登陆注册
5145700000111

第111章 JOURNALISTS AND FINANCIERS(4)

I made on it the biggest kill of my life."I have often had quoted to me that sentence about "fortune comes to one but once, and if rejected never returns." When I declined President Harrison's offer of the position of secretary of state in his Cabinet, I had on my desk a large number of telegrams signed by distinguished names and having only that quotation.

There are many instances in the lives of successful men where they have repeatedly declined Dame Fortune's gift, and yet she has finally rewarded them according to their desires. I am inclined to think that the fickle lady is not always mortally offended by a refusal. I believe that there come in the life of almost everybody several opportunities, and few have the judgment to wisely decide what to decline and what to accept.

In 1876 Gardner Hubbard was an officer in the United States railway mail service. As this connection with the government was one of my duties in the New York Central, we met frequently. One day he said to me: "My son-in-law, Professor Bell, has made what I think a wonderful invention. It is a talking telegraph. We need ten thousand dollars, and I will give you one-sixth interest for that amount of money."I was very much impressed with Mr. Hubbard's description of the possibilities of Professor Bell's invention. Before accepting, however, I called upon my friend, Mr. William Orton, president of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Orton had the reputation of being the best-informed and most accomplished electrical expert in the country. He said to me: "There is nothing in this patent whatever, nor is there anything in the scheme itself, except as a toy. If the device has any value, the Western Union owns a prior patent called the Gray's patent, which makes the Bell device worthless."When I returned to Mr. Hubbard he again convinced me, and I would have made the investment, except that Mr. Orton called at my house that night and said to me: "I know you cannot afford to lose ten thousand dollars, which you certainly will if you put it in the Bell patent. I have been so worried about it that contrary to my usual custom I have come, if possible, to make you promise to drop it." This I did.

The Bell patent was sustained in the courts against the Gray, and the telephone system became immediately popular and profitable.

It spread rapidly all over the country, and innumerable local companies were organized, and with large interests for the privilege to the parent company.

I rarely ever part with anything, and I may say that principle has brought me so many losses and so many gains that I am as yet, in my eighty-eighth year, undecided whether it is a good rule or not. However, if I had accepted my friend Mr. Hubbard's offer, it would have changed my whole course of life. With the dividends, year after year, and the increasing capital, I would have netted by to-day at least one hundred million dollars. I have no regrets.

I know my make-up, with its love for the social side of life and its good things, and for good times with good fellows. I also know the necessity of activity and work. I am quite sure that with this necessity removed and ambition smothered, I should long ago have been in my grave and lost many years of a life which has been full of happiness and satisfaction.

My great weakness has been indorsing notes. A friend comes and appeals to you. If you are of a sympathetic nature and very fond of him, if you have no money to loan him, it is so easy to put your name on the back of a note. Of course, it is rarely paid at maturity, because your friend's judgment was wrong, and so the note is renewed and the amount increased. When finally you wake up to the fact that if you do not stop you are certain to be ruined, your friend fails when the notes mature, and you have lost the results of many years of thrift and saving, and also your friend.

I declined to marry until I had fifty thousand dollars. The happy day arrived, and I felt the fortunes of my family secure. My father-in-law and his son became embarrassed in their business, and, naturally, I indorsed their notes. A few years afterwards my father-in-law died, his business went bankrupt, I lost my fifty thousand dollars and found myself considerably in debt. As an illustration of my dear mother's belief that all misfortunes are sent for one's good, it so happened that the necessity of meeting and recovering from this disaster led to extraordinary exertions, which probably, except under the necessity, I never would have made. The efforts were successful.

Horace Greeley never could resist an appeal to indorse a note.

They were hardly ever paid, and Mr. Greeley was the loser. I met him one time, soon after he had been a very severe sufferer from his mistaken kindness. He said to me with great emphasis:

"Chauncey, I want you to do me a great favor. I want you to have a bill put through the legislature, and see that it becomes a law, making it a felony and punishable with imprisonment for life for any man to put his name by way of indorsement on the back of another man's paper."Dear old Greeley kept the practice up until he died, and the law was never passed. There was one instance, which I had something to do with, where the father of a young man, through whom Mr. Greeley lost a great deal of money by indorsing notes, arranged after Mr. Greeley's death to have the full amount of the loss paid to Mr. Greeley's heirs.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 花开富贵之农家贵女

    花开富贵之农家贵女

    死于丧尸之下的杜云夕一遭穿越,成为了被秀才未婚夫抛弃而自尽的杜家三娘。爹死,母失踪,还背负着克亲的名声。前有奶奶虎视眈眈盯着嫁妆,后有前未婚夫惦记着娶她当小妾,日子实在不好过。幸好上天待她不薄,穿越的时候,那一身怪力与植物异能一起带了过来。扔扔石子,一头野猪轰然倒下。动动手指,灵芝苗瞬间长成百年灵芝。养养花草,黑色牡丹名震天下。小日子过得红红火火,只差一个貌美老公热炕头。执子之手,与子偕老。子曰不走,敲晕带走!情景一:奶奶:“像你这样克亲的孙女,就应该到尼姑庵里多念几遍佛经,也省得克死我们一群亲人。”话应刚落,桌上的神位牌直接掉了下来,砸得奶奶满头血。其他人奔走相告:杜老娘惹怒祖先了!杜云夕偷笑:操作植物移动神位牌真是好法子!情景二:渣男上门深情款款:“云夕,你放心,等我中举后一定让你当我小妾吃香喝辣,我的心中只有你。”女主用力一跺脚,地上立刻出现一条缝隙:“嗯?你刚刚说什么?”再说一句就让你掉缝里!渣男退散。
  • 神庙门徒

    神庙门徒

    在很久以前,古老的星道上有座山,山上有座庙,庙里有许多和尚在终日诵佛念经,他们功德无量,斩妖除魔,受万民敬仰。庙也被尊称神庙。漫长岁月后,那座山破碎了,神庙也消失无踪。从此,人世间不见佛踪,妖魔横行……。释小山,这个喝水都能长肉的肥胖少年,可能是神庙唯一的门徒了,愿诸天神佛庇佑他吧……。
  • 中卫文化纵横

    中卫文化纵横

    文化,需要热情培育、城市作为承载地方文化的时空平台,其文化的厚度在于积累,城市文化的特色、风格和品味,离不开民众的热情和关切,也离不开政府的给力和培育。
  • 佛说观弥勒菩萨上生兜率天经

    佛说观弥勒菩萨上生兜率天经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 超感世界——逃出地狱城

    超感世界——逃出地狱城

    空降部队“枪王”侯骁罹患渐冻症,全身只有眼球可以转动。异常苦闷的他与照顾他的志愿者林可渐生情愫。为获得百万大奖帮助林可解决创业项目资金链即将断裂的问题,侯骁接受了体感游戏“超感世界”的邀约。在游戏里,侯骁虽重获得了健全的身体,但他发现这是一款无法退出的游戏,游戏里的死亡都是真实的!并且一旦他们游戏收入为负,将被系统抹杀,抹杀即死亡!更恐怖的是,已经有和玩家模样一致的傀儡人代替他们在现实世界生活。一旦玩家无法每天向傀儡人充入定额收入,傀儡人将暴走伤害甚至杀死亲人。大多数玩家为求自保,都放弃为傀儡人充值,与现实世界的情感完全脱离!但侯骁给傀儡人充值更多,指挥傀儡人完成以前的他无法为母亲和林可做的事……他面临被抹杀的风险!同时,侯骁凭借高超的战斗能力被管理者秦风相中,秦风与他达成交易,答应让他退出游戏。但侯骁并不想受制于人,他要凭借自身力量,逃出这个没有法律没有规则地狱般的世界,拯救所有玩家……
  • 冲吧!大小姐

    冲吧!大小姐

    每一个向阳生长的你都是闪闪发光的大小姐!“男友力”满分的穆熙妍全新作品,4个升级打怪篇章,30个励志情感故事。张嘉佳/何穗/娄艺潇/B2真诚推荐。趁年轻只管奋勇向前。“你所需要的,不是没心没肺,不是强颜欢笑,不是弄脏别人来显得自己干净。而是泪流满面怀抱的善良,是孤身一人前进的信仰,是破碎以后重建的勇气。”
  • 佛说甘露经陀罗尼咒

    佛说甘露经陀罗尼咒

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 琴议篇

    琴议篇

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 御情何舒

    御情何舒

    富有典雅气息的双开大门被推开,映入眼帘的是极其气派的洛家宴客大厅。明亮的灯光与光洁的地板相映,名酒的醇香与脂粉的浓香交缠,西装革履的绅士与淡妆浓抹的名媛相谈甚欢。灯光璀璨,这是星光镜也无法拍摄出来的富丽堂皇。何舒穿着一袭白色的拖地长裙,简约而又素雅,缓缓走进这个大厅。在从容优雅的笑容的掩盖之下,她的心在疯狂地跳动。她仿佛无法呼吸了。鼎食膏粱,美酒如水流淌。男来女往,多少记在心上……
  • 美玉之王

    美玉之王

    十八岁的少年龙御高考结束,父亲将传家宝和田玉“御龙佩”送给了他,谁知在他带上玉佩的一刹那,他穿越到了一个叫“御龙王国”的国度。御龙王国是一个尊崇“玉”的国度,推崇四大名玉,其中和田玉为尊。龙御穿越过来的身份是该国的三王子。在一次视察矿山中,他发现矿工们竟然将大块大块的翡翠和玛瑙扔得漫山遍野,作为一个从睁眼就跟着父亲在古玩街混着长大的资深古玩人,龙御肉疼得要命,赶紧让人把这些翡翠全都搬回了自己的庄园。随后,他又接连发现了不被当地人熟知的绿松石、青金石、硅孔雀石、宝石等等。他觉得这个世界简直太有趣了,物产太丰富了,随时随地都是宝贝啊!他决定来一次环游世界之旅,将御龙王国的玉器销售到全世界各地,成为超级富豪!历经五年,走过了十几个国家和部落,收获无数金钱和宝贝的一行人终于回到了故乡,谁知却面临了新的危机……