Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 December 1891 — MILLIONS IN BARBED WIRE. [ARTICLE]

MILLIONS IN BARBED WIRE.

The Funny Way in Which Investor EH* wood Began His Great Fortune. The saddest thing I saw in a Journey to the West was the old-fashioned rail fence in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Eastern Indiana and Southern Michigan.' How cruel of fate not .to permit the wire fence to be invented 200 years before it was. Probably enough labor and timber have been wasted in the building of the old “worm” fences in the past to pay off fifty national debts like ours. It makes one almost weep to think of the backs that have been broken,, of the hands worn, out, the energies sapped, the boys kept from school—in felling trees, splitting logs, driving posts, laying rails for those thousands of miles of rail fence! When our Western farmer wants a fence now he buys a few posts and a lot of barbed wire. Three men can put up half a mile of fence In a day. A rod of fence costs complete —labor, posts and a 11—25 cents. A ■die of fence costs $80! If the farmer had plenty of growing tlm-’ her of his own he could not hire a man to cut out the posts alone for that money,* to say nothing of the rails. , “Did you ever hear how Ellwood,| the barbed-wire man, of DeKalb, 111.,, made his money?" asked one of my train acquaintances. "Well, you see,l twelve or fifteen years ago he was making a little wire in his black-; smith shop, putting the barbs on with a pair of pinchers. One day a couple of young men stopped in hisi shop to get out of the rain, and asj they thought the wire looked like al good thing they asked Ellwood to sendl them out on the road to sell it. After a week’s trip they came in and corn-i pared notes. Both had found the wire a great hit; everybody wanted, IL But they were pretty shrewd! boys, and they fixed it up between 1 them to fool Ellwood. When ho| asked how business was thoy.showed : him a few orders and shook their heads cautiously. ‘Not much In it. ’ ‘Better try again/ said Ellwood.l ‘Well, if you’ll give us a five-year con-j tract on Missouri, Southern lowa, Arkansas and Texas we’ll go out and' see what we can do.’ • “Ellwood agreed, and one of the young men started for Texas. In a week hp sent an order for a car load of wire. Ellwood was astonished.' It would take him a month to make a car load. He carried the letter over to his bank. ‘Must be some mistake,’ ho said. ‘No,’said the banker, ‘it’s plain. He wants a car load.’ ‘lm-' possible,’ replied Ellwood, ‘l’ll telegraph him.’ The reply came: ‘Yes,l a car load, but make It three car loads. Ship quick.’ Again Ellwood went to his banker. He was puzzled.! It seemed like a hoax to him that any one should want three car loads of wire. Preposterous! The banker, finally convinced him the order was genuine. ‘Mr. Banker,’ said Ellwood,; 'l’m a poor man. I’m worth two or three thousand dollars. How much can 1 draw on this bank for on my reputation and my prospects?’ ‘Fifteen hundred dollars.’ ‘Good. Give me SSOO now? In an hour Ellwoodi was on his way to Chicago. In two weeks he was making barbed wire by machinery. In ton years he was worth $14,000,000.” —Augusta Chronicle. I

Danger of Cycling. ■/ Those who believe in the necessity of physical exercise—and we belong! to that number—have need also to. remember that even so good a thing; as this is in excess ap, :| cvil. The use, of the cycle Is a form of bodily recreation in itself doubtless wholesome; none the less is it open to the-, mischievous effects of undue indulgence. Tempted by the ease of movement, combined as a rule with at-r tractive scenery, every one tries it 4 Every one, too, finds he can do something with it, and considerations of wealth, constitution, age, and health are apt to be dismissed with summary imprudence. I One fruitful source of injury is competition. In this matter not even the strongest rider can afford to ignore his limit of endurance. The record-breaker, who sinks exhausted' at his journey’s end, hhsgone a point beyond this. The septuagenarian; who tries to rival his juniors by doing and repeating his twenty or thirty miles, perhaps against time, is even' less wise. Lady cyclists, too, may bear in mind that their sex Is somewhat the weaker. So likewise among men the power of endurance varies greatly, and it is better for some to admit this and be moderate than to labor after the achievements of far more muscular neighbors. In short, whenever prostration beyond mere transient fatigue-follows the exercise, or when digestion suffers and the weight is markedly lessened, and a pastime which ought to exhilarate becomes an anxiouslabor, we may be sure that it Is being over-' done. He that would reap its best results must content himselh with; much less than this; but unless.hacan observe such moderation he had better abstain from it altogether,—Lon-* don Lancet- ; , .