t that his time had come, and he bought the paper, paying for
it nearly $150,000. The new proprietor changed things; the paper was
made a two cent issue, and into the _Public Ledger_ he now threw his
whole soul. "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the
flood leads on to fortune." It is even so; he had purchased the _Ledger_
at the right time.

Not one man in a hundred can successfully edit a newspaper; not one
editor in twenty could edit the _Public Ledger_ with success. Yet, Mr.
Childs is one man out of the hundreds--he is the _one_ editor out of
that twenty. He determined to publish only the truth; all claim to do
that, but Mr. Childs does it. The paper grew, and on the 20th of June,
1867, the _Public Ledger_ took possession of its new building. This new
building cost half a million of dollars, and is one of the finest in the
city. At its formal opening many of the most distinguished men in the
country were present.

Mr. Childs has been largely instrumental in establishing a small city at
Wayne Station. He owns a large tract of land which he has divided into
building lots of about an acre each. Any one desiring a home can get one
by paying one-third down, and he is also furnished plans from which to
select his ideal of a home. The houses built from these plans cost from
$2,000 to $8,000 each. Mr. Childs and his partner, Mr. Drexel, have
expended about $2,000,000 exclusively for beautifying the city.

Years ago Mr. Childs told a gentleman that he meant to prove that a man
could be at once liberal and successful as a man of business, and the
princely hospitality of this good man has demonstrated, beyond doubt or
contradiction, its practicability. Dinners to newsboys and life
insurance policies given to the wives of his employes; such acts make up
the history of his life. The late Chief Justice of Pennsylvania once
said in a speech: "Some men pursue military glory, and spend their time
and energies in the subjugation of nations. Caesar and Napoleon may be
named as types of this character. But the tears and blood which follow
violence and wrong maculate the pages of history on which their glory is
recorded. Others erect splendid palaces for kingly residences, and
costly temples and edifices for the promotion of education and religion
in accordance with their particular views. But views of education and
religion change, buildings waste away, and whole cities, like
Herculaneum and Pompeii, are buried in