Year: 1866

The hardest working men and the hard
est working institutions in Newly ork, are
those which are most successful. To the
outsiders 1t seems an easy thing to make
money and to keep it. Banking was an
easy work few years ago, and is now, in
the old fashioned institutions who have no
foreign or country exchange. But no facto
ry or machine shop keeps men on the jump
as does live bank in this wide awake city.
was in one of these institutions yesterday
which IS not yet ten years old. It's army
OF clerks have to be on hand early in the
morning, and they cannot leave until their
days work is done, which is often not
until long after the gas is lighted. Its capi-
tai IS two millions, and its daily receipts
seven million dollars. Ii receives daily
from two hundred and fifty to four hun
dred letters, all of which have to be regis
tered and answered before the business, of
the day ends No bank clerk on a salary
ofa thousand dollars year goes to his bank
as regularly, or works as many hours, as
William Is. Astor, who counts up his forty
millions. His little one story Office, a step
or two from Broadway, on Prince street,
with .ss iron bars, making it resemble a
police prison, is where he performs his dai-
ly toll, and out of all his wealth and labor,
he gets only his 'Yituals and clothes He
attends personally to all his business, knows
every dollar of rent or income that is to
become due, pays out every dollar, makes
his entries in his own hand, and obliges his
subordinates to come to him for information,
while he does not go to them. He gener
ally comes down in the omnibus at an early
hour of the day, remains closely absorbed
in business until five O'Clock He rarely
foly i Gxlr. aI,,P IL
In the closest attention to his business. a
friend of mine rode to Washington with
him in the same car from New York. He
neither spoke nor got off his seat, and hard
ly moved, from Jersey City to Washington
He usually leaves his Office at FIVE o'clock,
and walks slowly up Broadway to Lafayette
place. He is over six feet high, heavily
built, with a decided German look, small
hazel eyes, as if he was half asleep, head
round as pumpkin, and about as destitute
Of hair He is exceedingly hospitable, and
in the ''seascn" gives dinner to his friends
weekly at which the richest viands on SER
vices of gold and silver are presented by
iveried servants to his guests.


Commodore Vanderbilt never worked
harder in his life-neyer worked more hours
than now. He has a confidential servant
who works like pack-horse, who has been
in his employ thirty years. Besides this,
Vanderbilt does his own business, makes
and executes his own contracts, and this,
with the business he does on twenty mil
lions, is no small toll The Commodore
goes down to his business regularly every
day, and can be found at certain hours.
His only recreation is game at euchre and
fast horses.


Moses Taylor, whose dividends from coal
stock alone this year reached the pretty lit
tie sum of million dollars, began the busi
ness in New York when he was sixteen
years of age, kept his books with
his own hands, and has done so ever since.
His library in his house in Fifth Avenue is
a regular workshop. Every night he brings
up his business with his own hand. His
vast business, personal to himself, and his
business as trustee, is kept by himself He
makes all the original entries of sort and
kind, and goes to his Office for no informa
ton, and he knows just 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 after
noon in riding or in games, or In the excite
ment in the evening stock board but Mr..
Taylor finds his recreation in bath, a good
dinner, a comfortable siesta, and an even
ing devoted to work. Such a man would
make money and keep it.


These are only specimens of how the
men of wealth in our city become men of
toil-T Y Tribune.