which is the common requisite of a good clerk, but that, beyond these, he comprehended the bearing and significance of the thing in hand, and was ever prompt to anticipate and prepare for the succeeding step. As he rapidly passed through the various gradations of counting house promotion, new spheres of duty and activity were opened to him, and additional demands were made upon his energetic and indefatigable powers; yet his quickness of apprehension, and his steady deter mination to be always "ahead of his work," rendered him equal to these demands. Indee 1 nothing gratified him more than to be able, as he most always was, to reply to his employers suggestion of work to be performed, "It is done, Sir." At the present time, the commerce of New York has attained to such vast proportions, that each particular branch of it constitutes, in many instances, a separate business in itself, and many of its operations and details are turned over to brokers and other agents who make them the objects of their special occupation. It is difficult, therefore, for the young gentlemen, who now rass a few hours a day in a counting-house, to realize the extent and variety of labor which, at the time when Mr. Taylor was a clerk, had to be performed by their predecessors. Each house had then to depend upon its own force and facilities for the performance of every thing which its business required, and the post of custom-house clerk, shipping clerk or salesman, in an establishment like that of the Messrs. Howlands, was no sinecure. It it not to be won dered, then, that the candle upon his desk was often burning beyond the time of night when the bells of old Trinity struck the "shutting up" hour of ten o'clock. The day was devoted to out-door work-to vessel, wharf, custom-house and market. The night was employed in record ing what had been accomplished during the day, and in the necessary preparations for the mor row. Notwithstanding these severe demands upon his industry, he yet found time to test the value of his mercantile education, by methods which not only confirmed the lessons that he had learn ed, but which also afforded some remuneration for the diligent faithfulness that he had bestowed upon them. With the concurrence of his employers, he frequently engaged in small adventures upon his own account. Guided by his own judgment, he would make up consignments, which he would entrust, under instructions, to the captains and supercargoes voyaging for the house (with whom he was always a favorite), and these, sold by them, and their proceeds invested in foreign products, frequently yielded him a double profit. Indeed so much judgment. and foresight were displayed in these operations, and their details were so carefully and judiciously managed, that they may fairly be said to have been the forerunners of his subsequent mercantile success. They yielded him the capital which enabled him afterwards to enter upon his larger sphere of business on his own account. Always exact and orderly, he opened, at this early day, a set of books in which all these adventures were recorded by "double entry." A friend who has seen these accounts informs us that they are models of neatness and accuracy. With such preparation, and after such experience, Mr. Taylor arrived at that period of life when, so far as he was concerned, its business and affairs were to be carried on by him upon his own responsibility, and for his own benefit. His salary as clerk had always been small, but the adventures which he had undertaken, whilst he was in that capacity, had yielded him altogether fifteen thousand dollars; and, with this sum as his capital, and the respect and good wishes of his employers, and the confidence and esteem of all who knew him, he, in 1832, at the age of twenty-six, set up in business upon his own account. Although he put up a sign" temporarily over the store 55 South street, his really first place of business was at 44 South street. That portion of South street seems to have had peculiar attractions for him, and, indeed, for those also who came under his influence--for, as he once remarked to some friends, five of his clerks who were, at the same time, in his employ, and who, without a single failure, had had eminent success in different lines of business, were then established within one hundred feet on either side of his store. So far as external circumstances were concerned, the beginning did not seem to be an auspicious one, for the cholera was then raging in New York, and was exercising its depressing influence upon human affairs. Death, not the concerns of life, seemed to occupy the thoughts of men. But Mr. Taylor was nevertheless not deterred, by this circumstance, from carrying his plans into execution; and he entered upon his business with so much energy and diligence, so much capacity and judgment, that it almost immediately developed a successful issue. It had, however, been just fairly put under prosperous headway, when, in the devastating fire of December, 1835, his store with all its contents was destroyed; involving him, as he then supposed, in the loss of all he possessed. On his way home, after a night of exhausting toil, in in which he had been able to save little besides his books of accounts, he met his father, to whom he stated the apprehension that he was ruined. "Never mind, Moses," said the sturdy alderman, you have good health, try it again." "I will, sir," said the son; and dispelling all feeling of despondency, which was ever unnatural to him, the same day saw him at work again. He opened an office immediately in the basement of his house in Morris street, and, soon afterwards, securing temporary accommodations in Broad street, this terrible disaster, which created so great a disturbance of all of the business concerns of the city, can hardly be said to have produced any serious interruption of his affairs. The difficulties of his condition merely served to call forth, in a greater degree, an exercise of the powers which were necessary to overcome them ; and the result was, that the ruin which threatened him was entirely avoided. It turned out that a greater sum was realized from his fire policies than he had hoped to obtain upon them. Mr. Taylor's idea of finance are as simple as they are just. They rest upon the substance and not the shadow of things. Whilst no man can, with more acuteness, detect and expose what is fallacious in financial pretence, so no man can, with more effectiveness, unfold and execute a sound financial scheme. If he approve it, it must be sound; for, before approving it, he examines the basis upon which it rests, and he knows that, however specious appearances may be, there can actually be no substantial or enduring superstructure upon any other than a solid foundation. It is because of his soundness of judgment upon this subject, and the unswerving integrity of his character, that he exercises so controlling an influence, as he does, in the management of the various corporations with which he is connected. As an evidente of its high standing in public confidence, a significant fact may be stated. During the great panic of 1857, when ruin swept over the commercial world, and confidence in all of the established safeguards of property seemed to have been obliterated, and fear, suspicion and apprehension took complete possession of the mind of the business community; at this time, whilst the ever to be remembered "run" was being made upon the banks, a meeting of the presidents of those institutions was held for the purpose of taking counsel together as to the best means of providing against the storm in which they were involved. At this meeting, upon the enquiry being made how each of the banks had been affected by the day's operations, it appeared that many of them had lost from fifty to ninety per cent. of their specie reserve; but when the city bank was called upon for information as to its condition, Mr. Taylor was able to answer, "We had $400,000 this morning; we have $480,000 to-night." After Mr. Taylor's fortune had, by the regular prosecution of his mercantile pursuits, attained to such a magnitude that a large surplus remained over what was amply sufficient, as a capital for his house, his energetic nature sought other fields of enterprise and usefulness, and he became largely interested in various directions in the development of the mineral and industrial wealth of the country. The great results which he has accomplished in these enterprises, both of benefit to himself and to the communities where they have been carried on, are due to the same qualities which rendered his mercantile career so brilliant and prosperous a one. His clear perceptions and sound judgment guided him in the selection of the field operations, and his wonderful energy was employed in its development. At an early day, when the Wyoming Valley lay in agricultural repose, and the mineral treasures of its hills were undisturbed in their natural depositories, he, from personal investigations, was convinced of the value and importance of the project of connecting it, by a railroad communication, directly with New York. He became, therefore, one of a small band of enterprising men, who combined for the purpose of carrying this project into effect. It was a great and difficult undertaking, but their indefatigable zeal was equal to it. The work was finally completed under the combined efforts which were made towards its consummation, and it has, at last, yielded the ample reward which they anticipated from it. But for them, it would, probably, have been long delayed, if it would not have been entirely abandoned. They, however, were convinced of its importance, and determined that it should be accomplished; and that must, indeed, be no ordinary obstacle which would not have yielded to their determined will. The panting locomotive, whose shrill whistle now awakens the echoes of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, seems, as it struggles along with its burden of mineral wealth toward the seaboard, to typify the strength and energy, and to illustrate the wisdom and forecast of these sagacious men. without some reference to his kindness and generosity. Prosperity has not hardened him, nor made him selfish, nor rendered him indifferent to the claims of friendship or the impulses of benevolence and humanity. Throughout his whole mercantile life he has been especially an efficient helper of young men. His course, in this respect, has been marked by many noble and generous deeds. To his friends he has ever been a pillar of strength; and many an industrious young man, who has attracted his notice, and many others who have had claims upon his regard, have reason to be grateful for the generous and efficient way in which it is habitual with him to fulfil the obligations of friendship. WILLIAM E. DODGE. One of the men who, during the early years of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, aided it by funds, counsel and energy, was William E. Dodge. There is not a more prominent or esteemed merchant and financier in the city of New York than this gentleman, who forms the subject of our sketch. Like all the men who contribute most largely to our national wealth he is strictly a self made man, having entered a wholesale dry goods store as a clerk in September, 1818, and has been actively connected with that business in New York ever since, now fifty-seven years. His intimate relations with the railroad and other industries of this coal region, is what brings him specially to our notice. He was one of the pioneers in the movement to effect an outlet from this region, and has adhered to the company with remarkable fidelity. The subjoined letter from himself will throw light upon some incidents of history which are interesting to the inhabitants of Scranton: } We have thus given a brief outline of Mr. Taylor's career. It has not been practicable, in the limits which we have imposed upon ourselves, to enter into details, or to particularize the many and important operations in which, from time to time, he has been engaged. Nor does the purpose which we have had in view render it desirable that we should have done so. It shows that extraneous aids are not essential to PHELPS, DODGE & Co., the greatest success in business life; that inher- Cliff st., between John and Fulton, N. Y. ited wealth, or favorable circumstances, or the My recollections of the early efforts of the assistance of frien ls, are really unnecessary helps character to what is now the flourishing city of Messrs. Scrantons, which resulted in giving in the road to fortune; and that innate qualities Scranton, are very vivid. I was then a director of mind and character are, after all, the most of the Erie Railroad, and the supply of rails for effective instrumentalities in overcoming the the Delaware division, then almost inaccessible, was a very serious problem. The Messrs. Scranmany obstacles that beset the path of the man tons then had a small furnace and rolling mill at of business. what was then generally known as "Slocum's Our notice of Mr. Taylor would be incomplete Hollow." They made a proposition to the Erie Railroad to furnish the rails for a part of the road at a given price, and destribute them along the line, provided the company would advance. them $190,000 to enable them to enlarge their works, offering as security a mortgage on some 7,000 acres of lands, part of which were coal lands. Mr. Benjamin Loder and myself were appointed a committee to visit the property and report. We made a journey there, taking three days passing over the old "Drinker Turnpike," and found a little village of some three hundred inhabitants, consisting mostly of workmen. We were greatly pleased with all we saw, and partic. ularly with the prospective value of their enterprises, but concluded they could not arrange their works in time for us, and fearing a disappointment the proposition was declined. Having then formed the acquaintance of Messrs. Geo. W. and Selden T. Scranton, and seeing the importance of their location and the value of their property, I invited them to come to the city, and having arranged a plan for enlarging their works and increasing their capital, I invited some thirty gentlemen to come to my office, when the plan was presented and the proposed amount was subscribed that day, and the new company formed under the name of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, my late partner, Mr. Anson G. Phelps, heading the list, followed by myself, and the full amount was made up by the names of Messrs. Loder, Dater, Miller, Sprague, Sturges, Buckley, Phelps, Rogers, Howland, Blair, Murdock and others. The present extensive irons works tells the rest. A few years later Colonel Scranton undertook to secure the capital to build the "Leguett's Gap Road," to extend from Scranton to Great Bend; again I invited some fifty gentlemen to meet at my office to consider the project; most of the gentlemen interested in the iron company were present, who with others at once started a subscription, which as before was headed by Mr. Phelps. This secured its success, the iron company taking a large amount of stock, and also furnishing the rails. Soon after this was under way the plan for a road from the New Jersey Central to Scranton was started by Colonel Scranton, he having secured an old charter in Penn., and Mr. Blair having also secured that of the Warren Road.、 A meeting was called, and its great importance to the city was set forth in one of Colonel Scranton's very best addresses. The result was the commencement of the Delaware and Susquehanna Railroad, which was subsequently made the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, and which has more than met the most sanguine predictions of its early projectors. Colonel Scranton also undertook and did more than any other man to secure the building of the Lackawanna & Bloomsburg Road. When I think of these early days of struggle, and of what Scranton then was, and then look at its present position, I can hardly realize the wonderful change; it has now become a centre, and I feel very confident that it will eventually become a great manufacturing city, equal to almost any in the State, but I never think of it without remembering how much those noble men, Colonel G. W. Scranton and Joseph H. Scranton, did to make it what it is. |