The Art of Money Getting,or Golden Rules for Making

MoneyP. T. Barnum

Published: 1880Categorie(s): Non-Fiction, Business & economics,Free EnterpriseSource: Fourmilab Switzerland

http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/www/barnum/moneygetting/

About Barnum:Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810

– April 7, 1891) was an Americanshowman, businessman, scam artist andentertainer, remembered for promotingcelebrated hoaxes and for founding thecircus that became the Ringling Bros.and Barnum & Bailey Circus. AlthoughBarnum was also an author, publisher,philanthropist, and for some time apolitician, he said of himself, "I am ashowman by profession… and all thegilding shall make nothing else of me,"and his personal aims were "to putmoney in his own coffers." Barnum iswidely but erroneously credited withcoining the phrase "There's a suckerborn every minute." Barnum became a

small-business owner in his earlytwenties, and founded a weeklynewspaper, before moving to New YorkCity in 1834. He embarked on anentertainment career, first with a varietytroupe called "Barnum's GrandScientific and Musical Theater," andsoon after by purchasing Scudder'sAmerican Museum, which he renamedafter himself. Barnum used the museumas a platform to promote hoaxes andhuman curiosities. The circus businesswas the source of much of his enduringfame. He established "P. T. Barnum'sGrand Traveling Museum, Menagerie,Caravan & Hippodrome," a travelingcircus, menagerie and museum of"freaks," which adopted many names

over the years. Barnum wrote severalbooks, including Life of P.T. Barnum(1854), The Humbugs of the World(1865), Struggles and Triumphs (1869),and The Art of Money-Getting (1880).One of Barnum's more successfulmethods of self-promotion was masspublication of his autobiography.Barnum eventually gave up his copyrightto allow other printers to sellinexpensive editions. At the end of the19th century the number of copiesprinted was second only to the NewTestament in North America. (Source:Wikipedia)

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ART OF MONEYGETTING

In the United States, where we have

more land than people, it is not at alldifficult for persons in good health tomake money. In this comparatively newfield there are so many avenues ofsuccess open, so many vocations whichare not crowded, that any person ofeither sex who is willing, at least for thetime being, to engage in any respectableoccupation that offers, may find lucrativeemployment.

Those who really desire to attain anindependence, have only to set their

minds upon it, and adopt the propermeans, as they do in regard to any otherobject which they wish to accomplish,and the thing is easily done. Buthowever easy it may be found to makemoney, I have no doubt many of myhearers will agree it is the most difficultthing in the world to keep it. The road towealth is, as Dr. Franklin truly says, "asplain as the road to the mill." It consistssimply in expending less than we earn;that seems to be a very simple problem.Mr. Micawber, one of those happycreations of the genial Dickens, puts thecase in a strong light when he says thatto have an income of twenty pounds perannum, and spend twenty pounds andsixpence, is to be the most miserable of

men; whereas, to have an income of onlytwenty pounds, and spend but nineteenpounds and sixpence is to be thehappiest of mortals. Many of my readersmay say, "we understand this; this iseconomy, and we know economy iswealth; we know we can't eat our cakeand keep it also." Yet I beg to say thatperhaps more cases of failure arise frommistakes on this point than almost anyother. The fact is, many people think theyunderstand economy when they really donot.

True economy is misapprehended, andpeople go through life without properlycomprehending what that principle is.One says, "I have an income of so muchand here is my neighbor who has the

same; yet every year he gets somethingahead and I fall short; why is it? I knowall about economy." He thinks he does,but he does not. There are many whothink that economy consists in savingcheese-parings and candle-ends, incutting off two pence from the laundress'bill and doing all sorts of little, mean,dirty things. Economy is not meanness.The misfortune is, also, that this class ofpersons let their economy apply in onlyone direction. They fancy they are sowonderfully economical in saving ahalf-penny where they ought to spendtwo pence, that they think they can affordto squander in other directions. A fewyears ago, before kerosene oil wasdiscovered or thought of, one might stop

overnight at almost any farmer's house inthe agricultural districts and get a verygood supper, but after supper he mightattempt to read in the sitting-room, andwould find it impossible with theinefficient light of one candle. Thehostess, seeing his dilemma, would say:"It is rather difficult to read hereevenings; the proverb says `you musthave a ship at sea in order to be able toburn two candles at once;' we neverhave an extra candle except on extraoccasions."

These extra occasions occur, perhaps,twice a year. In this way the goodwoman saves five, six, or ten dollars inthat time; but the information whichmight be derived from having the extra

light would, of course, far outweigh aton of candles.

But the trouble does not end here.Feeling that she is so economical intallow candles, she thinks she can affordto go frequently to the village and spendtwenty or thirty dollars for ribbons andfurbelows, many of which are notnecessary. This false economy mayfrequently be seen in men of business,and in those instances it often runs towriting-paper. You find good businessmen who save all the old envelopes, andscraps, and would not tear a new sheetof paper, if they could avoid it, for theworld. This is all very well; they may inthis way save five or ten dollars a year,but being so economical (only in note

paper), they think they can afford towaste time; to have expensive parties,and to drive their carriages. This is anillustration of Dr. Franklin's "saving atthe spigot and wasting at the bung-hole;""penny wise and poundfoolish." Punch in speaking of this "oneidea" class of people says "they are likethe man who bought a penny herring forhis family's dinner and then hired acoach and four to take it home." I neverknew a man to succeed by practising thiskind of economy.

True economy consists in alwaysmaking the income exceed the out-go.Wear the old clothes a little longer ifnecessary; dispense with the new pair ofgloves; mend the old dress; live on

plainer food if need be; so that, under allcircumstances, unless some unforeseenaccident occurs, there will be a marginin favor of the income. A penny here,and a dollar there, placed at interest,goes on accumulating, and in this waythe desired result is attained. It requiressome training, perhaps, to accomplishthis economy, but when once used to it,you will find there is more satisfactionin rational saving, than in irrationalspending. Here is a recipe which Irecommend; I have found it to work anexcellent cure for extravagance, andespecially for mistaken economy: Whenyou find that you have no surplus at theend of the year, and yet have a goodincome, I advise you to take a few sheets

of paper and form them into a book andmark down every item of expenditure.Post it every day or week in twocolumns, one headed "necessaries" oreven "comforts," and the other headed"luxuries," and you will find that thelatter column will be double, treble, andfrequently ten times greater than theformer. The real comforts of life cost buta small portion of what most of us canearn. Dr. Franklin says "it is the eyes ofothers and not our own eyes which ruinus. If all the world were blind exceptmyself I should not care for fine clothesor furniture." It is the fear of what Mrs.Grundy may say that keeps the noses ofmany worthy families to the grindstone.In America many persons like to repeat

"we are all free and equal," but it is agreat mistake in more senses than one.

That we are born "free and equal" is aglorious truth in one sense, yet we arenot all born equally rich, and we nevershall be. One may say, "there is a manwho has an income of fifty thousanddollars per annum, while I have but onethousand dollars; I knew that fellowwhen he was poor like myself, now he isrich and thinks he is better than I am; Iwill show him that I am as good as he is;I will go and buy a horse and buggy; no,I cannot do that, but I will go and hireone and ride this afternoon on the sameroad that he does, and thus prove to himthat I am as good as he is."

My friend, you need not take that

trouble; you can easily prove that youare "as good as he is;" you have only tobehave as well as he does; but youcannot make anybody believe that youare rich as he is. Besides, if you put onthese "airs," and waste your time andspend your money, your poor wife willbe obliged to scrub her fingers off athome, and buy her tea two ounces at atime, and everything else in proportion,in order that you may keep up"appearances," and, after all, deceivenobody. On the other hand, Mrs. Smithmay say that her next-door neighbormarried Johnson for his money, and"everybody says so." She has a nice onethousand dollar camel's hair shawl, andshe will make Smith get her an imitation

one, and she will sit in a pew right nextto her neighbor in church, in order toprove that she is her equal.

My good woman, you will not getahead in the world, if your vanity andenvy thus take the lead. In this country,where we believe the majority ought torule, we ignore that principle in regardto fashion, and let a handful of people,calling themselves the aristocracy, runup a false standard of perfection, and inendeavoring to rise to that standard, weconstantly keep ourselves poor; all thetime digging away for the sake of outsideappearances. How much wiser to be a"law unto ourselves" and say, "we willregulate our out-go by our income, andlay up something for a rainy day."

People ought to be as sensible on thesubject of money-getting as on any othersubject. Like causes produces likeeffects. You cannot accumulate a fortuneby taking the road that leads to poverty.It needs no prophet to tell us that thosewho live fully up to their means, withoutany thought of a reverse in this life, cannever attain a pecuniary independence.

Men and women accustomed to gratifyevery whim and caprice, will find ithard, at first, to cut down their variousunnecessary expenses, and will feel it agreat self-denial to live in a smallerhouse than they have been accustomedto, with less expensive furniture, lesscompany, less costly clothing, fewerservants, a less number of balls, parties,

theater-goings, carriage-ridings,pleasure excursions, cigar-smokings,liquor-drinkings, and otherextravagances; but, after all, if they willtry the plan of laying by a "nest-egg," or,in other words, a small sum of money, atinterest or judiciously invested in land,they will be surprised at the pleasure tobe derived from constantly adding totheir little "pile," as well as from all theeconomical habits which are engenderedby this course.

The old suit of clothes, and the oldbonnet and dress, will answer foranother season; the Croton or springwater will taste better than champagne; acold bath and a brisk walk will provemore exhilarating than a ride in the finest

coach; a social chat, an evening'sreading in the family circle, or an hour'splay of "hunt the slipper" and "blindman's buff," will be far more pleasantthan a fifty or five hundred dollar party,when the reflection on the difference incost is indulged in by those who begin toknow the pleasures of saving. Thousandsof men are kept poor, and tens ofthousands are made so after they haveacquired quite sufficient to support themwell through life, in consequence oflaying their plans of living on too broada platform. Some families expend twentythousand dollars per annum, and somemuch more, and would scarcely knowhow to live on less, while others securemore solid enjoyment frequently on a

twentieth part of that amount. Prosperityis a more severe ordeal than adversity,especially sudden prosperity. "Easycome, easy go," is an old and trueproverb. A spirit of pride and vanity,when permitted to have full sway, is theundying canker-worm which gnaws thevery vitals of a man's worldlypossessions, let them be small or great,hundreds or millions. Many persons, asthey begin to prosper, immediatelyexpand their ideas and commenceexpending for luxuries, until in a shorttime their expenses swallow up theirincome, and they become ruined in theirridiculous attempts to keep upappearances, and make a "sensation."

I know a gentleman of fortune who

says, that when he first began to prosper,his wife would have a new and elegantsofa. "That sofa," he says, "cost me thirtythousand dollars!" When the sofareached the house, it was foundnecessary to get chairs to match; thenside-boards, carpets and tables "tocorrespond" with them, and so onthrough the entire stock of furniture;when at last it was found that the houseitself was quite too small and old-fashioned for the furniture, and a newone was built to correspond with thenew purchases; "thus," added my friend,"summing up an outlay of thirty thousanddollars, caused by that single sofa, andsaddling on me, in the shape of servants,equipage, and the necessary expenses

attendant upon keeping up a fine`establishment,' a yearly outlay of eleventhousand dollars, and a tight pinch atthat; whereas, ten years ago, we livedwith much more real comfort, becausewith much less care, on as manyhundreds. The truth is," he continued,"that sofa would have brought me toinevitable bankruptcy, had not a mostunexampled tide of prosperity kept meabove it, and had I not checked thenatural desire to `cut a dash.'"

The foundation of success in life isgood health; that is the substratum offortune; it is also the basis of happiness.A person cannot accumulate a fortunevery well when he is sick. He has noambition; no incentive; no force. Of

course, there are those who have badhealth and cannot help it; you cannotexpect that such persons can accumulatewealth; but there are a great many inpoor health who need not be so.

If, then, sound health is the foundationof success and happiness in life, howimportant it is that we should study thelaws of health, which is but anotherexpression for the laws of nature! Thecloser we keep to the laws of nature, thenearer we are to good health, and yethow many persons there are who pay noattention to natural laws, but absolutelytransgress them, even against their ownnatural inclination. We ought to knowthat the "sin of ignorance" is neverwinked at in regard to the violation of

nature's laws; their infraction alwaysbrings the penalty. A child may thrust itsfinger into the flames without knowing itwill burn, and so suffers, repentance,even, will not stop the smart. Many ofour ancestors knew very little about theprinciple of ventilation. They did nowknow much about oxygen, whateverother "gin" they might have beenacquainted with; and consequently, theybuilt their houses with little seven-by-nine feet bedrooms, and these good oldpious Puritans would lock themselves upin one of these cells, say their prayersand go to bed. In the morning they woulddevoutly return thanks for the"preservation of their lives," during thenight, and nobody had better reason to be

thankful. Probably some big crack in thewindow, or in the door, let in a littlefresh air, and thus saved them.

Many persons knowingly violate thelaws of nature against their betterimpulses, for the sake of fashion. Forinstance, there is one thing that nothingliving except a vile worm ever naturallyloved, and that is tobacco; yet how manypersons there are who deliberately trainan unnatural appetite, and overcome thisimplanted aversion for tobacco, to sucha degree that they get to love it. Theyhave got hold of a poisonous, filthyweed, or rather that takes a firm hold ofthem. Here are married men who runabout spitting tobacco juice on the carpetand floors, and sometimes even upon

their wives besides. They do not kicktheir wives out of doors like drunkenmen, but their wives, I have no doubt,often wish they were outside of thehouse. Another perilous feature is thatthis artificial appetite, like jealousy,"grows by what it feeds on;" when youlove that which is unnatural, a strongerappetite is created for the hurtful thingthan the natural desire for what isharmless. There is an old proverb whichsays that "habit is second nature," but anartificial habit is stronger than nature.Take for instance, an old tobacco-chewer; his love for the "quid" isstronger than his love for any particularkind of food. He can give up roast beefeasier than give up the weed.

Young lads regret that they are notmen; they would like to go to bed boysand wake up men; and to accomplish thisthey copy the bad habits of their seniors.Little Tommy and Johnny see theirfathers or uncles smoke a pipe, and theysay, "If I could only do that, I would be aman too; uncle John has gone out and lefthis pipe of tobacco, let us try it." Theytake a match and light it, and then puffaway. "We will learn to smoke; do youlike it Johnny?" That lad dolefullyreplies: "Not very much; it tastes bitter;"by and by he grows pale, but he persistsand he soon offers up a sacrifice on thealtar of fashion; but the boys stick to itand persevere until at last they conquertheir natural appetites and become the

victims of acquired tastes.I speak "by the book," for I have

noticed its effects on myself, havinggone so far as to smoke ten or fifteencigars a day, although I have not used theweed during the last fourteen years, andnever shall again. The more a mansmokes, the more he craves smoking; thelast cigar smoked simply excites thedesire for another, and so on incessantly.

Take the tobacco-chewer. In themorning, when he gets up, he puts a quidin his mouth and keeps it there all day,never taking it out except to exchange itfor a fresh one, or when he is going toeat; oh! yes, at intervals during the dayand evening, many a chewer takes outthe quid and holds it in his hand long

enough to take a drink, and then pop itgoes back again. This simply proves thatthe appetite for rum is even stronger thanthat for tobacco. When the tobacco-chewer goes to your country seat andyou show him your grapery and fruithouse, and the beauties of your garden,when you offer him some fresh, ripefruit, and say, "My friend, I have gothere the most delicious apples, andpears, and peaches, and apricots; I haveimported them from Spain, France andItaly—just see those luscious grapes;there is nothing more delicious nor morehealthy than ripe fruit, so help yourself; Iwant to see you delight yourself withthese things;" he will roll the dear quidunder his tongue and answer, "No, I

thank you, I have got tobacco in mymouth." His palate has becomenarcotized by the noxious weed, and hehas lost, in a great measure, the delicateand enviable taste for fruits. This showswhat expensive, useless and injurioushabits men will get into. I speak fromexperience. I have smoked until Itrembled like an aspen leaf, the bloodrushed to my head, and I had apalpitation of the heart which I thoughtwas heart disease, till I was almostkilled with fright. When I consulted myphysician, he said "break off tobaccousing." I was not only injuring my healthand spending a great deal of money, but Iwas setting a bad example. I obeyed hiscounsel. No young man in the world ever

looked so beautiful, as he thought he did,behind a fifteen cent cigar or ameerschaum!

These remarks apply with tenfoldforce to the use of intoxicating drinks.To make money, requires a clear brain.A man has got to see that two and twomake four; he must lay all his plans withreflection and forethought, and closelyexamine all the details and the ins andouts of business. As no man can succeedin business unless he has a brain toenable him to lay his plans, and reasonto guide him in their execution, so, nomatter how bountifully a man may beblessed with intelligence, if the brain ismuddled, and his judgment warped byintoxicating drinks, it is impossible for

him to carry on business successfully.How many good opportunities havepassed, never to return, while a man wassipping a "social glass," with his friend!How many foolish bargains have beenmade under the influence of the"nervine," which temporarily makes itsvictim think he is rich. How manyimportant chances have been put off untilto-morrow, and then forever, becausethe wine cup has thrown the system intoa state of lassitude, neutralizing theenergies so essential to success inbusiness. Verily, "wine is a mocker."The use of intoxicating drinks as abeverage, is as much an infatuation, as isthe smoking of opium by the Chinese,and the former is quite as destructive to

the success of the business man as thelatter. It is an unmitigated evil, utterlyindefensible in the light of philosophy,religion or good sense. It is the parent ofnearly every other evil in our country.

1ChapterDON'T MISTAKEYOUR VOCATION

The safest plan, and the one most sureof success for the young man starting inlife, is to select the vocation which ismost congenial to his tastes. Parents andguardians are often quite too negligent inregard to this. It is very common for a

father to say, for example: "I have fiveboys. I will make Billy a clergyman;John a lawyer; Tom a doctor, and Dick afarmer." He then goes into town andlooks about to see what he will do withSammy. He returns home and says"Sammy, I see watch-making is a nice,genteel business; I think I will make youa goldsmith." He does this, regardless ofSam's natural inclinations, or genius.We are all, no doubt, born for a wisepurpose. There is as much diversity inour brains as in our countenances. Someare born natural mechanics, while somehave great aversion to machinery. Let adozen boys of ten years get together, andyou will soon observe two or three are"whittling" out some ingenious device;

working with locks or complicatedmachinery. When they were but fiveyears old, their father could find no toyto please them like a puzzle. They arenatural mechanics; but the other eight ornine boys have different aptitudes. Ibelong to the latter class; I never had theslightest love for mechanism; on thecontrary, I have a sort of abhorrence forcomplicated machinery. I never hadingenuity enough to whittle a cider tap soit would not leak. I never could make apen that I could write with, orunderstand the principle of a steamengine. If a man was to take such a boyas I was, and attempt to make awatchmaker of him, the boy might, afteran apprenticeship of five or seven years,

be able to take apart and put together awatch; but all through life he would beworking up hill and seizing every excusefor leaving his work and idling away histime. Watchmaking is repulsive to him.

Unless a man enters upon the vocationintended for him by nature, and bestsuited to his peculiar genius, he cannotsucceed. I am glad to believe that themajority of persons do find their rightvocation. Yet we see many who havemistaken their calling, from theblacksmith up (or down) to theclergyman. You will see, for instance,that extraordinary linguist the "learnedblacksmith," who ought to have been ateacher of languages; and you may haveseen lawyers, doctors and clergymen

who were better fitted by nature for theanvil or the lapstone.

2ChapterSELECT THERIGHT LOCATION

After securing the right vocation, youmust be careful to select the properlocation. You may have been cut out fora hotel keeper, and they say it requires agenius to "know how to keep a hotel."You might conduct a hotel like clock-

work, and provide satisfactorily for fivehundred guests every day; yet, if youshould locate your house in a smallvillage where there is no railroadcommunication or public travel, thelocation would be your ruin. It is equallyimportant that you do not commencebusiness where there are already enoughto meet all demands in the sameoccupation. I remember a case whichillustrates this subject. When I was inLondon in 1858, I was passing downHolborn with an English friend andcame to the "penny shows." They hadimmense cartoons outside, portraying thewonderful curiosities to be seen "all fora penny." Being a little in the "showline" myself, I said "let us go in here."

We soon found ourselves in the presenceof the illustrious showman, and heproved to be the sharpest man in that lineI had ever met. He told us someextraordinary stories in reference to hisbearded ladies, his Albinos, and hisArmadillos, which we could hardlybelieve, but thought it "better to believeit than look after the proof." He finallybegged to call our attention to some waxstatuary, and showed us a lot of thedirtiest and filthiest wax figuresimaginable. They looked as if they hadnot seen water since the Deluge.

"What is there so wonderful aboutyour statuary?" I asked.

"I beg you not to speak so satirically,"he replied, "Sir, these are not Madam

Tussaud's wax figures, all covered withgilt and tinsel and imitation diamonds,and copied from engravings andphotographs. Mine, sir, were taken fromlife. Whenever you look upon one ofthose figures, you may consider that youare looking upon the living individual."

Glancing casually at them, I saw onelabelled "Henry VIII," and feeling a littlecurious upon seeing that it looked likeCalvin Edson, the living skeleton, I said:

"Do you call that `Henry the Eighth?'"He replied, "Certainly, sir; it was

taken from life at Hampton Court, byspecial order of his majesty, on such aday."

He would have given the hour of theday if I had insisted; I said, "Everybody

knows that `Henry VIII.' was a greatstout old king, and that figure is lean andlank; what do you say to that?"

"Why," he replied, "you would belean and lank yourself, if you sat there aslong as he has."

There was no resisting sucharguments. I said to my English friend,"Let us go out; do not tell him who I am;I show the white feather; he beats me."

He followed us to the door, andseeing the rabble in the street, he calledout, "ladies and gentlemen, I beg to drawyour attention to the respectablecharacter of my visitors," pointing to usas we walked away. I called upon him acouple of days afterwards; told him whoI was, and said:

"My friend, you are an excellentshowman, but you have selected a badlocation."

He replied, "This is true, sir; I feelthat all my talents are thrown away; butwhat can I do?"

"You can go to America," I replied."You can give full play to your facultiesover there; you will find plenty ofelbow-room in America; I will engageyou for two years; after that you will beable to go on your own account."

He accepted my offer and remainedtwo years in my New York Museum. Hethen went to New Orleans and carriedon a traveling show business during thesummer. To-day he is worth sixtythousand dollars, simply because he

selected the right vocation and alsosecured the proper location. The oldproverb says, "Three removes are asbad as a fire," but when a man is in thefire, it matters but little how soon orhow often he removes.

3ChapterAVOID DEBT

Young men starting in life shouldavoid running into debt. There isscarcely anything that drags a persondown like debt. It is a slavish position toget in, yet we find many a young man,hardly out of his "teens," running in debt.He meets a chum and says, "Look at this:I have got trusted for a new suit of

clothes." He seems to look upon theclothes as so much given to him; well, itfrequently is so, but, if he succeeds inpaying and then gets trusted again, he isadopting a habit which will keep him inpoverty through life. Debt robs a man ofhis self-respect, and makes him almostdespise himself. Grunting and groaningand working for what he has eaten up orworn out, and now when he is calledupon to pay up, he has nothing to showfor his money; this is properly termed"working for a dead horse." I do notspeak of merchants buying and selling oncredit, or of those who buy on credit inorder to turn the purchase to a profit.The old Quaker said to his farmer son,"John, never get trusted; but if thee gets

trusted for anything, let it be for`manure,' because that will help thee payit back again."

Mr. Beecher advised young men to getin debt if they could to a small amount inthe purchase of land, in the countrydistricts. "If a young man," he says, "willonly get in debt for some land and thenget married, these two things will keephim straight, or nothing will." This maybe safe to a limited extent, but getting indebt for what you eat and drink and wearis to be avoided. Some families have afoolish habit of getting credit at "thestores," and thus frequently purchasemany things which might have beendispensed with.

It is all very well to say, "I have got

trusted for sixty days, and if I don't havethe money the creditor will think nothingabout it." There is no class of people inthe world, who have such goodmemories as creditors. When the sixtydays run out, you will have to pay. If youdo not pay, you will break your promise,and probably resort to a falsehood. Youmay make some excuse or get in debtelsewhere to pay it, but that onlyinvolves you the deeper.

A good-looking, lazy young fellow,was the apprentice boy, Horatio. Hisemployer said, "Horatio, did you eversee a snail?" "I—think—I—have," hedrawled out. "You must have met himthen, for I am sure you never overtookone," said the "boss." Your creditor will

meet you or overtake you and say,"Now, my young friend, you agreed topay me; you have not done it, you mustgive me your note." You give the note oninterest and it commences workingagainst you; "it is a dead horse." Thecreditor goes to bed at night and wakesup in the morning better off than when heretired to bed, because his interest hasincreased during the night, but you growpoorer while you are sleeping, for theinterest is accumulating against you.

Money is in some respects like fire; itis a very excellent servant but a terriblemaster. When you have it mastering you;when interest is constantly piling upagainst you, it will keep you down in theworst kind of slavery. But let money

work for you, and you have the mostdevoted servant in the world. It is no"eye-servant." There is nothing animateor inanimate that will work so faithfullyas money when placed at interest, wellsecured. It works night and day, and inwet or dry weather.

I was born in the blue-law State ofConnecticut, where the old Puritans hadlaws so rigid that it was said, "they fineda man for kissing his wife on Sunday."Yet these rich old Puritans would havethousands of dollars at interest, and onSaturday night would be worth a certainamount; on Sunday they would go tochurch and perform all the duties of aChristian. On waking up on Mondaymorning, they would find themselves

considerably richer than the Saturdaynight previous, simply because theirmoney placed at interest had workedfaithfully for them all day Sunday,according to law!

Do not let it work against you; if youdo there is no chance for success in lifeso far as money is concerned. JohnRandolph, the eccentric Virginian, onceexclaimed in Congress, "Mr. Speaker, Ihave discovered the philosopher's stone:pay as you go." This is, indeed, nearer tothe philosopher's stone than anyalchemist has ever yet arrived.

4ChapterPERSEVERE

When a man is in the right path, hemust persevere. I speak of this becausethere are some persons who are "borntired;" naturally lazy and possessing noself-reliance and no perseverance. Butthey can cultivate these qualities, asDavy Crockett said:

"This thing remember, when I amdead,Be sure you are right, then goahead."

It is this go-aheaditiveness, thisdetermination not to let the "horrors" orthe "blues" take possession of you, so asto make you relax your energies in thestruggle for independence, which youmust cultivate.

How many have almost reached thegoal of their ambition, but, losing faith inthemselves, have relaxed their energies,and the golden prize has been lostforever.

It is, no doubt, often true, asShakespeare says:

"There is a tide in the affairs ofmen,Which taken at the flood, leads onto fortune."

If you hesitate, some bolder hand willstretch out before you and get the prize.Remember the proverb of Solomon: "Hebecometh poor that dealeth with a slackhand; but the hand of the diligent makethrich."

Perseverance is sometimes butanother word for self-reliance. Manypersons naturally look on the dark sideof life, and borrow trouble. They areborn so. Then they ask for advice, andthey will be governed by one wind andblown by another, and cannot rely upon

themselves. Until you can get so that youcan rely upon yourself, you need notexpect to succeed. I have known men,personally, who have met withpecuniary reverses, and absolutelycommitted suicide, because they thoughtthey could never overcome theirmisfortune. But I have known others whohave met more serious financialdifficulties, and have bridged them overby simple perseverance, aided by a firmbelief that they were doing justly, andthat Providence would "overcome evilwith good." You will see this illustratedin any sphere of life.

Take two generals; both understandmilitary tactics, both educated at WestPoint, if you please, both equally gifted;

yet one, having this principle ofperseverance, and the other lacking it,the former will succeed in hisprofession, while the latter will fail.One may hear the cry, "the enemy arecoming, and they have got cannon."

"Got cannon?" says the hesitatinggeneral.

"Yes.""Then halt every man."He wants time to reflect; his hesitation

is his ruin; the enemy passes unmolested,or overwhelms him; while on the otherhand, the general of pluck, perseveranceand self-reliance, goes into battle with awill, and, amid the clash of arms, thebooming of cannon, the shrieks of thewounded, and the moans of the dying,

you will see this man persevering, goingon, cutting and slashing his way throughwith unwavering determination,inspiring his soldiers to deeds offortitude, valor, and triumph.

5ChapterWHATEVER YOUDO, DO IT WITHALL YOUR MIGHT

Work at it, if necessary, early andlate, in season and out of season, notleaving a stone unturned, and neverdeferring for a single hour that whichcan be done just as well now. The old

proverb is full of truth and meaning,"Whatever is worth doing at all, is worthdoing well." Many a man acquires afortune by doing his business thoroughly,while his neighbor remains poor for life,because he only half does it. Ambition,energy, industry, perseverance, areindispensable requisites for success inbusiness.

Fortune always favors the brave, andnever helps a man who does not helphimself. It won't do to spend your timelike Mr. Micawber, in waiting forsomething to "turn up." To such men oneof two things usually "turns up:" thepoor-house or the jail; for idlenessbreeds bad habits, and clothes a man inrags. The poor spendthrift vagabond

says to a rich man:"I have discovered there is enough

money in the world for all of us, if itwas equally divided; this must be done,and we shall all be happy together."

"But," was the response, "ifeverybody was like you, it would bespent in two months, and what wouldyou do then?"

"Oh! divide again; keep dividing, ofcourse!"

I was recently reading in a Londonpaper an account of a like philosophicpauper who was kicked out of a cheapboarding-house because he could notpay his bill, but he had a roll of paperssticking out of his coat pocket, which,upon examination, proved to be his plan

for paying off the national debt ofEngland without the aid of a penny.People have got to do as Cromwell said:"not only trust in Providence, but keepthe powder dry." Do your part of thework, or you cannot succeed. Mahomet,one night, while encamping in the desert,overheard one of his fatigued followersremark: "I will loose my camel, and trustit to God!" "No, no, not so," said theprophet, "tie thy camel, and trust it toGod!" Do all you can for yourselves,and then trust to Providence, or luck, orwhatever you please to call it, for therest.

6ChapterDEPEND UPONYOUR OWNPERSONALEXERTIONS

The eye of the employer is oftenworth more than the hands of a dozenemployees. In the nature of things, an

agent cannot be so faithful to hisemployer as to himself. Many who areemployers will call to mind instanceswhere the best employees haveoverlooked important points whichcould not have escaped their ownobservation as a proprietor. No man hasa right to expect to succeed in life unlesshe understands his business, and nobodycan understand his business thoroughlyunless he learns it by personalapplication and experience. A man maybe a manufacturer; he has got to learn themany details of his business personally;he will learn something every day, andhe will find he will make mistakesnearly every day. And these verymistakes are helps to him in the way of

experiences if he but heeds them. Hewill be like the Yankee tin-peddler,who, having been cheated as to qualityin the purchase of his merchandise, said:"All right, there's a little information tobe gained every day; I will never becheated in that way again." Thus a manbuys his experience, and it is the bestkind if not purchased at too dear a rate.

I hold that every man should, likeCuvier, the French naturalist, thoroughlyknow his business. So proficient was hein the study of natural history, that youmight bring to him the bone, or even asection of a bone of an animal which hehad never seen described, and,reasoning from analogy, he would beable to draw a picture of the object from

which the bone had been taken. On oneoccasion his students attempted todeceive him. They rolled one of theirnumber in a cow skin and put him underthe professor's table as a new specimen.When the philosopher came into theroom, some of the students asked himwhat animal it was. Suddenly the animalsaid "I am the devil and I am going to eatyou." It was but natural that Cuviershould desire to classify this creature,and examining it intently, he said:

"Divided hoof; graminivorous! itcannot be done."

He knew that an animal with a splithoof must live upon grass and grain, orother kind of vegetation, and would notbe inclined to eat flesh, dead or alive, so

he considered himself perfectly safe.The possession of a perfect knowledgeof your business is an absolute necessityin order to insure success.

Among the maxims of the elderRothschild was one, an apparentparadox: "Be cautions and bold." Thisseems to he a contradiction in terms, butit is not, and there is great wisdom in themaxim. It is, in fact, a condensedstatement of what I have already said. Itis to say, "you must exercise yourcaution in laying your plans, but be boldin carrying them out." A man who is allcaution, will never dare to take hold andbe successful; and a man who is allboldness, is merely reckless, and musteventually fail. A man may go on

"'change" and make fifty or one hundredthousand dollars in speculating in stocks,at a single operation. But if he hassimple boldness without caution, it ismere chance, and what he gains to-dayhe will lose to-morrow. You must haveboth the caution and the boldness, toinsure success.

The Rothschilds have another maxim:"Never have anything to do with anunlucky man or place." That is to say,never have anything to do with a man orplace which never succeeds, because,although a man may appear to be honestand intelligent, yet if he tries this or thatthing and always fails, it is on account ofsome fault or infirmity that you may notbe able to discover but nevertheless

which must exist.There is no such thing in the world as

luck. There never was a man who couldgo out in the morning and find a pursefull of gold in the street to-day, andanother to-morrow, and so on, day afterday. He may do so once in his life; butso far as mere luck is concerned, he is asliable to lose it as to find it. "Likecauses produce like effects." If a manadopts the proper methods to besuccessful, "luck" will not prevent him.If he does not succeed, there are reasonsfor it, although, perhaps, he may not beable to see them.

7ChapterUSE THE BESTTOOLS

Men in engaging employees should becareful to get the best. Understand, youcannot have too good tools to work with,and there is no tool you should be soparticular about as living tools. If youget a good one, it is better to keep him,

than keep changing. He learns somethingevery day, and you are benefited by theexperience he acquires. He is worthmore to you this year than last, and he isthe last man to part with, provided hishabits are good, and he continuesfaithful. If, as he gets more valuable, hedemands an exorbitant increase ofsalary, on the supposition that you can'tdo without him, let him go. Whenever Ihave such an employee, I alwaysdischarge him; first, to convince him thathis place may be supplied, and second,because he is good for nothing if hethinks he is invaluable and cannot bespared.

But I would keep him, if possible, inorder to profit from the result of his

experience. An important element in anemployee is the brain. You can see billsup, "Hands Wanted," but "hands" are notworth a great deal without "heads." Mr.Beecher illustrates this, in this wise:

An employee offers his services bysaying, "I have a pair of hands and oneof my fingers thinks." "That is verygood," says the employer. Another mancomes along, and says "he has twofingers that think." "Ah! that is better."But a third calls in and says that "all hisfingers and thumbs think." That is betterstill. Finally another steps in and says, "Ihave a brain that thinks; I think all over; Iam a thinking as well as a workingman!" "You are the man I want," says thedelighted employer.

Those men who have brains andexperience are therefore the mostvaluable and not to be readily partedwith; it is better for them, as well asyourself, to keep them, at reasonableadvances in their salaries from time totime.

8ChapterDON'T GET ABOVEYOUR BUSINESS

Young men after they get through theirbusiness training, or apprenticeship,instead of pursuing their avocation andrising in their business, will often lieabout doing nothing. They say, "I havelearned my business, but I am not going

to be a hireling; what is the object oflearning my trade or profession, unless Iestablish myself?"

"Have you capital to start with?""No, but I am going to have it.""How are you going to get it?""I will tell you confidentially; I have a

wealthy old aunt, and she will die prettysoon; but if she does not, I expect to findsome rich old man who will lend me afew thousands to give me a start. If Ionly get the money to start with I will dowell."

There is no greater mistake than whena young man believes he will succeedwith borrowed money. Why? Becauseevery man's experience coincides withthat of Mr. Astor, who said, "it was

more difficult for him to accumulate hisfirst thousand dollars, than all thesucceeding millions that made up hiscolossal fortune." Money is good fornothing unless you know the value of itby experience. Give a boy twentythousand dollars and put him in business,and the chances are that he will loseevery dollar of it before he is a yearolder. Like buying a ticket in the lottery,and drawing a prize, it is "easy come,easy go." He does not know the value ofit; nothing is worth anything, unless itcosts effort. Without self-denial andeconomy, patience and perseverance,and commencing with capital which youhave not earned, you are not sure tosucceed in accumulating. Young men,

instead of "waiting for dead men'sshoes," should be up and doing, for thereis no class of persons who are sounaccommodating in regard to dying asthese rich old people, and it is fortunatefor the expectant heirs that it is so. Nineout of ten of the rich men of our countryto-day, started out in life as poor boys,with determined wills, industry,perseverance, economy and good habits.They went on gradually, made their ownmoney and saved it; and this is the bestway to acquire a fortune. Stephen Girardstarted life as a poor cabin boy, and diedworth nine million dollars. A. T.Stewart was a poor Irish boy; and hepaid taxes on a million and a half dollarsof income, per year. John Jacob Astor

was a poor farmer boy, and died worthtwenty millions. Cornelius Vanderbiltbegan life rowing a boat from StatenIsland to New York; he presented ourgovernment with a steamship worth amillion of dollars, and died worth fiftymillions. "There is no royal road tolearning," says the proverb, and I maysay it is equally true, "there is no royalroad to wealth." But I think there is aroyal road to both. The road to learningis a royal one; the road that enables thestudent to expand his intellect and addevery day to his stock of knowledge,until, in the pleasant process ofintellectual growth, he is able to solvethe most profound problems, to count thestars, to analyze every atom of the globe,

and to measure the firmament—this is aregal highway, and it is the only roadworth traveling.

So in regard to wealth. Go on inconfidence, study the rules, and aboveall things, study human nature; for "theproper study of mankind is man," andyou will find that while expanding theintellect and the muscles, your enlargedexperience will enable you every day toaccumulate more and more principal,which will increase itself by interest andotherwise, until you arrive at a state ofindependence. You will find, as ageneral thing, that the poor boys get richand the rich boys get poor. For instance,a rich man at his decease, leaves a largeestate to his family. His eldest sons, who

have helped him earn his fortune, knowby experience the value of money, andthey take their inheritance and add to it.The separate portions of the youngchildren are placed at interest, and thelittle fellows are patted on the head, andtold a dozen times a day, "you are rich;you will never have to work, you canalways have whatever you wish, for youwere born with a golden spoon in yourmouth." The young heir soon finds outwhat that means; he has the finestdresses and playthings; he is crammedwith sugar candies and almost "killedwith kindness," and he passes fromschool to school, petted and flattered.He becomes arrogant and self-conceited,abuses his teachers, and carries

everything with a high hand. He knowsnothing of the real value of money,having never earned any; but he knowsall about the "golden spoon" business.At college, he invites his poor fellow-students to his room, where he "winesand dines" them. He is cajoled andcaressed, and called a glorious goodfellow, because he is so lavish of hismoney. He gives his game suppers,drives his fast horses, invites his chumsto fetes and parties, determined to havelots of "good times." He spends the nightin frolics and debauchery, and leads offhis companions with the familiar song,"we won't go home till morning." Hegets them to join him in pulling downsigns, taking gates from their hinges and

throwing them into back yards andhorse-ponds. If the police arrest them, heknocks them down, is taken to the lock-up, and joyfully foots the bills.

"Ah! my boys," he cries, "what is theuse of being rich, if you can't enjoyyourself?"

He might more truly say, "if you can'tmake a fool of yourself;" but he is "fast,"hates slow things, and don't "see it."Young men loaded down with otherpeople's money are almost sure to loseall they inherit, and they acquire all sortsof bad habits which, in the majority ofcases, ruin them in health, purse andcharacter. In this country, one generationfollows another, and the poor of to-dayare rich in the next generation, or the

third. Their experience leads them on,and they become rich, and they leavevast riches to their young children.These children, having been reared inluxury, are inexperienced and get poor;and after long experience anothergeneration comes on and gathers upriches again in turn. And thus "historyrepeats itself," and happy is he who bylistening to the experience of othersavoids the rocks and shoals on which somany have been wrecked.

"In England, the business makes theman." If a man in that country is amechanic or working-man, he is notrecognized as a gentleman. On theoccasion of my first appearance beforeQueen Victoria, the Duke of Wellington

asked me what sphere in life GeneralTom Thumb's parents were in.

"His father is a carpenter," I replied."Oh! I had heard he was a gentleman,"

was the response of His Grace.In this Republican country, the man

makes the business. No matter whetherhe is a blacksmith, a shoemaker, afarmer, banker or lawyer, so long as hisbusiness is legitimate, he may be agentleman. So any "legitimate" businessis a double blessing—it helps the manengaged in it, and also helps others. Thefarmer supports his own family, but healso benefits the merchant or mechanicwho needs the products of his farm. Thetailor not only makes a living by histrade, but he also benefits the farmer, the

clergyman and others who cannot maketheir own clothing. But all these classesof men may be gentlemen.

The great ambition should beto excel all others engaged in the sameoccupation.

The college-student who was aboutgraduating, said to an old lawyer:

"I have not yet decided whichprofession I will follow. Is yourprofession full?"

"The basement is much crowded, butthere is plenty of room up-stairs," wasthe witty and truthful reply.

No profession, trade, or calling, isovercrowded in the upper story.Wherever you find the most honest andintelligent merchant or banker, or the

best lawyer, the best doctor, the bestclergyman, the best shoemaker,carpenter, or anything else, that man ismost sought for, and has always enoughto do. As a nation Americans are toosuperficial—they are striving to get richquickly, and do not generally do theirbusiness as substantially and thoroughlyas they should, but whoever excels allothers in his own line, if his habits aregood and his integrity undoubted, cannotfail to secure abundant patronage, andthe wealth that naturally follows. Letyour motto then always be "Excelsior,"for by living up to it there is no suchword as fail.

9ChapterLEARNSOMETHINGUSEFUL

Every man should make his son ordaughter learn some trade or profession,so that in these days of changing fortunes—of being rich to-day and poor to-morrow—they may have something

tangible to fall back upon. Thisprovision might save many persons frommisery, who by some unexpected turn offortune have lost all their means.

10ChapterLET HOPEPREDOMINATEBUT BE NOT TOOVISIONARY

Many persons are always kept poor,because they are too visionary. Everyproject looks to them like certain

success, and therefore they keepchanging from one business to another,always in hot water, always "under theharrow." The plan of "counting thechickens before they are hatched" is anerror of ancient date, but it does notseem to improve by age.

11ChapterDO NOT SCATTERYOUR POWERS

Engage in one kind of business only,and stick to it faithfully until yousucceed, or until your experience showsthat you should abandon it. A constanthammering on one nail will generallydrive it home at last, so that it can be

clinched. When a man's undividedattention is centered on one object, hismind will constantly be suggestingimprovements of value, which wouldescape him if his brain was occupied bya dozen different subjects at once. Manya fortune has slipped through a man'sfingers because he was engaged in toomany occupations at a time. There isgood sense in the old caution againsthaving too many irons in the fire at once.

12ChapterBE SYSTEMATIC

Men should be systematic in theirbusiness. A person who does businessby rule, having a time and place foreverything, doing his work promptly,will accomplish twice as much and withhalf the trouble of him who does itcarelessly and slipshod. By introducingsystem into all your transactions, doing

one thing at a time, always meetingappointments with punctuality, you findleisure for pastime and recreation;whereas the man who only half does onething, and then turns to something else,and half does that, will have his businessat loose ends, and will never know whenhis day's work is done, for it never willbe done. Of course, there is a limit to allthese rules. We must try to preserve thehappy medium, for there is such a thingas being too systematic. There are menand women, for instance, who put awaythings so carefully that they can neverfind them again. It is too much like the"red tape" formality at Washington, andMr. Dickens' "CircumlocutionOffice,"—all theory and no result.

When the "Astor House" was firststarted in New York city, it wasundoubtedly the best hotel in the country.The proprietors had learned a good dealin Europe regarding hotels, and thelandlords were proud of the rigid systemwhich pervaded every department oftheir great establishment. When twelveo'clock at night had arrived, and therewere a number of guests around, one ofthe proprietors would say, "Touch thatbell, John;" and in two minutes sixtyservants, with a water-bucket in eachhand, would present themselves in thehall. "This," said the landlord,addressing his guests, "is our fire-bell; itwill show you we are quite safe here;we do everything systematically." This

was before the Croton water wasintroduced into the city. But theysometimes carried their system too far.On one occasion, when the hotel wasthronged with guests, one of the waiterswas suddenly indisposed, and althoughthere were fifty waiters in the hotel, thelandlord thought he must have his fullcomplement, or his "system" would beinterfered with. Just before dinner-time,he rushed down stairs and said, "Theremust be another waiter, I am one waitershort, what can I do?" He happened tosee "Boots," the Irishman. "Pat," said he,"wash your hands and face; take thatwhite apron and come into the dining-room in five minutes." Presently Patappeared as required, and the proprietor

said: "Now Pat, you must stand behindthese two chairs, and wait on thegentlemen who will occupy them; didyou ever act as a waiter?"

"I know all about it, sure, but I neverdid it."

Like the Irish pilot, on one occasionwhen the captain, thinking he wasconsiderably out of his course, asked,"Are you certain you understand whatyou are doing?"

Pat replied, "Sure and I knows everyrock in the channel."

That moment, "bang" thumped thevessel against a rock.

"Ah! be jabers, and that is one of'em," continued the pilot. But to return tothe dining-room. "Pat," said the

landlord, "here we do everythingsystematically. You must first give thegentlemen each a plate of soup, andwhen they finish that, ask them what theywill have next."

Pat replied, "Ah! an' I understandparfectly the vartues of shystem."

Very soon in came the guests. Theplates of soup were placed before them.One of Pat's two gentlemen ate his soup;the other did not care for it. He said:"Waiter, take this plate away and bringme some fish." Pat looked at the untastedplate of soup, and remembering theinjunctions of the landlord in regard to"system," replied:

"Not till ye have ate yer supe!"Of course that was carrying "system"

entirely too far.

13ChapterREAD THENEWSPAPERS

Always take a trustworthy newspaper,and thus keep thoroughly posted inregard to the transactions of the world.He who is without a newspaper is cutoff from his species. In these days oftelegraphs and steam, many important

inventions and improvements in everybranch of trade, are being made, and hewho don't consult the newspapers willsoon find himself and his business leftout in the cold.

14ChapterBEWARE OF"OUTSIDEOPERATIONS"

We sometimes see men who haveobtained fortunes, suddenly becomepoor. In many cases, this arises fromintemperance, and often from gaming,and other bad habits. Frequently it

occurs because a man has been engagedin "outside operations," of some sort.When he gets rich in his legitimatebusiness, he is told of a grandspeculation where he can make a scoreof thousands. He is constantly flatteredby his friends, who tell him that he isborn lucky, that everything he touchesturns into gold. Now if he forgets that hiseconomical habits, his rectitude ofconduct and a personal attention to abusiness which he understood, causedhis success in life, he will listen to thesiren voices. He says:

"I will put in twenty thousand dollars.I have been lucky, and my good luck willsoon bring me back sixty thousanddollars."

A few days elapse and it isdiscovered he must put in ten thousanddollars more; soon after he is told "it isall right," but certain matters notforeseen, require an advance of twentythousand dollars more, which will bringhim a rich harvest; but before the timecomes around to realize, the bubblebursts, he loses all he is possessed of,and then he learns what he ought to haveknown at the first, that howeversuccessful a man may be in his ownbusiness, if he turns from that andengages in a business which he don'tunderstand, he is like Samson whenshorn of his locks—his strength hasdeparted, and he becomes like othermen.

If a man has plenty of money, he oughtto invest something in everything thatappears to promise success, and thatwill probably benefit mankind; but letthe sums thus invested be moderate inamount, and never let a man foolishlyjeopardize a fortune that he has earned ina legitimate way, by investing it in thingsin which he has had no experience.

15ChapterDON'T INDORSEWITHOUTSECURITY

I hold that no man ought ever toindorse a note or become security forany man, be it his father or brother, to agreater extent than he can afford to loseand care nothing about, without taking

good security. Here is a man that isworth twenty thousand dollars; he isdoing a thriving manufacturing ormercantile trade; you are retired andliving on your money; he comes to youand says:

"You are aware that I am worthtwenty thousand dollars, and don't owe adollar; if I had five thousand dollars incash, I could purchase a particular lot ofgoods and double my money in a coupleof months; will you indorse my note forthat amount?"

You reflect that he is worth twentythousand dollars, and you incur no riskby indorsing his note; you like toaccommodate him, and you lend yourname without taking the precaution of

getting security. Shortly after, he showsyou the note with your indorsementcanceled, and tells you, probably truly,"that he made the profit that he expectedby the operation," you reflect that youhave done a good action, and the thoughtmakes you feel happy. By and by, thesame thing occurs again and you do itagain; you have already fixed theimpression in your mind that it isperfectly safe to indorse his noteswithout security.

But the trouble is, this man is gettingmoney too easily. He has only to takeyour note to the bank, get it discountedand take the cash. He gets money for thetime being without effort; withoutinconvenience to himself. Now mark the

result. He sees a chance for speculationoutside of his business. A temporaryinvestment of only $10,000 is required.It is sure to come back before a note atthe bank would be due. He places a notefor that amount before you. You sign italmost mechanically. Being firmlyconvinced that your friend is responsibleand trustworthy, you indorse his notes asa "matter of course."

Unfortunately the speculation does notcome to a head quite so soon as wasexpected, and another $10,000 note mustbe discounted to take up the last onewhen due. Before this note matures thespeculation has proved an utter failureand all the money is lost. Does the losertell his friend, the indorser, that he has

lost half of his fortune? Not at all. Hedon't even mention that he has speculatedat all. But he has got excited; the spirit ofspeculation has seized him; he seesothers making large sums in this way(we seldom hear of the losers), and, likeother speculators, he "looks for hismoney where he loses it." He tries again.Indorsing notes has become chronic withyou, and at every loss he gets yoursignature for whatever amount he wants.Finally you discover your friend has lostall of his property and all of yours. Youare overwhelmed with astonishment andgrief, and you say "it is a hard thing; myfriend here has ruined me," but, youshould add, "I have also ruined him." Ifyou had said in the first place, "I will

accommodate you, but I never indorsewithout taking ample security," he couldnot have gone beyond the length of histether, and he would never have beentempted away from his legitimatebusiness. It is a very dangerous thing,therefore, at any time, to let people getpossession of money too easily; it temptsthem to hazardous speculations, ifnothing more. Solomon truly said "hethat hateth suretiship is sure."

So with the young man starting inbusiness; let him understand the value ofmoney by earning it. When he doesunderstand its value, then grease thewheels a little in helping him to startbusiness, but remember, men who getmoney with too great facility, cannot

usually succeed. You must get the firstdollars by hard knocks, and at somesacrifice, in order to appreciate thevalue of those dollars.

16ChapterADVERTISE YOURBUSINESS

We all depend, more or less, upon thepublic for our support. We all trade withthe public—lawyers, doctors,shoemakers, artists, blacksmiths,showmen, opera singers, railroadpresidents, and college professors.

Those who deal with the public must becareful that their goods are valuable; thatthey are genuine, and will givesatisfaction. When you get an articlewhich you know is going to please yourcustomers, and that when they have triedit, they will feel they have got theirmoney's worth, then let the fact beknown that you have got it. Be careful toadvertise it in some shape or other,because it is evident that if a man hasever so good an article for sale, andnobody knows it, it will bring him noreturn. In a country like this, wherenearly everybody reads, and wherenewspapers are issued and circulated ineditions of five thousand to two hundredthousand, it would be very unwise if this

channel was not taken advantage of toreach the public in advertising. Anewspaper goes into the family, and isread by wife and children, as well as thehead of the home; hence hundreds andthousands of people may read youradvertisement, while you are attendingto your routine business. Many, perhaps,read it while you are asleep. The wholephilosophy of life is, first "sow," then"reap." That is the way the farmer does;he plants his potatoes and corn, andsows his grain, and then goes aboutsomething else, and the time comes whenhe reaps. But he never reaps first andsows afterwards. This principle appliesto all kinds of business, and to nothingmore eminently than to advertising. If a

man has a genuine article, there is noway in which he can reap moreadvantageously than by "sowing" to thepublic in this way. He must, of course,have a really good article, and onewhich will please his customers;anything spurious will not succeedpermanently because the public is wiserthan many imagine. Men and women areselfish, and we all prefer purchasingwhere we can get the most for our moneyand we try to find out where we canmost surely do so.

You may advertise a spurious article,and induce many people to call and buyit once, but they will denounce you as animposter and swindler, and yourbusiness will gradually die out and

leave you poor. This is right. Fewpeople can safely depend upon chancecustom. You all need to have yourcustomers return and purchase again. Aman said to me, "I have tried advertisingand did not succeed; yet I have a goodarticle."

I replied, "My friend, there may beexceptions to a general rule. But how doyou advertise?"

"I put it in a weekly newspaper threetimes, and paid a dollar and a half forit."

I replied: "Sir, advertising is likelearning—`a little is a dangerous thing!'"

A French writer says that "The readerof a newspaper does not see the firstmention of an ordinary advertisement;

the second insertion he sees, but doesnot read; the third insertion he reads; thefourth insertion, he looks at the price; thefifth insertion, he speaks of it to his wife;the sixth insertion, he is ready topurchase, and the seventh insertion, hepurchases." Your object in advertising isto make the public understand what youhave got to sell, and if you have not thepluck to keep advertising, until you haveimparted that information, all the moneyyou have spent is lost. You are like thefellow who told the gentleman if hewould give him ten cents it would savehim a dollar. "How can I help you somuch with so small a sum?" asked thegentleman in surprise. "I started out thismorning (hiccupped the fellow) with the

full determination to get drunk, and Ihave spent my only dollar to accomplishthe object, and it has not quite done it.Ten cents worth more of whiskey wouldjust do it, and in this manner I shouldsave the dollar already expended."

So a man who advertises at all mustkeep it up until the public know who andwhat he is, and what his business is, orelse the money invested in advertising islost.

Some men have a peculiar genius forwriting a striking advertisement, one thatwill arrest the attention of the reader atfirst sight. This fact, of course, gives theadvertiser a great advantage. Sometimesa man makes himself popular by anunique sign or a curious display in his

window. Recently I observed a swingsign extending over the sidewalk in frontof a store, on which was the inscriptionin plain letters,

"DON'T READ THE OTHERSIDE."

Of course I did, and so did everybodyelse, and I learned that the man had madean independence by first attracting thepublic to his business in that way andthen using his customers wellafterwards.

Genin, the hatter, bought the firstJenny Lind ticket at auction for twohundred and twenty-five dollars,because he knew it would be a goodadvertisement for him. "Who is the

bidder?" said the auctioneer, as heknocked down that ticket at CastleGarden. "Genin, the hatter," was theresponse. Here were thousands ofpeople from the Fifth avenue, and fromdistant cities in the highest stations inlife. "Who is `Genin,' the hatter?" theyexclaimed. They had never heard of himbefore. The next morning thenewspapers and telegraph had circulatedthe facts from Maine to Texas, and fromfive to ten millions of people had readthat the tickets sold at auction for JennyLind's first concert amounted to abouttwenty thousand dollars, and that asingle ticket was sold at two hundredand twenty-five dollars, to "Genin, thehatter." Men throughout the country

involuntarily took off their hats to see ifthey had a "Genin" hat on their heads. Ata town in Iowa it was found that in thecrowd around the post office, there wasone man who had a "Genin" hat, and heshowed it in triumph, although it wasworn out and not worth two cents."Why," one man exclaimed, "you have areal `Genin' hat; what a lucky fellow youare." Another man said, "Hang on to thathat, it will be a valuable heir-loom inyour family." Still another man in thecrowd who seemed to envy thepossessor of this good fortune, said,"Come, give us all a chance; put it up atauction!" He did so, and it was sold as akeepsake for nine dollars and fifty cents!What was the consequence to Mr.

Genin? He sold ten thousand extra hatsper annum, the first six years. Nine-tenths of the purchasers bought of him,probably, out of curiosity, and many ofthem, finding that he gave them anequivalent for their money, became hisregular customers. This noveladvertisement first struck their attention,and then, as he made a good article, theycame again.

Now I don't say that everybody shouldadvertise as Mr. Genin did. But I say if aman has got goods for sale, and he don'tadvertise them in some way, the chancesare that some day the sheriff will do itfor him. Nor do I say that everybodymust advertise in a newspaper, orindeed use "printers' ink" at all. On the

contrary, although that article isindispensable in the majority of cases,yet doctors and clergymen, andsometimes lawyers and some others, canmore effectually reach the public insome other manner. But it is obvious,they must be known in some way, elsehow could they be supported?

17ChapterBE POLITE ANDKIND TO YOURCUSTOMERS

Politeness and civility are the bestcapital ever invested in business. Largestores, gilt signs, flamingadvertisements, will all proveunavailing if you or your employees treat

your patrons abruptly. The truth is, themore kind and liberal a man is, the moregenerous will be the patronage bestowedupon him. "Like begets like." The manwho gives the greatest amount of goodsof a corresponding quality for the leastsum (still reserving for himself a profit)will generally succeed best in the longrun. This brings us to the golden rule,"As ye would that men should do to you,do ye also to them," and they will dobetter by you than if you always treatedthem as if you wanted to get the most youcould out of them for the least return.Men who drive sharp bargains with theircustomers, acting as if they neverexpected to see them again, will not bemistaken. They will never see them

again as customers. People don't like topay and get kicked also.

One of the ushers in my Museum oncetold me he intended to whip a man whowas in the lecture-room as soon as hecame out.

"What for?" I inquired."Because he said I was no

gentleman," replied the usher."Never mind," I replied, "he pays for

that, and you will not convince him youare a gentleman by whipping him. Icannot afford to lose a customer. If youwhip him, he will never visit theMuseum again, and he will inducefriends to go with him to other places ofamusement instead of this, and thus yousee, I should be a serious loser."

"But he insulted me," muttered theusher.

"Exactly," I replied, "and if he ownedthe Museum, and you had paid him forthe privilege of visiting it, and he hadthen insulted you, there might be somereason in your resenting it, but in thisinstance he is the man who pays, whilewe receive, and you must, therefore, putup with his bad manners."

My usher laughingly remarked, thatthis was undoubtedly the true policy, buthe added that he should not object to anincrease of salary if he was expected tobe abused in order to promote myinterest.

18ChapterBE CHARITABLE

Of course men should be charitable,because it is a duty and a pleasure. Buteven as a matter of policy, if youpossess no higher incentive, you willfind that the liberal man will commandpatronage, while the sordid, uncharitablemiser will be avoided.

Solomon says: "There is that

scattereth and yet increaseth; and there isthat withholdeth more than meet, but ittendeth to poverty." Of course the onlytrue charity is that which is from theheart.

The best kind of charity is to helpthose who are willing to helpthemselves. Promiscuous almsgiving,without inquiring into the worthiness ofthe applicant, is bad in every sense. Butto search out and quietly assist thosewho are struggling for themselves, is thekind that "scattereth and yet increaseth."But don't fall into the idea that somepersons practice, of giving a prayerinstead of a potato, and a benedictioninstead of bread, to the hungry. It iseasier to make Christians with full

stomachs than empty.

19ChapterDON'T BLAB

Some men have a foolish habit oftelling their business secrets. If theymake money they like to tell theirneighbors how it was done. Nothing isgained by this, and ofttimes much is lost.Say nothing about your profits, yourhopes, your expectations, yourintentions. And this should apply to

letters as well as to conversation.Goethe makes Mephistophiles say:"Never write a letter nor destroy one."Business men must write letters, but theyshould be careful what they put in them.If you are losing money, be speciallycautious and not tell of it, or you willlose your reputation.

20ChapterPRESERVE YOURINTEGRITY

It is more precious than diamonds orrubies. The old miser said to his sons:"Get money; get it honestly, if you can,but get money." This advice was notonly atrociously wicked, but it was thevery essence of stupidity. It was as much

as to say, "if you find it difficult toobtain money honestly, you can easilyget it dishonestly. Get it in that way."Poor fool! Not to know that the mostdifficult thing in life is to make moneydishonestly! not to know that our prisonsare full of men who attempted to followthis advice; not to understand that noman can be dishonest, without soonbeing found out, and that when his lackof principle is discovered, nearly everyavenue to success is closed against himforever. The public very properly shunall whose integrity is doubted. No matterhow polite and pleasant andaccommodating a man may be, none ofus dare to deal with him if we suspect"false weights and measures." Strict

honesty, not only lies at the foundation ofall success in life (financially), but inevery other respect. Uncompromisingintegrity of character is invaluable. Itsecures to its possessor a peace and joywhich cannot be attained without it—which no amount of money, or housesand lands can purchase. A man who isknown to be strictly honest, may be everso poor, but he has the purses of all thecommunity at his disposal—for all knowthat if he promises to return what heborrows, he will never disappoint them.As a mere matter of selfishness,therefore, if a man had no higher motivefor being honest, all will find that themaxim of Dr. Franklin can never fail tobe true, that "honesty is the best policy."

To get rich, is not always equivalentto being successful. "There are manyrich poor men," while there are manyothers, honest and devout men andwomen, who have never possessed somuch money as some rich personssquander in a week, but who arenevertheless really richer and happierthan any man can ever be while he is atransgressor of the higher laws of hisbeing.

The inordinate love of money, nodoubt, may be and is "the root of allevil," but money itself, when properlyused, is not only a "handy thing to havein the house," but affords thegratification of blessing our race byenabling its possessor to enlarge the

scope of human happiness and humaninfluence. The desire for wealth isnearly universal, and none can say it isnot laudable, provided the possessor ofit accepts its responsibilities, and uses itas a friend to humanity.

The history of money-getting, which iscommerce, is a history of civilization,and wherever trade has flourished most,there, too, have art and science producedthe noblest fruits. In fact, as a generalthing, money-getters are the benefactorsof our race. To them, in a great measure,are we indebted for our institutions oflearning and of art, our academies,colleges and churches. It is no argumentagainst the desire for, or the possessionof, wealth, to say that there are

sometimes misers who hoard moneyonly for the sake of hoarding and whohave no higher aspiration than to graspeverything which comes within theirreach. As we have sometimes hypocritesin religion, and demagogues in politics,so there are occasionally misers amongmoney-getters. These, however, are onlyexceptions to the general rule. But when,in this country, we find such a nuisanceand stumbling block as a miser, weremember with gratitude that in Americawe have no laws of primogeniture, andthat in the due course of nature the timewill come when the hoarded dust will bescattered for the benefit of mankind. Toall men and women, therefore, do Iconscientiously say, make money

honestly, and not otherwise, forShakespeare has truly said, "He thatwants money, means, and content, iswithout three good friends."

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