Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 231, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 September 1912 — LOOKING AFTER THE PENNIES [ARTICLE]

LOOKING AFTER THE PENNIES

Cornelius Vanderbilt Was Exacting in Many Respects, but He Gave Generously. , Mr. Vanderbilt was notably exacting in his personal business relations—of himself as well as of others, writes Richard M. Winans in Harper’s Weekly. At a meeting of a certain railroad’s board of directors of which he was a member it was found that several were absent. At a fall board meeting each director received $lO, and it was the rule that if any were absent those present shared the total fee. That is, if but half the members were present each attending member would receive S2O, and so proportionately. On the day of the meeting referred to the number of absentees made the division of the fee amount to certain odd dollars and twelve and a half cents. At the close of the meeting, as the secretary handed each member his apportioned fee, he accepted the given number of dollars and passed up the twelve and a half cents to avoid the bother of making change. When the secretary came to Mr. Vanderbilt, however, he found him busily counting some small coin from a purse onto the table. “I can change a dollar for you and will take the 12 cents,’’ said Mr. Vanderbilt; then smiled as he added, “but I cannot manage the half cent.” And the man worth more than a hundred million dollars had taken the trouble to change a dollar for the sake of 12 cents, which, together with the extra dollars, had come to him by the default of others. Had the proposed half-penny then been in circulation he would probablly have “managed the half cent.”

The next day Cornelius Vanderbilt Ijalf a million dollars to establish\s work in New York. And it was\ya a measure due to his constantly kefeping close tab on the pennies in the handling of his large affairs that he was able to make such a splendid gift in the cause of humanity.