Year: 1865

The hardest working men and the hard
est working institutions ID New Y ork are
those which are the most successful To
the outsiders it seems an easy thing to
make money and keep it. Banking was
easy work few years ago, and is now in
the old fashioned Institutions which have
country and no foreign exchange. But
no factory or machine shop keeps men on
the jump as does live bank in this wide
awake city. / was in one of these insti-
tutions yesterday which was not yet ten
years old. Its army of clerks have to be
on hand early in the morning, and they
cannotleaVe until their days work is done,
which is often not till long after the gas
is lighted. Its capital is two milliens, its
daily receipts seven million dollars. It
receives daily from two hundred and fifty
to four hundred letters, all of which have
to be registered and answered before the
business of the days ends. No bank clerk
on the salary of a thousand dollars year
goes to his bank as regularly, or works as
many hours, as William ID. Astor, who
counts up his forty millions. His little
one-story Office, step or two from Broad
way on Prince street, with its iron bars,
making it resemble police prison, is the
den where he performs his daily toll, and
out of all his wealth and labor gets only
shis victuals and clothes" He attends
personally to all his business, knows ev-
cry dollar of rent or income that is to be-
come due, pays out every dollar, makes
his entries in his own hand, and obliGes
his subordinates to come to him for in
formation while he does not go to them.
He generally comes down in the omnibus
at an early hour of the day, and remains
closely absorbed in business until near
five o'clock. He rarely takes exercise,
and finds hic TolaouuV-o IN ho o1oCacA a


tention to business. A friend of mine
rode to Washington with him in the same
car from New York. He neither spoke
nor got out of his seat, and hardly moved
from Jersey City to Washington. He
usually leaves his Office at five o'clock,
and slowly walks up Broadway to Lafay-
cite place. He is over six feet high,
heavily built, with a decided German
look, small hasy eyes, as if he was half
asleep, head round as a. a pumpkin and
about as destitute of hair. Heis exceed
inglly hospita bic, and in the season" gives
dinner to his friends weekly, at which
the richest viands, on services of gold
and silver, are presented by iveried SER
wants to his guests. Commodore Van
derbilt never worked harder in his life
never worked more hours than now. He
has a confidential clerk who works like a
pack-horse, who has been in his employ
for thirty years. Besides this, Wander
bilt does his own business, makes and ex-
ecutes his own contracts, and this, with
the business he does on twenty million
dollars, is no small toll. The Commo-
dore goes down to business regularly ev-
cry day, and can be found at regular
hours. His only recreation, euchre and
fast horses. Moses Taylor, whose diVi-
dend from his coal stock alone this year
reached the pretty little sum of million
dollars, began business in New York at
the age of sixteen, kept his own books
with his own hands, and has done so ever
since. His library in his house on Fifth
avenue lisa regular workshop. Every night
he brings up his business with his own
hand. His vast business personal to him.
self, and his business as trustee, are kept
by himself He makes all the original
entries of sort and kind, and goes to his
office for no information, and he knows
how things must be there to be right
And should every record kept by his
book keepers and clerks be destroyed, it
would make no difference with him, for
he has the originals in his own hands
Many merchants spend the afternoon in
riding, or in games, or in the excitement
of the evening stock board, but Mr.. Tay-
| lor finds his recreation in bath, a good
dinner, and an evening devoted to work.
Such a man would make money and keep
it.-N T. Cor, Boston Journal.