e did not know anything about the station, anyway.
So I got the directors to permit me to hire a man to run the station.
This was Mr. Chinnock, who was then superintendent of the Metropolitan
Telephone Company of New York. I knew Chinnock to be square and of
good business ability, and induced him to leave his job. I made him a
personal guarantee, that if he would take hold of the station and put it
on a commercial basis, and pay 5 per cent. on $600,000, I would give him
$10,000 out of my own pocket. He took hold, performed the feat, and
I paid him the $10,000. I might remark in this connection that years
afterward I applied to the Edison Electric Light Company asking them
if they would not like to pay me this money, as it was spent when I was
very hard up and made the company a success, and was the foundation of
their present prosperity. They said they 'were sorry'--that is, 'Wall
Street sorry'--and refused to pay it. This shows what a nice, genial,
generous lot of people they have over in Wall Street.

"Chinnock had a great deal of trouble getting the customers straightened
out. I remember one man who had a saloon on Nassau Street. He had had
his lights burning for two or three months. It was in June, and Chinnock
put in a bill for $20; July for $20; August about $28; September about
$35. Of course the nights were getting longer. October about $40;
November about $45. Then the man called Chinnock up. He said: 'I want to
see you about my electric-light bill.' Chinnock went up to see him. He
said: 'Are you the manager of this electric-light plant?' Chinnock said:
'I have the honor.' 'Well,' he said, my bill has gone from $20 up to
$28, $35, $45. I want you to understand, young fellow, that my limit is
$60.'

"After Chinnock had had all this trouble due to the incompetency of the
previous superintendent, a man came in and said to him: 'Did Mr. Blank
have charge of this station?' 'Yes.' 'Did he know anything about running
a station like this?' Chinnock said: 'Does he KNOW anything about
running a station like this? No, sir. He doesn't even suspect anything.'

"One day Chinnock came to me and said: 'I have a new customer.' I said:
'What is it?' He said: 'I have a fellow who is going to take two hundred
and fifty lights.' I said: 'What for?' 'He has a place down here in a
top loft, and has got two hundred and fifty barrels of "rotgut" whiskey.
He puts a light down in the barrel and lights it up, and it ages the
whiskey.' I