Show AChat With Mn Gage I I I Tho Head of tho Treasury Department Talks of Money and MoneyMalting lit Mh trow It reels to Handle Millions and Says it it not a Hard Job to Be Secretary Sec-retary of the Treasury tthat Uncle Sam Spends a Day and II I here it Comes FnmHaw the Tteasury is Run and Its Safely Valves Sotnclliini c About the Cold Reserve and the English Bankers losl tr > ly only llailtn I q on the TanD Mr Cage Discusses the Relations of the Hankers and the Farmcts I Iowa Man Can Honestly Male a Million Dollars Sccrelaiy Gage Gives Stones of His Boyhood Slnifftes Tells About lilt Most Mon y He Ever I Had and Offers Some Good Advice to Young Men llho Want to Succeed Copyrighted 187 by Frank O Carpenter I i Special Correspondence of the laWl WASHINGTON D C June 2nd 1897 S IT a hard job to be secretary OV tary of the tieasury am In a chat with Mr John Sherman before he be I fjBShcrman just 1 I cattle secretary ol state I I tes fenl him this I isked question Senator Sherman replied tint he lound the work of tbe tleasllry no harder for him CfA > than that of the United States Senate and that the matters with which he had to deal In the treasury were those with which he had been throughout his life familiar I asked Secretary Gage the same question today and he gave me substantially the same answer Still the treasury Is the biggest department of our government Its secretary has to handle millions He has more jhan the vast 15000 men In his employ and amounts of money for which he is I responsible re-sponsible surpass the wildest dreams of Aladdin or the treasures of Monte Cris to The bus ness connected with the treasury It enormous It embraces Ihe whole country and with giant hands reaches even across Ihe oceans and puts its fingers even into the vaults ol foreign for-eign nations The work of this office in the past has been so great that many famous men who have tried to cope with I It have staggered at the start struggled I under the load and fallen dead in the attempt You know bow the pearls of sweat ran down Carlisles somber sallow sal-low face and how the bankers of Wall street and Lon Jon had to be called in to help him bear up under it You remember re-member how Secretary Folger In Arthur Ar-thur time tried loHpread himself out under the treasury load so that every treaslllY bit of It might be supported upon his tc tndm rC leglohh back and how it crushed him Then I Daniel Manning in the prime ol his manhood took up the buroen and had his life squeezed out by It Then Secretary Secre-tary Wmdom attempted the task only I to 1hi X drop dead in the midst I of his i labors and row when the duties ol the situation are even greater than before and the load If an > thing heavier than ever we have a man WhO appears to be carrying It with ease Why is It that a tumess which proves the death ot many is so I easily earned on by some It lies in the nature of the men their abilities and their experience FORTY YEARS A HANKER Secretary Gage for instance is I a born banker and his life has been spent in handling money Let me give you his biography in a DUt < hell born in New York about sixtvone ears ago during the last days of President Presi-dent Jackson Beginning his life as a messenger in a bank when he was eight eeu year old at fS a month At twenlytoo night watchman In a lumberyard lumber-yard 01 Chicago hunting in vain for another an-other situation In a bank At twent threea bookkeeper In the Merchants Saving and Loan company of Chicago at 500 a year A few months later pa mg teller in the same institution at f 120 a year and at twentsix the cashier with I a salary of fi ooo A I it lfe5 later en we find him cashier of the First National Na-tional bank of Chicago then its VIC president and general manager and finally some years ens succeeding to its presidency at a salary ol f 25000 a year He left the presidency to bi secretary sec-retary t the treasury There Is the story For forty years he has been a tanker For thirty years he has been handl ng large sums of money and for more than a score millions have been constantly under his eyes His work In the United States treasury is I not new to him and as far as I can eelt seems to be easy When I called upon him today it was at the close of his business hours lie looked as fresh As though he had just come from his morning bath ills eyes of that clear pale blue found upon old china I were free from worry and although al-though thslr owner is I past threescore I saw but ttl tl little sign ol 1 crows feet at their i cornets A CHAT WITH flat GAGE I I is said to Mr Gigo that he did not look like an over orKed or overworried 1 man lie replied that he did not feel so and my question as to whether it was a hard job to be secretary of the treasury treas-ury naturally followed To this the seer see-r replied I know that this office is generally considered a very difficult one and that It is said to have been the death of former for-mer secretaries The treasury department depart-ment is I a great machine It is well built and it n row in good rupiiihg order or-der The wheels seem to fit perJecty one into the oilier The parts are good and I the machinery is I well oiled jt has been running lor years and it teems to me to work very smoothly and well How about the safety valves Mr Secretary sa4 I Are there enough ol them to prevent loss or to avoid the danger of wrecking the institulion I lyepll replied Secretary Gage the treasury his I its checks and safely guards everywhere These ore wefj an ranged a effective though toq practical I prac-tical dullness map It may sometime seem thatthiuti art oo jntny r theov1 UNCLE BAMB jiaofcApu AccouNT a How I much mdnchaxo you on hand I now Here Mr IsfoUayS I tfftTcnwnV nrd the secretary of the tr nury as he picked I A A y > lI 11 io At 44tils tfJOl f cNiscin I I I A I up a sheet of figures and looked it over We hove in i round numbers more than two bundled and twcntcleht millions of dollars on hand or retting aside < lie hundred million dollars ns a lcld te I Ferie we IiAe a cash balance I of f one I hundred i and twcntj eight mil ion dollars dol-lars The fact u that we have a hundred i hun-dred and f ortvfive million 1I rur gold twent five million dollar in silver certificates and little more thai thirty three million dollars In treasury notes Can yon tell Mr Secretary just how much money you take In everyday every-day Certainly we cari was the reply We know to a rent just what we are spending and what we are receivin Today for Instance we have gotten over 615000 from customs We got 338000 from the internal revenue and about f JCOM from other source All told today to-day we have taken in 996 39147 Soar So-ar this month we have received Ko ooo coo and during the current fiscal lear our receipts have amouned to r ehou r 500000000 Of course I give Iota these amounts in round numbers rather than down to the ctnu ONE DAYS EXPENSES What have you spent today Mr Secretary I a ked The general items nre all down on his statement was ihe reply We have jpent today for the war department depart-ment i754 oco for the navy f50 ooo for the Indians Jaoooo for civil and ms cellaneous 47000 and for pensions f 100000 We get a statement of this kind everyday showing exactly whit we 1 cti de ew have spent for the day for the month I and for the year This gives us a knowledge knowl-edge ol just how we stand at the close of each day and tells us whether we are running ahead or behind our receipt ceipt At present we are considerably behind So far this month we have re cteved 4 > 3ooo less than we have spent and so far this year our receipt have nso 33 ooooou less lhan our expenses ex-penses HOW IT FEELS TO HANDLE MILLIONS I should think it would scare you to have charge of so much oieyl How does it feel to handle ml lions I As long as the figures are all right I and the balances on tin right side ol the account ac-count it is just as easy to handle millions as thousand or hundred I said the secretary sec-retary I have been dealing in large sums for years The business ol the First National bank of Chicago ran well up into the millions Our foreign I busi lie alone amounted to a q much RS 5oooooo a year A business ol I thai Vettl aAm liou d kiod soon becomes a matter I cf figures The figures represent money I but I edo e-do not impress you any more than they I would if r yy represented so much wheat or corn THE HONEY SCARED HIM And still Mr Gage you worked for 3 a month I should think it would be hard for a person who had worked lor so little to become used to handling so much I suppose I came to it gradually P replied re-plied the secretary of the I treasury Ion I-on tell you however of a time when I 1 was really scared by having w list seemed a big I sum of money on hand Il WJS when I was a boy and had just received my filst wages I worked for a fruit vendor in a little comer store at Rome N Y We sold oranges apples pears ginger ale peanuts and Oraetenberg pills The hours were Irom early in the morning until ten at night and my wages were 5 a mon h It was about 10 30 oclock the last Siturday night of Ihe first month when my employer paid me my first 5 The money was in halves and quarters and each cf those half dollars seemed as big as a dinner plate I was a small boy then and the sum filled my hand I I was afraid 1 should lose fWedaJ ran all t the way home hoping to get there before my mother had gone to bed and show it to her A GREAT naNIas START Did you work long for such wages I asked Yes replied Mr Gage I worked for several years for Irom < 3 to f3 a month I was employed in the post office at floo year Then a bank was started in our little town It was known as the Oneida Central bank The cashIer cash-Ier 1200 a year the teller 500 and I got a place as messenger at ron oli flace f tb 100 a year I nail I to sweep out the Dank make the fires and run errands as Afntlld well as do other I fillings l i After I had worked for the bank a year and a half Irk 1 wanted an increase of vagjs I had learned to keep someof the books al was In my twentieth jear < And I thought that I ought to hive mote pay The cashier I said he would refer the matter lo the dircclots He did so and Ihe next day lie told me that the director had said that tbe times were hard and that I they could not afford to increase their expenses but that111 wailed for a few years a vacancy might o cur an11 I rould bears teller at a salary iuf f 5Co Upon ahi td ai ldh that I decide to leave k ad they of Jered me frjo a eat 51 should have stated but as l t was I concluded to go West and try my luck I in Chicago I What did you do in Chicago 1 first tried to get a pile in a 61ri was the reply but hire were no vacancies vacan-cies I had to la somebln t and I took htl homebln g i l file first II job thatollerod This was ihtst lumber yard I lid all scris ol work there I measured lumbeiTfe1 the ftf cutor saw and nqw < and the drove tt teani 1 ol mules I did not get much pn buV it was enough tl keep tno utili I Jtl Juextea nomelhlnf better turned up After a time il Il bccamqtight vfnlchnun in thVlumber i II yltd flnd thei I wis promote 1 to I 7 be balks Vfrjkteeper I was keeping the hoiks when the panic 0 oljSjricame on Tht times then were a great Seal worse thao M p 0 il e 11 they are cow and I ItoA lumber men sat feredwlth I 1 the rest Iuym imploycr cut down Ills force and I found that my services ser-vices wee to he dh iciicd with I again tri d the b nits lot t could sue io tpen mr fnd eventual yh Id to go back to my old i ace PS tg I h wttchmm I But Mr Gsge ft r a timi t you got tilr fn i to banking aifain d d vou not Yeswasihen ily It was aloit I n year alter I that 1 I tiut I fir91 obtained employment In 1 Chicago tank Ire m nib r that It was en tile jrd ol August Au-gust 1858 tint I got a note front the vust Merchants Loan ai d Trust company asking me to call ands Ak compu ol t see I was known to the hi iki as watil Ing n position and man of them had mv name mi fil as a I candidate lor any rlaie that might offer llili was theca the-ca > e with the Merchants Loan and Trust company I called In response to the note aim was ertploied as bookkeeper book-keeper at fsoo a year Ibn a little liter on I became teller at it200 and then cashier I remained at tint bank far ten years and then became assistant cashier ol the First National bank of which I was president at the time I received re-ceived my appointment as secretary of the treasury THE INKERS AND THE AKMEKS How long have you been connected will banks and banking Mr Gage In all about fsrtv years You have been the president of the American Bink ng assoi tl in Mr Sec iclar You have been it biukei all your ire Now I want to ask jou what lathe la-the matter wth he bankers and lie I farmers far-mers The farmers seem to think the bankers are against them I know that that idea prevails to some extent replied Mr Gage But it Is I a great mitake The bankers are the friends of the farmers They are dependent de-pendent upon the farmers for their bul ness and they cannot prosper without the farmers prosper There Is no class I more interested I m the general prosperity prosperi-ty ol I the I country than the bankers It is i a curious thing however that this prejudice among the farmers exists not against Individual banks or banners but more especially against Ihe city bankers as a class Tne city banks are the same as those of the country and by studying the country bank you get a good Idea of banks everywhere Let us look at the foundation of such a bank First a fen houses spring up at a crossroads A general store is eitablisliedand per edtbdJ naps a blacksmith shop Then more people come there arc other stores and at last ytu have ri eot a collection of Lui nets and neople But as yet theie Is no bank Everyone in the community communi-ty has to go twenty or thirty miles if he would cash a check or borrow money Every one wants a bank and at last one of the ccniinuniit crobuby a thrifty firmer who has a few thousand dolUis ahead opens a little bank Die people > deposit with him and are glad tp patronize patro-nize hm The re is 110 object lot to him or his bank and lie locked upon as one ol the best institutions ol the village That is the situation In Ihe country i towns today It is i not the individual local bankers that the people I ale down upon Itis Ntj Indefinite class knawu as the bankets away from home Now the city tanks arc established for the accommodation of the people jvin as are the country bank and they do business in the same waj TilE BANKERS AND TilE r1isidERS I How long anr besn connected with banks and banking Mr Gage In all about forty years You have been the president ol the American Danklng Awociatioo Mr Secretary Sec-retary You have been a banker all your life Now I want to ask you what is the matter with the bankers and the farmers The farmers seem to think Ihe banker are against them 161 know ihat that idea prevails to tome extent replied Mr Gage lint It is a great mistake The bankers are rfr d li h ef T the friends of the farmers They are dependent upon the farmers for their business and they cannot proper without with-out the farmers prosper There is no class more Interested In the general prosperity ol the country than the bankers bank-ers It is a curious thing however that this prejudice among lIe farmers exists not against individual banks or binkers but more especially against the city raes ac bankers as a class The city banks are the same as those of the country and by studying the country bank you get a good idta of banks everywhere Let us Foodldea eoff ti ryo atn Took at the foundation of such a bank First a few houses spring up at a crossroads cross-roads A general store is established and perhaps blacksmith shop Then more pel pie come there are other stores and at last you have quite a collection col-lection of business and people But as yet there Is no bank Everyone in the community has to go twenty or thirty miles II he would cash a check or borrow bor-row money Every one wants a bank and at last one of the community probably prob-ably a thrifty farmer who has a few thousand dollars ahead opens a little bank The people deposit with him and are glad to patronize him There Is no objection to him or his bank and he is I looked I upon as one of the best institutions in-stitutions of the village 1 hit U the situation sit-uation in the country towns today It is not the Individual local bankers that the people are down upon It Is the indefinite in-definite class known as thq bankers away from home Now the city banks are established for the accommodation of the people just as are the country banks and they do business In the same way INTEREST RATES AND USURY How nbout Interest rate Mr Secretary Secre-tary Do you think they wll rise How can I tell replied the Secretary Secre-tary of theTieasury If Hires are good and many people want money the Interest inter-est rates will probably 10 up II no one wants it they will I ptobilily fall Money reb11 Is like anything else It is libeled t by the supply and demand How about usury Mr Secretary Do Y think It advisable that the interest rates for money should be regulated by law No I dont replied the Secretary Money 11 worth wnat it will bring and Its value should be governed by the same law ai those which prevail as to other commodities t jTifc usjary lawsrather f i2Ig1 Increase than dlmiaiiu the mterestratei Where they I I efisUAnd money n worth more than Ihe lega I t rate there will a I way be somrone who will Invent a mttliod of a aiding iuch jaws NOT AFRAID 01 r HIO FORTUNES Are jou not alarmed at the growth of Individual fortunes in the United butts INo I am not at all I alarmed r at it replied the Secretary Jlt Ihe Treasury Ill Iferant rou it would bar better If the wealth the country t were more equally divided among the citizens but I su not Jf believe hato great a disparity prevails lu Is generally believed It Is I true that many of the rich are becoming richer but 1cti lhat I the poor are becoming d poorer I The last census showed that the poor were sharing In Ihe central or pertly were the country Ail CbUmate t made ly r Mr Henry Ginnett these cgripher of the census showed that on y 5 per cent ol 1 the capital In I 1890 I as neld by millionaires Mrdi that at that time fUlly ninetenthi ol nil our weahh ws held by ptople who own between fr coo Find filut Ole 0 f HOW MILLIONS ARE HONESTLY MADE Sill a million dollar Is I an enormous amou i tof money i Do 5011 really think n man can mike a million I dollars honestly hon-estly Mr Sccrttar ll u Secrctarge replied Ihe Sc relary cf the Treasury Many mm have made ILala and that without dam if mj their lllows Hundreds of fortunes yrs thousands of fortunes are hones acquired As a rule the growth of a great fortune benefit the masses ns well us the few who directly own It Lttne give you a case We I will SllppOS that the farmers are gelling a certain price for their grain It ccsts them so much to raise and harvest It Then a man comes along with n method or machine by which each farmer can save jo per cent of the ccst of produc lion He asks farmer 2 per cent for the means ol making this saving The farmer pays it cud is xS per cent better on as to that item thin he was before The man has made 2 per cent out ol his I Invention This a a small sum with the Individual farmer but when you take all the farmers ol the country the 2 per cent amounts to a great fortune That Is the story of I some or the fortune which have been made out of laborsaving agrtcul total machinery There are hundredi of similar casts In other lines that I might mention SUCCESS AND ItOW TO ATTAIN IT I Is it in the power or any man to make a fortune 1y priclictng certain principle Mr Secretarj said I No1 do not think so replied Mr Gage This matter of money making is to a large extent oneol natural ability It it i i also one of oppoituuitics and cit cumtaoces I What would you advise a young man to do who wanted lo succeed What do you mean by success said the Secretary of the Treasury Do you mean the getting I rich No not exactly tint said I I mean the making the most or ones sell I would advise him replied the Secretary Sec-retary of the Treasury to do wall all I his might Ihe thing that Is belore h in I and to always keep the door open in front of him to take advantage of whatever what-ever offers lie should use his leisure for education and should be prepuing himself for such opportunities as may come As to getting rich tint is a relative rela-tive matter What seems rn lies to smiu is poverty to others As for me I think Ihe gilden mean Is I the best I respect the man who H able to make a model competency who does his part in ai 1 the avenues ol file who educates his children and dies leaving enough for his widow but not enough to raise a monu merit Such nn gel too little credit In this life They are entitled to a great deal I dealI lave you ever had a great ambition to be rich I Mr Secretary No replied the Secretary of the Treasury I am not rich and do not care to become so I have always done what was before me with all my might 1 have made enough to live comfortably and have not worried about the future Is it as easy to make money today Mr Gage as it was when you were younI I think not was the reply Values gurinfe the t post few years have not been Ir idrarh ei increasing I so rapidly The country is last becoming settled and the chance for money making arc not so great WILL UNCLE SAM IIAVB TO BORROW Just one question about our finances10 said I Do sou expect to have to borrow bor-row gold I of the English bankers in order to pay the running expenses of the government gov-ernment I hope we shall not have to borrow borrow Bll was the reply but if we do we shall borrow where we can get the money at the lowest rate whether that be Irom the English the Germans the Dutch or the Americans This borrowing money is not a sentimental matter It is not one of favoritism nor docs it carry any other obligation than that of mere re pall ment with It What we want is i the money and that at the cheapest rate I think however that if Congress will give us the proper tariff and give It nt on e we III have plenty 01 money to run Ihe zovernment Us How about the prosperity which the United Slates was to have under this administration ad-ministration where Is itl I dont thinkit is I very far oil replied I re-plied the Secretary ol the I Treasury 1 The sccd < of It have been sown 1 hey have already sprouted and under the surf of settled business relations and a ire pe tariff they will multiply many f0lXcr Ilok 1 for a rapid Improvement In I the times just as soon ns the tariff bill is passed C sil fl G14stfZ |