General
Ulysses s. Grant were also clouded by /
HIS financial troubles. Although n sue
cersful leader Of men. he was never able
TO make success as the captain OF |
his financial destiny. As a business man |
he had been failure in civil life. He |
returned to the army. became the leader
OF thousands on embattled fields. gained |
The presidency and In his old age wan
dered into Wall street. Through the
failure OF Grant & Ward he was in.
VOWED IN financial ruin. In his last days
and while suffering excruciating main
he sat down 20 the writing Of his
memoirs In order TO provide for his WIFE |
The world has no finer example OF tho
force Of fine nature struggling against |
adversely.
samuel Johnson. the great cham OF
literature working with incessant indus.
Try and yet often without means 10 buv
me comforts of life. writing his "Ras. |
seias'' to nay the expenses OF M, !
mothers funeral was harassed by deh,
for nearly all his days.
Out at iis Line,
We have Balzao forsaking his writings
and coneeiying himself to be leader OF
industrial enterprise. going 10 Sardinia
70 make his fortune from the stag heans
or the Abandoned Roman mines The
idea N'as almost feasible. and perhaRs he
might have accumulated wealth by OK
tracing the fabl.d GOLD had not MS idoa
been anticipated and what little there
was IN Il had redounded 70 the profits OF
others.
Here looms the great figure Of Alex
andre Dumas the elder. who conquered
hundreds OF thousands by the magic OF
his pen. and yet had 50 little grasp OF
detail In the handling OF his own AZ
fairs that In his latter years ne was
fugitive OF debt lie built his castle OF
Monte Cristo az a cost OF 10000 francs
and surrounded himself by a retiuue OF
servants. His literary labors were often
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