20 THE OMAHA DAILY BEE : SUNDAY , JANUARY 1 , 1899.
BOW TO RISE IN THE WORLD
Turning Points that Led to the Success of
Andrew Oirnegio.
FROM BOBBIN-BOY TO MILLIONAIRE
Remarkable Feature * of n Career
IllUHtratlve of Anicrlcnii Oppor-
tunitlcft Some Advice to
Salaried Men.
' ( Copyrighted by the S. S. McClure Co. , 1898. )
Having earned my own living for fifty
years and been my own master for thirty-
one , I rcjolco to look back upou my start In
the world with no other capital than honest
poverty and a good home. No boy can have
greater Incentives to success In life than
these. Sharing the fruits of my father and
mother's Industry , I learned In my Infancy
to respect work and longed to be a con
tributor to the common purse. We lived In
Dunfermllne , thirteen miles from Edin
burgh , Scotland. My father , William Car
negie , was a successful master weaver ; my
mother a hard-working housewife , who yet
found time to Instruct me , until I was 8 , In
reading , writing and ciphering the equip
ment that gave mo my first betterment.
It was my first ambition to be a master
weaver , like my father ; to have four looms
of my own ; to employ apprentices ; to make
speeches In the evening , as he did , on pub
lic questions he was a consistent radical.
And I might have become a weaver but for
something that happened when I was 10
years old and had already been going to
chool for two years.
Ono evening I. . heard my father tell my
mother that steam looms were coming Into
( he trade and bothering him. This 'steam
machinery , ho said , was best handled In big
factories , which , made It bad for the Inde
pendent master weavers. His work was
tailing oft. He was not getting so many
orders from the merchants who had been In
the habit of sending him the raw material
to t > e woven up.
Not very long afterward It was In 1847
be came In one day from delivering some
is finished damask , looked at me quizzically ,
' 5 nd said :
i "Andy , I have no more work. "
Where should < we go ? The same condi
tions that drove ua from Dunferralln * might
confront us anywhere else In Scotland. But
nre remembered that we had relatives who
bad crossed the Atlantic and settled near
Plttsburg. "W 'll go there , too , " said my
mother ; It's beat for the boys to begin life
In a new country. "
We reached Allegheny City In 1848. I was
only 11 years old , but my heart was big for
the future ; I was determined to make my
way In this new .country.
Earning : III * Flr t Money.
My father went towork In a. cotton , fac
tory and I followed him as bobbin boy.
From sunrise to sunset I worked , glad to
feel that each , day added 20 cents to my
credit on the book. Saturday noon I drew
$1.20 , with a feeling not BO much of pride as
of Joy to have money to take home.
Six days a week I breakfasted by candle
light and five days a week I got homo after
dark. But nothing could have Induced mate
to give this up , except an offer ot better
t work. This I soon got from a good Scotch
< friend of ours , John Hay , who had a bob
bin factory. I was eet to firing the bolter
with wood chips and to * tend the englno.
Responsible work , too , for a boy of 13 , not
big for his age. Gradually I grew nervous
under the strain ot minding this engine , and
working all alone down In Hay'e cellar. I
c would wako up nights , sitting bolt upright
i in bed , hands clenched , brows knitted ,
c from dreaming about trying the steam
o gauges and finding them wrong !
Mr. Hay needed a clerk upstairs In the
t
Office. Ho knew I could write a good hand
and ho offered mo thla pta.ce. After filling
thla position for some time I heard that
a boys were wanted in the Ohio telegraph of-
e flco In Plttsburg. I felt as though my for
tl tune would bo made If I could get Into that
tln tlt office , eo my father went with me and per
suaded the superintendent , James VD. Reid ,
n to employ me. Mr. Held often told me , In
P otter years , that he remembered exactly
bow I looked that morning In my little blue
Jacket , with my white hair.
B Now that I'd got my job , at $2.50 per
T wreck , I was on tiorna for fear I couldn't
keep It. I knew nothing about the streets
§ ot Plttsburg and the business houses to
which I had to deliver messages. So I
started In and learned alt the addresses by
heart , up one sldo ot Wood street and
down the other. Then I learned the other
business streets in tbo same way. Then I
Celt safe. How pleasant It was to me to
work now In a clean , bright office , with desks
and paper and pencils about , Instead of
down In dingy cellar or In a noisy factory !
The tick ot the telegraph Instrument * fas
P cinated me. I tried to understand it , by
Pk PE listening , by going to the office early and
k playing with the key. Mr. Reid finally
greed to help me to learn and I waa soon
able to receive any message by ear alone ,
and at that time there were possibly only
two other people In the country who could
do this. I bad become an operator , but I
was still getting a messenger's pay.
One morning , when I waa In the office
early , I heard K death message come over
the wires from Philadelphia. I knew that
Eort of message required prompt handling ,
o I wrote it out and delivered it at the
proper address. From that time the oper
5 ators began to use me to 'sub" for them.
Then Mr. Reid made me on operator and I
bad a great rise In the world , for now I
got $25 a month , $300 a y ar. and I felt that
our Homo rested secure on my Income. For ,
my father , who had been naturalized as an i
American citizen In 1853 , had died soon '
Afterwards. His naturalization while I was
a minor made mo an American citizen. At
the ago of 16 I was the family mainstay.
Klrnt nnnlneim Trnimnctlon.
About this tlmo came my first Independent
financial operation. I don't consider that
a salaried man , , no matter what his work or
his wages , la In business , for he works for
somebody else , not for himself. There were
six newspapers In Pittsburg and so there
had to bo six copies made of the press dis
patched received In our office. The man
who had the job of making these copies got
$6 a week for It When ho offered me $1 to
do his work I gladly agreed. I was working
for myself now , on an Independent contract ,
doing something beyond my task. Thatdol
lar a week I considered my own. It did not
go to the family support. It was my flrst
capital.
February 2 , 1854 , the Pennsylvania rail
road was completed to Plttsburg. In the
telegraph office wo knew all about this long
before the road got on and began to see , In
our office , Thomas A. Scott , superintendent
ot that end of the road. I became acquainted
with him , because I was the operator
through whom ho sent many of his mes
sages. He asked ono of the young men In
hla employment 4f ho thought I would like
to leave the telegraph company and como
and work for 'htm ' as his private operator.
The young man said he didn't think so. But
when Uils same young man told mo what
had occurred I asked him to go and tell Mr.
Scott that I would bo glad to enter his serv
ice. I was ; I saw a chance to better myself.
The salary was $35 a month , ten more
than I had been getting. There Is never a
boy or a man employed whoso chance doesn't
como to him. The thing la to know it , and
seize It.
I have spoke'n of a constant determlna-
ANDRBW CARNEGIE ( MOST RECENT PHOTOGRAPH ) .
tlon , from the flrst , to get on in the world.
There is a great deal more in feeling that"
way than some people think. There was an
other determination that I formed in my
boyhood in Pittsburg , which I have been
able to carry out. A gentleman named
Colonel Anderson let It bo known to the
working boys that he could always be found
In bis library Saturday afternoons and would
be glad to see them there. I went , as soon *
as I heard of this. Strange to say , there
was some question about my right to come
in under the head of working boys , as I
was now a telegraph operator. That made
me indignant. So I sat down and wrote
my flrst contribution to print In a letter to
the Plttsburg Dispatch. I Insisted that any
young man or boy who worked , whether
with his head or his hands , was entitled to
be known by the honorable designation ot
"Working Boy , " as I signed myself. After
that I had no trouble. And I found that
Colonel Anderson permitted ua to take his
books home with us. I saw how much good
he was doing , and I determined then and
there that if I were ever able to do it. I
would provide free libraries for people who
worked. That has been one of my hobbles
ANDREW CARNEGIE AS A YOUTH.
that I bare carried out In Allegheny , Braddock -
dock , Johnstown , Pa. , Falrfield , la. , Edin
burgh , Dunfermllne the home of my boy
hood Aberdeen , Peterhead , Inverness , Ayr ,
Elgin , Wick and Klrkwall. And It I live
there will be moro yet , especially In and
about Pittsburgh libraries , combined with
art galleries and halls.
From Mr. Scott's private telegraph
operator I became his private secretary. I
worked with htm and under him and J. Ed
gar Thomson for thirteen years , from 185-1
to 1867. I soon became attached to him and
learned to look up to him almoet as a father.
I went wherever he went , traveled with him
and could not help feeling , from his at
tachment to me almost dependence on me
that I had won bis affection.
Another Opportunity Accepted.
One morning Mr. Scott was a little late
getting to the office and there had been an
accident on the eastern division , to the beat
of my recollection a bridge 'had been
i burned , or washed away , and the through
1 express was away behind time. Thercjwns
only one track and the freight trains 'we're
on the sidings all along our western dl
vision waiting for the express , which bat
the right of way. I gleaned the situation
from the telegrams I found and sat down a
once to do what I knew Mr. Scott would do
it he were there. I wired to the conductor
ot the express that I was going to give the
j freight trains three hours and forty minutes
I ot bis time and told him to answer me. so
that I might know that he understood the
situation. He answered me that he did
I then wlrad to the conductor of each frelgb
train and started the whole string ot them
Every telegram was signed "Thomas A.
Scott. "
Presently Mr. Scott , who had heard about
the trains oil being late and an accident
on the road , came hurriedly In and sat down
to a pllo of telegrams.
"Here It Is 10 o'clock , " eald he , "and the
express not in and the freights hung up and
the dovll to nay. Wire "
"Excuse me , Mr. Scott , " eald I , "I wired
the orders I thought you would send. Hero
ftro the telegrams , and I think you'll find the
through freight already In the yards. "
He Tookcd hard at mo and never Raid a
word. Ho looked through the telegrams I
had sent In Ms name and ho kept on being
silent. I wondered what he was thinking ,
but I didn't say anything.
A few days passed. Ono morning J. Edgar
Thomson , the president , came Into our office
in Plttsburg. I felt n hand on my shoulder
and looked up. "Is this Andy ? " ho asked.
"Yes , sir , " said I.
"Well , " said he , "I've been hearing about
, you. Scott told us the other night about
what that llttre Scotch devil of his had been
doing ! * ' And with that ho laughed and I
felt I had a friend in him as well as In Mr ,
Scott.
On another occasion , when Mr. Scott was
away from the office on business , and had
left mo behind , I held court , dismissed two
men there had been a bad collision and
censured several others. AH this tlmo I was
a boy only , looking even younger than I
was.
CnrncKlc'n Flrftt Investment.
One day Mr. Scott asked'mo If I could got
$500 to Invest. I didn't have the money , and
I didn't know where I could get It , but I
wasn't going to throw away the chance of
my life , the opportunity of investing with
my chief.
"Oh , yes , ilr , " I answered him ; "I can
got It. "
"Well , " said he , "get It as soon as you
can. In fact , $000 Is the amount needed
and I can help you out a little If you can't
rolso it all. A man has just died who
owned ten shares of Adams Express stock.
It costs only $ CO a share and It pays 1 per
cent a month. You must buy lt. "
I felt that this was a crisis In my life
my chance to become Independent , to get
away from the slavery of salary to the In
dependence of competence. And for the
means to accomplish this I turned to iny
ono unfailing , faithful friend , my mother.
I didn't think there was anything she could
not do. I also felt that if Mr. Scott had
known how utterly out of the question It
was for mo or my family to have $500 on
hand he wouljl have advanced the whole
sum for mo. But my Scotch pride would
never have permitted me to tell anybody
how poor wo wore. Our savings , $ SOO , we
had gradually put Into our home the beat
Investment , anywhere , for anybody , Is real
estatt > and this was now paid for. Should
wo mortgage It to raise the money for the
Investment ? My mother said yes , unhesi
tatingly. What -la - more , she sold she
woufd get the money for mo , and she did ,
from her brother , who lived In Ohio.
A pr iid boy I was when I received a
check for my flrst monthly dividend $10.
The next Sunday afternoon I strolled out
Into the woods with my friends , as usual ,
and pulling the letter from my pocket
showed them my dividend check , signed in
big letters , "J. C. Babcock , Cashier. "
Here was money I had received without
laboring for It , the Interest on my capital.
We all resolved 'that we must become
capitalists. And several of those same boys
have since been associated with me la un
dertakings involving largo capital.
I felt now that I not only had a stake In
the community in which I lived In the
home we had bought and paid for , but that
I had a standing In the world of capital.
In the Government Service.
Meanwhile Mr. Scott was rising all the
while In the Pennsylvania. Railroad com
pany. In 1858 he was made enoral superin
tendent , March 4 , I860 , he was made vlco
president , and in May , 1861 , he waa called
o Washington fy > become assistant secretary
f war , In charge of military railroads and
elegraphs. As he went up ho took me with
ilm , and I was now superintendent of the
western division of the road. When he
; eclded to go Into the government service
ie said I must go , too. I didn't want to
go much , for I had a most responsible post-
Ion , attending to the moving of troops and
tores , but he wouldn't hear of my staying
> ehlnd. So to Washington I went with
ilm , going from Philadelphia to Annapolis
> y water , railroad communication having
> een broken. I at once set to work with a
arge force of men to repair the railroad
from Annapolis to Washington.
I rode Into the capital on the flrst locorao-
ive that made the Journey but not without
lelng wounded enroute. I was , In fact , the
third man wounded In the war. The way
of It was this : Between Elbrldgo Junction
and Washington the confederates had pinned
.he telegraph wires to the ground , thus
grounding the current , and observing this
from my passing locomotive , I got down to
release them. The very first wire un
fastened from the ground bounced up and
truck my cheek , cutting quite a severe gash
In It. When I got to Washington I was
covered with blood.
I WAS in charge of railway communication
at thd battle of Bull Run and was the last
official to leave for Alexandria , where there
was much confusion in getting across to
Washington. But It was In Washington , In
the War department , that I bad my most
Interesting experiences at this time. I found
it Impossible to transact government busi
ness over the wires in ordinary terms. We
could not afford to have everybody know the
movements of troops. So , by necessity , a
kind of cipher , the first used , was devised
then and there. It grew by degrees and at
last became extremely valuable. The prin
ciple upon which It was constructed was
disguise. Calling "Sherman" a chair and
"Grant" a sofa , and so , keeping the proper
names out of the messages , wns not suffi
cient. We soon made one word do the work
of a number. For instance , "the enemy has
advanced in force" might be rendered by
the one word , "Sequel. " "Reinforcements
are needed at once" could be transmitted
by the one word "Bark , " for example , when
once wo all understood it. Lincoln and
Stanton , oftenest Stnnton , used to come In
my room and watch the messages coma
and go.
ClionnInK a 'Wife for Scott.
Juno 1 , 18C2 , Colonel Scott returned to the
service ot the Pennsylvania railway and I
went with him. He bun done me many a
good turn and I was soon enabled to do him
one. Among the young women I knew In
Plttsburg was Miss Riddle , the daughter of
Rbbert M. Riddle , the owner and I think
the , editor of the Plttsburg Journal. Colonel
Scott was a widower , and , knowing him aa
intimately as I did , I bad often spoken
jocosely to him about his marrying again.
Without mentioning any names , I told him
several times that I knew the very girl ha
ought to marry. He was now stationed in
Philadelphia , of course , wbllo I was In Pltts
burg , superintendent of my old division.
One day I got a letter from him In which
he asked : "Who Is that young woman ol
yo rs , anyway ? " I kept quiet , for I knew he
would come to Plttsburg on business soon ,
and sure enough he did.
, "I'm going back Tuesday , Andy , " ho said.
"No , you are not , Mr. Scott , " I replied ; "you
are not going until Thursday. And , what 1 :
more , you are going to escort to Phila
delphia on Thursday one ot the sweetest
girls in Plttsburg. "
"Nonsense , Andy , " ald he. "I can't
wait till Thursday. But who is this
charming lady ? "
"The very .one of whom I have spoken
to you , " said I.
I had learned from Miss Riddle some daya
before that she was going to Philadelphia ,
and as soon aa I got Colonel Scott's con
sent to wait over I went and told her ol
For New Years Day-
If you do the catling or 1ho receiving
nothliiB cnu bo more npproprlitto or of
better form tlmn pntcut leather shoes
j for the moil -\vo hnve them In nil the
! popular styles and shapes cloth and
kid top luce and button for 1ho Indies
,
j the Htyles are more numerous welt nnd
I turned sole latest toe shapes cloth nud
I kid toilull ( khl and brlpht kid tops-
then those for hou.iewenr only Oxford
ties and house slippers \vo nre renl
proud of our patent leather shoes nnd
| , like to have people ask to see them.
Drexel Shoe Co. ,
Omaha * * Up-to-date Shoe Hnai * .
1419 FARNAM STREET.
"We've a Hen On"-
In the slinpo of great Inducements to
yon during .limitary for plnno buying
not only nre we making the kind ot
prices that sell pianos but the kind of
pianos wo sell make buyers over u
dozen different makes to select from
among them the Klmball , the prize win
ner ut our exposition the Knabe the
Kranlch & Bach .the . Hnllet & Davis
and the Ilospe It won't make any dif
ference In the plnno what tlio price )
may be It will be just what we repre
sent It to bo we've sold pianos for ! Ki
years and our reliability has been estab
lished. ,
A. HOSPE ,
MUSIC 011(1 ( flfl I5I3 Douglas
ny plan. At flrst she -would have none of
t , but I persuaded her. I assured her she
ould rely on my care not to place her lu
a false position , and finally she agreed.
Veil , the trip -was ma do as I had planned
t , and eventually Colonel Scott and Miss
tlddlo iwere married. She was a charming
; lrl and made htm a good wife. And that
s why I eay I was able to do him one good
urn , anyway , In repayment of the many
he did me.
Another Pnylnir Venture.
I was examining the railroad track one
ay after my return to the service of the
'ennsylvanla Railroad company when a tall
man with a green bag la his hand came
up and asked mo If I was connected with
he Pennsylvania Railroad company. When
said yes , he drew out the model of a
sleeping berth and showed It to me. He
did not need to explain It at very great
ength. I seemed to see Us value at a
lash. Railroad cars In which people could
sleep on long Journeys ot course there
were no railroads across the continent yet-
struck me as being the very thing for this
and of magnificent distances. I told him
I wuuld speak about his model to Mr. ' Scott ,
and I did BO , enthusiastically. Ho did not
share my enthusiasm , but said I might
irlng the Inventor to see him. So I Intro
duced T. T. Woodruff , the Inventor of the
sleeping car. And 'tho result was not only
the building of two trial cars , which were
run over the Pennsylvania railroad , but the
formation ot a sleeping car company In
which I was offered an Interest. I promptly
accepted , although I didn't quite know
where my share of the capital was com-
ng from. But this , my third business ven-
.uro , found me confident In my ability to
overcome difficulties. I had secured the
money to buy the Adams Express stock ; I
would get the money to buy the sleeping car
stock.
But how ? At last I went to the bank , and
telling the president the exact facts , offered
him my note for $217.60 my share of the
first payment on the stock If he would ad-
vrtnco me the moaey and let mo [ pay him
back out of my salary at the rate of $1G a
month. To my delight he patted me on
the back and said : "You are all right ,
Andy , " and discounted my note. My
subsequent payments for stock In the
Woodruff Sleeping Car company I wag en
abled to meet without giving any more
notes , from the receipts of the cars them
selves. It was thus I made my flrst sub
stantial capital.
Opportunity In Oil.
When I hiard of the oil strike on the
Storey farm , on Oil creek , I resolved to In
vest In oil lands. I visited 'that famous well
from which quantities of oil were running
waste Into the creek. The capacity of the
well was several hundred barrels a day , but
when my associates and I bought the farm
for $40,000 we had no confidence that this
flow would continue , and built a pond big
enough to hold 100,000 barrels. We ran our
oil Into this pond until we had run In
several hundred thousand barrels , part of
which leaked and some of which evaporated.
Yet this Investment ot $40,000 paid us In
one year $1,000,000 In cash and dividends , and
the farm Itself eventually became worth , oa
a stock basis , the sum ot $5,000,000.
Start In the Steel Bulne > * .
There were to many delays on railroads
In those days from burned or broken
wooden bridges that I felt the day of
wooden bridges must end soon , just as the
day of wood-burning locomotives waa ended.
Cast Iron bridges , I thought , ought to re
place them , so I organized a company ,
principally from railroad men I knew , to
make 'these Iron bridges , and we called It the
Keystone Bridge works. The developmeut ot
this new company required my time , so I re
signed from the railroad service In 1867. I
had risen from telegraph operator to be
superintendent of the western division. I no
We Want You-
To know that we * nro better prepared
right now than nt any tlnio before to
supply nil your wants as an nnmteur
photographer we keep all the solutions
toning baths , etc. ready prepared for
use films and plates for all cameras
nnd show n Inrgc assortment of cameras
nnd other supplies wo Imvo two dark
rooms and n burnisher that we nro only
too glad to have you use take n look nt
the l < V6x 'H& Monrce folding camera nt
$7.00 you can't bother us often enough.
TheAloe&PenfoldCo
Amatear Phot * Monte.
J408 Furnnm Street.
Paxton HoUL
Hall's Safes
Arc more largely used than any other.
They were used exclusively nt the Omaha
Exposition.
Used exclusively by all express companies.
This leaves little moro to be said.
The Beit People Hide the ij
OMVE , HAHNHS AND 1
NATIONAL I1ICYCLES. . . .
The Williams Typewriter
Is the best vlalblo writing machine on
the market.
We rent safes , bicycles , typewriter * ,
and sell on easy payments. '
J J & Go.
, , Deriglit . t'i
Tel. 053. Ilia Fnrnnm S .
ilonger drew a | salary ; from that time on I
waa my own master.
In 186S I returned to England , and there
I noticed that the railroads wcro discarding
Iron rails and substituting steel. The neces
sity for this had long been Impressed on
me and on railroad men In general. In fact ,
the Pennsylvania company had , at my sug
gestion , spent $20,000 on a process for hard
ening Iron rails by carbon precisely < the
modern Harvey process , and very good rails
they were , too. But on my return from Ens-
land I built at Plttsburg a plant for the
Bessemer process of steel making , which had
not until then been operated iu this country ,
and started In to make steel rails for Ameri
can railroads. I bought the Homestead
works some time later , and bj 1SS8 owned ,
with my associates , the seven steel works in
and about Plttsburg which constitute the
plant ot 'tho Carnegie Steel company , the
monthly output of which Is 1(0,000 ( tons ; of
pig Iron and 160,000 tons ot steel rails.
Concentration Is my motto flrst boneuty ,
then Industry , then concentration.
ANDREW CARNEGIE.
Remarkable Ilcionc.
Mrs. .Michael . Curtain , Plalnfleld , 111. ,
makes the statement that she caught cold ,
which settled on her lungs ; she waa treated
for a month by her family physician , but
grew worse. He told her she was a hopeless
victim of consumption and that no medicine
could cure her. Her druggist suggested Dr.
( King's New Discovery for Consumption ; she
bought a bottle and to her delight found
herself benefited from flrst dose. She con
tinued Its use and after taking six bottles
found herself sound and well ; now docs her
own housework , and Is as well as she ever
was. Free.vtrlal bottles of this Great Dis
covery at Kuhn & Co.'s drug store. Only GO
cents and $1.00 : every bottle guaranteed.
James Lane , who died In Chicago the other
day , was aged 101 and was a boyhood friend
of Stephen A. Douglas.
Rings
Watches
PocketBooks -
Books ,
Solid Silver JBrus/i-
esf Mirrors , Shav
ing Sets.
Ebony Manicure Sets , Mill
tary Hair , Hat and Cloth
Brushes.
COPLEY'S
215 S. 16th St. . Paxton Blk. , Omaha
Best and Cheapest Route
TO
NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA
LEHIGHVALLEYRAILROAD
VIA
NIAGARA FALLS.
Illustrated descriptive matter mailed frt *
on request.
C , A. PARKER , N. W. P. A. ,
318 So. Clark St. , Chicago , III.
C. & NW. RY
PIONEER RAILROAD
IN THE
Trans-Mississippi Country
WAS THE
WESTERN UNE
WITH ITS SEVERAL FACTORS
The Chicago and Northwestern Railway.
Chicago , St. Paul , Minneapolis and Omaha R'y.
Fremont , ISMfhorn and Mo. Valley R'y *
Sioux City and .Pacific .Railway
HAVING A TOTAL OF 7,997 MILES OF THOROUGHLY EQUIPPED RAILROAD IN
Illinois , Iowa , Wisconsin , Michigan , Minnesota , North Dakota , South Dakota/
Nebraska , Wyoming , Black Hills.
Euck factor of this great railroad system runs its trains in and out of Omaha , and these trains a. J the
envy of competitors being complete with the latest improvements.
This line was the original of the DAYLIGHT SERVICE between the Missouri River and Chicago.
The only through car line to St , Paul-Minneapolis.
The direct line to the Black Hills Hot Springs ,