Section 1754 of the Revised Statutes provides that persons honorably

Transcriber’s Notes

Text printed in italics has been transcribed _between underscores_,

bold face text between =equal signs=. Small capitals have been

converted to ALL CAPITALS.

More transcriber’s notes may be found at the end of this text.

[Illustration: HAROLD M. DUNPHY, LL. B.

_Graduate of the University of Michigan, 1906_

_Attorney at Law_]

ONE THOUSAND WAYS

TO MAKE A LIVING

OR

AN ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF

PLANS TO MAKE MONEY

_Collated and Edited

by_

HAROLD M. DUNPHY, LL. B.

_FIRST EDITION_

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON

1919

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF

TRANSLATION INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES

COPYRIGHT, 1919

BY

H. M. DUNPHY

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON

IMPORTANT PUBLISHER’S ANNOUNCEMENT

The contents of this book have taken years to gather. They have been

collected from every corner of this vast continent, and in some cases

from Europe. The literary style, no doubt, from the reviewer’s point of

view, will leave much to be desired. This, from the very start, was

pointed out to the editor, Mr. H. M. Dunphy, who, however, determined

that his object was to give a plain, unvarnished story of how to make a

livelihood, and not to produce a book of a high literary character. His

exact words every time were: “My position as editor of this work is

simply to take the matter as handed in to me from time to time, see that

nothing objectionable or prohibited by the States laws is allowed to be

published. So far as the literary style is concerned, it would not be

difficult for me, a lawyer of long practice, to fall into line with the

orthodox. But I prefer to give the different information just as sent in

to me, with certain exceptions I have mentioned.

“I did not arrive at this decision in haste, but after due deliberation.

It was a choice of altering--and placing almost every experience I

received--into literary phraseology, or allowing same to pass for

publication in the language of the people. I choose the latter.” We

think Mr. Dunphy is right. This book’s aim is the people rather than the

classes; although we have no doubt it will appeal to many people of high

education with slender means.

However, the language in every case is understandable by the people, so,

while no excuse is offered, we think the reviewers and the higher

educated public should be given an explanation.

Not only from a business point of view, but for the betterment of the

conditions of the people, we desire this work to have a wide

circulation. There is no need for people to call aloud about lack of

employment if they will not consult this book.

One way to make a livelihood has been omitted in the edition of this

work, and we feel sure he will excuse us for drawing attention to the

fact. We want agents in every part of the country--and we don’t want

those agents to handle the work without proper compensation.

Write us for terms.

PREFACE

The title of this book speaks for itself and should require no foreword

from me. However, the able compiler and editor thinks otherwise, so I

gladly fall in with his wishes.

I grasp the opportunity, because I think when doing so, I can benefit a

great number of my fellow-countrymen and country-women, who to-day have

the constant shadow of unemployment confronting them.

This is not a “get-rich-quick” book. It is a work to teach people how to

get a livelihood. Of course, a great many people who commence in

business through reading this book, and adopting one or more of the

plans, will naturally push ahead and accumulate wealth. That, however,

is not the object of the book. If it were, I certainly should not

sponsor its sale. I maintain, as all decent citizens must believe, that

every soul on this planet has a right to a decent existence. But it

grieves me to see so many people, young and old, foot-sick, walking

about looking for a “job,” which employers of labor are unable to offer.

If these people would only look around and try to help themselves a

little, the world would be a happier place in which to live.

There is work everywhere to be done, and this book tells how to go about

it. It is a book that should be in every public reference library in the

country, for the use of those who are unable to buy it.

The various plans for making a living are set forth in such detail that

they can be understood by all. They do not cater only to the person who

is out of employment, but they are also valuable to the man in business,

who through competition may find he is not doing as well as he should.

They are a great storehouse of general business knowledge. I, myself, am

what people would call a “successful business man.” Yet the book is

invaluable to me from the point of view of an investor. If I had had in

my possession “Protection against Fraud and Wildcat Schemes” only three

years ago--and acted upon it, I should have saved myself from entering

into a bad speculation. This chapter is undoubtedly worth ten times the

price asked for the whole book.

Out-of-door folk such as farmers and market gardeners, are firm

believers in the theory of luck. I suppose it is because there is no

more speculative occupation than the cultivation of the soil. Well, I

don’t grudge them their theory, but I will say this: If they will only

consult this book and act upon its plans, they will find their “luck”

has been increased considerably.

But to come back to the unemployed; to the man or woman who is looking

for work. It is these people I personally wish to benefit, and it is to

them I would particularly address myself. Of the sincerity of their

desire for work, there is no shadow of doubt; and since the only remedy

for unemployment is employment, its discovery is the duty of man.

Well, here in this book we have it, of that I am convinced. Only

co-operation must come from the unemployed. Let them select one of the

plans at once and get to business. I’m sure they will succeed if only

they put their heart and soul into it. After a _little_ effort, if

everything _does not prosper at once_, they must not lapse like Watts’

sluggard did: “’Tis the voice of the sluggard, I hear him complain.

You’ve waked me too soon--I must slumber again.”

That won’t do. In this life, whatever it may be in the next, if we wish

to _live_, we must _work_. There will be plenty of time for slumber

later on.

And now, a final word. If there should be one person who reads this

foreword and who does not believe every word I have written, I ask one

favor: Let him individually select one of the plans set forth, and give

it a fair trial. I give this advice, knowing full well that all I have

written will be found to be true.

This book has my very best wishes for a large sale.

THE WAY TO WEALTH

The following article, “The Way to Wealth” was published by one of the

greatest of Americans, Benjamin Franklin, in his famous “Poor Richard’s

Almanac,” in the year 1757. This article is especially strong, as it

represents the observations of Benjamin Franklin after twenty-five years

of publishing “Poor Richard’s Almanac.” There is, perhaps, no other of

Franklin’s writing that won for him more reputation than the following:

“The Way to Wealth” is run in the same form as it was originally

written. “The Way to Wealth” should be regarded as the constitution of

this book and should be read and followed with each and every plan.

THE WAY TO WEALTH

I have heard that nothing gives an author so great a pleasure as to find

his work respectfully quoted by others. Just, then, how much I must have

been gratified by an incident I am going to relate to you. I stopped my

horse lately where a great number of people were collected at an auction

of merchant goods. The hour of the sale not being come they were

conversing on the badness of the times; and one of the company called to

a plain, clean, old man, with white locks: “Pray, Father Abraham, what

think you of the times? Will not these heavy taxes quite ruin the

country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us

to do?” Father Abraham stood up and replied: “If you would have my

advice, I will give it to you in short; for a word to the wise is

enough, as Poor Richard says.” They joined in desiring him to speak his

mind, and gathering around him he proceeded as follows:

“Friends,” said he, “the taxes are indeed very heavy, and if those laid

on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more

easily discharge them, but we have many others and much more grievous to

some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as

much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly, and from these

taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing an

abatement. However, let us hearken to good advice and something may be

done for us: ‘God helps those who help themselves,’ as Poor Richard

says.

“I. It would be thought a hard Government that would tax its people

one-tenth part of their time to be employed in its service, but idleness

taxes many of us much more; sloth by bringing on disease, absolutely

shortens life. ‘Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wear, while

the used key is always bright,’ as Poor Richard says. ‘But dost thou

love life? if so then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life

is made of,’ as Poor Richard says. How much more than is necessary do we

spend in sleep, forgetting that the ‘sleeping fox catches no poultry,’

and that ‘there will be sleeping enough in the grave,’ as Poor Richard

says.

“‘If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be,’ as

Poor Richard says, ‘the greatest prodigality,’ since, as he elsewhere

tells us, ‘lost time is never found again, and what we call time enough

always proves little enough.’ Let us then be up and doing, and doing to

the purpose; so by diligence shall we do more with less perplexity.

‘Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all things easy; and he

that rises late, must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his

business at night: while laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon

overtakes him. Drive thy business, let not thy business drive thee; and

early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,’

as Poor Richard says.

“So what signifies wishing and hoping for better times? We may make

these times better if we but bestir ourselves. ‘Industry need not wish,

and he that lives upon hope will die fasting. There are no gains without

pains; then help, hands, for I have no lands; or if I have they are

smartly taxed. He that hath a trade hath an estate, and he that hath a

calling hath an office of profit and honor,’ as Poor Richard says. But

then the trade must be worked at and the calling followed, or neither

the estate nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes. If we are

industrious we shall never starve, for ‘at the working man’s house

hunger looks in but dares not enter.’ Nor will the bailiff nor the

constable enter, for industry pays debts, while despair increases them.

What, though you have found no treasure, nor have any rich relations

left you a legacy, ‘diligence is the mother of good luck, and God gives

all things to industry. Then plow deep while sluggards sleep, and you

shall have corn to sell and to keep.’ Work while it is called today, for

you know not how much you may be hindered tomorrow. ‘One today is worth

two tomorrows,’ as Poor Richard says; and further, ‘never leave that

till tomorrow which you can do today.’ If you were a servant would you

not be ashamed that the good master should catch you idle? Are you then

your own master? Be ashamed to catch yourself idle when there is so much

to be done for yourself, your family, your country and your king. Handle

your tools without mittens; remember that ‘the cat in gloves catches no

mice,’ as Poor Richard says. It is true that there is much to be done,

and perhaps you are too weak-handed, but stick to it steadily and you

will see great effects; for ‘constant dropping wears away stones; and by

diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the cable; and little

strokes fell great oaks.’

“Methinks I hear some of you say: ‘Must a man afford himself no

leisure?’ I will tell thee, my friends, what Poor Richard says: ‘Employ

thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure, and since thou art not

sure of a minute, throw not away an hour.’ Leisure is time for doing

something useful; thus, leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the

lazy man never; for ‘a life of leisure and a life of laziness are two

things. Many, without labor would live by their wits only, but they

break for want of stock’; whereas industry gives comfort and plenty and

respect. ‘Fly pleasures, and they will follow you. The diligent spinner

has a large shift; and now I have a sheep and a cow, everybody bids me

good morrow.’

“II. But with our industry we must likewise be steady, settled and

careful, and oversee our own affairs with our own eyes, and not trust

too much to others; for, as Poor Richard says:

“And again, ‘three removes are as bad as a fire.’ And again, ‘keep thy

shop and thy shop will keep thee.’ And again, ‘if you would have your

business done, go; if not, send.’ And again, ‘He that by the plow would

thrive, himself must either hold or drive.’ And again, ‘the eye of the

master will do more work than both his hands.’ And again, ‘want of care

does us more damage than want of knowledge.’ And again, ‘not to oversee

workmen is to leave them your purse open. Trusting too much to others is

the ruin of many; for in the affairs of this world men are saved, not by

faith, but by want of it.’ But a man’s own care is profitable; for, ‘if

you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve

yourself. A little neglect may breed great mischief; for want of a nail

the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want

of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy;

all for want of a little care about a horseshoe nail.’

“III. So much for industry, my friends, and attention to one’s own

business; but to these we must add frugality, if we would make our

industry more certainly successful. A man may, if he knows not how to

save as he gets, keep his nose all his life to the grindstone and die

not worth a groat at last. ‘A fat kitchen makes a lean will; and many

estates are spent in the getting. Some women for tea forsook spinning

and knitting. And men for punch, forsook hewing and splitting. If you

would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting. The Indies have

not made Spain rich, because her outgoes are greater than her incomes.’

Away then with your expensive follies, and you will not have so much

cause to complain of hard times, heavy taxes and chargeable families;

for, ‘Women and wine, game and deceit, make the wealth small and the

wants great.’ And further, ‘What maintains one vice would bring up two

children.’ You may think, perhaps, that a little tea, or punch now and

then, diet a little more costly, clothes a little finer, and a little

entertainment now and then, can be of no great matter; but, remember,

‘Many a little makes a mickle.’ Beware of little expenses. ‘A small leak

will sink a great ship,’ as Poor Richard says; and again, ‘who dainties

love, shall beggars prove;’ and moreover, ‘Fools make feasts, and wise

men eat them.’ Here you are all got together at this sale of finery and

nicks-nacks. You call them goods; but if you do not take care, they will

prove evils to some of you. You expect they will be sold cheap, and

perhaps it may be less than they cost; but if you have no occasions for

them, they must be dear to you. Remember what Poor Richard says: ‘Buy

what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou shalt sell thy

necessaries.’ And again, ‘At a great pennyworth, pause awhile.’ He

means, that perhaps the cheapness is apparent only, and not real; or the

bargain, by straightening thee in thy business, may do thee more harm

than good. For in another place he says, ‘Many have been ruined by

buying good pennyworths.’ Again, ‘it is foolish to lay out money in a

purchase of repentence,’ and yet this folly is practiced every day at

auctions for want of minding the Almanac. Many a one for the sake of

finery on the back, has gone with a hungry belly and half starved his

family. ‘Silks and satins and scarlets and velvets put out the kitchen

fire,’ as Poor Richard says.

“These are not the necessaries of life; they can scarcely be called the

conveniences; and yet, only because they look pretty, how many want to

have them! By these and other extravagances, the genteel are reduced to

poverty and forced to borrow from those whom they formerly despised, but

who, through industry and frugality, have maintained their standing; in

which case it appears plainly that: ‘A plowman on his legs is higher

than a gentleman on his knees,’ as Poor Richard says. Perhaps they had a

small estate left them, which they knew not the getting of; they think,

‘it is day, and will never be night;’ that a little to be spent out of

so much is not worth minding; but ‘always taking out of the meal-tub,

and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom,’ as Poor Richard says;

and then, ‘when the well is dry, they know the worth of water.’ But this

they would have known before, had they taken his advice. ‘If you would

know the value of money, go and try to borrow some;’ for ‘he that goes a

borrowing, goes a sorrowing,’ as Poor Richard says. And indeed so does

he that lends to such people, when he goes to get it again. Poor Dick

further advises and says: ‘Fond pride of dress is sure a very curse; ere

fancy you consult, first consult your purse.’ And again, ‘Pride is as

loud a beggar as want, and a great deal more saucy.’ When you have

bought one fine thing, you must buy ten more, that your appearance may

be all of a piece; but poor Dick says, ‘It is easier to suppress the

first desire than to satisfy all that follow it. And it is as truly

folly for the poor to ape the rich, as for the frog to swell in order to

equal the ox.’

“It is, however, a folly soon punished; for, as Poor Richard says,

‘Pride that dines on vanity, sups on contempt. Pride breakfasted with

plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy.’ And after all, of

what use is this pride of appearance, for which so much is risked, so

much suffered? It cannot promote health, nor ease pain; it makes no

increase of merit in the person; it creates envy; it hastens misfortune.

“But what madness must it be to run in debt for these superfluities? We

are offered by the terms of this sale six months’ credit; and that

perhaps, has induced some of us to attend it, because we cannot spare

the ready money, and hope now to be fine without it. But ah! think what

you do when you run in debt; you give to another power over your

liberty. If you cannot pay at the time, you will be ashamed to see your

creditor; you will be in fear when you speak to him; you will make poor,

pitiful, sneaking excuses, and by degrees come to lose your veracity and

sink into base, downright lying; for ‘the second vice is lying, the

first is running into debt,’ as Poor Richard says; and again, to the

same purpose, ‘Lying rides upon Debts back;’ whereas a free-born

Englishman ought not to be ashamed nor afraid to see or speak to any man

living. But poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue. ‘It

is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.’

“What would you think of that prince or government who should issue an

edict forbidding you to dress like a gentleman or gentlewoman, on pain

of imprisonment and servitude? Would you not say that you were free and

had the right to dress as you please; that such an edict would be a

breach of your privileges, and such a government tyrannical? And yet you

are about to put yourselves under such tyranny when you run in debt for

such dress! Your creditor has authority, at his pleasure to deprive you

of your liberty by confining you in gaol till you shall be able to pay

him. When you have got your bargain, you may perhaps think little of

payment; but, as Poor Richard says, ‘Creditors have better memories than

debtors; creditors are a superstitious sect--great observers of set days

and times.’ The days come around before you are aware, and the demand is

made before you are prepared to satisfy it; or, if you bear your debt in

mind, the term which at first seems so long will, as it lessens, seem

extremely short. Time will seem to have added wings to his heels as well

as to his shoulders. ‘Those have a short Lent who owe money to be paid

at Easter.’ At present, perhaps, you may think yourselves in thriving

circumstances, and that you can spare a little extravagance without

injury, but, ‘for age and want save while you may--no morning sun lasts

a whole day.’ Gain may be temporary and uncertain, but ever, while you

live, expense is constant and certain; and ‘it is easier to build two

chimneys than to keep one in fuel,’ as Poor Richard says; so, ‘rather go

to bed supperless than rise in debt.’ ‘Get what you can, and what you

get, hold; ’Tis the stone that will turn all your lead into gold.’ And

when you have got the philosopher’s stone, surely you will no longer

complain of bad times, or the difficulty of paying taxes.

“IV. This doctrine, my friends, is reason and wisdom, but, after all, do

not depend too much on your own industry and frugality and prudence,

though excellent things, for they all may be blasted, without the

blessing of heaven; and therefore ask that blessing humbly, and be not

uncharitable to those that at present seem to want it, but comfort and

help them. Remember Job suffered and afterwards was prosperous.

“And now, to conclude, ‘Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will

learn in no other,’ as Poor Richard says, and ‘scarce in that, for it is

true we may give advice, but we cannot give conduct.’ However, remember

this, ‘They that will not be counseled cannot be helped,’ and further,

that ‘if you will not hear reason, she will surely rap your knuckles,’

as Poor Richard says.”

Thus the Old Gentleman ended his harangue. The people heard it and

approved the doctrine, and immediately practiced the opposite, just as

if it had been a common sermon; for the auction opened and they began to

buy extravagantly. I found the good man had thoroughly studied my

Almanac, and digested all I had dropped on these topics during the

course of twenty-five years. The frequent mention he made of me, must

have tired anyone else, but my vanity was wonderfully delighted with it,

though I was conscious that not a tenth part of the wisdom was my own

which he ascribed to me, but rather the gleaning I had made of the sense

of all ages and nations. However, I resolved to be the better for the

echo of it, and though I had at first determined to buy stuff for a new

coat, I went away, resolved to wear my old one a little longer. Reader,

if thou wilt do the same, thy profit will be as great as mine. I am, as

ever, thine, to serve thee.

RICHARD SAUNDERS.

SELF-PROTECTION AGAINST FRAUDULENT SCHEMES AND WILDCAT INVESTMENTS

Thousands of men and women, who have lost their savings of years through

the skillfully manipulated schemes of men who make a profession of

robbing the unwary, might still be in comfortable circumstances had they

been forewarned and forearmed against these people by the timely advice

of some one who knew the crooks and turns by which they approach their

victims with honeyed words and roseate pictures of fortunes quickly and

easily made.

Women who have come into the possession of considerable sums of money,

through inheritance, or as beneficiaries of husbands, fathers or

brothers, are the special objects of exploitation. It is estimated that

fully 90 per cent of the women thus provided for, lose the entire

amounts within three to six months.

Many of these women succumb to flatteries accompanying offers of

marriage, and willingly turn over every dollar that some loyal and

devoted husband and father has made untold sacrifices to provide. Once

in possession of the money, however, these villains usually disappear,

to seek new fields and swindle other women by the same contemptible

methods.

The greater part of the fraudulent schemes through which women with

little savings are swindled, consists of plausible plans for making

“profitable” investments. The writer of this chapter is reliably

informed that in a certain city of over 100,000 inhabitants, more than

sixty-five men engage in this business.

Women, however, are not the only victims, for men are also easily

persuaded to part with their savings.

The man or woman known to have acquired any considerable sum of money,

or even a few hundred dollars, is skillfully approached and asked to

make an investment that is “sure to double your money in six months,” or

guaranteed to pay 1,000 per cent dividends within a year, and every year

thereafter, and the alluring picture thus held out is usually a

veritable gem of literary and artistic skill.

Perhaps it is a choice piece of real estate, which the owner will sell

at a “great sacrifice,” as his health requires a removal to a “milder

climate.” Or it may be a block of mining or industrial stock,

represented by a gorgeously engraved certificate, embellished with an

elaborate seal and is advertised as a “real snap,” as only a few dollars

of additional capital will start the enterprise to grinding out

dividends. Whatever it is, there is a dazzling certainty about its

future that is perfectly bewildering to the poor investor, who is made

to see him- or herself soon very wealthy. And how easy it is to make an

inexperienced woman--or man, either--believe that her or his few hundred

dollars can so easily be turned into a channel that will bring a swift

and sure reward.

The bait may be a first mortgage on a piece of farm land, “worth many

times the small indebtedness it represents,” bears a high interest rate,

and which, if foreclosed by the holder, would make him well to do.

Oftentimes these seductive offerings come through a friend, who

offers--for a commission--to guide the faltering steps of the investor

to certain wealth, as a personal favor.

The valuable farm land is found to be upon a mountain top or in the

middle of a swamp, where no one could live or nothing can grow. It is

worthless. But the mortgage, which showed some one had loaned a large

sum of money on it? Oh, that was a mortgage made for the purpose. No

real money was ever loaned on it.

And the stock in that wonderful mine, almost ready to pay dividends?

Why, that consists principally of a set of location stakes, with perhaps

a 10-foot hole in the ground, representing the first year’s assessment

work on a very poor “prospect.” Anybody can see that it never will make

a mine.

But the industrial enterprise--that surely must have a bright and

promising future. Well, maybe, but as yet it has no equipment, no raw

material, no franchise, no location--nothing but a certificate of

incorporation, authorizing a few comparatively unknown men, with no

capital whatsoever, to do a certain kind of manufacturing or other

business--if they can raise a little money with which to make a start.

At last, when the money is gone and it is too late, the poor investor

begins to realize what has happened. His money is lost.

It is bad enough for the one who has been thus defrauded, but it is many

times worse when little children are made to suffer. It may be that the

widow should pay the penalty of her foolishness but the innocent,

helpless little children are the ones who suffer most.

How to guard against the depredations of these people, and protect one’s

self, is the object of this chapter. By following the plan here

outlined, any man or woman can be assured of comparative safety. It has

been successfully employed, and has saved thousands of dollars.

First of all, you must learn to do your own thinking, instead of

becoming confused by the advice that is offered you, for no two of your

friends or acquaintances will advise you alike. Use your own judgment,

and carefully weigh every suggestion.

Suppose you are approached with a proposition to invest your money. No

matter how attractive the prospect may look, adopt this as a slogan:

“_Investigate before investing_,” and do this thoroughly, because the

“snap” will not be gone if you delay a little while. Make sure that your

investigation is as complete as possible. This will not only protect you

from fraudulent and wild-cat schemes but will enable you to find a

really meritorious proposition. It may cost you from $25 to $50 as

expense for investigation purposes, but this is far better than losing

$5,000 to $10,000. Make it a rule to test all propositions on which you

are solicited--to never act until you have full information before you.

When approached by the person desiring you to invest tell him before

going into a discussion as to the investment you wish to be informed

about his company. Copy all the following questions and submit them to

him, requesting that each question be carefully answered, and that after

the answers are made they shall be signed by the corporation,

individual, company or partnership. If his proposition is all right, and

he believes in it, he will gladly co-operate; but if he is doubtful

whether or not it will stand the test, he will endeavor to persuade you

not to put the company to the trouble of answering so many unnecessary

questions. Adhere to your resolution to have the information first.

These questions alone will eliminate nine-tenths of the fraudulent

investments and all weak propositions.

LIST OF QUESTIONS TO SUBMIT

1. Give full name of corporation, partnership or association.

2. If partnership, has your firm name been properly filed of record?

3. If corporation, when were you incorporated?

4. Have you paid your last annual license fee to the state?

5. What is your capitalization?

6. In how many shares is the company divided?

7. Is the stock assessable or non-assessable?

8. Do you have common or preferred stock?

9. If you have common or preferred stock, how much common and how much

preferred stock have you?

10. State the object of the company in issuing these two kinds of stock.

11. What advantage has the preferred over the common?

12. What is the preferred stock selling for? Also the common? How much

have you sold to date of each?

13. What are the names of the present stockholders and their addresses

and how much cash have they paid for the stock they hold?

14. If they have not paid cash--what did they give for their stock?

15. Has any stock or interest in the company been given for the

promotion of the company? If so, how much or what interest?

16. Give the names, addresses and businesses, also amount of stock held

by each of the officers, trustees or directors of said corporation or

company, also did they pay cash for their stock--if so, how much? If

service was rendered for stock, what was the service?

17. Is the stock of the company paid for in full? If so, state how or in

what manner it was paid for.

18. When and where do you hold your annual meetings?

19. Do your trustees meet regularly and transact their business and have

they done so from the inception of the corporation?

20. Have you a list of articles of incorporation and by-laws printed? If

so, please furnish me with a copy of them.

21. Please state where I can see the minutes of your meeting.

22. Will you allow my attorney to go over the minutes of your meetings?

23. Have you real estate? If you answer yes, set forth the legal

descriptions of all the real estate now owned by you, whether in this

state or in other states.

24. Is the above described property free and clear of all incumbrances?

25. If you answer no, state in detail the kind of incumbrance, amount,

and date it is due.

26. Please state the present value of each piece of property and state

whether or not it is improved.

27. If you answer that the land is improved, state clearly how and in

what manner it is improved and set forth clearly what the improvements

are on said land.

28. What income has said lands and what is the gross expense of the

property?

29. What net profit is made from land each year by your company?

30. What other assets has the company? And if there are other assets,

where are they kept? Please set forth these assets in full, their

present value and whether or not they are free and clear of all

incumbrances.

31. What bank or trust company do you bank with? How long have you

banked with it.

32. How much have you now on hand with said bank or trust company?

33. Please give the name and address of your lawyer and how long he has

represented you.

34. What salaries are paid to officers of the company?

35. What are the total debts of the company at the present time? Please

state to whom they are due and how long they have been owing.

36. Are there any judgments now on record or in existence against your

company?

37. Are there any lawsuits now pending? If you answer yes, please give

case number, name and address of plaintiff’s attorney and amount

involved.

38. Is there any contemplated suit against the company which you have

any knowledge of? If you answer yes, state the facts concerning it.

39. Please furnish me with a detailed statement of the affairs of the

company. Showing the present income and expense and net profit or loss

made to date.

40. Have you as yet paid dividends on your stock?

41. Please furnish me with a complete statement in writing as to what

your company plans to do this year and the immediate future and what

profits are reasonably possible from such operations.

42. If I invest $----, please state to what use my money will be put.

43. If it is to be used for a certain purpose, state how much of my

money will go to the company and how much will go out on commissions.

44. Will the money I have subscribed be sufficient or will other money

be necessary for the company successfully to carry out its plans? If you

answer no, how much more will be necessary?

In the event of the above list of questions being answered in full,

inform the salesman that you will familiarize yourself with the report

and will later call upon him to go over the matter.

First look into the reputation of the men connected with the company.

Also the reputation of the trustees and officers. Also obtain the

financial standing of the large stockholders. This can be done in cities

of over 50,000 by consulting reporting companies. See some prominent

merchant and find out the best reporting company in the city. Call or

write the reporting company and ascertain from them whether the above

parties are good pay and whether they are the kind of men that are

successful in carrying out plans. This report is important; it will cost

you so much per name but it is well worth the fee to you. If the

majority of these men are unknown--or have a poor reputation and are bad

pay--it would be unnecessary to go further in your investigations as

your chances would be very poor in such a company. Oftentimes this

investigation alone will show the promotors have suits pending against

them and even judgments on record.

However, if these investigations show the above-referred-to men O. K.,

submit the signed report to a banker not named as the company banker and

obtain as complete a report as possible in writing from the bank and pay

for the trouble; if the bank will not give a written report obtain a

verbal report and write it down later yourself. If their advice is for

or against the investment, obtain their reasons, and if none is given do

not give it any thought.

Now see a lawyer and have him give you an exhaustive written report on

your signed report, and pay him for it. Remember that it is far better

to pay $25 to $50 and know where your investment is to go, than take a

chance of losing all you possess. These last two reports will be very

valuable to you. I suggest that they be put in writing so that when you

are alone in your home you will be able to consider more carefully their

report and advice.

Now make a copy of the real property and write the assessors of the

county in which the land lies for a report concerning this land and its

improvements. This information will be furnished you free of charge. If

it be farm property, they can inform you quite well the kind of land and

its value and also give you what improvements, if any, are on the land

and their nature. And the same is true of city property. While the

assessor’s estimate may be a little below the real value of the land it

is far better to have the land at too conservative a figure than an

excessive figure.

In the event that the company is in possession of mortgages, have a

detailed report from the county assessor’s office as to the mortgaged

property. This will give you the character of the mortgage security.

The writer in the last two years has saved more than $5,000 to his

clients by checking up the property used as a security for the mortgage.

In one case my client requested me to prepare a deed and have it ready

for him at three o’clock, the time of request being about 1:30 P. M.,

that he had decided to accept a $1,500 mortgage. The mortgage ran for

three years--two years having elapsed--and the interest had been paid to

date. He permitted me, by way of caution, to call the county assessor’s

office, some hundred miles away, by long distance, which revealed that

the land securing the mortgage was above the snow line up in a mountain

region and worthless.

Armed with the above information you are prepared to talk and question

the salesman. If he is sincere he will endeavor to answer fully your

questions. After you talk with the salesman do not give your answer at

once but inform him that you will give him your final answer in two or

three days.

With the various reports before you--and the salesman’s answers to your

questions which you should jot down--as judge of your own affairs decide

your course of action. If your decision is to invest your money you will

be an asset to the company as you will be familiar with its workings.

Oftentimes ignorant investors in a company will destroy a good

proposition.

If your decision is favorable, put away the signed report of the

company, along with all the data, you have secured, and in case the

future develops that the facts stated in the company’s report is untrue,

you can lay the representation made, before an attorney and your case

will be clear.

ONE THOUSAND WAYS TO MAKE A LIVING

In presenting these one thousand tried and tested plans for making a

living, the author hopes and believes that he will be the means of

helping many people to better methods of earning money; by pointing out

to them the occupations to which they are better adapted, and in which

their chances of success may be greatly increased.

Especially will the opportunities thus presented be welcomed by the

families of those who have sacrificed their lives for their country, and

those who return from the war wounded, or otherwise incapacitated from

following their former callings.

They will find in this book many valuable suggestions for the taking up

of other lines of work, and profiting by the experiences of those who

have successfully worked the various plans herein set forth.

It should be borne in mind, however, that those adopting any of the

plans herein outlined must combine in the execution of the same the

elementary essentials of earnestness, honesty and perseverance, coupled

with a strong will power and a determination to win success. Let them

make this their one definite aim, and they will find that what others

have done, they can do, and thereby bring to themselves and their

families that much desired end--prosperity and happiness.

PLAN No. 1. WEAVING BASKETS FOR FERNS

It was the clever idea of a woman that prompted her to dig ferns out of

the woods of her native state, and put them in attractive raffia baskets

woven by herself. The florists of her neighboring city gladly pay good

prices for all of these she can bring in. In the winter she fills these

same baskets with holly, attaches a bow of red ribbon to the side of

each basket, and sells them as fast as she can turn them out. Other

plants can be used to the same advantage in other localities.

PLAN No. 2. PROFESSIONAL HOSTESS

A young girl who possessed a pleasing personality, but had no capital,

created a profitable profession for herself by announcing to the young

mothers of her neighborhood that she would take charge of children’s

parties at the low price of two dollars for an afternoon. She arranged

the menu and planned the entertainment for the youngsters, and did it so

well that she soon had all the orders she could fill.

From this small beginning, she enlarged her activities by planning

parties for grown people as well, at a much higher remuneration, and she

is now receiving orders for conducting all kinds of entertainment, and

it pays her well.

PLAN No. 3. A TEACHER TURNS CHAUFFEUR

One of the teachers of a Seattle school was obliged by ill-health

temporarily to suspend teaching, and, for outdoor exercise, engaged to

run an auto carrying children from a distance to and from the school.

She soon found this work so healthful and pleasant that she bought a

machine, carried passengers for a while at a good profit, and finally,

in partnership with her brother, an expert mechanic, went into the

automobile business as a regular occupation.

[Illustration: Plan No. 3. A School Teacher’s Way]

She makes considerable money by giving lessons to women in the

management of a car.

PLAN No. 4. PAID READING MATTER FOR NEWSPAPERS

Just after the panic of 1893, when jobs were not to be had, an

advertising man made a contract with a Denver daily newspaper to conduct

a column of small reading notices, on a commission of forty per cent. He

went among the small merchants who were not advertising in the display

columns, and found they were willing to spend a little money each month

in that sort of publicity, though not able to advertise extensively.

He wrote attractive items for each one, and had them set up in the form

of news matter. By keeping his column free from display lines and other

indications of advertising, he soon built up a very handsome column,

which many merchants were willing to patronize, as the cost was small

and the results extremely satisfactory.

He also wrote special articles that looked and read exactly like news

items, and even secured columns of interviews, at regular rates, with

leading business men concerning general trade conditions, thereby aiding

in restoring public confidence following that panicky period. His

commissions during that year of hard times averaged forty dollars per

week, and he had made many thousands of dollars for the paper besides.

This plan is not so easy to work as it was then, as all paid articles

must now be followed by the word “adv,” meaning advertisement; and yet,

even with that handicap, reading notices are still regarded by many

people as more effective than display advertisements, and the man who

has a talent for writing that class of matter can still make good money

by doing so.

PLAN No. 5. VACANT LOTS KEPT CLEAN

Here is the case of a woman who, though having only a few hundred

dollars, had a lot of foresight and energy, and these qualities enabled

her to originate a plan that paid.

Thousands of vacant lots in her city were covered with weeds that were

an eyesore to their respective neighborhoods, and detracted from their

appearance when shown to prospective purchasers. She went to the agents

for these lots, made contracts with them under which she was to keep

them clean of weeds the entire season for $3 per one hundred feet

frontage, bought a mowing machine with her $100, and went to work. She

also contracted to mow the lawns of a large number of people, hiring

thirty men at $1.50 per day to do the work, and charging $2 per day for

the work done by each man. The profits of her first month’s work paid

for her mowers and her advertising, but after that all the profit was

hers. The summer’s work, after paying all expenses, including her own

board and clothes, netted her $1,200. The next season she contracted to

keep the weeds from city lots that aggregated 2,000 acres, at $3 per one

hundred feet frontage, plowed those lots all up, sowed them in wheat,

kept fifty men employed, mowed more lawns, cut and threshed her wheat,

and found she had made $11,000, with good prospects of making a great

deal more the next year.

And all she had to start on was a few hundred dollars and a plan.

PLAN No. 6. MINT CULTURE

No capital, and but little space, is required for growing mint on a

profitable scale. One woman, who is making and saving money for the

education of her children, goes at it in a very methodical manner. She

lays out her ground in beds with walks between, and each variety is

given a separate bed. Each bed has a border of sage or other herb plants

that find a ready sale. The soil should be loose and fine, and well

fertilized, to obtain the best results. She not only supplies customers

in her nearest town, but, as her business increases, is shipping a great

deal of it to the city markets, where it is in constant demand from

hotels, cafes, druggists, candy makers, etc. What she does not sell, she

utilizes at home in the making of candy, delicious sweets and aromatic

vinegars. Crystallized and candied mint leaves, mint sprays, mint

vinegar and other products of this herb are much sought after, and to

the resourceful person who has a taste for this class of work there is a

mint of money in mint.

PLAN No. 7. CLIPPING COLLECTION

The woman who has a taste for literary or club work can turn many an

honest penny by starting a small clipping bureau of her own.

One lady who made a success of this, both socially and financially,

procured some large envelopes, and put all the clippings she made from

magazines, newspapers, etc., on any one subject, into one envelope,

duly labeled, until she had accumulated an extensive variety. Realizing

that material for papers to be read at the meetings of women’s clubs are

always eagerly sought for, she specialized on those subjects that

engrossed the attention of club women, particularly biographical

sketches, entertainments, plans for special holidays, and table

decorations, place cards, games, amusements, etc. Then she let it be

known that for a small fee, she would furnish the material for properly

entertaining the club, and found her clippings in constant demand.

This is a good plan, that can be carried out with considerable profit,

and one that requires no capital to start or operate it.

PLAN No. 8. A ONE-COW DAIRY

Here is how a lady who knew her business made a lot of pin money from

what she called her “One-Cow Dairy.” There were three in the family and

their available capital consisted of an excellent cow, with an average

butter production of one pound per day the year round, besides supplying

the family with plenty of milk and cream. They also had a small cream

separator, which cost considerable to begin with, but more than paid for

itself, even with the output of a single cow, as it insured clean milk,

more and better cream, and required less work as well as but little

space.

For a butter worker, they had a ten-gallon V-shaped barrel churn, also a

four-gallon stone jar for holding the cream, and a good pair of balance

scales. Her husband built a dairy, 8x12 feet, with cemented floor, on

the shady side of the house, covering it with vines, thus assuring a

cool place always. She bought an iceless cooler, made entirely of

galvanized iron, which is placed outside for holding the cream, and in

which, the night before churning, she puts two pails of water, to

preserve an even temperature. She sells her butter the year around, to

regular customers, at forty cents per pound, and has demands for more

than she can produce.

When the cow is about to go dry, she puts away, in brine, strong enough

to float an egg, all the butter the family will need for that period,

and having tied the pieces of butter up in muslin thoroughly sterilized,

it keeps as fresh and sweet as the day it was made.

The total cost of establishing her dairy, exclusive of the separator,

was $26.25, and with the present equipment she is ready to add one or

two more cows to her dairy, whenever she finds those that are as good as

the one she already has. She will thus be at but little additional

expense, while greatly increasing her revenue.

PLAN No. 9. WRITING BUSINESS LETTERS

Many good business men write very poor business letters, and anyone

having a taste and a talent for this class of work can make the writing

of such letters a permanent and profitable profession. A former

newspaper man in a western city took it up, and found in it a much

larger income than even the liberal salary he had formerly received.

Living in a town of about 50,000 inhabitants, and having a rather

extensive acquaintance, he called upon a number of the leading merchants

and offered to come at a certain hour each day and dictate the answers

to all letters received from out-of-town customers. As most of these

firms did a large mail order business, and the heads of the concerns in

many cases lacked either the time or the ability to give the

correspondence the attention it deserved, they were glad to turn it over

to a man who could handle it in a thorough manner.

This man found that he could easily dictate one hundred or more letters

per day, among the various firms engaging his services, and could well

afford to do the work for five cents per letter, thus making at least

thirty dollars per week, with but little effort. He also prepared form

letters for many of his patrons, for which he charged from five to ten

dollars each, and thus increased his income to over fifty dollars per

week. It is readily seen, therefore, that this is not only a very

genteel profession for anyone adapted to it, but one that also pays

well, besides being a good thing for the merchants who have their

letters written by someone who knows how.

PLAN No. 10. WINDOW-CARD SUGGESTIONS

An Illinois woman tells an interesting story of how she helped her

husband rise from a $20-a-week clerk to proprietor of a fine office

business netting them $5000 a year, but she furnished the plan.

Both were employed in an advertising agency, and patronized a nearby

delicatessen store kept by a German woman who prepared palatable foods,

but never had used any form of publicity concerning them.

The lady with the idea was fond of the home-baked beans and the salads

sold at this place, but had no means of knowing on what days they were

to be had. So, instead of asking the German lady what days she had these

on sale, she suggested the idea of furnishing her with attractive

window-cards and appropriate decorations showing each day’s specialties

in a way that drew favorable attention--and an increased volume of

trade. Later she asked her patron to allow her to write and place in the

local papers notices regarding her specialties, and this greatly added

to the incomes of all concerned. But it was the results of those display

cards in the window, “Today is Baked-Bean Day,” and “If You Like Potato

Salad, You’ll Like Ours,” that turned the trick and got things going.

Soon after this, the husband and wife joined forces and made a “drive”

for other lines of business, with the result that in six years they were

occupying a handsome four-room suite of offices, with two large national

advertisers and twenty-seven smaller ones for a clientele, were

employing a rather extensive corps of assistants, and clearing up $5,000

per year net profits.

It was a woman’s plan that made this a success.

PLAN No. 11. STARTING A GINGHAM SHOP

From a position as a small-salaried clerk in a Missouri wholesale

dry-goods store to the ownership of a good-paying store of their own, is

told by a wife, who first conceived the idea of the enterprise.

Needing some ginghams for her little girls’ school dresses, she learned

that gingham stocks in all the retail stores were extremely limited, the

clerks telling her that the firms purchased cheap wash goods only once a

year, and they were practically out.

On her way home, she passed an attractive storeroom in a good location,

and suddenly she formulated a plan by which she and her husband would

start something new--A GINGHAM STORE!

She talked the matter over with her husband that night, and he was very

favorably impressed with the idea. The firm by which he was employed

also thought it would be a splendid thing and offered him very liberal

terms on whatever purchases of stock he might desire from them. What

money they had they invested in stocks, improvements, rent, advertising,

etc., the wife selecting every piece of gingham that went into the

store, putting herself in the place of the woman who would want to buy

ginghams for any purpose.

A handsome electric sign announced “The Gingham Shop”; as did the

lettering on the windows, the bill-boards and in the street cars, and

ads. in all the papers told the story of “The Gingham Shop.” They

advertised a dolly’s gingham apron free to every little girl who came to

their opening accompanied by her mother. That brought the mothers, and

they kept coming, more and more of them every day, for they managed to

keep the gingham idea before all the people all the time, in a thousand

different ways, until every one who thought of ginghams at all thought

of “The Gingham Shop.” Their store became the fad, so that they had

practically all the gingham trade of the town and for many miles around.

They sold strictly for cash, and thereby eliminated bookkeeping,

collecting and bad debts.

PLAN No. 12. CROCHETING DOLL CLOTHES

Noticing a very pretty doll’s crocheted sack in a store, and hearing the

proprietor say he feared he could get no more like it, as the lady who

made those things for him had not been in the store for some time, a

young lady who had ideas of her own decided to take up the work herself.

She bought some worsted, went home and proceeded to make a number of

dolls’ sacks, hoods, capes, booties, caps, slippers, muffs, etc., put

some baby ribbon on most of them, and, after figuring up the cost, put a

price on each article and returned to the store. The proprietor was so

well pleased that he gave her a large order, as did also several others

in that and nearby towns. Then she learned where she could buy the

worsted and ribbon at wholesale prices, and until after the holidays her

spare time was all spent in crocheting dainty things for dolly, when she

found she had made a profit of nearly $100 in odd moments. Later she

began taking orders for crocheted scarfs, shawls, fascinators, etc., and

made it a regular business for it continued to pay well. And it required

very little time, capital or labor to make it a success.

PLAN No. 13. MAKING READY-TO-WEAR APRONS

Making and selling ready-to-wear aprons is the means a woman may employ

to earn a good many extra dollars, without interfering very much with

her regular household duties. She can turn her parlor into a work- and

sales-room, where she can exhibit every description of aprons, in sizes

and patterns, and offer them at attractive prices. A woman we know, now

has a large list of regular patrons and has found it necessary to employ

help in doing her housework, so that she can devote the larger portion

of her time to this new enterprise.

PLAN No. 14. MAKING CANVAS GLOVES

Making canvas gloves would not seem to be a very good way to earn money,

but a woman who lived near a small mining town, where the demand for

canvas gloves was much greater than the supply, found she could live

very comfortably on it.

She had a sewing machine, and having ripped an old pair of gloves open

to get the pattern, found that it was merely a matter of sewing seams on

the machine, so she turned them out very rapidly, and earned many

dollars by doing so.

One need not live in a mining town to find a demand for canvas gloves,

for they are used by thousands of other people--railroad men, mechanics,

teamsters, lumber workers, gardeners--indeed, nearly everybody who

works needs them, so why should not other women of slender means also

improve this humble but better-than-nothing means of making a living?

PLAN No. 15. SPATS FOR COLLEGE GIRLS

A college girl with a limited allowance had just enough spare cash to

pay for a new blue-gray tailor-made suit, but not enough more to pay for

a pair of spats to match, which the tailor offered to make for $2.

However, she had a small piece of the goods left over when the suit was

finished, and by ripping an old pair of spats to note the pattern, she

proceeded to make a pair of new ones herself; silk-lined, but with the

old buttons. They were so well made, and presented so neat an

appearance, that all the other girls in the college implored her to make

spats to match their suits. She did so and earned sufficient to pay her

college expenses.

PLAN No. 16. A CHILDREN’S 5c PLAY GROUND

It was the sound of children’s voices raised in shouts of glee, as they

reveled in the delights of a six-passenger, hand-propelled

merry-go-round in the back yard of a friend, that gave to a young man,

temporarily out of a position, an idea which he promptly enlarged to the

dignity of a community affair, and imparted a world of pleasure to

hundreds of children, while adding very largely to his own bank account.

The small merry-go-round in the private grounds of his friend was

operated upon strictly business principles by the hopeful scions of the

household, and every other youthful pleasure seeker was obliged to

contribute some toy or other article of small value in return for the

privilege of a few dizzy whirls in the small-sized machine, while being

regaled with music from a miniature organ that played certain lively

tunes while the machine was in motion. The “admission fee” was a book,

pencil, knife, rubber ball, or anything that represented value to the

young proprietors, but it had to be something, and everybody was happy.

The young man who was a witness of the performance began at once to

enlarge upon the idea of entertaining children for a merely nominal sum,

but which in the aggregate would amount to hundreds of thousands of

dollars; and, having a little available capital, he rented a vacant

corner containing several lots, in a central location, and began

systematically to equip it. He bought a 12-seated merry-go-round, three

swings, four see-saws, three “Irish Mails”, two tricycles, two

velocipedes, and $100 worth of awnings to cover the entire scene of

gaiety, and protect the little guests from both sunshine and rain.

He constructed a sand pit, installed rag-doll games, etc., and built a

board walk around it all for the racing of the tricycles, velocipedes

and “Irish Mails.”

He hired a carpenter to build a fence around the property, with an arch

over the entrance for the name of the play-ground, and considered a few

booths for the sale of candy, soda water and other soft drinks. His

entire expense, including advertising and incidentals, was $382, and he

placed the price of admission, which entitled the visitor to all the

attractions of the place at five cents.

From the day the gates were opened the place was filled with children,

for parents were glad to have their little ones participate in the clean

and healthful entertainment it afforded. Within the first three months

the enterprising proprietor had taken in enough to pay all the expense

of establishing and conducting the play-ground, and noted that he had

earned a net profit of $210 besides. When winter came, he turned the

place into a skating rink, and made a profit several times larger than

it had brought as a summer play-ground for children.

PLAN No. 17. CO-OPERATIVE COOKING

The daily drudgery of cooking is a nightmare; the horror and the despair

of the ordinary housewife. And no wonder; for no other member of the

family would ever stand for it. Therefore, any reasonable and economical

plan that will free the wife and mother from this thraldom, and at the

same time assure equally satisfactory service in the matter of food, at

possibly less cost, is sure of a cordial welcome.

The co-operative kitchen not only solves this vexed problem for the

housewife in general, but at the same time it affords a comfortable

living to the two or three or half-dozen women who have the energy to

give it a start in almost any community, and the culinary skill to keep

it going good after it is started.

If women have sufficient capital to establish such a business in the

right way, so much the better, but if they have not, they may

incorporate for that purpose, and thus secure the necessary equipment

for making it a going concern.

As a private enterprise it would produce a handsome and permanent income

for its originators, while as an incorporated concern it would greatly

reduce the household expenses of its members.

What is known as the Montclair plan provides for the serving of hot

meals at any time desired, in the homes of the patrons or members, and

according to the menu sent in by each individual in each family. Thermos

bottles for the liquids, and Swedish containers for the meats, solve the

problem of keeping food either hot or cold for an indefinite period, and

the plan, if properly worked, is certain to grow in popular favor

wherever it is tried. There’s money in it for somebody. During the war

England learned its practicability and great advantage.

PLAN No. 18. STARTING A TEA ROOM

To start a tea room, and start it right, will require an amount of

capital ranging all the way from $500 to $1,000, according to the

locality and the amount of competition, either of other tea rooms, or of

the service offered by various larger enterprises that use this as a

side line.

A lady in Denver gives her experience in the following condensed

statement:

She was fortunate in securing a location where the advent of a tea room

was joyously hailed as a much desired innovation, and where the

conditions obviated the necessity for an extensive publicity campaign,

so that her little capital of $500 was sufficient to launch the

enterprise in fairly good shape.

She started with a limited menu, fully intending to extend it as she

gained experience and patronage. To begin with, she served tea, coffee,

chocolate, broths, toasts, muffins, sandwiches, salads, fresh eggs,

cake, cold meats, together with simple desserts, such as rice pudding,

tarts, baked apples and stewed prunes, with whipped cream. She made it a

special point to see that every item was of the best quality, properly

prepared, and served with delicacy and tact, while cleanliness pervaded

every nook and corner of her dainty little establishment. At the same

time she guarded zealously against waste, and showed excellent judgment

in providing just the exact amount of each material that could be

utilized to advantage. She hired a neat, pretty and attractively attired

maid as waitress, who was tactful in her demeanor towards guests. The

prompt, courteous and refined service of this maid proved a valuable

asset, as she soon became a general favorite with the patrons of the

place, through her earnest endeavor to please.

The taking and filling of large orders for outside affairs--such as

sandwiches, salads, etc., as well as the renting of her china, table

silver and other accessories, also proved a source of considerable

revenue. Sometimes the tea-room itself would be rented out for social

functions, such as card parties, church and lodge affairs or wedding

feasts. On such occasions the proprietress did practically all of the

catering, and was well paid for her services and accommodations.

During the first year she kept on display and for sale a line of

antiques, art novelties, embroideries, confectionary, fine stationery,

and other articles that commanded a ready sale, and thereby added

considerably to her income during that trying period of making a

beginning. As her regular patronage increased, however, she gradually

discarded these side-lines, and concentrated all her efforts upon

steadily and permanently increasing the scope of her trade.

She showed decided originality and talent in the preparation of her menu

cards, and gave them an artistic effect which was at once striking and

vastly different from the ordinary. Her prices, while extremely

reasonable, afforded a satisfactory profit on every item, and at the end

of the first year she had not only paid all expenses, but had a

comfortable balance left over with which to begin the second year on a

much more extensive scale.

PLAN No. 19. BREAD AND CAKE BAKING

Many men lose their positions, from one cause or another, but it isn’t

every one of them who has a resourceful, skilful and determined wife to

help him out. Here is one who had:

This man who had been a salesman was “let out” because his firm could no

longer manufacture the goods he had been selling, and, as times were

hard, another position could not be obtained. The family had never saved

anything, and, their grocer changing suddenly to the cash system, left

them with only half a dozen potatoes, a few pounds of flour, half a

pound of lard, a cup of sugar, a little salt--and three hungry boys, to

say nothing of the parents.

It was then that the plucky wife and mother rose to the occasion and

saved the day. But it required a lot of grit and hard work. She peeled,

sliced and boiled three of the six precious potatoes, adding water as

the boiling went on. Then she put into a pan three tablespoonfuls of

flour, one of sugar, and one of salt, scalding them with the hot water

in which the potatoes had been boiled, and adding two quarts of cold

water, making the mixture lukewarm.

Five cents from the small hoard of the family bought yeast one-half of

which was saved for the next time, after moistening it with water and

pouring it into the mixture. Covering the pan tightly, she set it aside

until morning while the family went supperless to bed.

The hustling little woman was up at five o’clock the next morning and

put twelve pounds of flour into a large pan, mixed in two heaping

tablespoonfuls of lard, two of sugar and two of salt, then added the

yeast mixture, which made an ordinary bread dough, and set it in a warm

place to rise.

At eight a. m. she molded the dough into rolls, twelve rolls to each

pound, two and one-half inches across and pressed down to an inch in

thickness. These she put into a greased pan, not allowing them to quite

touch each other, as they sell better when baked separately. By ten

o’clock her eldest boy, who rode a wheel, had been excused from school,

came home to do the selling. With five dozen light brown rolls in a

basket, he started out to sell them at 10 cents a dozen.

In less than half an hour he was back for three dozen more, and returned

in a short time with an order for the remainder, which the mother

refused to accept, as she was keeping those for her own hungry family.

[Illustration: Plan No. 19. God helps those who help themselves]

The next day she went through with the same program, except on a larger

scale, and still was unable to supply the demand for her beautifully

browned hot rolls that were ready for delivery just before meal time,

and looked so tempting.

Her boy being out of school on Saturday, she mixed two pans of cake

dough, one white and one brown, and spread them into a large bread pan

so as to marble brown and white, and making a cake one and one-half

inches thick, when baked.

Iced thinly, in plain white, and cut into two and one-half-inch squares,

these sold readily for 20 cents a dozen, and were delicious. At the end

of four days the little woman had made $10, and Monday morning her

husband, still out of a position, offered to do the selling and

delivering--greatly to her delight and the profit of both--for the sales

increased until they had more demands for their products than they could

supply.

She also began to bake delicious bread and pies, as well as rolls and

cakes, and sold every article at a good price, that meant a handsome

profit. This was the beginning of a successful bakery business for this

family.

PLAN No. 20. PENCIL SHARPENING MACHINE FREE

The teacher who finds the sharpening of pencils for her pupils a large

and disagreeable part of her daily duties, will welcome this plan as a

perfect godsend: that the plan, when properly operated by a live man, is

a money-maker, is demonstrated by the fact that a Chicago man made big

profits out of it.

He bought a large number of that botanical wonder known as the

Resurrection Plant, or Anasta-tica, which can be obtained at a cost of 2

cents each, or less, when ordered in large quantities, and even when

retailed at as low a price as 10 cents each, yield an enormous profit.

To those not familiar with this remarkable plant, it may be well to

explain that, altho it stays green while kept in water changed often

enough to prevent it becoming stagnant or rancid, when taken out of the

water it dries and curls up and goes to sleep, remaining in this state

for years, and re-awakening or being “resurrected” immediately upon

being placed in water again, when it will open up and commence to grow

in half an hour or less. When tired of seeing it grow, you simply take

it out of the water, let it “go to sleep” again, and re-awaken or

resurrect it at any time you desire. Many people would gladly pay

several dollars for a simple plant, but in the operation of this plan

you can well afford to sell them at 10 cents each, as you realize a

profit of 8 cents apiece, and one in every schoolroom in the land will

prove a constant source of delight, as well as of educational value.

This is the way the Chicago man works the plan to the pleasure of

teachers and pupils, and his own profit of something like $300 per week:

he not only buys thousands of these Resurrection Plants, at, say, 2

cents each, but also a number of the best pencil sharpening machines,

which cost him about 90 cents each. He consigns one of these machines

and thirty of the Resurrection Plants to each teacher in a public school

and requests her to announce that the pencil sharpener will belong to

that particular room, for the full use of all of them, if each pupil

will take home one of the plants and bring 10 cents back to her the next

morning, explaining to them the peculiar characteristics of the plant.

Of course, every child gladly performs this small service, and the

teacher then remits to the consigner, the $3.00 collected, and he has

exactly doubled his money, as both the pencil sharpener and the thirty

plants cost him but $1.50. If there are over thirty pupils in the room,

that simply means more plants and more profits, for with the second

consignment of thirty plants it is not necessary to send the pencil

sharpener, and the Chicago man’s profit on that transaction is therefore

$2.40 instead of $1.50.

As there are many thousands of public schools in this country, and

nearly all of them have a number of rooms, anyone who is good at figures

can easily make a reasonable calculation as to the probable profits.

PLAN No. 21. $5,000 A YEAR FROM 8¹⁄₂ ACRES

“The touch of a woman’s hand” is what turned eight and one-half acres of

unattractive, idle land on the shores of Long Island Sound into a

productive little farm that is now netting it’s owner a profit of over

$5,000 a year! Don’t believe it? Listen!

To be sure, she had a few hundred dollars--just enough to buy it and

improve it with a cheap little cottage, a small barn and some poultry

sheds, and plant it to fruit trees, besides every sort of vegetable that

enjoyed the greatest demand. She now has an orchard containing the best

varieties of fruit trees, 1,000 apple, 500 peach, 100 pear, 100 quince,

100 cherry--besides one-fourth acre in grapes, one-half acre in

raspberries, blackberries, etc., and still has plenty of room left for

vegetables, planting them between the rows of fruit trees, thus

affording ample cultivation for all. She employs one man regularly at

$40 per month, and hires extra help in the busy seasons of the year.

To supply the immediate demand for the less common garden products she

grew okra, French finochio, endive, chicory, etc., getting many ideas

from seed catalogues, Government publications that are sent for the

postage. She plants large quantities of all vegetables, and cultivates

every foot of the ground, fertilizers are freely used, and crops changed

from year to year. She finds early asparagus and peaches the most

profitable of all the things she raises, and while her first garden was

growing she wrote letters to her friends in the city, asking them if

they would not like a few samples of her fresh vegetables. They did and

said so, and each one became a regular customer. As she produced more,

she kept increasing her list of patrons by the same means, and to these

she ships her products in “knock-down” crates that cost her 2¹⁄₂ cents

each, and, unless otherwise ordered, she fills these crates half with

fruit and half with vegetables. The crates each hold six great

basketfuls of produce, and cost the customer $1.50, besides 25 cents

each for expressage.

By picking her products early in the morning, she has them delivered in

the city for dinner, while they are fresh and much preferred to those

bought at corner groceries. Having her own horse and wagon, the cost and

labor involved in shipping is very small, and 500 crates easily net her

$750.

Realizing from her own experience, the longing of city women for a

quiet, rural spot in which to spend the week-ends, she informed a

limited number of her lady friends in town that for $1.50 per day she

would give them room, board and transportation, to and from the station,

and so many of them gladly accepted her invitation that the capacity of

her small cottage was soon taxed to the utmost. But she will not take

regular boarders, and thus has the greater portion of her time to

herself, to be devoted to such activities as best suit her. Those women

who are given the privilege of spending the week-end on the farm not

only cheerfully pay the moderate charges, but many of them render

valuable assistance by working in her garden, as a pleasant means of

relaxation and an agreeable change from the exacting requirements of

city life.

The little 8¹⁄₂ acre farm wasn’t much to look at when she first took it

over, but she has made it a veritable bower of beauty, a haven of rest,

and a revenue producer to the extent of $5,000 a year, all set down in

the column marked “net profits.”

PLAN No. 22. POLITICAL MANUAL

Politics is always an interesting subject, particularly to politicians,

whether of large or small calibre, and the man who can formulate a plan

by which to “aid the party,” and at the same time insure an income for

himself has certainly “picked a winner.” We know of a man who did this,

most successfully, and this is the way he did it:

His city, like all others, had political organizations of varying

degrees of efficiency and influence, and desiring to assist in placing

his own political party in the lead, while devising a good revenue from

his activities at the same time, he hit upon the plan of a manual giving

a resume of the main issues of the campaign, his party’s position

regarding the same, the various ward and precinct boundaries, the names

and addresses of all precinct committeemen, as well as those of the

chairman and secretary of the central committee, the location of each

polling place, dates of registration, of primaries and general election,

and data of every character which would be interesting to voters.

Instead of leaving it to the secretary to compile and issue this manual,

and having it printed and distributed at the expense of the committee,

this man sought and obtained the authority of the committee for the

publication of the same without cost to them, had them indorse it as the

official publication, and proceeded to have it issued in attractive

form. Most of the candidates for office on his party ticket were glad

to give him half tone portraits of themselves, with a declaration of the

principles for which they stood and pay him from $25 to $50 each for the

publicity thus obtained. Besides, practically all the merchants

belonging to that particular party also gave him large advertisements,

as the manual reached all the voters of the ward or county, regardless

of party affiliations, and proved an excellent advertising medium.

Finding the plan so successful in his own county, he extended it to

other counties, and finally to the entire state.

PLAN No. 23. THEATRE-GOERS’ WEEKLY

In many cities the theatrical managers arrange in some way to compile a

list of theatre goers, and send them, by mail, neatly printed postal

cards announcing the attractions billed for their houses several days in

advance of their appearance. This plan has proved successful in most

cases, but a man in one city of the middle west improved greatly upon it

by publishing a weekly that embraced all the theatres and amusement

places, and gave them all very much wider publicity, at no cost to any

of them.

He arranged with the manager of each theatre and motion picture house in

his city to furnish him with all the data concerning engagements for a

week or two in advance, obtaining details of coming attractions, with

portrait cuts and personal sketches of the most prominent actors and

actresses billed for appearance at each house, a synopsis of the play,

or any other feature that would naturally create a desire to see it.

Write-ups and notes of local interest were also an excellent feature in

this weekly, and it was so well edited and printed that nearly all

copies were carefully preserved by those receiving them.

Instead of going to the trouble and expense of mailing, these weeklies

were distributed at all the theatres and movie houses at every

performance, and thus afforded each patron an opportunity to plan his

amusement program ahead.

Having saved the theatre managers the expense of a program for each

house, they were glad to allow him all the profits of the extensive

advertising he secured, and he soon built up a business that netted

several thousand dollars a year.

PLAN No. 24. SPRAYING FRUIT AND SHADE TREES

Every orchardist stands in mortal terror of the multitude of pests that

infest both fruit and shade trees in practically all parts of the

country, and as but few really understand how to prevent or destroy

these persistent plagues, or have the time to do it properly, it affords

some one in each community an excellent opportunity to make a good

living by doing it for them. All he needs is to know exactly how.

An enterprising young man in one of the irrigated fruit districts of the

Northwest thought of a good plan along this line and proceeded to put it

into execution, with entire satisfaction to the fruit growers, and a

corresponding profit to himself.

The leading hardware merchant in his town was not only a good friend of

the young man, but was thoroughly familiar with all the really effective

methods of destroying tree pests through the spraying process. He sold

him one of the best makes of spraying machine, gave him accurate

instructions as to its use, as well as the various materials for

spraying, and advised him to get busy at once.

He visited the principal fruit growers of that section and found most of

them glad to turn the protection of their trees over to him, as he

quickly demonstrated that he knew his business, and his charges were

reasonable. In a short time he had contracts to keep him busy during the

entire season, and found it was paying him at the rate of $175 a month.

The next year he took more contracts, hired boys to operate several

spraying machines, and is now clearing over $1,000 for a few months work

each year. So can you.

[Illustration: Plan No. 24. Spraying Fruit in Spokane Valley]

PLAN No. 25. HOME LUNCH DELIVERY

A Michigan young lady, who had an invalid mother and a little brother to

support, hit upon the novel plan of supplying the families of her

neighborhood, as well as nearby cafes, lunch rooms, business offices,

stores, and soda fountains, with tempting lunches consisting mainly of

nut sandwiches made of shredded wheat biscuit, or bread, or buns, baked

by herself.

Buying all the materials in large quantities, she secured everything

necessary at greatly reduced prices, purchasing English walnuts at so

much per hundred pounds, and removing the shells with a nut cracker.

Slicing a moistened shredded wheat biscuit in two with a sharp knife,

she spread it with peanut butter and finished with a layer of crushed

walnuts, or made the sandwiches from slices of bread in the usual way.

Having distributed cards throughout the neighborhood, announcing the

form of service she was prepared to render, she kept a list of her

regular patrons, with the day and hour when deliveries were required,

and sent her little brother to fill the orders. Each sandwich was

wrapped in wax paper, and sold readily at 5 cents. However, when a more

extensive lunch was required, she supplied two ham sandwiches, one

cheese sandwich with pie or cake all neatly packed in a small paper box,

with paper napkin and tooth pick, which was not only cheaper, but also

much better, than the same articles bought at a restaurant.

And still there was a fair profit on each item included in this service.

Of course, the increased cost of materials, now makes it necessary to

charge higher prices for the lunches thus delivered, her patronage has

grown to such proportions that she now hires boys on bicycles to make

the deliveries.

PLAN No. 26. REPAIRING LAWN MOWERS

Can you repair a lawn mower that is out of order? If not, you can soon

learn, and if you have any mechanical ability at all, you can put it to

a practical use and make a good business out of it.

An elderly man in a western city, who was regarded as “too old” to be

given a salaried position, but who “needed the money,” turned his

knowledge of lawn mowers to good account, and to-day has a profitable

business that renders it unnecessary for him to ask anybody for a “job.”

He made his own job.

Of course, he had no capital, but he needed none, except a few dollars

for the purchase of certain small tools and lawn mower parts and a

friend of his in a hardware store sold him those on time.

Starting out he was surprised to find how many lawn mowers in any given

neighborhood were slightly out of order, the main trouble with most of

them being that they merely needed sharpening, while a rusty bolt here,

a missing nut there or a broken part almost anywhere about the machine

was quickly replaced, and the mower put in fine working shape.

A charge of 50 to 75 cents an hour, or a flat rate for the job, netted

him a profit of several dollars a day, and by doing good, honest work,

he was usually called upon when anything else went wrong, as he left his

card at every house he visited. After a couple of years he was able to

open a little shop of his own, and had the work come to him, instead of

being obliged to go after it.

He is making a comfortable living for himself and his family and doesn’t

feel any longer that he is “too old” to be useful and self-supporting.

PLAN No. 27. THE INKLESS PEN

Never heard of an inkless pen? Well, you can make one, or a thousand, so

easily, and sell them so fast, at a splendid profit, that you will wish

you had known how a long time ago. A down-east girl learned how it was

done, and she has made a lot of money out of it, just as anyone else can

by trying.

She got some of the very best quality of violet aniline, and reduced it

with water, to a thick paste. She added about half as much mucilage as

there was of the aniline and water, and mixed it thoroly. Then she

applied it with a toothpick to the inside hollow of several ordinary

steel pens, above the split, and laid them aside for ten hours to dry.

Either a fine-pointed, ordinary or stub pen can be used, but as an

advertising leader a fine-pointed pen is best, and to give it a neat

appearance, the pen should be inclosed in a very small envelope, with

directions for use printed thereon, as follows: “The Wonderful Inkless

Pen. Put in a penholder, and dip it in water up to the split, when ink

will flow from the pen. When flow ceases, dip in water again.”

She then placed a small ad in the paper, saying, “Boys and girls, send

ten cents for three of our wonderful inkless pens. Write by dipping in

water. No ink necessary. Better than a fountain pen.”

This brought hundreds of answers, all containing dimes, and the business

thus launched in a small way, with practically no capital, finally grew

into an enterprise netting nearly $1,000 a year.

PLAN No. 28. OLD BARN MAKES $600 A YEAR

How a plucky woman, with an invalid husband and two small children,

utilized a rickety old barn on a run-down farm eleven miles from a city,

is best told in her own words:

“The old barn had not been used for years, and was in a dilapidated

condition indeed. I paid $1.25 for new shingles and 5 cents for nails,

and fixed the roof so it would not leak. I found some old hinges around

the place, and put on the doors in good shape. There were six windows,

and I bought $1.80 worth of cheese cloth and made curtains for these,

and paid $7.00 for a crex matting to put on the floor.

“From some old furniture we were not using, I selected some chairs,

beds, a table, old cupboard, and other articles needed. The three stalls

I converted into a kitchen, dining room and den, and paid $2.75 for an

old oil stove, $1.30 for cooking utensils, and $2 for crockery ware.

“I converted the loft into two sleeping rooms, using cretonne curtains

for partitions, made a dresser from an old packing box, and above it I

placed a cheap mirror, 18x12 inches. I also purchased two hammocks for

$3, and was ready to let “apartments” at $20 per month, the tenants to

furnish their own bedding and silver.

“I planted morning glories all around this “house,” and put in several

beds of California poppies, costing 65 cents, so that the total expenses

renovating the barn and making it fit for human habitation were just

$19.80.

“A small ad. in the paper quickly brought me a renter for the remodeled

“apartments” at $20 per month for six months, and then I began to supply

my tenants with home-grown produce, at good prices, such as berries,

fresh vegetables, fresh bread, pies and cakes, cottage cheese, cream,

milk, eggs, poultry, homemade soap, jellies, jams, etc., besides doing

laundry work, renting horse and cart, making dresses and bonnets for

tenants, neighbors and others. And all this without interfering with my

regular work of growing and marketing my poultry, dairy and garden

products, which I took to the city on the weekly market days, and sold

for good prices.

“The first year on this place netted me over $500, the second year $600,

and it will be more this year. My first tenant has re-rented the old

barn from me every year since I started, and wants it again next year,

so I am no longer worrying as to where the next meal is coming from.

“Besides, the country air and home-grown foods have restored my husband

to perfect health, and my children are getting big enough to help me.”

PLAN No. 29. BAKING FRUIT CAKE TO SELL

Who doesn’t love fruit cake? And yet how few can make it as it should be

made. A lady who really knew how, found that she could make a fruit cake

at a cost of about 10 cents a pound, and make it so good that anybody

would be glad to buy it at more than three times its cost. She used the

following receipt. Two cups of flour, 1 cup of raisins, 1 cup of

currants, one-half cup of lard, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoonful cinnamon,

1 teaspoonful of cloves, 1 teaspoonful of soda, ¹⁄₄ teaspoonful of salt;

flavor with lemon extract. These, with the exception of the flour, the

soda and the extract, she boiled for a few minutes in an agate-ware

sauce-pan, then took it off the fire, and when lukewarm mixed in the

flour and soda and added the lemon extract. This, baked one hour in a

moderate oven, will make a 2¹⁄₂-pound loaf, and, requiring no eggs or

butter, is not expensive.

She found her first customers were steady customers, and tho she had

very limited baking facilities, she cleared from $25 to $30 a month.

With greater baking capacity, added from time to time, and with the aid

of a few small ads, she increased her profits gradually, until now she

is realizing a net profit of over $100 a month, and expects soon to do

even better than that. Just a simple plan, intelligently carried out,

and the result was--success.

PLAN No. 30. LAWYER MAKES MUNICIPAL COLLECTIONS

In nearly all cities of 75,000 to 150,000 population, there are usually

many thousands of dollars due the municipality in old claims, unpaid

assessments, and all sorts of overlooked accounts in practically all

departments. These have been allowed to accumulate until they amount to

a sum large enough to materially reduce the tax levy for several years,

but incoming administrations, having all the difficulties incident to

their own tenures of office to meet, and having no disposition to

overcome the shortcoming of their predecessors, pay no attention to

these delinquencies, and the city’s debtors are thus allowed to escape

payment of bills they justly owe.

It was under such conditions in a well known city of the Pacific

Northwest that a young lawyer, just admitted to practice, discovered a

field of activity that promised to bring him prominently into public

notice, and at the same time to secure him a revenue that but few young

attorneys are able to command in several of the earlier years of their

practice.

He had previously examined the records in most of the departments, and

thereby gained a close estimate of the enormous amounts still due the

city on old accounts, which no effort had been made to collect for so

long that many of them were outlawed and not legally collectable.

He then interviewed a number of city officials and submitted a

proposition to collect these accounts, on a basis of commission

dependent upon the relative difficulty of getting the money. His

proposition was accepted.

A closer examination of the records showed that the amounts still due

the various departments ranged from $13,000 to $60,000 in each, the

aggregate being $200,000.

Having carefully laid his plans, his first step was to have himself

interviewed by the city hall reporters of all the daily papers, in which

he made it clear that he would bring suit against every one of those who

owed the city anything on old accounts. This caused considerable

uneasiness among the delinquents, many of whom came to the treasurer’s

office and made settlements in full. Many of them, however, hung back,

awaiting developments, and thereupon the young attorney brought a number

of suits in the city’s name, in all of which he secured judgments

against the defendants, and nearly all of them were paid.

In some special cases, where the debtors felt that they were safe, since

the claims against them had been barred by the statute of limitations,

the attorney, called upon the parties in person and gave them so fair an

outline of the entire situation, laying special emphasis upon their

moral obligation to pay even an outlawed claim, that more than half of

those old claims were paid into the city treasury.

There are hundreds of cities in which other young attorneys can follow

the same plan, with equally good results.

PLAN No. 31. BRIEF-WRITING FOR LAWYERS

[Illustration: Plan No. 31. Lawyer puts Dictaphone to Profitable Use]

A far-sighted young attorney in a large city, desiring to extend his

acquaintance among the older members of the bar, and at the same time

add materially to his rather limited income, figured that he could do

both by writing the briefs of those lawyers interested in cases taken to

the higher courts on appeal. He purchased a dictaphone and, having

familiarized himself with a case, by reference to the files, and

otherwise, he found it an easy matter to get the attorney’s consent to

brief it in proper form, especially when he could do it for considerably

less than it would cost the attorney to do it himself.

This plan brought him an immediate financial return, gave him a large

acquaintance among leading lawyers, and vastly increased his knowledge

of law, through frequent references to supreme court reports and other

authorities. It also aided him in building up a practice which has

become both permanent and profitable.

PLAN No. 32. RENTING WATER FILTERS

For more than three years a man in a western city realized a net profit

of $225 a month, through the very simple plan of renting water filters,

and then sold out his business for $5,000. Having a little spare money

he bought filters by the gross from the manufacturers, at $12.50 per

gross, or a fraction over 12 cents apiece. They were the reversible

kind, filled with powdered charcoal and crushed granite, were nickel

plated, easily kept clean, and caught all the impurities in the water

leaving it clean and pure. He bought the filtering material, charcoal

and crushed granite, by the barrel, at a cost of about $6.00 a barrel.

These materials he mixed in equal parts, placed them in the filters and

was ready for business.

[Illustration: Plan No. 32. Pure Water his First Thought]

An epidemic of typhoid fever broke out in his city about that time, the

cause of which was found to be in the water supply, and the means of

excluding the disease germs from the water that came from the faucets

assumed the form of an imperative demand. This man had some circulars

printed, calling attention to the efficiency of his filters, and sent

boys to distribute them all over the city.

Then agents were sent out to the houses to show the filters and offer

them for rent at 10 cents each a month, a fresh filter to be installed

every month. The agents were given one-half of all the money they

collected, and as nine in every ten households gave them contracts, both

agents and originator of the plan realized a steady and handsome income.

At the end of the month the agent would call at each house, take off the

old filter, attach the other end to the faucet, set a clean glass under

it, turn on the water and show the lady a glass filled with impurities.

That would settle it. She would at once hand over another 10 cents for a

fresh filter, and the agent would proceed to the next house.

Between 5,000 and 6,000 filters were thus kept rented, the old ones

refilled with fresh material, and the man who used this plan and a

little money not only saved hundreds of lives, but cleared up over

$13,000 for himself in three years’ time.

PLAN No. 33. CLIPS PERSONAL NOTICES FROM NEWSPAPER

Not the big press clipping bureau, with its elaborately furnished

offices and scores of employes, but one which any energetic young man or

woman may start in a small way, and earn more than a comfortable living,

while increasing the scope and revenues of the business. Here is how a

bright young fellow did it:

Realizing the pride and vanity many people feel in seeing their names in

print, and calculating on their curiosity as well, he subscribed for a

number of papers in near-by cities and towns, and pays particular

attention to the personal paragraph columns of them all.

He carefully notes the name and address of any person named in these

paragraphs and sends him or her a letter stating that their name was

mentioned in a newspaper on a certain day, adding that it might be of

interest to the person named, and that he will send the clipping for 25

cents.

Curiosity alone will impel most people to send the small amount required

to obtain the article in question and this young man received seven

orders and remittances from every ten letters he mails out. To mail

fifty letters per day would cost him $1 for postage, and to fill the

thirty-five orders received, $1.05 more, or a total expense of $2.05. He

would receive $8.75, and his profit would be $6.70 a day.

PLAN No. 34. PUBLISHING A COOK BOOK

There are cook books and cook books, but we know of only one in which

thousands of housewives, who contributed recipes to it, took that deep

personal interest which made them feel that each one positively must buy

a copy of it.

This one was thought out by a young man in a middle western state, and

literally “takes the cake”--and the cash.

If there is any place where the ordinary woman likes to see her name in

print, outside of the society columns of a Sunday newspaper, it is in a

book, and especially in a cook book.

This young man was aware of this fact, and out of his knowledge he

evolved a plan that paid him many thousands of dollars. First, he

obtained from directories and mailing lists the names of several

thousand women, and mailed to each one a letter, stating that he was

about to publish a cook book, and asking them to send in such recipes as

they personally knew to be exceptionally good. He told them that each

woman so contributing would be paid a royalty, based upon actual sales

of the book, and also have her name and address printed in it. The price

of the book was to be $2.00 per copy, but those contributors willing to

waive all claims to royalty would be supplied at $1.00 per copy.

He also offered each contributor a commission of 50 cents on every sale

of the book she made. The letter was carefully written, and brought

answers and recipes in a perfect avalanche, practically all the letters

contained orders for a book, so that he knew it would require 10,000

copies to fill all the orders.

Then he got busy with the national advertisers, manufacturers of, and

dealers in, kitchen specialties, household supplies, flour and yeast

dealers, etc., and, having proved to them that his first edition would

be 10,000 copies, he secured advertising enough to pay the entire cost

of publishing the book.

PLAN No. 35. GOOD SAFETY RAZORS FOR 25 CENTS

You know, as does everybody else, that $5.00 is too much for any safety

razor ever made. A western man who found himself a cripple for life, and

had to earn his living or starve, perfected a plan for supplying the

best kind of a safety razor for 25 cents, and made a permanent income

for himself and family. He wrote a good circular letter, in which he

asked the reader to send in his old safety razor, no matter what its

make or condition, together with 25 cents, and said that upon its

receipt, with 4 cents in stamps to prepay postage, he would send a new

safety razor that would give excellent service and be durable, the

handle triple-silver plated and highly polished and one Swedish steel

blade, well tempered and hand-honed, while extra blades would be

supplied at 15 cents for three, postpaid.

He bought safety razors of the kind described, for about 7¹⁄₂ cents

each, and made a profit of 17¹⁄₂ cents on each one. A set of these

blades cost him, with postage, about 7 cents, and his profit on them was

8 cents.

PLAN No. 36. LISTS OF NAMES FOR ADVERTISERS

Supplying reliable lists of names to magazine advertisers and others

would not at first be regarded as a very profitable business, but here

is the experience of an Illinois man who made it pay well:

Studying the advertisements in the magazines, he thought of how much

these advertisers could save if they were only brought into direct

contact with the class of people each one was trying to reach at so

great an outlay as magazine space involves.

He thought of a way in which it could be done. He had learned that he

could buy the 400-page edition of Webster’s dictionary for 11 cents each

with postage of 4 cents each, or a total of 15 cents, in quantities.

Then he inserted, through an agency, an ad. in all the country papers

for quite a distance around, offering to send a handsome dictionary free

in return for a little information which anyone could easily give.

The answers came so fast that he was obliged to send mimeographed

letters to those who replied, in which he asked for the names and

addresses of all those in the community who were suffering from

rheumatism, deafness, or any chronic ailment; also the names of property

owners, horse and cattle owners, people with lawns, fruit trees,

porches; the names of mothers, prospective mothers, newly married

couples, etc., and stated if the information so given proved authentic,

he would later arrange to pay them on a cash basis for other names,

though the dictionary would be sent for the first lists.

Thousands of names were obtained in this way, and he proceeded to

typewrite them, making ten carbon copies of each list, fifty names to

the sheet.

He then wrote to each of the advertisers to whom the lists would be

valuable, stating that he had obtained the names through his own

correspondents in various communities, and offering to send them 1,000

names of those who would be interested in the advertiser’s line, for $5,

or 500 names for $3.50.

He invited a trial order first, in order that they might test his

service, and nearly all of them responded. In fact, he received more

orders than he could well take care of, and the usual result of one

day’s work was a net profit of $70. He then branched out on a larger

scale, using various articles as premiums.

And this man who had been a clerk on a small salary for years, had only

enough money when he started to pay for his advertisement, buy postage

stamps, and purchase a typewriter on the instalment plan. He “used his

plan”--and won. He never sold the same list to two concerns in the same

line.

[Illustration: Plan No. 37. Auto Inspector at Work]

PLAN No. 37. AUTO INSPECTION SERVICE

“I was a fair auto mechanic, familiar with the mechanism of every

machine on the market,” said a man who is now a prosperous dealer in a

western city. “But I was out of work, and could not get the kind of job

I wanted, so I decided to make one for myself. And I did.

“I called upon some twenty well-to-do owners of cars who did their own

driving, but who were not able to locate or remedy many of the little

troubles that are certain to happen to all machines, and told them that

for $1 per week I would spend an hour each week in their garages,

inspecting their autos, adjusting such parts as were even slightly out

of order, and doing all small repairs, but furnishing none of the

materials required; that I would do square, honest work, and thereby

save them many dollars. All but two of these men accepted my offer, and

were so well pleased with the results that I soon had a list of fifty

regular patrons, and was easily making my $50 a week and more, without

the investment of a single cent, except what I had paid for my kit of

tools.

“Of course, for extra work I made a reasonable additional charge, and

later I arranged with a supply house to furnish me with extra parts of

equipment, which netted me a nice little profit besides my regular

income as auto inspector.”

PLAN No. 38. A 5c AND 10c GROCERY STORE

Of course, everybody knows all about the 5- and 10-cent notion stores

that have made millionaires of their owners, but who ever heard, until

now, of a 5- and 10-cent grocery store?

One man, who lives in a good-sized western city, had never heard of such

a thing, but one day the idea came to him, and he tried it out--and made

it win.

He rented a small but neat store room in a good location, on a well

traveled street, put up shelves on both sides and set a nice show case

in the center. There were no counters. Then he went to the head of a

leading wholesale grocery house and had them put up a special line of

all their goods that were not perishable, in handsomely printed cartons,

in quantities that could be retailed at 5 and 10 cents each, and still

pay both the wholesaler and the retailer a small but fixed margin of

profit.

He made a similar arrangement with a well known and popular packing

company to handle its products in the same manner, while a local cannery

was only too glad to obtain the publicity this method afforded.

Inside and on top of the showcase were displayed bottled goods,

preserves, jellies, flavoring extracts, candies, toilet specialities,

soaps, etc., while the shelves were used for a convenient arrangement of

cereals, rice, hominy, beans, teas, coffee, and most of the canned

goods.

As soon as his doors were opened, he discovered that he had “picked a

winner,” for the neat and tasty display of the various articles and the

fact that they could be had in the small quantities many people desired,

made a hit with the women of the neighborhood, and the enterprising

originator of this novel plan came out at the end of the year with a net

profit of several thousand dollars.

PLAN No. 39. STORING SCREENS

It would hardly seem that the mere storing of door and window screens

during the winter season, when they are not needed and are in the way,

would prove profitable, but an old gentleman in a West Virginia town

earns many good dollars through that plan, and others might follow his

example with profit.

[Illustration: Plan No. 39. Work that Anyone can do]

A spare room, or a barn loft, where there is no leakage from the roof,

is all that is required to get into the business.

This man has about 300 customers, for whom he removes the screens in the

fall and stores them carefully away, properly ticketed, so as not to get

them mixed up with other people’s screens. In the spring he takes them

back to their respective owners and replaces them. His charge for the

season is about $2.00 for the average house but where the screens are to

be repainted, he of course makes an extra charge for that service.

To be sure, this income is small, but it is $600 or more every spring or

fall, and six hundred dollars extra often means a great addition to the

comfort of an old man.

PLAN No. 40. BUTTON-HOLE MAKING

A lady living in a city of the Middle West had by long practice become

an expert button-hole maker, and so great was her skill that she had

more calls for her special work than she could fill.

Dressmakers, tailors, department stores, housewives who made their own

dresses, all were anxious to secure her services in this particular

line, and she derived a very comfortable income from this specialty.

Recently she has organized several classes of young ladies to whom she

is teaching the art, as she realizes that she cannot continue to make

all the good button-holes required in her community, and is anxious to

give others a chance to do some of this work. In these days of

specializing, why not a button-hole specialist--especially if it pays?

PLAN No. 41. TYPEWRITING AT HOME

A young lady typist who was obliged to give up her position, in order to

take care of her invalid mother, arranged with a business man to write

his letters in payment for the use of his type-writing machine.

Then she addressed letters to a number of other business men, offering

to do their stenographic work and typewriting at her home, and in a

short time had work that brought her better returns than her former

salary had been, besides being able to look after her sick mother.

PLAN No. 42. RAISING ANGORA CATS

An ambitious mother, who very much desired to send her daughter to

college, decided upon cat culture as a source of raising the necessary

funds. She paid $25 for a pair of pure-bred Angora kittens, gave them

the best of care and in three years these kittens and their progeny have

netted her more than $1,000. But her resourcefulness in providing

charming surroundings assists her greatly in the important matter of

sales.

She enclosed the back yard of her home with chicken wire, and divided it

into two sections--one for colored cats and the other for white

cats--with low buildings on each side for comfortably housing the mother

cats and kittens.

The yard was then planted with roses and other flowers, and when the

well-kept cats and kittens are seen by prospective purchasers in those

delightful environments, the effect is so appealing to their sense of

the beautiful that the buyers freely pay almost any price. A few small

ads in the local papers bring her customers for all the cats she can

raise. Just a little plan, but it has brought remarkably pleasing

results.

PLAN No. 43. MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL FUNCTIONS

A young lady who found herself dependent upon a married sister, decided

that she would create a profession of her own and be under no

obligations to anyone.

She distributed a number of her business cards among the society leaders

of her town, announcing that she would take complete charge of parties

and other social events, whether for grown people or children, and

relieve the hostess of all anxiety concerning the success of the affair,

besides saving considerable sums in the outlay for the occasion.

She was given a number of engagements, and succeeded so well that her

services were soon in constant and ever-increasing demand.

She superintended the decorations, arranged the menu, looked after the

comfort of each guest, and saw that all were served in a manner to meet

their hearty approval. She also planned all the details of the

entertainment, in whatever form, and became a positive necessity, as the

various hostesses soon learned that she could not only provide a better

program than they, but actually saved more in the matter of expenditure

than her services cost, which varied all the way from $5.00 to $15.00

for an afternoon or evening.

PLAN No. 44. NEW WAY TO SELL SHEET MUSIC

A young lady in Ohio, who recently graduated from a music school, has

originated a novel and profitable method of selling sheet music.

Realizing from her own experience that the surest way to cause anyone to

want a particular piece of music is to let them hear it properly played,

so she arranged with a leading music dealer to allow her a rather

liberal commission on all sales she might make.

She then selects a number of the best pieces, and ringing the bell at

the first house she approaches, and asks if there is a piano or an organ

in the house. If the answer is yes, she asks if she may come in and play

a piece of music. In most cases permission is freely given, and seating

herself at the instrument proceeds to play two or three of the

selections. She has chosen so well, and plays so beautifully, that in

nearly every house where she is accorded the privilege of playing, she

sells from one to half a dozen or more of the sheets, and goes on to the

next house.

She has often made as high as $50 a week by employing this plan.

PLAN No. 45. SUPPLYING CLEAN TOWELS

Here is a plan which is good for a town where there are a large number

of offices. A young woman who lived in a town of this kind made it pay.

She visited the various offices in the place and contracted to furnish

each one with a clean, fresh towel every day for $1.50 a month, or two

towels per day for $2.50 a month, two deliveries to be made each week.

She secured contracts enough to bring in $47.00 a month.

She then bought $25.00 worth of good towels, hired a colored woman to

come twice a week to wash and iron the towels, and paid a little boy to

deliver the fresh towels and collect the soiled ones. The service

proved satisfactory, and, although the enterprise netted the young lady

only a little over $30 per month, she found it sufficient to support

herself and her invalid mother, as they owned their home and were

economical in their expenditures. It left the young lady with her entire

time at her own disposal to be devoted to other work.

[Illustration: Plan No. 46. Baby’s First Picture]

PLAN No. 46. TAKING CHILDREN’S PICTURES

Getting the children interested, and working on your side of a

proposition, is the surest way to reach the pocketbooks of the parents.

An Iowa man, who was out of work and money, evolved a plan that worked

so well that he has been at it ever since.

He owned a good camera, and understood how to use it, and having tried

soliciting orders from house to house, without success, he hit upon the

plan of borrowing a team of goats and a small cart from a boy friend,

and started out.

Whenever he saw a child, he would stop and tell it that he would give it

a free ride, and take its picture in the cart, if it would get the

consent of its mother. Of course, all the children got busy right away,

and called their mothers to come and see how “cute” they looked in the

cart drawn by the goats. The result was that nearly every mother was

glad to give an order for a dozen or more pictures to be delivered in

three days, and the enterprising artist soon found that he had all the

business he could attend to, at good prices, and now owns a complete

outfit.

A young lady in a city who was quite expert in the use of a camera

called at the homes which had children and took their pictures, usually

with the mother and baby in some natural position. She obtained the

birth records and forwarded a card each month congratulating her, also

called attention to the service she was rendering by taking the pictures

of children, stating that she would call in a few days--also said the

mother took no obligation because of her call. She then called as early

as possible to get the first picture of the new baby.

PLAN No. 47. TAUGHT CARE OF THE HAIR

Most people have hair troubles of some kind, and most of them have used

the widely advertised hair tonics, restorers, etc., with but little

appreciable benefit, as some simple home preparation usually produces

the best results.

Now, you have read in scores of household magazines, and elsewhere of

ways without number in which the hair can be beautified and its growth

and lustre wonderfully promoted, without the risk of injuring it in any

way.

A widow lady in an eastern city collected all the formulas of this kind

she could find anywhere for making dry, brittle hair soft and glossy,

for preventing and stopping the hair from falling out, for making the

hair thicker and longer, for the removal of dandruff, and correcting all

other forms of hair trouble. These she had printed, each on a separate

slip of good paper, and also provided herself with neat stationery.

She then advertised in a number of newspapers that covered the territory

for 200 or 300 miles in every direction, stating that she had formulas

for every conceivable form of hair trouble, and that particulars would

be sent upon request. She received thousands of answers, and in reply to

these she sent a circular letter saying she had a formula for the

particular difficulty named in the inquiry, which she would send upon

receipt of 50 cents, and the person to whom it was sent could have it

put up under her own personal direction, thus knowing exactly what it

contained. As many of these preparations can be put up from ingredients

to be found in most homes, they are not expensive and the lady built up

a very profitable business through this method.

PLAN No. 48. MAKING HARNESS DRESSING

Every farmer will buy a good, reliable waterproof harness dressing, and

if you know how to make it, you can sell it rapidly.

A young man who had spent most of his life on the farm found himself

stranded in the city, and when a friend gave him the recipe for such a

dressing, he bought the materials with his last few pennies and began

selling it to the farmers. He realized such a good profit from his first

sales that he was soon able to make it on a much more extensive scale,

and started on a trip through the country, where he sold it to farmers

he called upon. Here is the formula:

Petrolatum, 4 pounds; Burgundy pitch, 4 ounces; rosin, 2 ounces; ivory

black (dry), 60 ounces; beeswax, 4 ounces.

He melted the rosin, pitch and beeswax together, then added the

petrolatum, and when melted, he stirred in the ivory black, stirring it

until cold, when he put it up in tin boxes and pasted a printed label on

it. This preparation is applied with the fingers or a soft cloth, and

rubbed well into the leather, on both sides and edges, after thoroughly

washing the leather with softsoap and water, and letting it dry. It

imparts a nice black appearance to the leather, but not a high polish,

and renders the leather soft and pliable. Used as a shoe dressing, it

makes shoes waterproof, so that one does not need rubbers.

To test it, he would, after applying it, soak the leather in water for a

few hours, weighing it both before and after soaking, and thus prove

that no water had been absorbed.

PLAN No. 49. BOOK THAT COSTS NOTHING SELLS FOR 98 CENTS

This man clothed an old idea in a new dress, greatly improved upon it,

and made it a permanent, paying business.

He got twenty merchants, in different lines, to pay him $5.00 each for a

page ad. in a book, and spent the $100 thus received in having 2,000

copies of it printed. Then he sold the 2,000 copies for 98 cents each,

or a total of $1,960. But who is going to buy a book with nothing in it

except twenty pages of ads, do you ask? Answer: 2,000 people. Why?

Every advertiser in that book has agreed to give a certain discount on

every item he sells to the person who has bought that book--the

furniture man giving 10 per cent off, the hardware man 5 or 10 per cent,

the dry goods man 12 or 15 per cent, the grocer 2¹⁄₂ per cent, and so

on--every one offering a discount that in the aggregate means a saving

of $100 or more a year--to the buyer of the book. And the book that

entitles these people to so great a saving on their purchases costs only

98 cents! Will people buy the book? Does 98 cents look bigger to most

people than $100, or possibly $200? Of course the books sell, every last

one of them, and the enterprising publisher gets nearly $2,000 net out

of it, the merchants get a whole year’s splendid advertising among

people who want to buy from them, for $5.00 each, and the printer gets

$100 for putting out the book.

PLAN No. 50. TYPEWRITING SHORT STORIES BY MAIL

In these days of an ever-increasing demand for short stories by hundreds

of old and new magazines, when thousands of aspiring young authors are

reaching out for fame and fortune, it is but natural to assume that but

few of them are familiar with the form in which manuscripts are required

to be submitted.

In practically all cases manuscripts must be typewritten, and young

people all over the country who do not own typewriters, and could not

use them if they did, are always glad to have this done for them.

A young lady who was a skilled typist realized this fact, and at once

inserted a few ads. in a small number of papers reaching this class of

people, to the effect that she would do this work for them at reasonable

prices, and turn out her work in the high class manner required by

publishers.

She excelled in spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, etc., and felt

certain of her ability to do satisfactory work.

She received many replies to her advertisements, and in a few months had

established a pleasant and profitable business of her own besides having

placed many ambitious young authors in a position to present their

manuscripts to publishers in acceptable form, thereby greatly increasing

the chances of acceptance.

Any young person, man or woman, who possesses the ability of this young

lady, can do equally well by following the same plan of doing

satisfactory work at fair prices.

PLAN No. 51. OPENING A GIFT SHOP

A widow, who was left with some very good furnishings and about $200 in

cash, resolved to make an opportunity of her own and improved it to such

excellent advantage that she made a satisfactory living by following a

definite plan and the exercise of an unusual amount of good taste.

Renting a small but attractive down-town store room, she fitted it up

with the furnishings of her home, imparting to the place a decidedly

cozy effect, and she printed some 500 cards, which she sent out by mail,

paying regular letter postage on each. These contained an invitation to

visit her “Many Happy Returns Shop,” where rare gifts, suitable for all

occasions, could be purchased at prices ranging from 10 cents to $10

each. She further intimated that an inspection of her wares would prove

extremely interesting even to those who did not come in to buy.

Living only a short distance from New York, she went to the city and,

visiting the Italian and Syrian districts, she purchased many pieces of

old brass, trays, pots, lanterns, etc., while in the Japanese quarters

she bought odd bits of china and lacquer, in all fifty articles, costing

her $30.

She also asked her friends to bring in odd or rare articles for her to

sell on commission, and arranged everything very tastefully for her

opening day, when large numbers of people visited her store and many of

the novelties were sold at good prices. Her first day’s sales netted her

$7.66, and by constantly adding to her stock of rarities and other

attractions, she enjoyed a steady and substantial income.

PLAN No. 52. COUPONS TO AID SALES

“A friend of mine,” said a successful merchant, not long ago, “was

making and selling--or trying to sell--three preparations of great

merit, but with such indifferent success that he decided to give it up.

“I knew the value of his preparations, and concluded that his failure

was due to himself rather than to them. I, therefore, outlined a plan

for him that I thought would bring success, and loaned him the money

with which to make another try at it.

“I had 1,000 circulars printed, to each of which were attached twenty

coupons of the face value of 5 cents each. I then got ten merchants to

agree to accept one of these 5-cent coupons at its face value on every

dollar’s worth of merchandise purchased for cash, and gave the names of

these merchants on the circular, with their agreement to accept the

coupons as above stated.

“The regular price of my friend’s preparations was 50 cents each, but I

told him to offer the three for $1.00, and give each purchaser $1.00

worth of the coupons besides.

“The way the buyers went for those preparations, when offered in this

way, was simply amazing, as they got the three preparations for nothing,

since the various merchants gave them back the dollar they had paid for

the coupons, and the merchants themselves were well pleased with the

effective advertising the plan had given them, since it brought each of

them many new patrons.

“But the best part of it was that my friend not only sold this first

$1,000 worth of coupons, but a good many thousand more, and gladly

repaid my loan in a day or two. Besides, it established his remedies

permanently, as people had found out in this way how good they were.”

PLAN No. 53. WOMAN PACKS TRUNKS

A woman left totally unprovided for by her husband, a commercial

traveler who died suddenly, had to provide for herself and family.

Discussing with her friends what she could do to make a living, one

suggested that she pack trunks for people who did not know how. She had

always packed her husband’s trunks.

She acted on this suggestion, and made arrangements with a large hotel

to pack trunks for its guests. She furnished bonds to amply protect

guests against loss.

[Illustration: Plan No. 53. Her Husband was a Traveling Man]

There are many hotels and travelers throughout the country that would be

glad to avail themselves of such assistance.

PLAN No. 54. VEGETABLES BY PARCEL POST

Our friend the suburban gardener, lives several miles from the city,

where he has about three acres of ground in cultivation, and knows how

to make it pay--via parcel post.

He knows that the city man likes nice, fresh, crisp vegetables, right

from the soil the day he gets them, and that he will pay a good price

for them, besides saving the unwilling tribute he pays the city

middleman for dried up, shriveled and often spoiled market stuff, that

may be a week old. And the gardener gets more for his produce when he

sells it direct to the city consumer. So he runs a small ad. in the city

papers, stating what he has for sale, that they are strictly fresh, and

the prices he asks.

From one or two regular customers at first, he gradually increases his

list of patrons, until he has more than a hundred upon whom he can

depend as steady buyers of his products. He plays fair with them, gives

them exactly what he advertised, with prompt delivery that assured their

arrival in fine condition--so he builds up a business.

Three times a week he sends postal cards to his customers advising them

that tomorrow it will be fresh, crisp radishes, or sweet, juicy young

onions or tender, luscious asparagus or rhubarb, or any other of a dozen

or more delightfully appetizing things grown in the garden, with the

price of whatever it is, to be sent by parcel post so as to reach the

city customer the same day. Who wouldn’t buy from a man who did business

in that way, and rendered the service that everyone appreciates.

But the supply of the suburban gardens is never greater than the demand,

and thousands more can find health, plenty and happiness in this

pleasant and profitable occupation. Why not be one of them yourself?

PLAN No. 55. FARMERS’ SUPPLY BUREAU

This young man lived in a city of about 7,000 inhabitants, where there

were several wholesale houses, as well as a large number of up-to-date

retail stores. The town was in the midst of a prosperous farming

community, where the farmers were kept busy at home looking after their

crops, and had but little time for coming to town.

One day this enterprising young man had an idea, which proved to be a

good one, for it enabled him to make a good living.

He secured the name of every farmer living on every rural route running

out of the city, and sent him a well printed circular letter, offering

to make purchases for him of anything he might need in town, and send it

out to him by parcel post the very day the order was received. He added

that no charge would be made for this service, but that the farmer would

get exactly what he desired, at the same price he would pay if he came

to the city himself.

He then arranged with wholesale and retail merchants to pay him a

commission on all articles sold for them in this way, besides paying the

postage, and inside of three months he had one hundred well-to-do

farmers on his list who, instead of coming to town for what they wanted,

phoned their orders to him, and they were filled so promptly and

satisfactorily that the farmers placed absolute confidence in him and

allowed him to make practically all their purchases for them. He proved

a good shopper, and built up a profitable business by just thinking out

a feasible and legitimate plan.

PLAN No. 56. A SUPERB TABLE RELISH

The very best table relish it is possible to make is prepared from the

following formula by a woman living in the country, who has created for

it a demand far greater than she can supply. Here are the ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes, 9 pounds; onions, 2 pounds; cider vinegar, 3 pints;

cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoonfuls; black pepper, 4 ounces; brown sugar, 6

ounces.

She mashes the tomatoes thoroughly, peels and grinds the onions in a

vegetable grinder, then places all the ingredients in a porcelain vessel

and boils them briskly for about two hours. Then she places them in

short half pint water bottles, costing about half a cent each, cuts off

the corks close to the bottles and seals with sealing wax.

One taste of this relish invariably creates a demand for more, and she

can sell it as fast as she can put it up, and have many calls for more.

There is a fine margin of profit in it, as she raises practically all

the materials herself, and by making use of the parcel post she has been

able to come out over $1,000 ahead each season since she began

operations. Lately she has been enlarging the scope of her activities,

with the assurance of a much larger income from year to year.

Just try this yourselves, you mothers who want to make some money with

very little outlay.

PLAN No. 57. MONEY FROM A STEREO CAMERA

A newly married couple decided to spend their honeymoon in a small Ohio

town surrounded by beautiful scenery, and having a stereoscopic camera

among their possessions, took it along, as it might come in handy. And

it did.

They happened to know that they could obtain from a Chicago firm, for 80

cents per hundred, any number of the colored views shown in

stereoscopes, and which agents usually sell for $1.50 to $2.00 per

dozen, and they ordered twenty sets of 100 each, paying $16.00 for the

lot.

Then they used their stereoscopic camera in taking a number of views in

that vicinity, together with pictures of noted persons, groups of

children, grounds and residences of leading citizens, and other objects

of local interest.

When all was completed, they made a personal canvas of the town

exhibiting the colored views to the people, through an ordinary

stereoscope, and in this way created a most favorable impression as to

the superior character of the work.

The sets of 100 colored views were offered at $5.00 each, and, as a

premium, six of the local views were added, but they made an extra

charge when views of some subject of special interest to the families

were ordered taken; and where people had no stereoscope, they ordered

one, which made them a good profit.

Their work became a popular fad in the town, and they received and

filled so many orders that in two months there they cleared over $500.

It is not necessary to buy a stereo-camera--an ordinary camera will do.

Print two pictures from negative, paste these two on cardboard cut down

to proper size, and your picture is complete.

PLAN No. 58. A RENTING BULLETIN

A young man made use of the following plan to get started in business:

Living in a western town of about 10,000 inhabitants, he noted the

various cards of “For Sale,” “For Rent,” “Furnished rooms,” “Board and

Rooms,” etc., and decided he could help these people get what they

wanted, and at the same time make a little sum for himself.

He called at each of the places where cards were displayed, explained

that he was about to begin the publication of a renting and business

bulletin, and would insert an ad. under the proper heading, to remain

until the particular want was supplied, and distribute free a certain

number of these bulletins all over town each week, all for $1.00 for

each of such notices, to be paid in advance.

As most of those he approached knew him to be reliable, he had no

difficulty in securing a little over 100 subscriptions of the kind

desired; then he went among the merchants of the town and contracted for

a sufficient amount of advertising to pay the cost of printing the

bulletin, leaving him the entire amount received for publication of the

“for rent” and other notices as clear profit.

He faithfully distributed the bulletins from house to house, in hotels,

reading rooms, and barber shops. This gave him a start. He continued to

solicit advertisements and worked faithfully at his little publication

which gave returns sufficient to make his living.

PLAN No. 59. MAKING HENS LAY IN WINTER

That grasshoppers, which have been the scourge of many sections of the

country for many years, can really be made to serve a useful purpose,

and so utilized as to pay at least a part of the damage they do, was

proven by the experience of a Kansan woman who had found great

difficulty in making her hens lay during the winter months.

The grasshopper pest had been unusually active in her part of the

country that year, having destroyed practically every growing thing

within reach, and her hens were about the only available source of

revenue that remained. But how to feed them was the problem she could

not solve.

Suddenly she became impressed with the fact that the hated grasshopper

was an ideal chicken food and tonic, and as other foods and tonics were

too expensive for her slender purse, she decided upon laying in a good

supply of grasshoppers--but how? They must first be caught.

She bought a piece of screen wire 4 feet wide by 20 feet long, bent it

lengthwise in a circular form, and fastened the edges with large-size

hooks and eyes, with circular doors, working on a single hinge, at each

end, fitting the edges closely. She then constructed a frame of 4-inch

pine sheathing, 4 feet high and 20 feet long, back of the trap, and

covered it with white oilcloth, slanting it in such a position that when

the grasshoppers struck the oilcloth they would slip down into the trap.

These they carried out into the wheat field one evening in August,

placed them in position, and started driving the swarms of grasshoppers

toward the pitfall thus prepared for them. The white oilcloth shield

proved a great attraction for the hoppers, and in forty-five minutes

they had driven four bushels of the insects into the trap. Beneath this

they placed a formaldehyde generator, covered the trap with muslin made

to fit over it, and soon had it full of dead grasshoppers. These they

carried to the barn loft, spread them out to dry, and put them away in

sacks. Altogether they got over eighty bushels of dried hoppers, and

those hens laid that winter as they had never laid before.

PLAN No. 60. MAKING POLISHING CLOTHS

A polishing cloth would seem an insignificant thing in itself, and it

is, but often it is the little things that make good profit and a man in

a western city, who understood this fact, made thousands of dollars by

giving it practical application.

He bought a bolt of outing flannel of the cheaper grade, and from this

he cut a few hundred small pieces of the proper size for samples. These

he immersed in a solution which he had made, as follows: One-half pound

of castile soap, shaved fine and melted to a jelly. When thoroughly

dissolved, he added a gallon of soft water and 4 ounces of powdered

pumice stone, coloring it with tincture of red analine. This gave him a

polishing cloth that worked wonders with silverware, brass and other

bright metals, imparting to them a lustre that but few of the

high-priced polishes can give, and doing away with the mussy method of

using a powder with an ordinary cloth.

Securing a number of good canvassers, he gave each of them 100 of the

small samples, 100 full sized polishing cloths, and 100 imitation

type-written letters addressed to “The Lady of the House,” asking her to

use the small free sample which the agent would leave with her, and note

its many points of superiority over polishing powders, etc.

Nearly every housewife would use the sample, and be so well pleased with

it that when the agent called a couple of days later, with the

full-sized cloths, at 25 cents each, it meant a sale in almost every

case. The man who made the cloths gave the agents half the proceeds of

all sales, and the other half he retained for himself which was

practically all profit. By extending his sale to other towns, he

developed a big business.

PLAN No. 61. SELLING LISTS OF NAMES

We know of a man who averaged $40.00 per day through the sale of mailing

lists to advertisers all over the country. But they were good, reliable

lists of live people, who for years had not been flooded with a tidal

wave of advertising circulars.

These names he procured from county, town, and other officials, from

certain directories, and from private individuals in different parts of

the country. In some cases he advertised in country papers, asking for

replies from those willing to furnish lists of bonafide names, usually

offering some small inducement to secure this service, and the lists

thus obtained consisted largely of well-to-do farmers, which proved the

most salable of the lists.

The various magazines and metropolitan dailies gave him the names of

advertisers anxious to reach the class of consumers who comprised his

lists, and he sold them for prices ranging from $2.00 to $10.00 per

thousand, though in some special cases his charges would be considerably

more. Indeed, in one case, where he had secured the names of 5,000

speculators and investors, patrons of the stock exchanges, he asked, and

received, $80 for the list, and sold it to many advertisers in various

lines. He had his lists typewritten with as many as ten carbon copies to

each page, and the expense of supplying them to numerous customers was

very trivial, while his receipts netted him a good living each year.

PLAN No. 62. THE PROFESSIONAL MAN SHOPPER

An elderly man who lived in a small eastern town had formerly been a

merchant in the city, but had failed through the dishonesty of a

partner, and was obliged to make a humble living by any legitimate

means.

Being familiar with all the details of buying and selling, as well as

with the quality of various kinds of merchandise, he decided to become a

professional shopper, and succeeded beyond his expectations.

He distributed cards throughout the little town and its vicinity

announcing that he would make daily trips to the city, and for a small

charge would purchase such articles as might be desired by local people

from the big city stores, particularly those advertising “bargain

sales.”

As most people in a small place know of these bargains, through the

columns of the city dailies reaching their places, and would like to

take advantage of many of them, yet cannot afford the time and expense

of making these frequent trips themselves, they were very glad to have

this service so promptly and satisfactorily performed for them by one

they knew to be reliable. The elderly shopper soon had all he could

attend to. Outside of his fare, his expenses were nothing, and while his

charges were so reasonable that it saved his patrons many dollars in

railroad fare, as well as a great deal of valuable time, it made him a

very comfortable living. He not only received a small sum for his

service to each customer, but he received a special discount from the

store that filled the order.

PLAN No. 63. A THERMOMETER PLAN THAT PAID

The vagaries of the weather have never been regarded as affording a

living for anyone except the “local forecaster,” but here is the

experience of a man in Iowa who thought otherwise, and made money out of

the plan.

He paid $40 for a large thermometer, all complete, the same being about

six feet high, mounted on a frame 3x8 feet, and containing space for

fourteen advertisements. These he readily sold to merchants of the town,

at $15 for each space, bringing his receipts up to $210, or $170 after

paying for the thermometer, and many times he sold the entire fourteen

spaces in one day’s work. To be sure, he was obliged to buy the

thermometers in quantities, in order to get them for $40 apiece, but as

long as he could realize a profit of $170 on each, he could well afford

that. As his business increased, his orders for thermometers grew larger

and their cost correspondingly smaller, so that he soon found himself on

the road to success. He did not give this advertising service in towns

of less than 5,000 people, and even if he only sold three thermometers

in a week, his income was very good.

PLAN No. 64. LETTUCE GROWING, $100,000 A YEAR

Some ten years ago two brothers went to a North Carolina town, in the

fall of the year, rented a piece of ground near the outskirts, carefully

laid it out in large beds, and planted it in lettuce, to be sold to

northern markets during the winter months.

The inhabitants of the town ridiculed the idea, declaring that the

lettuce would freeze when the weather got cold, and even if it grew, it

could not be sold at a profit, but the brothers said nothing, for they

knew what they were doing.

The lettuce, after planting, came up nicely and made a rapid growth, but

it wasn’t allowed to be touched by frost. Covers to fit over all the

beds were made from coarse cotton sheeting, and held in place by hooks

fastened to rings in small stakes driven at the corners and edges of the

beds. These covers were taken off when the sun was shining and replaced

over the beds at night, when there was frost in the air.

Soon the people of the town went out to see how the lettuce crop was

growing, and were so astonished at its marvelous growth, and the

fabulous prices it brought in the northern cities, that large numbers of

the people took up lettuce growing as a regular business. It was not

long before the receipts from the lettuce in that town were $100,000 a

year, and everybody was growing it; the men in the fields, the women in

their gardens, and all making money at it, for the variety was of the

best, the soil just right, and all conditions were adapted to its

culture.

Usually two crops were grown each year, one in the late fall, the other

in the early spring, and it was shipped up north in board baskets, where

it brought from $1.25 to $3.50 per basket, according to its grade and

the condition of the market at the time of its arrival. The people in

that town do not laugh any more when lettuce growing in the winter is

mentioned, for winter time is harvest time down there.

PLAN No. 65. A FUTURE IN SALAD DRESSING

An enterprising woman in a western state has made money in home-made

salad dressing and peanut butter. She started demonstrating the superior

quality of her products in a little corner grocery. She now owns a large

building on a prominent street in a city, and sells her produce all over

the Northwest.

She not only knows all about making the very best salad dressing and

peanut butter that anyone could possibly imagine or wish for, but she

insists upon a high degree of cleanliness and care in the preparation of

her products. Her corps of assistants and employes are selected with a

view to maintaining the excellent standard which formed the basis of her

own success in the beginning.

Other women have excellent recipes for making good things to eat, and,

though all of them may not make large incomes from the knowledge and

skill they possess, yet they may at least add largely to the family

income by making such articles to sell at a good profit, and, at the

same time, benefit the consumers as well.

PLAN No. 66. COUNTRY PAPER ADVERTISING

A young newspaper man perfected a plan under which he took over the

advertising of all the weekly papers published within a radius of 100

miles or more from his home town, including those having “patent

insides” supplied by the branch of a prominent newspaper union in his

town.

Arranging these various publications in groups of forty or more, he

established a rate for each group that not only offered the advertiser a

very great reduction from what it would cost him to deal with all these

papers separately, but still left him a good margin of profit. He soon

became the head of a prosperous business which yielded a net income of

$600 a month.

This plan can be worked to good advantage by capable men in other

localities, as it requires but little capital to start it.

PLAN No. 67. WORKED HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE

It isn’t every girl who feels competent to work her way through college,

when her people are not able to pay the expenses of her course, but this

one did, and proved it by paying all her bills and having something left

besides.

Being very proficient in embroidery work, she organized a class of fifty

of her fellow-students, to whom she gave a course of twenty embroidery

lessons, at $5.00 each for the course, while several of the girls who

wished instruction in difficult stitches were each charged $1.00 a

lesson. She also took subscriptions for a periodical devoted largely to

embroidery and needle work, and received a commission of 25 cents on

each subscription she secured.

The faculty gave her shopping privileges two afternoons each week, and

she improved these occasions by executing commissions at the various

stores for the other girl students. She had excellent taste in the

matter of selections, and her purchases were not only highly pleasing to

those for whom they were made, but she received a discount from each of

the merchants thus patronized, and this netted her a neat little sum,

her commissions alone in nine months amounting to $260.

She also added $90 to her income through the sale of copies of articles

contributed to the college journal, and her total earnings for the year

were $662.50.

The income she derived from these various activities not only relieved

her parents of all expense for her education, but gave her a valuable

insight into practical business principles and methods, while developing

a spirit of confidence in her own abilities, as well as a feeling of

independence.

PLAN No. 68. $4,800 FOR FIVE CALVES

The old saying that “pigs is pigs,” might with equal propriety be

applied to calves, particularly if they are of Holstein-Friesian stock,

if one is to judge from the experience of a breeder of blooded stock in

New York state.

From one cow, nine years old, this man has sold five calves for $4,800,

has another for which he has refused $500, and still another of her

progeny is owned by a man who wouldn’t sell it at any price.

This man started as a poor boy, who was obliged to work as a hired hand

on a farm, at $10 per month. But the farmer employer did not always have

the $10 when the month was up, and really couldn’t afford to keep a

hired man, or a boy, though he needed one.

However, he did own a pure-bred Holstein calf and the farmer offered

this calf to the boy for two months’ work on the farm. The boy had a

keen eye for good points of an animal, and accepted the offer, keeping

the calf in a small pasture on his employer’s farm until fall when he

took it with him to his own humble home and gave it the best of care.

Well, that calf was the mother of the nine-year-old cow that was the

mother, of the five calves which the “boy” has sold for $4,800, and

still has a calf worth more than $500.

PLAN No. 69. NIGHT PATROLMAN IN SMALL TOWN

A husky young Irishman, who lived in a town too small to maintain a

regular police officer, and too large to be entirely without protection

from hold-ups, burglars and fires, especially at night, called upon the

principal merchants of the place and arranged to give such service as

was needed, on a basis of 25 cents a night from each one.

Fifteen merchants readily agreed to these terms, and, by remaining on

duty every night including Sundays, he was able to earn $26.25 a week.

The third night he was on duty he captured a man in the act of stealing.

Needless to say, that after this, the other merchants in the town

quickly added their names to the young Irishman’s list of protected

firms, and his weekly pay-check soon became much larger.

PLAN No. 70. HE RAISED DUCKS AND GEESE

A small farmer, living a few miles from a city, derived a very handsome

income from the raising of ducks and geese.

From a long and careful study of various domestic fowls, he had learned

that, while ducks and geese are much more rare than chickens, and that

many people prefer them as table birds, they eat much less than hens,

and the feathers of the geese are always in demand, at top prices.

Both ducks and geese are much more hardy than chickens, and not nearly

so liable to disease, therefore the losses are not so great. By keeping

“Indian Runner” ducks, he got an almost unlimited supply of eggs, which

always brought good prices, while during the holiday season the demand

for ducks and geese was second only to the demand for turkeys, which are

expensive to raise.

When he figured up his receipts at the end of the year, he found that

each goose had brought him a net profit of $5.75, while the ducks

averaged considerably higher, owing to their greater egg-laying

capacity. Both classes of birds, when fattened just before Thanksgiving,

brought fancy prices, and involved a great deal less labor and expense

in their raising than would be required in the case of hens.

PLAN No. 71. COLLECTION AGENCY

That a smile, a pleasant word and a liberal amount of good humor will

succeed better in the collection of accounts than the bullying method,

was the idea of a young friend of ours who decided to make Collections a

regular business.

About all he had with which to make a beginning was a desk, three

chairs, a small rug, a second-hand typewriter, and $50 for some printed

matter and a month’s office rent.

He had arranged with a young lawyer friend of his to attend to whatever

litigation might be necessary, and the attorney’s name appear on his

letter heads as counsel for the agency.

Then he called upon the leading merchants and solicited their accounts,

on a basis of 5 per cent on the fairly good ones, and from 24 to 50 per

cent on others.

In every case where it was possible, he called upon the debtor

personally, and possessing a most pleasing and sympathetic manner with

which to meet the usual “hard luck” stories he encountered, he was able

not only to impress the fact that he was the debtor’s friend but to

compel a recognition of the creditor’s rights and equities in the

matter.

As a result of this method he collected many old accounts that were

regarded as hopeless, and made his business pay.

In those cases, however, where the debtor was defiant and inclined to

not to care he dealt with them judiciously.

PLAN No. 72. MAKING AND SELLING RAG RUGS

You probably have no idea how many people would pay for rag rugs, to be

used in their bathrooms, bedrooms, dining rooms and elsewhere if only

some one would make them and sell them from house to house.

An old lady in Illinois, who knew all about making rag rugs, as well as

rag carpets, and who needed a little money very badly, concluded to use

her knowledge of rug making and make a few dollars in the only way she

could think of.

Her only available resources were a quantity of clean bits of cloth of

various hues and textures, some needles and thread. The pieces of cloth

she tore into strips of the proper width, and sewed them together, so as

to form combinations of blue and white, brown and white, red and black,

grey and old rose, etc. and, having no loom with which to weave them,

she made them into three-strand braids and sewed them together in oval

shape, until she had completed a mat about 2¹⁄₂x3¹⁄₂ feet.

Some of these she sold from house to house, at very good prices, while

others she displayed in a department store window, where they sold

rapidly, though she was obliged to pay the storekeeper a small

commission for selling them.

She made a very good living at it.

PLAN No. 73. PHOTOS AT 39 CENTS A DOZEN

It seemed impossible, but here’s the story of a man who did it, and made

a good living out of it, also kept four men on the road working at this

novel but legitimate plan:

He had been a traveling salesman for several years, and on one of his

trips had gone into a grocery store, but found another traveling man

ahead of him.

This man was showing the grocer the details of a plan whereby he could

have a photo enlarged for anyone buying a $5 punch-ticket, good for that

amount in merchandise, and paying $1.25 additional.

Our enterprising friend saw it was a good plan, but believed he could

improve upon it, and proceeded to do so.

After a long search he finally found a photographer who would make

copies of any photograph for 50 cents per dozen, when a large number of

orders was given. Then he had several thousand punch-tickets printed,

calling for $5 worth of merchandise, and these he sold to merchants at

$5 for 500, while the merchant, in turn, would sell the $5 punch-ticket

to a customer.

Later the originator of the plan opened a small studio of his own, and

thus reduced the cost of the photos to 39 cents per dozen, leaving him a

profit of 11 cents per dozen, and it was then that he quit the road

himself and put four good men on as many routes, while he remained at

home and managed his business.

PLAN No. 74. REAL “FRESH ROASTED COFFEE”

Everybody loves the aroma of fresh roasted coffee, but it is so seldom

they have an opportunity to inhale it when it is fresh, that, when they

do, it comes as a most delightful sensation, and makes them want

coffee--real, genuine, fresh roasted coffee.

A coffee-roasting machine, almost automatic in its action, has been

perfected to such a degree that it retains all the aroma and flavor of

the coffee, and places it, freshly roasted, in the hands of the

consumer, who thus “gets all the good out of it.”

A young man purchased one of these machines, rented a small corner in a

meat and vegetable market, where no groceries were kept for sale, bought

a few pounds of the best green coffee, and started his machine, which

was run by electricity, and gas for fuel. In the window he placed a

neatly painted card, saying: “Fresh Coffee, Right Out of the Roaster,”

and awaited results. Soon the delicious aroma pervaded the entire

establishment and was wafted to the crowds on the sidewalk.

The smell of good coffee is an excellent advertisement and brings

customers. But this enterprising vender of fresh roasted coffee realized

that even the best brands of coffee would prove a failure if not

properly made, so he put every pound he sold into a paper sack

containing the following directions, plainly printed, and urged every

purchaser to pay particular attention to it.

“Use one heaping tablespoonful of the ground coffee to each cup of cold

water, not warm or hot, and let it steep in the cold water for five

minutes or more, as this greatly improves the flavor. Then put over a

slow fire and slowly bring it to the boiling point, boiling it for just

three minutes, but no longer. Take off the fire and let it stand for

four or five minutes before serving, and you’ll find you have the finest

flavored cup of coffee you ever drank. But always use fresh coffee,

never using the grounds more than once.”

The plan was successful.

PLAN No. 75. COLLEGE LAUNDRY AGENCY

A young man, attending college in a small town, secured the agency for a

leading laundry in a near-by city, and in that way made enough to pay

for his entire course. The laundry company paid him 40 percent for all

the work he sent in, and one-half of the express charges besides, so

that he was at practically no expense in conducting the business.

He soon demonstrated that he was representing a laundry that did good

work and made prompt deliveries, and it was an easy matter to secure

orders from all the students. The city laundry did better work than the

local concern, and the prices were also lower, so most of the students,

and many residents of the town as well, were glad to have their work

done where satisfactory service was assured. In order to overcome the

feeble competition offered by local barber shops and store agencies, the

young man further strengthened his claim to patronage by offering a

premium for each $10 worth of laundry work sent in through him, and by

that means came out ahead in the volume of paying business secured.

It took but little of his spare time and did not interfere with his

studies, and at the same time gave him a good income.

PLAN No. 76. CO-OPERATIVE STORE

A former merchant in a small town, who had lost his entire stock by

fire, and had been unable to collect the insurance, conceived the idea

of starting a co-operative store, without capital, and the plan worked

so well that in a few years he was in a better condition financially

than before the fire.

Fully realizing that the average store in the small town charges higher

prices for inferior goods than the city stores ask for the better

grades, and knowing the people of his community would be glad to be

better served at a lower cost, he visited a wholesale house in the city,

made arrangements for purchasing groceries and kindred lines at

wholesale prices, when taken in considerable quantities. He then formed

a sort of club or co-operative society of from 75 to 100 members, among

his acquaintances and former patrons, agreeing to supply them with the

better grades of goods at prices considerably less than those charged by

the local stores.

He opened a little store room in the town for the distribution of these

goods, each member paying cash for every item purchased, and, there

being no necessity for bookkeeping or collections, he made a good profit

on everything sold in this manner, suffered no losses, and in a short

time controlled practically all the grocery trade in his town and the

surrounding country. He often remarked that the fire which destroyed his

former store was the best thing that could have happened to him, besides

the benefit it brought to those in the community who co-operated with

him in his enterprise, while he started on nothing.

PLAN No. 77. STARTING A HOSPITAL IN A SMALL TOWN

It was a doctor’s wife who, with a husband broken in health and purse,

originated a plan that was successful and put the couple financially “on

their feet”.

The husband, an able physician and surgeon, in a western city, with

failing health, decided to move to a country town. His finances were at

a low ebb, it soon became necessary for him to resume his practice in

this rural community. But he was not physically able to make calls at

long distances from town, especially at night and in bad weather, and

his wife decided to carry out her long-cherished plan of opening a

hospital, even if it had to be done on a small scale.

The house next door being vacant, the doctor’s wife engaged it at a low

rental, paying for the first month in advance. Then, when a telephone

call came for the doctor from a farmer whose wife was ill, the wife told

him the doctor was not able to go, but suggested that the farmer bring

his wife to town, where his wife would have a pleasant room, the care of

an experienced nurse, and the medical services of the doctor.

The doctor himself was astonished when he overheard this conversation,

and entered a vigorous protest, but the wife told him not to worry.

Having engaged the only nurse in the town, which was herself, with the

assistance of a couple of farmer’s boys she moved the furniture from the

three upper rooms of her own residence into the next house, where she

fixed up three rooms very comfortably, and awaited the coming of

results.

Early in the afternoon the farmer brought his wife and she was installed

in one of the rooms, under the care of the nurse. Later others came, and

it soon became known all over the community that the “new doctor,”

having more patients than he could visit, had fitted up a nice place in

town where his patients could come to him, and where women from the

country could “stay over night,” or as many days and nights as were

necessary, and where they could be nursed and “doctored” in a proper

manner. It was not long until further rooms had been tastefully fitted

up, another nurse engaged, and the doctor was kept busy with his

patients every minute of the day.

With the assistance of a maid, the doctor’s wife served meals to the

patients in their own rooms, and the charges for all these

accommodations, room, board, nursing and treatment, were very

reasonable. The people of the town and vicinity soon saw the advantages

afforded by this plan, and the patronage increased until there was a

long waiting list. The reception or social room that had been fitted up

was supplied with magazines, newspapers, and other means of

entertainment for the patients and their friends who called upon them,

and was a much appreciated resting place for country women who came to

town with their husbands.

The rent of the building was $15 a month, the nurses were paid $1.00 a

day and board, $3 for taking care of a patient at night, and farm

produce was purchased at very low prices, or taken as part payment for

services.

At the end of the first year these people had cleared $5,000 over all

expenses, and on the fourth anniversary of the launching of the plan,

the doctor, now restored to health, handed his wife a check for $8,000,

to repay her, as he said, for “thinking of such a splendid plan.”

PLAN No. 78. MAKING A SODA FOUNTAIN PAY

She was a druggist’s wife, and had some excellent ideas of her own,

besides, she knew how to put them to practical use.

While the prescription business of the store was large and profitable,

the soda fountain, a fine large one with every modern feature of

equipment, was not making good, and there were seven other soda

fountains in the town of some 2,000 inhabitants. Here was the wife’s

opportunity.

The drug store was a large and attractive place and she decided upon the

following plan of action: She installed four private booths, covering

the partitions with green burlap, with burlap curtains on the outside.

Putting wire over the top of each booth, she covered them with paper

flowers, which she made herself. The covering of one booth was of yellow

roses, one of American beauty roses, one of pumpkin blossoms and one of

lilies. In the center of each booth she placed an electric light, with a

shade to match the flowers of the ceiling, also an electric bell.

This novel and attractive arrangement proved very popular, and rapidly

brought a large number of patrons who preferred to have sodas and ice

cream served in the privacy of the tastefully decorated booths rather

than to sit at tables in the open store. However, she was continually

planning on some new feature to make the place talked about, and she

turned her attention to the fountain itself. She built a large canopy

over the fountain, and covered it with 300 crepe-paper oranges and 3,000

leaves, which produced a very striking and pleasing effect. To still

further stimulate interest, she issued neatly designed and printed

circulars, particularly when she had some novelty to give away, and thus

kept it constantly before the public.

That the idea was a good one, is shown by the fact that, whereas, the

receipts from the soda fountain had formerly ranged from $6 to $10 a

day, the carrying out of her new plan increased its revenue from $18 to

$30 a day, and placed the store far in the lead of all the other drug

stores in the town.

PLAN No. 79. MOTION PICTURE THEATERS

A husband and wife had lost their money and all they had left was $500

in cash, a moving-picture camera, and a good supply of courage.

Selecting a location in a prosperous residence district they opened a

moving-picture theater with a seating capacity of 400 people.

The city every year had a local fiesta or carnival, lasting about two

weeks, and the wife suggested the idea of taking daily motion pictures

of the parades and showing them on the screen as an additional

attraction. This greatly increased the attendance for a time, but when

the fiesta was over there was a “slump” in the receipts. The wife then

suggested that the husband present films of local interest.

Whenever such a picture was taken, they would advertise: “Come and see

yourself and your friends in the movies,” and it brought good returns.

In fact, this plan proved so popular that they were obliged to enlarge

their hall, all of which was due to the working out of an original

idea--that everyone wants to see himself or herself on the screen.

PLAN No. 80. FROM CLERK TO SUPERINTENDENT

Every man who is a clerk would be very glad to be promoted to

superintendent. But it isn’t every clerk who has a wife with the energy

and the initiative to assist him.

With the arrival of the second baby, the husband began to realize that

he must have more money, but how to obtain it was the question. He could

not ask for more salary, because he was already the best-paid shipping

clerk in the establishment.

Although without practical experience in the conduct of a large

business, his wife intuitively realized that the difference between

employer and employe was not because the employer did more work, but

because he knew more about the business itself and how to direct others

to do it to the best advantage of the employer.

It was a hard thing to do, but after long and earnest reasoning with her

husband she maintained that if he left more of the details of the work

to his assistants, and devoted more of his time to planning improved

methods, it would mean the recognition of his ability and his consequent

advancement.

He accepted his wife’s suggestion, acted upon it at once, and greatly

profited by it, for he began to see the work through his employer’s

eyes. Gradually the idea grew upon him, until he evolved a plan for the

complete reorganization of his department in such a manner as to entail

less cost and labor and yet bring better returns.

In a dispute with the man next in authority over him, he won the

approval of the general manager, because he was right. From that time on

his advancement was rapid, and today he is superintendent of the entire

business, due largely to his wife’s forethought.

PLAN No. 81. MAKING OVER OLD HOUSES

A lawyer in a western city had only a small practice but his wife

possessed good business judgment. They had just cash enough to purchase

a small house, with a good-sized lot, in a modest side street occupied

mainly by the homes of working men. This lady possessed good taste in

the matter of furnishings and decorations, and exercised her talent in

this direction by turning this property into an attractive little home.

By a most skillful arrangement of the furniture, and not having too much

of it, she gave all the rooms the appearance of being much larger than

they really were, while dotted Swiss curtains admitted sufficient light

to impart a most cheerful atmosphere. Everything was made to contribute

to the coziness of the place, and give it a homelike air that was very

inviting. In a few months they were offered $350 more than the property

cost them, and they accepted the offer.

[Illustration: Plan No. 82. Industry has its rewards]

They next bought an older house, that was badly in need of repairs, gave

it two coats of white paint, added green shutters, and the wife improved

the interior with home-made book-cases, window seats and kitchen

conveniences of many kinds, and put blue and white lace paper on the

pantry shelves. A retired farmer and his wife, who wanted to move to

town, was greatly impressed with the pattern of that paper as well as

with the large back yard, where quantities of garden products could be

raised, and readily paid them $500 more than the cost of the place.

They then bought a nine-room house, converted it into two apartments,

that rented for $45 a month each, and a little later sold it at a profit

of $1,150, making their total profits in two years $2,000.

PLAN No. 82. CULTIVATING OTHER PEOPLE’S BACK YARDS

Thousands of men and women who complain of “hard times” and bemoan the

fact that they “can’t get anything to do,” could live comfortably by

following the plan which an almost invalid husband and his wife so

successfully carried out, at a time when everything looked very dark.

They were in debt, through the illness of the husband, a mill worker,

whom the doctors had told to get into some line of work that would give

him plenty of outdoor exercise.

In the residential section of the city, near by, were many back yards

either sown in grass or covered with weeds, and utterly neglected and

uncared for.

The wife visited many of the homes where these conditions prevailed, and

offered to give their back yards thorough cultivation during the season,

for one-half of what might be grown on them. Some of the people refused

the offer but enough agreed to the proposition to keep both the wife and

her husband constantly employed.

They raised a great deal more of all kinds of garden produce than both

the families of the owners and the renters could use, and one-half of

the excess they sold at good prices in the city, even selling some of it

to the people who had refused them the use of their ground.

The next year they had offers of more back yards than they could

cultivate, but their three boys helped them with the work, and together

they succeeded so well that they not only lived better than they ever

had before, but were entirely out of debt and had a bank account

besides.

PLAN No. 83. FROM CLERK TO HYDRAULIC ENGINEER

The husband in this case was a combination of stock-keeper and shipping

clerk in a large machinery house, knew the details of the business

thoroughly, and uncomplainingly shouldered the constantly increasing

burdens and responsibilities that were placed upon him, with no

intimation of a corresponding increase in salary. Finally he rebelled,

and said to his wife that if he had a certain amount of capital he would

go into business for himself.

His wife remarked that he did not need any capital, if he would write to

a number of manufacturers of the lines with which he was familiar,

detailing his experience, and giving other important data, he would no

doubt be appointed manufacturer’s agent in that part of the country; and

being of good presence and pleasing personality, he could soon create a

volume of sales that would pay him well.

He acted upon the suggestion immediately, wrote several manufacturers,

and was appointed resident agent by a number of them, on liberal

commission basis. He resigned his position and went to work with not a

dollar of capital invested. For a time he made his home his office,

where his wife, having learned typewriting, proved a willing and

valuable assistant.

That was seven years ago. Today the husband has a big office, with

plenty of help, in a down-town office building, and is recognized as one

of the best hydraulic engineers in the state.

PLAN No. 84. PROGRAMS FOR “MOVIE” THEATERS

A man who had considerable experience in theatre-program advertising

decided that if some money could be made from publishing one program a

great deal more could be made with several programs. The following

experience proved his reasoning was right:

Visiting the managers of five leading motion-picture houses, he offered

to furnish each with an attractive program twice a week, free of charge,

provided he could have the bill three or four days in advance. He was to

have all the money received from advertisements in the programs. They

all accepted his proposition, and he called upon the printer, who

usually set up his matter. He explained that there would be two editions

of each program every week, those containing the bill for Thursday,

Friday, Saturday and Sunday to be distributed at the various theatres on

Wednesday, while that for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was to be

distributed on Sunday, that all ads. were to stand for at least one

month, while the bill was to be changed twice a week, and this, of

course, enabled the printer to name a very low rate for the printing.

He gave each theater twice as many programs for each day as there were

seats in the house, so as to reach both the afternoon and evening

crowds, and added 200 or 300 to that number for distribution on Sunday,

the big day of the week.

He selected the five theatres as near each other as possible, as most of

the advertisers were in that vicinity.

He usually ran about sixteen pages of ads., though during the holidays

he would have as much as twenty-four pages most of the time; and as he

printed about 20,000 programs a week, he had no difficulty in securing

good prices for the ads. The advertisers soon found it was well worth

all it cost, and the originator of the plan realized many thousands of

dollars from it.

PLAN No. 85. MESSENGER SERVICE

It was a woman who originated the plan of establishing a messenger

service to meet the needs of a large number of people who are not

regular patrons of the larger messenger agencies and who often have

special messages or articles requiring prompt and trustworthy delivery.

At a total cost of less than $30, she fitted up her kitchen as an office

and as headquarters for the boys whom she engaged for this service,

circulated a few hundreds cards, with her address and telephone number,

among the class of business people she wished to reach, had blanks

printed for the names and addresses of those to whom messages were sent,

with space for their acknowledgement of the receipt of whatever was

delivered, and inserted a few ads. in the local paper, announcing the

beginning of her new enterprise.

She adopted a schedule of prices a little lower than those charged by

the larger companies, and engaged the services of two good reliable boys

of her acquaintance to make deliveries.

Patrons soon found the service satisfactory and her business grew with

amazing rapidity. Within a year she was enjoying an income far in excess

of what she anticipated. She is now more than pleased with the success

of her novel plan for making a comfortable living.

PLAN No. 86. WATCH FOBS FOR 5 CENTS EACH AT COLLEGE

Selling watch fobs for 5 cents each, and yet realizing a profit of $1.50

from the sale yourself, looks like one of those things that “can’t be

done” and yet it is easily accomplished. This plan helped pay part of

his college expenses.

He procures a quantity of ribbon representing the colors of the local

football or baseball team and bearing a small nickel or silver-plated

ornament, such as a horseshoe or football, and the one who gets the fob

was entitled to have his name or any design engraved upon it free of

charge.

The plan is usually worked in a cigar store, or pool hall as follows:

Two fobs are attached to a card with the label “Win a Watch Fob for 5

cents,” and the game is played with dice in a set of five. Three throws

for 5 cents is the charge, and the spots are counted and recorded with

each throw. The highest possible throw in three shakes is 90, the lowest

15. The limit of entries of 60, and the highest and lowest scores in the

series each receives a fob.

Sixty entries at 5 cents each is $3.00, and as the cost of the fobs do

not exceed 25 cents each, the profit is $2.50. After settling with the

clerk who keeps the tally and the middleman who placed the outfit, the

originator of the plan realizes at least $1.50 on each transaction, and

his profits are limited only by the number of games played.

PLAN No. 87. STARTED SHORTHAND SCHOOL

A man who was state agent for a concern that failed, was left without

money, and there were no positions open for him. In earlier life he had

been a stenographer, while his wife had taught school for a number of

years before their marriage. As a traveling man he had noted the

incompetency of many stenographers, especially their ignorance of

business principles, and often commented on this to his wife.

In their dilemma, the wife suggested the establishment of a shorthand

and business school combined, but they had no capital as a basis upon

which to begin operations. The husband still had the small office he had

used as state agent, in which were two desks, a few tables, chairs,

etc., and the wife suggested that these could be used to begin with in a

small way. She at once began taking shorthand lessons from her husband,

took up typewriting at which she made rapid progress.

They secured two or three students by personal solicitation, and the

wife began teaching them shorthand and typewriting, though she was only

one lesson ahead of them, a fact of which the students remained

blissfully ignorant. The husband took charge of the practical business

course of instruction, and the pupils made rapid progress, for they were

being taught along right lines.

In the meantime, the wife did her own housework, took care of the

children, sewed, cooked, and performed all the household duties, while

looking after the progress of her pupils, attending to her husband’s

correspondence, etc. By using practical methods of instruction, they

turned out very competent classes, and soon found it necessary to

increase their facilities by moving to larger quarters and adding to

their equipment, besides hiring additional teachers in the various

departments. Today they have a prosperous business and shorthand school.

PLAN No. 88. OPENING A MENDING SHOP

A young woman in an eastern city, being in poor health and having an

invalid mother to support, decided to open a shop for mending and fine

sewing, as she was very skillful in the use of the needle.

She rented a small ground floor apartment in a good location, and put

out a neat sign announcing the opening of a “Mending and Darning Shop.

Fine sewing of all kinds.” She made a specialty of fine damask, hemming

table cloths and napkins and darning old ones, and did her work so

neatly that her services soon became in great demand among the

housewives of the community. She distributed her business cards

throughout the neighborhood, and these brought her in a great many

orders.

Finally a large department store offered to add a mending and darning

department to its activities, and place her in charge at a good salary.

She accepted the offer, and has made such a success that she is now the

head of this department, with several girls doing the greater part of

the work under her personal direction. Just a little plan of her own,

but it brought her independence.

PLAN No. 89. HOME WALL-PAPER AGENCY

A California man who had formerly been in the wall-paper business and

found himself entirely wiped out by a fire, decided to make another

start by using his home as the basis of operations for supplying his

patrons with wall paper at very much less than the usual prices, the

profit in that community being sufficiently large to permit great

reductions in even the best grades.

A large manufacturer gladly sent him a book of samples of all kinds of

wall paper, and with this he visited hundreds of homes, where he

exhibited the various styles. The prices he named were far below those

of the down-town stores, as he had no rent or clerk to pay. He took a

surprisingly large number of orders, and realized a handsome profit on

each sale. Many of his customers felt they could put on the paper

themselves, but in those cases where he did this work for them, he

charged a fair price, and soon found he had all the work he could

possibly do. As his patronage increased, he found it necessary to employ

a young man to do the papering in those cases where it was required,

while his entire time was devoted to the taking of orders. He had

excellent taste in the matter of harmonious decorations, and made many

sales through showing the housewives the artistic effects that could be

produced by selecting the design best adapted to the furnishings of the

home.

At the end of the first year, he found his profits were much greater

than those of any year he had conducted his store, and this without the

investment of a single dollar.

PLAN No. 90. CATERING FOR LODGE PEOPLE

A young woman living in a town of a few thousand inhabitants, where

there were many fraternal societies, all having large memberships, found

she had an opportunity to make a good income by catering to these

societies.

She was not only a very skillful cook, but had excellent taste in the

preparation and arrangement of repasts, and at the same time possessed

an exceptionally pleasing personality.

She distributed among the officers and members of all the lodges in her

town a number of handsomely designed and printed cards announcing she

was prepared to serve light luncheons for their social meetings, at a

certain price per plate, and would assume full charge of the entire

entertainment.

Her first engagement was for a large gathering of lodge people, on the

occasion of a visit from one of the supreme officers of the order, and

so well did she carry out the elaborate program, and so exquisite was

the luncheon and its service, that this gave her a good reputation for

this work. After that no social affair of the fraternalists was

considered without first engaging her to take charge, and the income she

derived from this source made her a good living each year.

PLAN No. 91. GROWING MUSHROOMS

If you have a cellar that is not in use, you have the foundation for a

good living in the growing of mushrooms.

Dig up the space you desire to use for this purpose, digging it deep,

and pulverize the earth thoroughly. Then add a quantity of fine, black

dirt, rich in phosphates, with a liberal amount of some good fertilizer.

Then water the prepared bed thoroughly, and put in the spawn, which you

can buy very cheaply almost anywhere. Your mushrooms, when well started,

will produce a crop every month, but from September to May is the season

when they bring the highest prices, ranging from 75 cents to $1.50 per

pound, at hotels, cafes, etc. Give them considerable attention,

especially at first, keeping them well watered and giving them plenty of

air, but not too much light, and keep the temperature at from 60 to 70

degrees the entire time.

One person we know of, from a bed of 4 feet long by 3 feet wide, and

three bricks of spawn, eight weeks after starting, produced two and

one-half pounds of mushrooms every two days, or about nine pounds a

week. At an average price of $1.00 per pound, this brought an addition

of $9.00 a week to his regular income, and required but a few hours of

his spare time in the growth of the product. By doubling his space, he

could have doubled his profits from this source, and $18 a week from a

“side line” is a sum not to be despised, especially when it involves so

little labor and time, requires no capital and carries with it no risk

of any kind.

PLAN No. 92. BASKET MAKING

Basket making is one of these simple, easily-learned, easily-operated

and profitable occupations, so well adapted to women, that it is a

wonder more of them do not engage in it.

The country women at Aitken, S. C., make thousands of pretty and useful

baskets from pine needles, and sell them at good prices.

A lady who was visiting there learned the art of making these baskets,

and later her sister moved out west, where she learned how the Indians

made the baskets for which they are so famous. Some of the materials

used, including certain kinds of grasses, she sent back to her sister at

home, and these were made into baskets of various pretty patterns, which

sold readily, at good prices, to florists and others. In fact, her

basket-making business grew into such proportions that she was obliged

to employ a number of girls to assist her in turning them out as fast as

they could be sold.

The beauty of it is that her expenses are next to nothing, as her home

is her factory, the material is not expensive, no advertising or

printing of literature is necessary, and the proceeds of the output,

aside from the wages of the girls, are practically all profit.

As this lady lives in a city, she also derives a very neat income from

teaching the basket-making art to other women, and these in turn, make a

good living from their work, without glutting the market, for as long as

florists have calls for flowers, they need these pretty baskets to put

them in--and that means an additional profit on the flowers.

PLAN No. 93. POTATO CHIPS AND DOUGHNUTS

With a husband who was sick and without money, a new England woman,

living in a small city, found it incumbent upon herself to do some

planning to supply the family with food.

Having an intimate knowledge and special aptitude for making

exceptionally fine potato chips and doughnuts, she decided that if she

could once succeed in getting people to try her products she would be

assured of a ready sale for them, and immediately went to work to

prepare a small quantity of each, put up in her own style. Packing them

neatly in a clean, new basket, she called at a number of well-to-do

homes and asked the lady of the house to try a sample order. Nearly all

these ladies were willing to do so, and were so greatly delighted with

the superior manner in which they were made that upon her next call she

was given a large number of orders to supply families regularly with

what they regarded as positive delicacies.

In nine weeks she had made a net profit of $80 on her potato chips and

$90 on her doughnuts, and from that time on she was so busy filling

orders that she was obliged to employ a boy with a bicycle to make her

deliveries.

There are thousands of other women who can do just what this woman did,

and rise from a condition of actual want to one of plenty, and without

asking favors of anyone. If they will make it a matter of strict

business, they may succeed as she did.

[Illustration: Plan No. 94. A Happy Group]

PLAN No. 94. POULTRY RAISING FOR A BOY

As a means of educating a boy regarding business principles, and

teaching him practical ways of making money, nothing is better than the

raising of poultry in a small way, but according to correct methods.

A man in Ogden, Utah, gave his 10-year-old boy $5.00 and told him to

invest it in whatever enterprise best suited him, and what promised the

best returns upon the investment.

The boy, who was healthy, energetic and enthusiastic, bought a young

rooster and two pullets, all pure-bred fowls, and turned them into the

back yard of his home.

During February, the two pullets laid twenty-nine eggs, which he put

into an incubator, and on March 22nd, he had twenty lively young chicks.

He kept these until August, taking the best of care of them, when he

sold four pullets for $1.50 each, and four roosters at $2.00 each,

making him already $9.00 ahead of his original investment, with five

pullets and three cockerels left, besides the three he started with.

His first two pullets laid thirty-two eggs in March, and these he sold

for hatching purposes, at 15 cents each. In the next month he got only

twenty-three more eggs, as one of the pullets had become broody, and

those that were laid in April and May he put under scrub hens for

hatching, while his two blooded pullets were kept laying. The boy was

learning, and his father was giving him valuable advice in business

methods.

On December 1st, the boy figured up the results of the season’s

operations, and found that his expenses had been $30.73, of which $19.25

was for feed, and that his cash receipts and stock of chickens on hand

amounted to $141.15, so that he had made a net profit of $110.42 on an

investment of $5.00 a few months before.

And where is the boy, if he is of the right sort, and tries, who cannot

equal this record?

PLAN No. 95. WATCH INSURANCE

You may think you have heard of all kinds of insurance, but have you

ever heard of watch insurance? This Pittsburgh man never had, but he

figured out a plan of insuring watches against breakage, loss or theft,

and thought it out with such perfect precision and detail, that he soon

had a profitable and permanent business of his own.

In the policy he issues he agrees that in case the watch insured is

broken, he makes complete repairs by sending it to some jeweler, to be

selected by the assured, upon receipt of a full statement of the nature

and extent of the breakage, and to pay all the costs of such repairs.

In case of the loss of the watch, he is to pay the assured, or owner of

the watch, one-half its value, as stated in the policy if the watch is

not found again, and the same amount if the watch is stolen and not

recovered.

The policy holder is required in all cases to send full details

concerning the breakage, loss or theft of the watch, and if upon

investigation it appears that the watch is not, or cannot be found or

recovered, he sends his check for one-half of its value as above stated.

His charges for insuring watches vary from $1.00 to $5.00 per year,

according to the value of the watch, the greater the value the higher

the premium; and, being a man of good standing in his community, he

finds most people willing to pay the small amount required to guard them

against the damage, loss or theft of their favorite timepieces. He has

made it a good-paying business, and many others can follow the same plan

with profit.

PLAN No. 96. COLLECTING OLD WITNESS FEES

In the office of clerks of the court in the United States are thousands

of dollars in unclaimed witness fees, and this offers an opportunity for

thousands of men all over the country to collect them for the parties on

a large percentage basis----say, one-half the amounts collected.

A man living in a county seat in a western state made a small fortune in

this manner, because he hit upon the right plan.

All public records are open to the inspection of any person, and his

method was to make a thorough examination of these records and obtain a

list of all witness fees paid in but not called for by the parties, who

had probably forgotten all about them, or, after calling for them

several times, found the records were not completed, so that their

witness fees could not be paid. He noted the title of each case, the

date of the trial, the name and address of the witnesses, the number of

days of attendance and the amount of the fees due him.

Then he would call upon or write to the former witnesses, stating that a

certain amount was due him, which he had failed or forgotten to call

for, and that he would collect the same on a 50 per cent basis, as he

was in a position to make the collection. He enclosed, or handed to the

party if seen personally, an order on the court clerk as follows: “You

are hereby authorized to pay to (collector’s name here) the sum of

------ dollars and ------ cents, the same being due me as witness for

------ days attendance in the case of ---------- vs. ----------” with

blank for signature of the witness. His letter bore the names of several

well known men in his town as references, and in most cases the paper

came back duly signed, the money was collected, one-half sent to the

former witness, and the balance belonged to the man who thought out the

plan.

PLAN No. 97. DOUBLING THE BUSINESS OF HOTELS

A young man who owned a small printing office, had a reputation for the

skillful and artistic manner in which he did the work that came to him,

dropped into a hotel that ran a café in connection, and said to the

proprietor: “Would you like to have me double your business for you, at

but very little cost?” “I certainly would,” replied the hotel man, “and

if you can do that you are the very man I am looking for.”

“All right,” said the printer, “I am ready to show you.”

He went into the café, secured the menu for the various meals of the

following day, together with the general or short-order menu, and

hurried back to his printing office. There he proceeded to work out an

attractive design in border and type effects that would draw attention

anywhere, and took them to the hotel, where he submitted them to the

proprietor.

The hotel man was delighted with the artistic appearance of the cards,

and suggested that they be taken into the café at once.

“No,” said the printer, “only enough of these to be placed at each table

are to go into the café. The others are to be put up in the guest rooms,

one of each to every room in the house, and see how it works.”

The proprietor had never thought of that, but realized at once the value

of the plan, and right there gave the printer a standing order to print

all the menu cards the house could use in the manner suggested,

willingly paying a good round sum for the service. The young man

extended the plan to the other hotels of the town, and was soon the

busiest printer in the town, for it really doubled the business of each

house.

PLAN No. 98. A CHURCH PAPER

That churches, as well as commercial and other enterprises, could derive

great benefits from the publication of a weekly paper devoted to the

interests of all the churches in a community, was the firm conviction of

a young man living in a western city, and having had considerable

newspaper experience, he concluded to try it and see if it would prove a

success.

He attended a meeting of the ministerial association and submitted the

plan to them. Every one of the ministers, representing all the various

denominations, at once became very much interested in the proposition,

and each promised it his hearty endorsement and support.

Each pastor in the city agreed to furnish the news, as well as the

various announcements of his particular church each week, so there was

comparatively little in the way of editorial work for the young man to

do.

Having made arrangements to have the paper printed in an attractive

form, on a good quality of paper, the young publisher called upon a

large number of business men, particularly those belonging to the

various churches of the city, and soon had enough subscriptions and

advertisements to more than pay the cost of printing the paper.

The Y. M. C. A., the Y. W. C. A., the W. C. T. U., and other religious

organizations, all contributed to its columns and helped to increase its

circulation, while pictures of the churches and portraits of the

pastors and leaders in religious work gave it a most attractive

appearance.

[Illustration: Plan No. 99. Now I have a Cow--Everybody Bids Me Good

Morrow]

PLAN No. 99. PHOTOGRAPHING ANIMALS FOR SALE

Next to having a prospective purchaser come to your place to see any

animal you may have for sale, the best means of giving him a good idea

of it is to take a good photograph of the animal, properly posed, and

send it to him by mail, or use it in advertising.

A farmer’s wife, who had bought a camera for pleasure, soon learned to

adapt it to business purposes and made many sales of valuable animals

through this means alone.

This lady had three pure-bred collie dogs, from which she sold about

$400 worth of puppies every year, and she found that a majority of those

sales were made to persons to whom she had sent photographs which she

made easily and cheaply with her camera.

She knew the secret of having an animal correctly posed in order to show

it to best advantage in a picture, and knew exactly how best to attract

its attention at the critical moment of opening and closing the shutter.

The result was that the fine points of the animal were made very

prominent.

Her husband was so impressed with the results of her skill in this

respect that he asked her to take the pictures of some pure-bred

Berkshire hogs he had for sale, and readily disposed of them by this

means. Horses and cows were also photographed with equal success, while

many of the best animal photos were sent to agricultural papers, and

were in most cases accepted at good prices.

The use of the camera in this way not only paid its first cost many

times over, but brought in a good revenue each year, besides the

pleasure it afforded the family when used for other purposes.

MONEY-MAKING PLANS FOR WOMEN

A lady living in a small western town was the mother of two boys to whom

she wished to give a good start in life. She had very little money, but

many original yet practical ideas, and from these she formulated some

excellent plans for earning the money she needed for her boys and

herself.

One after another she adopted a number of good plans, made a success of

them, and was thus enabled to bring up her boys in the manner she

desired. Her plans are here given in separate detail, and it should be

noted that each and every one of these plans could be used with great

profit by any other woman who wishes to use either one or all of them,

as she chooses.

PLAN No. 100. HOME-MADE STICK CANDY

Well knowing the predilection of most people for sweet things, her first

efforts were directed toward making and selling a very superior grade of

stick candy, according to the following formula: Over a hot fire place a

kettle containing a quart of water, ten pounds of white sugar and one

teaspoonful cream tartar. Let it boil until it will snap, then put it

into cold water and pour out on marble slab or tin cooler, well greased.

As it cools, turn outer edge to center, and when cool enough to handle,

pull it until it is white as snow. Leave a small piece unpulled, and

color this red by adding a few drops of cochineal. Now roll your batch

of candy into a ball, pull the red candy into a long strip, cut in three

or four pieces, lay them on top of the white and roll it out, commencing

at one end, pulling and rolling it at the same time, which throws the

stripes in a twist around the stick. Keep rolling until hard enough to

prevent sticks from flattening out, then tap the sticks lightly with the

edge of a knife, and break them into any lengths desired.

In making this, as in all her products, she used only the purest

ingredients, so that the candy was perfectly safe for children, and she

sold great quantities of it, because it was “so good.”

PLAN No. 101. HOME-MADE TAFFY CANDY

This taffy candy, which proved an excellent seller, yielding large

profits, she made as follows:

White sugar, 10 pounds; water, 3 pints; cream tartar, one teaspoonful,

and when nearly cooked add one-fourth pound of butter. Add any kind of

flavor preferred, by pouring it on while rolling. This candy should be

cooked to the snapping point, but do not stir while cooking, or the

sugar will granulate.

PLAN No. 102. HOME-MADE MAPLE CREAM CANDY

This was one of her most popular products, and was made as follows:

white sugar, 5 pounds; best maple syrup, one pint; water, one pint;

butter, 1 tablespoonful; cream tartar, ¹⁄₄ teaspoonful. Cook same as in

making above described taffy candy, and put in one teaspoonful extract

of vanilla while pulling.

PLAN No. 103. HOME-MADE PEANUT CRISP

This was also a great favorite with the children, and she sold a great

deal of it, as well as her other candies, by visiting the different

schools during the noon hour or at recess, on certain days of each week.

The peanut crisp she made as follows: White sugar, 5 pounds; water, 1¹⁄₂

pints; cream tartar, one-half teaspoonful. When nearly cooked, add one

pound parched, hulled peanuts and one tablespoonful soda. Cook until it

will snap.

She employed many ways of selling the above and other specialties. She

took pains to learn of approaching anniversaries, such as birthday,

wedding, etc., and a few days preceding the event she would send an

attractive letter of congratulation, incidentally suggesting a box of

her home-made candies for the occasion. This made many sales.

PLAN No. 104. EXTRACTING ATTAR OF ROSES, ETC.

In addition to her candy-making enterprise, this lady likewise engaged

in the making of perfumes, and so well did she succeed that her income

was more than doubled. She developed a method of extracting the attar of

roses and other flowers, which enabled her to make a great variety of

the most delightful as well as lasting perfumes, and the ladies soon

came to know of their exquisite fragrance.

To extract the attar of any flower she procured a quantity of the

petals, which she placed on thin layers of cotton, afterwards dipping

them into the finest Florence or Lucca oil, then sprinkled a small

quantity of fine salt on the flowers alternately, until an earthen

vessel or wide-mouthed bottle was filled with them. Then she tied the

top of the vessel closely with a piece of parchment or rubber cloth, and

laid it in the heat of the sun for fifteen days, when a fragrant oil,

equal to the highest-priced essences, and very valuable in the making of

various kinds of perfumes, could be squeezed from the contents thus

treated.

PLAN No. 105. A CHEAP HOME-MADE COLOGNE

Many people who cannot afford the high-priced perfumes are very well

satisfied with some cheaper kind, and to meet this demand, the lady put

up a home-made cologne that gave very good satisfaction. This she made

as follows:

To one gallon spirits of wine, add a teaspoonful each of the oils of

lemon, orange and bergamot; with 40 drops of extract of vanilla. Shake

until the oils are well cut, then add one and one-half pints of soft

water.

This made a very fair grade of perfume, and, though it could be sold at

a low price, it yielded a fair profit to the lady who produced it.

PLAN No. 106. MAKING ROSE JARS

Very few are the boudoir accessories that are dearer to the feminine

heart than a rose jar, properly made, and most women will pay almost any

price for one of that kind. This lady knew exactly how to make a perfect

rose jar, and added this to the already long list of her profitable

industries.

She dried rose petals in salt for two weeks, then cleansed the salt from

the petals and put them in a jar. She would leave the jar open for a few

days, then put in 2 tablespoonfuls each of cloves, allspice and

cinnamon, and added 10 grains of powdered musk, letting it stand a few

hours. She then added 5 cents worth of oil of lemon verbena, and 5 cents

worth of oil of lavender. This she let stand three days, added 15 cents

worth of oil of rose geranium, and had a rose jar that would sell for

just about any price she had the temerity to ask.

PLAN No. 107. MAKING ALMOND PASTE

This preparation she found in great demand by the ladies, as it proved a

wonderful beautifier of the complexion, and a fine remedy for chapped

hands, rough skin, etc. This is the formula she used for preparing it:

To 4 ounces of blanched almonds she added the white of one egg, after

beating the almonds to a smooth paste in a mortar, then add enough rose

water, mixed with its weight in alcohol, to give it the proper

consistency. She put it up in 2-ounce jars, pasted on a fancy label, and

sold it at 25 cents a jar. Its actual cost to her, jar, label and all,

was less than 7 cents.

PLAN No. 108. HOME WORK THAT PAYS

Having suffered her full share of the losses and disappointments that

fall to the lot of so many victims of the fraudulent “home-work” schemes

through which many become well-to-do at the expense of poor women who

are seeking to make an honest living a California woman perfected a

really meritorious as well as profitable plan that can be carried out by

other women with as great profit as it brought to her.

Instead of dealing with that class of utility articles which can be

purchased ready made for less than the ordinary woman can buy the

materials, she decided to specialize in something that appealed to the

vanity of women who could afford to gratify individual taste, and chose

as her particular specialty those dainty ribboned sachet puffies for the

handkerchief case, shirt-waist box or bureau drawer, also those made in

heart shape with beauty pin attached, which girls wear inside their

waists, presenting a beautiful appearance, yet easy and inexpensive to

make, and affording a nice profit at 10 cents each. In fact, the entire

cost of the material, including the beauty pin, is only one and one-half

cents each and the making is but a minute’s work.

Few people really know how to use sachet powder. They generally use

entirely too much, and the scent is too strong, or it is adulterated

with something like orris root and the scent is uneven. But this lady

did know, and she placed fluffy cotton, or wadding, inside the bag, and

sprinkled it lightly with the sachet, which gave an even, delicate and

lasting perfume. She made up the bags of silkalene of various colors,

using baby ribbon of colors to match for “drawing” the puffie. The

silkalene will cost 10 cents per yard and one yard will make

twenty-eight of the bags. Less material is required for the corsage

puffie, but the beauty pin evens up the cost. Any woman who can sew can

make one hundred of the puffies a day, at a cost of $1.50, and she can

readily sell them for $10, and even more, thus making a profit of $8.50

a day for very light, pleasant work.

Having made up several hundreds of the puffies, in various styles and

colors--the larger ones are round or oblong and the corsage puffies

heart-shaped--she decided upon the “trust” plan as the best means of

selling them. She sent out a number of boys and girls to sell them at 10

cents each, paying them $2.00 for each one hundred sold, and even at

this figure she made a profit of $6.50 on each one hundred puffies. And

they sold, too, for almost every woman or girl who saw them bought at

least one and in some cases as many as half a dozen, so the sales were

easy and rapid.

Having made so great a success in her home town, this lady extended it

to other towns, and after covering the territory thoroughly she offered

to sell complete instructions, with patterns for making them, for $1.00.

To those purchasing this information she supplied the materials, which

she bought at wholesale, and made a good profit in that way, so that in

a few months she was enjoying a steady income equal to that of many

other merchants in her town, yet she had only a few dollars--and a good

plan--to start with.

PLAN No. 109. SHARP SAWS FOR BUTCHERS

An enterprising young man in San Francisco, who knew that the saw blades

used by butchers require frequent sharpening and also knew that it costs

the average butcher about $3.00 a month to keep them sharpened, figured

out a way to save more than half that expense, and make a good thing for

himself at the same time.

He heard of a firm in New York that manufactured a machine for

automatically sharpening hand- and meat-saws, at the rate of two hundred

and fifty blades a day.

He ordered one of these machines at a cost of $60 and set it up in the

family woodshed. He also bought 600 new saw blades at 20 cents each, or

$120 more, a total investment of $180. Then he started out to round up

the butchers of the city, and when he showed them that he could supply

each of them with twelve sharp blades a month, at 10 cents each, or

$1.20, instead of the $3.00 a month they had been paying, everyone of

them gave him an order.

At the shop of each patron he left twelve sharp blades, taking twelve

dull ones in their place and collecting $1.20, so that his first month’s

receipts from fifty shops amounted to $60. In three months he had his

entire investment back, and after that his $60 a month was all profit,

but by doubling the number of his patrons he doubled his net income, and

so on in proportion to the increase in the number of his orders. All the

dull blades collected were re-sharpened and taken to his customers in

exchange for more dull ones each month.

He also made considerable money through supplying his customers with new

saw frames, knives, steels, etc., and in a few months had built up a

profitable business of his own.

PLAN No. 110. SELLING FLAGS BY MAIL

A patriotic young lady in the East, realizing that many people do not

have a flag, when every home should possess one or more of these emblems

of liberty, decided upon a plan by which she believed she could supply

this need, and do so at a neat profit to herself, especially as there

are national holidays requiring the flying of the colors almost every

month in the year.

She wrote an eastern manufacturer, asking the lowest wholesale prices on

flags of all sizes and materials, together with collapsible flag-poles

that can be sent by parcel post, rope holder, etc., all packed in a neat

box and shipped direct from the factory to such patrons as she might

secure in her city and neighborhood, leaving her nothing to do but to

get the orders.

The prices quoted being satisfactory, she prepared a circular letter, to

be sent to those who answered a small ad. in the local paper offering

flags for sale at extremely moderate prices, and several hundred of

these, tactfully written in a patriotic vein, were mailed out all over

the country, giving full description, quoting prices, etc. In response

many orders for flags were received, and these she sent, with the

wholesale price of each, to the manufacturer, who shipped the complete

outfit direct to the customer, under the young lady’s own label. This

plan was successful, not only in furthering a good and patriotic cause,

but brought her a neat sum in the way of profits.

PLAN No. 111. FREE MOVIES FOR CHILDREN

Nothing else you can offer a child appeals so strongly as does a free

ticket to a motion picture theatre, and when you offer a dozen or more

of these free tickets for a few hours’ work children will almost go

through fire and water to get them.

A Portland man who had been a boy himself--long before the day of the

movies--having made up a large amount of an exceptionally good silver

polish, for which he had not found a very ready sale, concluded to let

the boys and girls of the smaller towns sell it for him, and believed

that free tickets to the motion-picture theatres would prove the most

acceptable of all premiums to offer them for their activities.

He advertised in a number of small-town papers, asking for the names of

all children who would like to see the movies free of charge, and

received so many names that it was only a matter of selection from the

great number replying.

To each of these he sent twenty packages of the silver polish with

instructions to sell them at 10 cents each and remit the money to him,

when he would send each boy or girl an order on the theatre manager for

twelve tickets to a 5 cent house or six to a 10 cent house. He had

previously sent the manager a draft sufficient to cover the cost of all

the tickets, and in most cases it made it easy for him thereafter to

secure tickets in quantities at great reductions, thus adding

considerably to his net profits.

His sales under this plan netted him over $5,000 the first year.

PLAN No. 112. LIVE ALLIGATORS FOR BOY AGENTS

A young man in Salt Lake City made money by giving away live alligators.

A certain man in Florida where alligators of a hardy and harmless kind

are numerous captures these young alligators by the hundreds and sells

them at 40 cents each, in lots of a dozen or more.

This young fellow was making and selling--or trying to sell--a number of

small articles, such as sheet bluing, silver polish, and some other

things, but his sales were slow, and he realized that he must do

something to boost his business.

He sent for twenty-five of these little alligators, and advertised in a

number of country weeklies that any boy who would sell a certain number

of his specialties, at 10 cents each, and remit the entire receipts to

him, would receive free a real live alligator as a premium for his work.

In a week he received many inquires, and as fast as the names of boys

came in he sent packages of his goods to them to be sold. The boys must

have been good salesmen or unusually enthusiastic, for inside of two

weeks more the remittances began to arrive and to each boy so remitting

a live young alligator was sent by express, charges collect; and, as

they made very interesting little pets, absolutely safe to play with,

every boy who received one became the envy of the neighborhood, so that

every other boy wanted one too, and a little effort soon brought him one

of his own.

PLAN No. 113. DESK ROOM IN A CITY OFFICE

A New York man who had a nicely equipped office was asked one day by a

western customer how much he would charge for the privilege of having

some of his mail come to his address, as he wished to place on his

stationery the words, “New York office, No . . . . Building.” He

thought it would add prestige to his business standing.

The New York man named a small amount, and then this idea came to him:

Why not make the same arrangement with a lot of other out-of-town

people, none of whom would be in the office more than once or twice a

year, and all he would have to do would be to forward any mail that came

for any of these various parties?

Afterwards he bought small, cheap desks at auction, installed them in

his office and advertised desk room for rent at $1.00 to $5.00 a month.

Many people called, to whom he explained that $1.00 a month would

entitle a man to call once a day for his mail, while those who

transacted any amount of business there each day would be charged $5.00

a month.

He also advertised in leading western dailies that persons could have

their New York address at his office for a certain amount, and the plan

worked so well that the rentals so obtained much more than paid his own

rent and all his other office expenses besides. But he insisted upon

references in every case, and never let anyone have this privilege

unless he proved to be honest and reliable.

Other men in various eastern cities have since adopted this plan with

success.

PLAN No. 114. READY-TO-MAKE DRESSES, ETC.

“Knock-down” furniture and picture frames are an old story, but

“knock-down,” or ready-to-make wearing apparel is “a new one” to most

people.

A Chicago woman who was an expert cutter, and who knew that most women

and girls would like to make their own clothes if they could only be

assured of a perfect fit, saw an opportunity here to not only save these

women at least half on the cost of their apparel, but to make money as

well, out of the business of supplying their needs.

She arranged with a popular pattern house for the loan of current

illustrations with which to publish a monthly fashion bulletin,

featuring those particular patterns, and with a wholesale dry goods

house for the regular discounts on dress materials, trimmings, etc.,

securing a line of small samples of each piece of goods in most demand.

Then she began advertising that for $6.50 she would furnish all the

material for a certain dress, ready cut, ready to sew together, that

would cost, made up, at the stores, $15, and other goods in the same

proportion.

To women answering these ads. and asking for particulars, she would send

a small sample of the goods desired, together with a copy of her

bulletin, illustrating each pattern, and showing the difference in the

price when cut to fit by her, as compared with the same dress bought at

a store, and usually requiring extensive alterations. She was soon

obliged to employ a number of skilled assistants, in order to turn out

the work that came to her.

The pattern selected by the customer was used for cutting the garment,

then sent to her with the material and it was an easy matter to complete

a perfect fitting dress, at a great saving in cost.

PLAN No. 115. BECAME A SECRETARY-BY-MAIL

Being a secretary by mail is a man’s-size job, and few there are who can

fill a position so exacting and often so delicate in the performance of

its manifold duties. However, a Denver young man, of literary tastes and

a lot of good business sense, felt that he could do it, and found that

he could.

He began by catering to the mail-order merchants who wish to keep posted

on new advertisements and schemes, and answered all such ads. for his

clients, sending them the replies received. He wrote attractive

business-getting letters for mail-order and other people who were poor

letter writers themselves, but who knew the value of good ones. He

attended to business matters in his city for his clients, occasionally

made collections for them, and performed many delicate forms of service

that proved of great value. In short, he did the work of a regular

secretary, but did it better than most of them are capable of doing, the

main difference being that he was secretary for some 200 men or firms,

instead of for only one; and, though his charges in each case were very

small, they amounted to a good deal in the aggregate, and brought him a

nice income for comparatively little effort.

It was a successful combination of the right man and the right plan.

PLAN No. 116. FREE MOTION-PICTURE TICKETS

A Seattle man worked out the following plan.

He called upon the managers of half a dozen or more of the 5 cent

motion-picture houses and told them if they would sell him tickets at

one-half the regular price, to be paid for in cash, in lots of 500 or

more, he could greatly increase the attendance at their theatres, as the

tickets would not cost the holders anything, and everybody who had free

tickets would be sure to come.

Practically all of those approached accepted this offer, and then he had

several thousand coupons printed, at a cost of 50 cents per 1,000, and

used a special tint of paper to prevent counterfeiting.

Thus armed, he next called upon a number of merchants with a proposition

that, for $1.25, he would give them 100 of these coupons, twenty-five of

the 5 cent admission tickets, and an attractive show-card calling

attention to the fact that he was offering his cash customers free

motion-picture tickets. The twenty-five tickets alone, at their face

value, were worth the amount he asked for the entire outfit.

Most merchants were glad to give a discount of 5 cents on each $1.00

cash purchase, as it had a tendency to convert many credit customers

into cash buyers, and the favorable publicity it gave was worth a good

deal. He gave one coupon with each 25-cent cash purchase, four for a

$1.00 purchase, and these four coupons entitled their holder to a free

5-cent theatre ticket. He gave out, on an average, 100 of these coupons

and twenty-five tickets each day, with cash purchases amounting in all

to $25.

The young man’s profit on each 100 coupons, accompanied by twenty-five

of the 5 cent tickets, was 40 cents, or $2.40 a week for each merchant

giving out 100 coupons a day. This amounted to $124.80 a year.

Twenty-five merchants therefore netted him $3,120 a year, while fifty

merchants as regular customers would net him $6,240, and 100 merchants,

$12,480.

PLAN No. 117. SWEET POTATO SLIPS BY MAIL

“I had always believed that only a resident of a big city could engage

in mail order business,” said a successful Eastern Washington farmer,

the other day, “but I have learned from my own experience that this is

not true.

“Last spring I began to realize what a great demand there is for sweet

potato slips, and believed there would be money in supplying this need,

so, in February, I bought and “bedded” 100 bushels of sweet potatoes,

and in May the first lot of slips was ready for the market. Between that

time and July 1st I disposed of 500,000 slips, at an average price of

$1.50 per 1,000, and then realized that if I had specialized on a

certain brand of potatoes, besides the regular line, my profits would

have been much larger. When it is considered that only a few months’

work was involved, I regard the returns as very satisfactory, for my net

profits on the entire transaction were $540. By enlarging my scope of

operations next year, I expect to do very much better, and then have the

greater part of the year left, to devote to other purposes. I believe

thousands of other men can become successful mail order operators by

specializing on some similar line.”

PLAN No. 118. DESIGNER FOR U. S. SEE PLAN No. 217

PLAN No. 119. ELECTROTYPES FOR COUNTRY MERCHANTS

A mail-order man back east hit upon a new plan of making money, and

received $321 during the first three weeks.

From an electrotype company he purchased 200 mounted electrotypes of

different subjects, all suitable for advertising in weekly newspapers,

for 10 cents each.

Then he had printed 2,500 circulars, 24x36, showing the 200 cuts, and

mailed the circulars to that number of country merchants whose names he

had obtained by sending for sample copies of weekly newspapers within a

radius of 250 miles from the city in which he lived.

Now, country merchants are always glad to use cuts in their ads., if

they can only get them at low rates, and when they were offered to them

at 20 cents each by express, or 22 cents if sent by mail, postage paid,

they were very glad to get them, and the orders came in rapidly.

As the orders were received, this man forwarded them to the

electrotyping company to be filled, enclosing 10 cents for each cut

ordered, and retaining the other 10 cents as his profit. Some merchants

ordered from five to fifty of the cuts, and after the mail-order man had

had several thousand more circulars printed, he used the 200 cuts he had

bought in filling orders, and thereafter all orders were filled direct

by the company making the electrotype cuts.

Extending his field of operations to cover more territory, the

mail-order man found it so profitable that he made it a regular

business.

PLAN No. 120. GREASE AND OIL REMOVER

A young Denver widow, whose husband had been a druggist, but had left

her practically destitute at his death, decided that a formula she had

successfully used herself for quickly removing grease, paint and oil

spots from wearing apparel, carpets, silks, laces, woodwork, etc.,

besides being an unequaled shampoo for the hair, could be made a source

of considerable revenue if properly presented to the public.

The formula for making this magic annihilator is as follows:

For making one gross of 8-ounce bottles, take aqua ammonia, one gallon;

soft water, 8 gallons; best white soap, 4 pounds; saltpetre, 8 ounces.

Shave the soap fine, add the water, boil until the soap is dissolved,

let it get cold, then add the saltpetre, stirring until dissolved. Now

strain, let the suds settle, skim off the dry suds, add the ammonia,

bottle and cork at once.

This will not injure the finest texture, and its chemical action is such

that it turns any oil or grease into soap, which is easily washed out

with clear, cold water. It is excellent for cleaning silver, brass and

copper, and is certain death to bedbugs, if applied to the places

frequented by them. Used as a shampoo, with an equal amount of water and

a stiff brush, it produces a lather that removes grease and dandruff,

while a cloth wet with it will remove grease from doorknobs, window

sills, etc. To remove grease from clothing, pour on a quantity of it,

rubbing with a clean sponge, on both sides of the article to be cleaned.

For carpets and coarse goods, use a stiff brush and wash out with clear,

cold water. One application is sufficient for fresh grease spots, but

where old and dry, apply again, if necessary. For cleaning silverware,

etc., mix with an equal amount of whitening, and rub briskly with a rag.

Pasting a neat label, containing the directions, upon each of the 144

bottles, she started in business by selling it from house to house, but

as the demand increased, she employed canvassers, placed it on sale at

the various drug stores in the city, and later advertised it with

excellent results.

Although the cost was a mere trifle, she found a ready sale for it at 50

cents per bottle, and it has proved so profitable that she has greatly

increased her facilities and is to-day enjoying an income considerably

larger than her late husband ever derived from his drug store.

PLAN No. 121. DINNERS FROM COUNTRY BY PARCEL POST

A man who had held a good position in the city decided to move to the

country and raise chickens. He bought a small home, besides a number of

hens, and started in business. But the hen project was a failure, and he

was about to return to his old place in the city. But he had a bright,

enterprising wife, who had some ideas of her own, and she vetoed the

plan of going back to the old drudgery of a clerk’s position, which had

almost ruined her husband’s health.

Having read a good deal concerning the value to farmers of the parcel

post, she decided upon a plan of action. She wrote a catchy ad. offering

to furnish dinners to city people; everything, even to the floral

decorations, being complete, and delivered by parcel post on the day

desired. This ad. she sent to each of the city papers, and in a day or

two the first order arrived.

The dinner she sent consisted of one pint of shelled peas, a few young

potatoes, one broiler, a pint of strawberry preserves, a pint of cottage

cheese, a quart box of cherries, fresh from the tree, a loaf of

home-made bread, an angel food cake, one-half pound of fresh, sweet

butter, and a number of sweet, old-fashioned roses. All were neatly

packed in a strong container and the postage prepaid. It was sent in the

morning, and arrived that afternoon.

For a dinner like that she charged $2.00, which was considerably less

than it would have cost in the market for stale stuff, but which cost so

little to produce that it yielded a very good margin of profit.

The family to whom the first dinner was sent promptly placed an order

for two dinners each week, to be varied according to the season, and

their example was followed by so many others that both husband and wife

were kept busy as bees in putting up parcel-post dinners. But they were

making money--more than the husband had ever earned before.

PLAN No. 122. LUNCHES FOR FACTORY WORKERS

A widow lady who lived near a large factory, and who had done some

sewing for the wife and daughters of the superintendent, was told by

that official that she could make considerable money by bringing small

box lunches to the factory doors at noon every day, and that if she

cared to try out the plan she could have the exclusive privilege of

doing so.

She thought the matter over carefully and decided there might be

something in it, so she procured a hundred small, cheap, paper boxes,

and filled them with light, simple lunches which she could sell at a

profit for 5, 10 and 15 cents each, and from the very first she found a

ready demand for them. Many of the operators, especially the young women

who had previously brought their lunches from home, preferred to buy

these, as they afforded a variety which, though limited, was something

of a change, and the lady found her time fully occupied in planning and

preparing them for service while the net profits amounted to something

over $2.50 each day.

PLAN No. 123. A CURRANT FARM

An Indiana farmer devoted six acres of his land to currant culture and

in a year or two began to realize that he had quite an undertaking on

his hands.

From these six acres he usually picks 1,000 crates which sell at $1.35

per crate, and it is necessary for him to hire a large number of boys

and girls to do the picking. To these he pays good prices, and after all

expenses are paid, he generally comes out about $600 ahead. As this is

much more than can be produced by any other crop, he has about decided

to plant his entire farm of 160 acres in currants, and thus clear

$16,000 a year from a crop that requires but a few months each season to

look after.

By using a two-horse cultivator, he need spend but little time or labor

in raising the currants, while no planting is required after the first

year, and the picking can be let out so as to furnish employment to a

large number of boys and girls, as well as those men and women who are

not otherwise engaged and are looking for work.

PLAN No. 124. SHOPPING FOR FRIENDS

Many women dread the shopping it is necessary for them to do every

little while, for to them it is the hardest kind of work, and most of

these women would be glad to pay someone to do it for them. But here was

a woman who positively delighted in shopping. She loved it for the

variety, the excitement and the adventure it afforded.

She called first at the homes of a number of the women whom she knew

could not afford to spend much time in shopping, being thoroughly

occupied with the numerous duties and responsibilities of their own

households. Besides, they did not like to shop anyway.

To these women she made a proposition to attend not only to all their

local shopping, but to help them make selections from the catalogs of

big mail-order houses, and order whatever goods they wanted from those

sources, as well.

For these services she named a rate of compensation that seemed

surprisingly low to those for whom they were rendered, but when these

small sums were multiplied by 100 or more, they amounted to considerable

in the aggregate, so that the arrangement was eminently satisfactory to

all parties concerned. Besides, it gave the woman who loved shopping an

opportunity to do so without any limitations to her favorite pastime,

and it made her a good living.

PLAN No. 125. THE MILK DIET

Ever since the dawn of civilization many men and women have endured

various forms of stomach trouble, usually as a result of abusing that

delicate and sensitive organ, yet often arising from causes over which

the sufferer has no control. And in practically all these cases every

known means has been employed in an effort to find a remedy for this

distressing affliction.

All sorts of “cures” have been foisted upon these people from time to

time, and fortunes have been made from the miseries of the human race,

for nowhere else are there such fertile fields for heartless

exploitation as among the hosts of the afflicted, who would gladly give

all they possess to be restored to that robust health so easily promised

by those who profit upon the sick.

It has remained, however, for Father Kneipp, a well known scientist, to

discover and perfect a method of curing stomach trouble that, for its

simplicity and effectiveness, has never been equaled, and which is now

being used with great success in this country and Europe. Several large

sanatoriums have been established in various European countries, where

this treatment, which is nothing more nor less than a perfect milk diet,

is administered with astonishing results.

A young American, who had been a patient at one of these sanatoriums,

succeeded in obtaining the exact method or formula for giving this

treatment, and believing he could bring untold benefit to thousands of

stomach sufferers in this country, and at the same time derive a good

income himself from sending them full printed instructions for taking

the treatment in the proper manner, devised the following admirable

method of procedure:

Through an advertising agency, he inserted the following advertisement

in a list of newspapers within a few hundred miles of his home town:

“The world’s most successful treatment for the regeneration of

shattered, weak and disordered stomachs and for all chronic ailments of

the digestive apparatus, that make life miserable for those so affected.

Builds up thin, ill-nourished people, and reduces the superfluous weight

of fat people. Relieves and heals disorders of the liver, kidneys,

bladder, the circulation, etc. Restores rheumatic sufferers to health,

strength and happiness. Milk, which you can take in your own home, is

nature’s own sanative, but you must know how to take this diet. Obtain

complete instructions, fully describing the method of taking it, by

writing us today for the great two-course treatment, and learn how, if

you would be well.”

A surprisingly large number of inquiries were received in answer to the

above ad., and to every inquirer he sent a circular letter substantially

as follows:

“Dear Friend: I have your inquiry relative to the principles of

rejuvenation through the Milk Diet, and take pleasure in referring to

the really wonderful work it has accomplished for those suffering from

ailments of the stomach.

“That famous scientist, Father Kneipp, who recently discovered certain

priceless principles of bodily rehabilitation through the medium of the

Milk Diet, was so greatly impressed with the marvelous results obtained,

that he opened a sanatorium in the Tyrol mountains, to which thousands

of wealthy Europeans suffering from stomach or other intestinal

disorders are flocking every year, and from which in from two to six

weeks they emerge rejoicing in regained health and a new lease on life,

the result of a simple and delightful course of treatment. Indeed,

patients who are able to pay the expenses of so long a journey are going

there from all parts of the world.

“But there are unnumbered thousands everywhere who are suffering equal

tortures from disordered stomachs, yet who cannot afford so expensive a

trip, and it is now made possible for these people to obtain the same

wonderful benefits right in their own homes, through being given the

proper instructions for taking this simple yet powerfully effective

treatment. Even so great a boon as is the Milk Diet would avail but

little unless taken according to the established method adopted by

Father Kneipp as the result of years’ of experiment and research. Every

good result depends upon knowing how to take the Milk Diet, and those

instructions I am prepared to supply for the merely nominal payment of

one dollar, which but little more than defrays the cost of printing and

mailing. I am offering the two complete courses for this small amount,

and am willing to refund even this if you are not more than satisfied

with the results of the treatment, when taken according to the

instructions I furnish.”

In case this letter failed to bring an order, one or two “follow-up”

letters were sent, emphasizing the need of the treatment in all forms of

stomach derangement, and again calling attention to the curative

qualities of milk when used as a diet in the proper way. He referred to

the fact that Americans are particularly subject to stomach

difficulties, as a result of improper food, especially hot bread, pies

and pastry, and reminded the recipient of the letter that the Milk Diet

was easy and pleasant to take; that it was the first natural food of

mankind, gives the stomach a much needed rest, and enables it to rebuild

under Nature’s beneficent ways; that his course showed anyone exactly

how the treatment should be taken, to obtain the desired results and

regenerate the entire digestive system, and offered to leave the

decision of the case to the party’s own family physician, provided he

was a good doctor, and an honest man.

In his third letter he offered to send the course on approval, if

desired, expressing full confidence that the patient would remit the

$1.00 promptly after having thoroughly tested the merits of the

treatment.

The first letter usually brought an order, accompanied by the $1.00

asked, and so uniform was the success of the treatment that not one

person ever asked to have his money refunded. On the contrary, dozens of

others sent in their dollars after seeing the wonderful results the

treatment accomplished.

In the meantime he had had the instructions governing the taking of the

treatment neatly printed in an attractive little booklet, the cover

containing the words, “The Milk Diet, Nature’s Greatest Remedy for the

Relief of Those Suffering from Stomach Troubles, Indigestion, Dyspepsia,

Constipation and all Intestinal Ills,” and below this was the picture of

a fine cow of high-class stock, contentedly browsing in a green, shady

pasture, with trees and a running stream. In this booklet were printed

complete instructions, as follows:

PLAN No. 126. COURSE No. 1. THE BUTTERMILK DIET

“In order to restore the digestive and assimilating processes to a

condition whereby they can perform their functions properly, the first

requisite is to give the stomach a complete rest, by providing it with

food that will not tax the stomach and digestive organs, yet will

nourish the body.

“Scientists have discovered that Buttermilk, used to the exclusion of

all other foods for a stated time, is the ideal food for that purpose as

it contains all the elements of nourishment, and is free from

indigestible butter fat; that it thoroughly cleans out the system,

eliminating all the toxic poisons and fermented contents of the stomach,

which having entered the circulation, upset the whole system and produce

disease. It expels the bile, mucus and acids produced by incorrect

digestive action, cleanses the stomach and intestines, the liver,

pancreas, kidneys and blood, enabling the system to throw off every

trace of toxic poisons, and bring a speedy return of the normal appetite

and renewed energy.

“The element in buttermilk scientifically known as lecithin, acts on the

system as a tonic, which clears the complexion, brightens the eyes, and

imparts the glow of perfect health to the entire body.

“But one fact must be kept constantly in mind while taking the Milk

Diet, if success is to be assured: A strict adherence to the rules as

herein laid down. To take it in a haphazard fashion, on and off as the

notion strikes one, will do no good, and a lapse from the regular

program will set you back to where you were at the beginning. Therefore,

do exactly as the course prescribes, without the deviation of a hair’s

breadth from its positive and plainly-stated rules.

“Before taking this course, give the system a thorough purging, with

castor oil or saline laxatives, to carry off the contents of the

intestines and prepare the stomach for the beneficent action of the

buttermilk.

“The Buttermilk Diet Course is divided into three periods: the first two

of four days each, and the third until a satisfactory condition is

obtained, which should be in from four to ten days.

“During the first four-day period, take one-half pint of fresh, pure

buttermilk every two hours during the waking hours, beginning at 7 A. M.

and continuing until 9 P. M., or 11 P. M., if preferred. This amounts to

from 2 to 2¹⁄₂ quarts of buttermilk a day for the first four days.

Should this produce vomiting, as it may in a few cases, do not be

alarmed, for it simply indicates that the system is taking notice of

what is being done for it, and is trying to expel some of the poisons it

is unable to get rid of through the intestines. Keep on taking the

buttermilk, even increasing the quantity, until the vomiting ceases and

the stomach accepts it without protest.

“In the second four-day period, the amount of buttermilk taken should be

increased to one-half pint every hour and a half during the waking

hours, or nearly three quarts of buttermilk a day.

“After the eighth day, take half a pint of buttermilk every hour, and

continue this until you feel that you have been restored to a healthy

condition. This feeling will be manifested by a sensation of complete

ease, bodily and mentally, and an active desire for solid food--a desire

which will have disappeared almost entirely after the second or third

day of the first period, and does not return until the system is once

more balanced and healthy.

“If unable to get absolutely pure, fresh buttermilk take pure, fresh

milk, draw off the cream or butter fat which rises to the top of the

bottle, and add buttermilk tablets, which can be procured at all drug

stores and many grocery stores, with directions for use on the package.

Buttermilk made in this way is far better than poor grades of real

buttermilk that is not fresh.

“The buttermilk should be taken lukewarm--not iced, chilled or hot--and

sipped slowly, not gulped down.

“If, while taking the course, you suffer from hunger or thirst, do not

allow yourself to either eat or drink anything--not even water--but

always take some more of the buttermilk, as this will relieve the hunger

and satisfy the thirst.

“While taking the treatment, always keep the bowels open, and enemas, or

internal bathing, are advised for this. In taking the enema, or rectal

injection, use a two-quart bag with syringe, having the water

blood-warm, or just so you can hold your hand in it. To a two-quart bag

of this warm water, add half a cupful of pure glycerine, shaking it up

thoroughly, and, lying on the floor on one side, with the legs doubled

up, inject the entire contents of the bag into the rectum. Hold this in

for ten minutes, then evacuate it naturally and thoroughly. This

internal bath should be taken every day during the first four-day

period, then every other day during the second period, and after that

twice a week, until you are having two natural passages every day. Make

an effort at these times, whether the desire exists or not.

“In taking the enema, regulate the flow so that it will not be too

violent. Hanging the bag of the syringe from 2¹⁄₂ to 3 feet above the

floor will give the correct impetus to the flow. These internal

flushings remove the secretions from the lower intestine, where they are

prone to lie and ferment, and are a great aid in preserving the general

health, as they assist nature in eliminating waste and poisonous matter.

“After completing the Buttermilk Diet, as directed herein, use caution

in taking solid nourishment for awhile. For a few days reduce the supply

of buttermilk, and substitute light, easily digested foods, such as

eggs, boiled, poached, or creamed; chicken, broiled lamb chops, small

quantities of rare roast beef, broiled steak rare, boiled fresh fish,

rice, macaroni cooked in milk until tender, fresh vegetables that do not

contain starchy elements, and ripe, wholesome fruit. Also eat dry toast,

or whole wheat bread in place of fresh bread made from white wheat

flour. This course has, no doubt, broken you of the coffee habit, so

avoid coffee in future, and use milk or buttermilk instead, as it will

be much better for you. Resume the eating of solid foods by eating only

one meal a day, about noon, taking the milk or buttermilk for your

morning and evening meals, as well as during the day when hungry or

thirsty.

“Thoroughly chew your food after returning to a solid diet, and thus

avoid many stomach troubles, while obtaining more nourishment from your

food. Besides, by eating slowly, you will eat much less, and feel all

the better for it.”

PLAN No. 127. THE MILK DIET

“Because people are inclined to eat more for the pleasure it affords

them than for the necessary nourishment of the body, they usually eat

too much, and suffer from stomach disorders and derangements in

consequence. Especially is this true in the United States, where high

living is the rule, rather than the exception, and it is here that so

many thousands are suffering untold agonies from various forms of

stomach and intestinal complaints.

“But Nature herself has placed within easy reach of all a safe, certain

and pleasant remedy for the myriad maladies caused by improper eating,

as well as sufferers through inherited tendencies. And that supreme and

sovereign remedy is--milk.

“The efficacy of the Milk Diet is now so thoroughly and firmly

established that thousands have been the beneficiaries of its marvelous

healing power, while still unnumbered thousands are earnestly longing

for the blessings it will bring them when properly brought to their

attention.

“Milk possesses certain properties that heal and anoint those organs of

the body which digest and assimilate the sources of nourishment, and

pure milk will counteract many ailments which no other seems able to

reach. The systematic drinking of milk, under certain well established

rules, if persistently adhered to, will practically restore the

shattered and disordered stomach to that condition of health and

strength which is its natural birthright and inheritance.

“The first requisite in the use of milk as a remedy for stomach ailments

is that it be absolutely pure and fresh. It must not be taken cold, but

cool enough to be palatable, though preferably blood-warm, as it is then

easier to digest and is more quickly assimilated. It must be taken from

healthy cows, must not be skimmed, and must be sipped slowly, not gulped

down.

“In taking up the Milk Diet, you must give up all kinds of food and

drink--except milk--and it is best to rest the body as much as possible

during the period of the treatment, so as to conserve all your energies

for renovating and rejuvenating your system. Complete physical

relaxation during the first ten days is highly advisable, lying on the

back as much as possible, and making no unnecessary effort along the

line of physical activity. Afterwards, however, light work or moderate

exercise is desirable.

“Taking into consideration the rich elements of milk, it is best at

first to take only small quantities, and repeat often. Half a glass

every half-hour will do to begin with, and the quantity can be increased

gradually, until the stomach will retain a full glass every half-hour.

Keep this up during the first ten days, keeping your body relaxed

meanwhile, and after that a half pint should be taken every hour during

the working hours, and a pitcher of milk be kept within reach to drink

during the night. In a thoroughly well ventilated room the milk will

keep sweet all night except in the hottest weather, and is good in case

of sleeplessness.

“Some people become bilious when taking nothing but milk, the

biliousness being evidenced by the regurgitation of the milk, by acid

eruptions from the stomach to the mouth, and even by vomiting. But do

not be discouraged. Keep on drinking the milk, for these manifestations

are merely nature’s protest against the condition of the stomach, and

not against the milk. Soon the vomiting will clear out the accumulations

of bile and mucus from the stomach, the milk will cease to distress you

and will be easily and quickly digested. If milk does not lie quietly on

the stomach, it is because the stomach is not in a fit condition to

receive it, that is all.

“As the milk begins to be absorbed by the circulation, it permeates all

parts of the system and cleans them out, for the cleaning power of milk

is very great.

“Some persons, after taking the milk for awhile, begin to loath it, and

in these cases the juice of a lemon may be substituted for a short time,

but only occasionally to overcome the feeling of nausea. A little lemon

juice is also advisable following the vomiting incident to the

biliousness that sometimes occurs.

“In taking either the milk or buttermilk treatment, the patient will

experience, at first, great hunger, and a longing for solid food. In all

such cases, drink milk, plenty of it, and it will be both food and drink

for you. After the third day, the craving for solid food generally

disappears, though it is best to keep away from food and avoid

temptation for a few days and soon you will have no craving.

“Before beginning the Milk Diet, a good dose of castor oil is advisable,

though not so essential as in the Buttermilk Diet. But after the course

has started, no drugs should be used for keeping the bowels open. If

constipation develops, as is likely, flush the rectum with the enemas,

as in the case of the Buttermilk Diet, doing this every day for three or

four days, then one every other day for the next four days, and after

that once or twice a week, so as to keep the bowels moving regularly,

assisting nature in having regular passages every morning and evening.

Always add half a cup of glycerine to the two quarts of warm water used

as an injection, as this acts as a lubricant and softener of the inner

tract, and water alone will dry out the colon, which is dangerous. If

the patient is suffering from piles, use a soft catheter or rubber in

taking the injections. The internal bath conquers looseness of the

bowels and diarrhea, as well as constipation, and when used with

glycerine is a sedative to the irritated colon or intestines.

“How much time should be given to taking the Milk Diet? That depends

entirely upon the person taking it. Many who know its great benefits

advise that it be taken at least once every year, especially by hearty

eaters and high livers, who should take it for two or three weeks each

spring and fall, as by doing so they can always be perfectly healthy.

“Relief in chronic ailments due to indigestion, stomach or intestinal

troubles, and derangement of the kidneys and bladder, varies with the

aggravation of the case, and nature itself will show when the

regeneration is completed. But the safe rule is to continue the

treatment until you know you are well, though your judgment may not

always be infallible.

“Fat people who take this treatment to reduce their weight, and thin

people who take it to build up their wasted bodies, will know when to

stop, and by using proper care in the selection of foods, will be able

to maintain a normal condition, but even then it is better to continue

it a little longer than to stop too soon, and not resume hearty eating

too quickly. Observe the same rules in preparing the system for the

taking of solid foods as are prescribed in the Buttermilk Diet,

beginning lightly and gradually increasing the quantity taken. A few

people are affected strangely by the results of the Milk Diet upon the

nervous system, where it has been badly run down by excesses in eating

or the ailments that follow them, but this condition is only temporary,

and will soon pass away through perservering in the diet, and the nerves

will be greatly strengthened and renewed by the rich new blood that is

the natural result of the Milk Diet.

“To only one class of persons is there any danger in taking the Milk

Diet. People who have organic heart trouble are liable to find the flow

of new blood too strong for a weak heart, and should be guided by the

advice of a reputable physician before beginning it, so as to avoid

serious consequences.

“The Milk Diet should be taken only by adults; as children are rarely to

be found suffering from stomach trouble and their strong young systems

require solid food for proper development.

“Nor should the Milk Diet be taken by anyone without first flushing the

system by the use of the enema, as above set forth.

“Above all things else, take absolutely no food or even a drink of

water, while taking the Milk Diet, as this will undo all the good that

has been accomplished and make it necessary to begin all over again.

“Fat people usually lose two or three pounds a day when they first begin

taking the Milk Diet strictly according to the instructions herein

given, while thin people commence to gain in weight, for it brings real

health, instead of merely artificial relief, such as is given by drugs.

And after the treatment is taken, practice simple living, eating plain

but substantial food, and you will find yourself completely restored to

perfect health. In the meantime, keep the bowels regular, by an

occasional enema if necessary, and your troubles will be over. However,

you can bring them all back, by again abusing the delicate organism of

the stomach.

“Sleep enough, but not too much, in well ventilated rooms. Exercise

moderately and thoroughly masticate your food before swallowing it.”

Within a month after inserting the advertisements, several hundred

people had ordered the course, remitting the $1 requisite, and almost

without exception those who completed the treatment according to the

instructions sent, began sending testimonials to the marvelous effects

of the Diet in their individual cases. The enterprising citizen had no

capital invested, carried no stock, and had only to mail the printed

instructions for taking the treatment, and the patients gladly did the

rest. And he not only made a good living for himself but brought health

and happiness to a host of suffering people.

PLAN No. 127B. MAKING ORCHARD AND GARDEN PAY

A farmer’s wife in Iowa, who wanted to make some money of her own,

instead of feeling that she had to ask her husband for every dollar she

received, started in a systematic manner to have a bank account of her

own.

The family lived within twenty miles of a large city, and the farm

contained an extensive orchard, as well as over an acre devoted to

gardening purposes, and in these the wife found a broad field for her

activities.

She thoroughly understood the many tempting ways in which fruits,

vegetables and other orchard and garden products can be put up, and she

knew the city people would pay for the products of her skill, so she

entered upon an extensive campaign of canning, pickling and preserving,

any one of which lines will furnish any energetic woman with a way for

making money, even though she may adopt only one of the profitable

plans. She could not begin to supply the demands of the city people.

PLAN No. 128. PICKLED PEACHES AND PEARS

There are few things that have a more delicious taste than pickled

peaches or pears, especially when pickled the way this farmer’s wife

pickled them.

Take one-half cup of vinegar and one-half pound of sugar to a little

over a pound of the fruit. Place the sugar and vinegar over the fire

until it comes to a boil. Add a layer of fruit, and cook until soft

enough to run fork through it; then remove the fruit and fill the same

way until all are done. The syrup needs no more cooking. Stick cloves in

the fruit before cooking, and add cinnamon to syrup, if desired.

When she sent these to the city, she soon had calls for more, and the

prices they brought were a source of much pride as well as profit to the

energetic housewife who put them up.

PLAN No. 129. PICKLED APPLES

Apples, especially those of the choicest varieties, are very good

without pickling, but a great deal more so when they are pickled the way

the farmer’s wife prepared them, as follows:

Take ripe, hard, sweet apples. Peel evenly, and if the apples are

perfect, leave them whole, otherwise cut in quarters. To a peck of

apples, take about two quarts of vinegar and four pounds of sugar, half

an ounce of mace, half an ounce of cloves, and the same amount of

allspice, all unground; one teaspoonful of mustard seed, a few pepper

grains and a little salt. Heat the vinegar and sugar together to the

boiling point, skim well, put the spices in a thin muslin bag and add

the vinegar, then put in the apples. Place over the fire, and stew

slowly until the apples are soft. Then take out the apples, let the

vinegar boil down, and pour in over the fruit. Cover and put away.

Of course, in making large quantities, she increased the amount of the

ingredients accordingly, yet maintained the proportions named.

PLAN No. 130. PICKLED CHERRIES

The cherry trees were full that year, and she made good use of cherries

by using this recipe:

To every quart of cherries, allow a cupful of vinegar, one-half cupful

of sugar, one dozen whole cloves, half a dozen blades of mace. Put the

vinegar and sugar on to heat, with the spices, boil five minutes, turn

out into a covered stoneware vessel and let it get perfectly cool.

Strain out the spices, fill small jar three-fourths full of cherries,

then fill up with cold vinegar. Cork or seal tightly. Leave the stems on

the cherries.

Besides filling several shelves in her own cellar with these, she sold

large quantities to her city customers at “top” prices.

PLAN No. 131. PICKLED PLUMS

It would hardly seem possible to make a plum any better than it is when

ripe and right off the tree, but this Iowa woman did so as follows:

To seven pounds of plums, take four pounds of sugar and two ounces each

of stick cinnamon and cloves, one quart of vinegar and a little mace.

Put in the jar first a layer of plums, then a layer of spices; scald

the vinegar and sugar together, and pour over the plums, and when the

jar is full, scald all together. They are then ready for use at once.

But she didn’t use all she put up. She sold to city people who liked her

other products so well.

PLAN No. 132. SWEET CUCUMBER PICKLES

People like cucumber pickles, so this woman catered to their taste as

follows:

Take ripe cucumbers, cut in two, scrape out the seeds, cut into strips

and soak over night in salt water. To every quart of vinegar add one

pound of sugar; boil and skim. Boil the strips in vinegar until tender

and quite transparent. Take out the pickles, strain the vinegar, put it

over the fire with a small muslin bag of mixed spices, boil two hours,

pour over the pickles, cover and put away.

She sold these pickles at a good profit.

PLAN No. 133. INDIAN CHUTNEY MAKE

This will be something new to many people, but it is so good that almost

any woman could derive a good living from making and selling this and

nothing else. Here is the way the Iowa lady made it:

Pare, core and chop in small squares pieces half a pound of sour apples,

and to them add half a pound each of tomatoes, brown sugar, stoned

raisins and salt, a quarter of a pound each of cayenne pepper and

powdered ginger, two ounces each of onions and garlic, one quart of

lemon juice and three quarts of vinegar. Mix all well together, and put

in a closely covered jar. Keep in a warm place, and stir every day for a

month, being careful to see that it is kept covered; strain through a

sieve at the end of this time and bottle. The liquor may be used as a

sauce for fish or meat, and imparts a flavor seldom equaled.

PLAN No. 134. SPICED CURRANTS

Any one should be able to obtain any quantity of currants desired in

their season, and make extra money by spicing them as this Iowa lady

did, as follows:

Three pounds of white sugar, five pounds of ripe currants, one

tablespoonful each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Boil

currants one hour, then add sugar, spices and one-half pint of vinegar

and boil one-half hour longer.

This was one of the best sellers she put up.

PLAN No. 135. TOMATO PRESERVES

With tomatoes as plentiful and cheap as they are almost every year, and

with so many people who like them, it is a wonder that thousands of

women do not make a living by preserving, according to the following

recipe, which this lady used:

Peel the tomatoes, and to each pound add a pound of sugar and let stand

over night. Take the tomatoes out of the sugar, and boil the syrup,

removing the scum. Put in the tomatoes and boil gently twenty minutes.

Remove the fruit again, and boil until the syrup thickens. On cooling,

put the fruit into jars and pour the syrup over. The round, yellow

variety of tomatoes should be used, and as soon as ripe.

It is hard to imagine a more delicious preserve, or one that will bring

a better price.

PLAN No. 136. CRAB APPLE JELLY

While thousands of bushels of crab apples are allowed to go to waste

every year, and cost nothing but the picking, hundreds of women could be

earning considerable money by gathering them, as they make the best

jelly in the world, and it can be sold at almost any price one may ask.

This Iowa lady used her surplus stock of crab apples as follows:

Wash the fruit clean, put in a kettle, cover with water, and boil until

thoroughly cooked. Then pour into a sieve and let it drain. Do not press

it through. For each pint of this liquor, allow one pound of sugar. Boil

from twenty minutes to half an hour. Jellies can also be made from

quinces, peaches and Porter apples in the same way.

Even with all of this she could make, the lady was unable to supply the

demand.

She secured customers for her products through a few short ads in the

city papers.

PLAN No. 137. GLASS POLISHING PASTE

Nothing affords the housewife more pleasure or pride than to have her

glassware, mirrors, window panes, etc., show that brilliancy and lustre

so universally admired, but it is difficult to obtain.

A young man in San Diego, California, who had the formula for one of the

best of these polishes, but very little else, anchored his hopes of

making a living on supplying all the homes he possibly could with the

means of keeping their glass surfaces shiny and clean. Therefore he made

up as much of the preparation as he could afford for a starter, from the

following formula:

Prepared chalk, 9 ounces; jewelers’ rouge, ¹⁄₂ ounce; white bole, ¹⁄₂

ounce; alcohol, 3 ounces; water, 5 ounces. Mix into a stiff paste.

To use, moisten a cloth with alcohol, place a small quantity of the

paste, not larger than a pea, on the glass, and rub over the surface

with the cloth until dry, and until the powder is completely removed.

The result was good.

Not having sufficient capital to advertise his preparation, or to make

it in sufficient quantities to employ agents or supply it to the drug

stores, he made up a small amount at first, and introduced it into

various homes by asking permission to polish up some glassware or a

window, and the lustre it left was so brilliant that he sold some of it

at most every house in which he demonstrated, and as the profit was very

large, he soon had enough capital to make it on a larger scale. Then he

placed a crew of agents in the city and surrounding towns and thus

created a demand for the product which the druggists were glad to supply

from the stocks he had left with them for sale.

In a short time he was able to advertise it thoroughly, and in the

course of a couple of years he had built up a business that is today

netting him a very good income.

But his success need not exclude others from this field, and there is

still room for hundreds of other young men who wish to follow his

example.

PLAN No. 138. HAIR DRESSING AS A PROFESSION

A young lady in Denver, the possessor of a pleasing manner, neat and

attractive, felt the need of making some money to help support her

invalid mother. She had been employed in a hair-dressing establishment

for some time, and had learned all the secrets of the business, so she

put her knowledge of the business into practical form and made a success

of it.

She was personally acquainted with a number of women in her section of

the city, who, though not regular patrons of the leading hair-dressers,

liked to have their hair done up in proper form, and could afford a

reasonable price for such service. She therefore had some neat cards

printed, announcing that she would do all kinds of hair-dressing for

ladies at their homes, at very reasonable rates, and, calling upon these

women, she left her cards, with a request that she be allowed to dress

the hair of each one as a sort of demonstration of her ability, also

asking the ladies interviewed to hand her card to some lady

acquaintance.

She was surprised by the large number of “trial orders” she received,

and she performed the service so well that practically all the women,

after having her dress their hair once, insisted upon paying her rates,

which were not considerably less than regular hair-dressers’ prices.

In a short time she had all the permanent patrons she could serve, and

the reward of her tact and skill came in the form of a good living.

[Illustration: Plan No. 139. Woman in Business]

PLAN No. 139. CLIPPING BUREAU

There are clipping bureaus, big and little, in all the cities and towns

in America, but a short time ago there was one town of 6,000 people, in

a western state, where there was no clipping bureau, so an enterprising

citizen of the place started one.

He was on a friendly basis with the newspaper men of the town and was

allowed the use of exchange papers.

Next he interviewed a number of contractors, builders, architects,

supply houses, manufacturers, men prominent socially and politically,

and many others and arranged to furnish them with all the news items of

interest within a radius of 200 miles, for $3.00 a month and up,

depending upon the character and number of subjects clipped.

Then he rented a small office in a quiet street, hired a girl for $35 a

month to do the reading, clipping, pasting and classifying. He solicited

the business. His receipts for the first month were $100, the second

month $150, the third month $200, and on up until it reached $300 a

month, with no additional expense. He also read, marking the articles to

be clipped and mailed by the girl assistant.

His bureau is still running and is making him a good living.

HOW A WIFE HELPED HER HUSBAND

The wife of a young man who had been incapacitated for heavy work by

injuries received in an automobile accident assumed the duties of

bread-winner for the family by carrying out a number of plans which she

had always regarded as “life-savers” in case of emergencies. Each of

these in itself would prove a means of earning a livelihood by any one

other woman similarly situated.

PLAN No. 140. STARTED A HOME STORE

This couple lived in a small western city of about 25,000 inhabitants,

some of whom were well-to-do, and it occurred to her that by utilizing

her large front room and opening a little store in which all the

articles offered for sale were made at home, she could keep it stocked

with many articles which she could make herself, and soon build up a

profitable business.

Possessing extraordinary taste and skill, by odd jobs she earned some

money to be used as working capital for the store. First, she bought a

ham, sliced it thin, laid some sprigs of parsley around it on a number

of plates, and set this in her front window. She also made some

artificial honey from a recipe she found in an old cook book, and

arranged this display so tastefully that her supply was soon sold. Then

she displayed a variety of vegetables, fresh from her garden, and these

also sold readily, at good prices. To this display she added plants of

many kinds, then delicious pastry of her own cooking, preserves,

sweetmeats, fresh laid eggs from her own hens, and finally branched out

into a complete line of home-made goods, for which she found a steady

demand the year round.

With the little help her husband could give, she was soon earning more

money than the family ever had before.

PLAN No. 141. HAS A FLOWER BED

Never before had she realized the immense profit to be derived from a

well-kept flower bed, but the insistent call for plants and cut flowers

of all kinds gave her a new idea, and she turned this also to excellent

account. Her own personal care of the flower bed was the only capital

she found it necessary to invest, and she was pleased to learn that the

large returns she received from this source represented just that much

clear profit.

The more common plants, such as pansies, geraniums, etc., were always in

demand by those who had failed to plant flowers of their own, while the

rarer kinds, such as orchids, etc., were wanted, at fancy prices.

She possessed the artistic taste necessary to arrange her flowers and

plants to the best possible advantage, and this arrangement no doubt

brought many patrons.

To keep her flowers fresh, she wet them thoroughly, put them in a damp

box and covered them with wet raw cotton or wet newspapers, then placed

them in a cool place. To preserve bouquets, she put a little saltpetre

in the water.

PLAN No. 142. HOME-MADE CHRISTMAS GIFTS

During her spare time she made a great variety of Christmas presents,

such as sofa pillows, pin cushions and trays, jewel trays, lamp shades,

chair cushions, tidies, book-marks, catch-bags, and work-baskets. The

latter she made of a few cents’ worth of light drilling covered with

ruffled net, and when made they were fully equipped with the necessary

needles, thread, etc. Some cheap yet substantial material was used as a

base for these baskets, and when tastefully adorned, as she so well knew

how, they, as well as all the other holiday articles she made, sold

quickly.

PLAN No. 143. HOME-MADE LACE

The prices which home-made lace commands in the cities would surprise

those not familiar with this rare industry, but when it is known that

$15 is considered cheap for a simple point lace handkerchief, some idea

may be gained as to its possibilities. Of course, many cheaper articles

can be made of lace, and sold readily at good profits, and procuring a

book that gave complete instructions for the making of lace of all

kinds, this lady devoted considerable time to making many things which

she sold at good prices.

PLAN No. 144. SCHOOL CHILDREN’S NEEDS

As her little home store was near a school, she decided to make up a

number of needed articles for the use of the pupils, and had no trouble

in selling them. These articles consisted mainly of school-book bags

made of stout linen, with fancy stitching and a strong linen strap; also

pen-wipers, sleeve-protectors, school aprons, etc. These she made in

pretty colors, with neat stitching, and they were very handsome as well

as useful.

Sometimes she arranged with a bright boy or girl to sell these in

school, paying a small commission for such services, either in cash or

goods selected from her store.

That she made a success of her venture may be judged when it is stated

that her profits are larger each year than those of some of the regular

merchants of her city.

PLAN No. 145. ARTIFICIAL MAPLE SYRUP

The following plan was adopted by a farmers’ grocer who had located in a

southern state for his wife’s health and it proved more profitable than

had his former big store in a northern city. His plan was the making of

artificial maple syrup, a healthful staple product that cost but little

and brought excellent returns. He made the syrup as follows:

Take one bushel of clean, fresh corn-cobs, place them in a large kettle,

pour in five gallons of clear water and boil for two hours, or until it

boils down to about two gallons. Then remove the cobs and strain the

water. Then add five pounds of New Orleans sugar and boil for thirty

minutes, and strain and seal in glass or tin cans, with proper labels.

The corn-cobs give it the maple flavor, which makes it very palatable,

though it can be sold at very much less than the genuine article.

By increasing the quantities of the ingredients, he was soon able to

make forty to fifty gallons a day, at a cost of about 12 cents per

gallon. The cans cost him 20 to 30 cents per dozen, and the labels about

$2 per 1,000, the entire cost of one dozen gallon cans being about

$1.75, while he retailed it at $1.00 per gallon. At first he sold it

through agents, paying a commission of 25 per cent, and his net profit

on one dozen gallon cans was therefore $7.25. Later, however, he

wholesaled it to grocers at 50 cents per gallon, and this netted him

$4.25 per dozen cans.

It was so good an imitation that it could not be detected from genuine

maple syrup, and those who bought it once insisted upon having it again,

and the maker soon had a long list of regular customers which insured

him a good living.

PLAN No. 146. CARBOLIC FACE CREAM

A young woman in Vancouver, B. C., who had noticed that most ladies

gladly pay from 25 cents to $1.50 for a two-ounce jar or bottle of

widely-heralded “face cream,” decided that she could make some just as

good as the best of these, and realize a profit of 700 per cent. She

took ten pounds of oatmeal and boiled it thoroughly in clear water,

afterward straining it through a cheese cloth, squeezing the meal

through the cloth with a motion like that of milking a cow. When well

strained, she diluted three ounces of carbolic acid with a quart of

water, then mixed it well with the meal, adding enough water, where it

was too thick, to make the consistency of cream. She put this in

two-ounce jars, attractively, and sold it readily at 25 cents per jar.

This made enough to fill 500 jars of the cream, which sold for $125,

while the total cost of the same, including materials, jars and labels,

was not over $15, so that from this one “batch” of cream her profits

were $110.

It became a very popular product, as the oatmeal softens the skin and

the carbolic acid removes blemishes, and these results, coupled with a

fancy name on an artistic label, sold the cream as fast as she could

make it.

The directions for use were as follows: After bathing the face

thoroughly in tepid water, dry well, dip tips of fingers in cream, and

rub on face until dry, which helps to efface all impurities of the skin.

Bathe the face again, and dry with a soft towel.

How much money do you suppose that girl made out of this simple face

cream during the first year? Exactly $2,500.

PLAN No. 147. WOMAN DRESS AND STYLE ADVISER

A preacher’s daughter, thrown upon her own resources, and feeling that

she could not enter any of the ordinary occupations, owing to the

unreasonable opposition of her late father’s parishioners, decided to

adopt the novel profession of toilet adviser to her lady friends.

Having excellent taste in such matters, and having long been looked to

for counsel in the matter of dress, she had no difficulty in securing a

very considerable list of permanent patrons, who paid her reasonably

well for the services she rendered.

She opened a little “office” in her home, and those who came for

consultation concerning matters of dress or personal adornment she

charged $1.00 an hour, while her rate for accompanying her patrons on

shopping expeditions was 50 cents an hour.

She advised her customers how to dress their hair becomingly, the colors

they could wear to the best advantage, the style of gown appropriate to

each occasion, the propriety of neckwear, hat, bonnet, etc., and as her

taste in these matters was faultless, her services were so thoroughly

appreciated that her time was taken up with these duties. She had the

firmness to insist upon her decision being accepted as final, and yet

possessed the delicacy to do so without injuring their feelings, and

made a much better living for the family than had her father.

It isn’t every girl who is qualified to render this service, but every

town and city offers a great field for its performance.

PLAN No. 148. NURSES’ BUREAU

A middle-aged widow in St. Louis, who owned a large house and grounds in

a good residential district, but who was short of ready money, evolved a

plan for establishing a nurses’ bureau in her own home.

From physicians, hospitals, city directories and friends, she obtained

the names of nearly two hundred nurses, and from the greater part of

these she secured permission to place their names upon her list, with

their addresses, telephone numbers, wages asked per week, etc., and with

the understanding that they were to pay her a certain amount as

commission for obtaining positions for them at any time they were not

engaged. They were to keep her informed when they were engaged, with the

length of time so employed, and the means of reaching them quickly when

necessary.

She then advertised in the classified columns of the city papers to the

effect that she was prepared at all times to supply nurses at any time,

and notified the doctors and the hospitals of this fact.

She further utilized several of the unoccupied rooms in her home, as

well as the aid of one servant, by taking a number of the nurses to

board with her, so as to have them ready for sudden calls, and in this

way offered facilities not theretofore enjoyed by either the nurses or

those needing their services. Within a few months she was enjoying a

living income from her novel venture, and rendered excellent service to

nurses and patients alike.

PLAN No. 149. DRESS-CUTTING SCHOOL

Almost any woman who wants to learn dress-cutting can do so by using one

of the numerous systems now on the market, and it is an easy matter to

get one of the charts that give complete instructions.

Some women learn quickly, while others are slow. But here is one who

made a good living out of it. Having thoroughly mastered the chart, and

being naturally gifted in matters pertaining to the fitting of garments,

she proceeded to open a school for teaching the dress-cutting art to

others who wished to learn.

To each pupil one of the charts is supplied, together with personal

instructions needed in most cases, and for these services and supplies

she makes a moderate charge. The first lesson she gives is on garments

belonging to the pupils themselves, and as others come in with dresses

to make she names a reasonable charge for making these, and even then

her prices are much less than those of regular dress-makers. The pupils

do the main part of the work on these dresses, as part of their

instructions, while the lady gets the pay for the finished dress.

She not only gets paid for the tuition of the girls and the dresses they

make but also a commission on each chart sold to her pupils, and in this

way makes a very comfortable living. After she became well established,

she also gave employment to some of the more apt and dextrous of her

finished pupils, and thus enabled them to make good wages for

themselves.

PLAN No. 150. ETIQUETTE AND DANCING SCHOOL

A young society woman in a western city had recently been reduced to

comparative poverty by sudden reverses which overtook her father, and

being of an energetic and resourceful nature, she started a class in

dancing and deportment, to earn something with which to assist her now

almost dependent father and mother.

She sent out circulars to a long list of her acquaintances, announcing

that her class would begin on a certain evening, and invited their

patronage. She was so well known that she had no difficulty in securing

a large class from the very beginning, as even those mothers who did not

favor dancing were anxious to have their daughters properly instructed

in social laws and customs from so competent and trustworthy a teacher.

She also gave private lessons in both dancing and deportment for the

benefit of a number of families whose early advantages had not been such

as to fit them for the places in society to which they now aspired.

These lessons paid well.

PLAN No. 151. WOMAN’S EXCHANGE

Women’s exchanges, as usually conducted, consist of a number of women

who form a sort of syndicate, have a board of managers, rent a suitable

building, employ the necessary help to carry on the work, and pay annual

dues of a stated amount each.

But an Omaha woman, who had only a very few dollars, and had a taste for

that kind of work, concluded to start one all her own, and she made it a

success.

Lacking the capital with which to rent a store room she used her parlor

for that purpose, and succeeded so well that in a short time she was

able to move to larger quarters, more centrally located.

She issued some neat circulars, inviting the women of her own and other

neighborhoods to bring any articles they had for sale, and she would

make an effort to dispose of them, or exchange them for other articles

they desired, on the basis of a 10 per cent commission on all sales or

exchanges made. As nearly every woman has certain belongings which she

wishes to sell, or exchange for something else, there was a hearty

response to the invitation, and her parlor was soon filled with a motley

array of miscellaneous merchandise.

Every article was labeled with the name, address and telephone number of

the owner, the price asked for it, or the goods for which it would be

exchanged, and the parlor was thronged every day and evening with women

patrons, who nearly always found something they were glad to buy at the

marked price, so that the lady’s commissions began almost at once to

assume very good proportions. Later she served lunches in her dining

room, and these also were liberally patronized, so that she made a very

good living from her exchange idea, and finally became the owner of a

regular store.

PLAN No. 152. SHOPPING AS A PROFESSION

A San Francisco woman who had excellent taste and judgment, and large

experience in buying, decided to adopt shopping as a regular profession,

and found it a most pleasant and profitable occupation.

After making arrangements with several large stores in the city,

carrying different lines of goods, for a straight commission of 10 per

cent on all purchases she should make, she asked and obtained the

consent of a number of well-known business men of her acquaintance to

use their names as references in launching her enterprise.

She had several thousand circulars printed, stating that she would

carefully and satisfactorily attend to orders she received from outside

parties for doing all kinds of shopping, and that she would make no

charge whatever for the services so rendered. These circulars contained

the names of her references, and stated the experience she had had in

buying merchandise of various kinds.

Then she advertised in a number of papers that circulated largely

throughout the rural districts and country towns, asking inquiries

regarding her method of free shopping. These ads. brought hundreds of

letters asking for complete information, and in answer to these she sent

her circulars. She also obtained many names of people in small

communities from seed dealers, agricultural implement men, and others

having a large country trade, and sent circulars to these also.

The fairness of the offer, and the standing of the lady herself, as

evidenced by her references, brought many orders, and, as she had

announced that where cash did not accompany the order the goods would be

sent C. O. D., she sustained no losses. The idea of having a competent

and reliable person do all their shopping, without charge, appealed to

them and they became her permanent patrons.

PLAN No. 153. DRUGLESS TREATMENT FOR CONSTIPATION

A western man who was strongly opposed to the use of drugs, and who had

cured himself of prolonged constipation by a process of self-massaging

of the abdomen, was anxious that other sufferers might also receive the

benefit of his experience, and felt that the information given them was

worth paying for. He therefore had some circular letters printed, fully

explaining the method, and advertised in a large number of papers,

offering this drugless treatment upon receipt of 50 cents.

The advertisements seemed to have created a decidedly favorable

impression, for hundreds of answers, with enclosures, were received, and

to each of these he sent a copy of his circular letter, as follows:

“The causes of constipation are many. Often it is an insufficient supply

of bile, or may be due to digestive troubles, and always follows

sedentary habits.

“Cathartics are injurious, and make the bowels dependent upon artificial

means for their movement, and this in time may lead to paralysis, with

consequent loss of control.

“To teach the muscles of the abdomen to bring on a natural peristaltic

movement, at least twice a day, is the purpose of these instructions.

“Once each day or night always at the same hour stand erect and place

the palms of both hands directly over your intestines. Then, with no

clothing over the abdomen, with a circular motion from right to left,

begin gently to massage the same, not rapidly, but slowly and with a

gentle pressure, giving your hands a rotary motion over the flesh.

Continue this for five or ten minutes.

“Starting in at the right side of your abdomen, work your hands in a

circling motion, from right to left, gradually taking in all parts of

the abdomen, but do not pound or strike yourself.

“If satisfactory results do not come the first day, or even the first

week, do not give up, but keep at it until they do, and go through with

it at the same hour each day or night, as you choose.

“Within a few days you will find your bowels beginning to move more

regularly and freely, but do not stop the massaging, though you may

reduce the time given to it. In a few weeks the massage will require but

one minute a day.

“Many kinds of food tend to produce constipation. Crackers, cheese and

too much white bread are particularly bad, so that less rich food, but

more coarse foods, as meats, potatoes, vegetables, light puddings, etc.,

are necessary. A raw apple once a day is highly beneficial and so are

oranges. Eat regularly, and take plenty of time to thoroughly chew your

food before swallowing.

“Constipation causes the waste to ferment in the intestines, producing

dangerous poisons that are absorbed in the blood, and waste gas in the

stomach and bowels.

“Give the abdominal muscles plenty of exercise, especially through deep

breathing while lying on your back, also by bending over, swinging from

side to side, and other simple exercises that give stamina to the

muscles of the abdominal tract. Take no cathartics, but where artificial

aid is needed, use an enema of a quart of warm water, in which you have

placed at least an ounce of glycerine. But even this will not be

necessary after you have established regular habits through the

continued use of this natural, drugless treatment, which costs you

nothing, no matter how long you keep it up.”

This course of treatment produced the best results, and thousands of

them were mailed out to persons remitting the 50 cents each required for

the instructions. Many of these people afterwards sent in unsolicited

testimonials as to the benefits they had received from it, and these, as

well as the financial returns brought by this plan, afforded its

originator a great deal of satisfaction and profit.

PLAN No. 154. RAISE A FEW SHEEP

A city man who had inherited a 40-acre tract of pasture land from his

father’s estate, and whose failing health rendered it necessary for him

to get out into the country, concluded that about the only use he could

make of this land was to raise a few sheep.

He therefore built a cabin on the tract, together with a shed for

sheltering the sheep, and bought twenty head of well-bred animals, which

he placed in the pasture. This pasture was well seeded in grass, was all

fenced and had a fine stream of water running through it from a spring

that came out of a small hill upon which the cabin was built. It also

contained several shade trees.

He had a few hundred dollars in cash, but the living expenses of himself

and wife were light, so that his small savings were sufficient for a

year or two, especially as they had planted a fine garden with berry

bushes, besides plants and shrubs of various kinds, and had also bought

a cow and a few dozen chickens, so that the greater part of their living

was taken care of.

In the meantime their flock of sheep increased rapidly, and the cost of

raising them was small in money and labor. This man and his wife were

agreeably surprised at the end of the third year to find that their

little flock had earned for them over $1,500. That amount has been

greatly increased with each succeeding year, and has brought them a

larger yearly income than would the highest salaried position in the

city. And their health has also been completely restored through the

out-door life they have led.

PLAN No. 155. MAKING COZY CORNERS

Not one woman in ten thousand would ever have thought of the plan which

this talented woman living in an eastern city thought out and adopted as

a means of earning a very comfortable living, when confronted with the

necessity for doing so.

Possessing artistic tastes and tendencies, she began by arranging

delightful cozy corners for people who were able to pay good prices for

the charming effects she designed and produced, yet who lacked the

originality to plan them with the delicacy and harmony that

characterized her designs.

Many of these she originated, while others were taken from the homes of

her friends.

These she photographed, arranged them in a large album, and carried them

from house to house. In most of the homes visited, these designs created

a profound impression, owing to their originality and beauty, and when

she submitted estimates of the cost of duplicating these, or where

desired, of making a special design, which of course included her own

services, she usually received an order at once, and soon found she had

all the work she could possibly do, at prices that in the aggregate

brought her a revenue of several thousand dollars a year.

When the cozy corner was finished, she would impress upon the lady of

the house the satisfaction it would afford her to have the same

photographed, so she could send pictures of it to her friends, and as

she was herself an expert with the camera, she earned many extra dollars

by making these photos.

PLAN No. 156. BRIEFING THE BRIEFS

A middle-aged man in a western city, who had practiced law for some

years in the middle west, but later drifted into the newspaper business,

for the double reason that he liked it better and was more adapted to

it, finally took up general publicity work as a profession and soon

became recognized as a leader in his line.

Although he wrote a great many advertisements for commercial houses,

medical specialists, dentists, etc., all of which were rendered usually

attractive through their originality of design and their concise and

forceful style, he later began to specialize on booklets, prospectuses,

etc. He was engaged to prepare the matter for a number of books about to

be published, in which field his ability to extract all the salient

points from subjects that are often laboriously and voluminously

treated, and to condense a long tiresome story into a short and

interesting one, found full scope.

One day a lawyer friend of his suggested to him that he could find a

fertile field for his talents in re-writing the long and tedious briefs

which most attorneys submit to the supreme court for review when taking

cases before that tribunal on appeal; that lawyers, as a rule, are poor

writers and waste much time and effort in the preparation of their

briefs, with the result that they are not apt to receive the

consideration from supreme court justices that would be accorded a

condensed yet accurate statement of the facts, with properly arranged

citations of authorities, etc.

Profiting by this suggestion, the publicity man called upon many of the

lawyers in the city and, after explaining why he believed he could

greatly improve their briefs, was given a number to remodel and prepare

according to his own ideas both as a lawyer and as a newspaper man.

These proved so satisfactory, that he was given much work in that line

by several of the leading law firms, and found his time profitably

occupied.

Several rising young lawyers with political aspirations also engaged his

services in the writing of newspaper articles through which their names

were brought and kept prominently before the public, with the result

that their progress toward a coveted goal was rendered much more rapid,

and a number of them are now holding important public positions as a

consequence of this well-directed publicity.

PLAN No. 157. MAGAZINE CIRCULATING LIBRARY

A lady in a western state who had considerable literary ability, yet who

had not been successful in having very many of her magazine articles

accepted for publication on a cash basis, concluded to try another way

of making a little money out of these same periodicals.

She offered several of her manuscripts to various publishers in payment

for subscription to their magazines, and these offers were as a rule

gladly accepted, so that she was constantly in receipt of the latest

publications. She had many neighbors who also liked to read magazines,

but did not feel able to subscribe for as many as they wanted, and most

of them would not borrow them from her.

This afforded her an opening to launch her pet scheme of starting a

circulating library with her surplus stock of magazines. So she had a

number of circular letters typewritten, announcing that for a small

monthly rate she would loan all her periodicals to the members, rotating

them so that each would have an opportunity to read them all during the

month. As the charge was very reasonable, and the benefits to be derived

from the plan so great, practically every family within a radius of

twenty miles promptly subscribed.

The enterprising originator of the plan was thus able not only to bring

pleasure to her neighbors, but considerable profit to herself as well,

besides the satisfaction of having her neighbors read her own

contribution to a number of magazines.

PLAN No. 158. MADE MONEY FROM MENDING

Capable seamstresses suffering for the lack of work are to be found

almost anywhere, yet if they would do as these four western girls did,

they could have all the work they wanted, and be well paid for it, too.

[Illustration: Plan No. 158. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine]

All these girls were fine needlewomen, who could do all kinds of sewing

and mending, on all classes of wearing apparel, yet each of them

specialized in some particular line. One made a specialty of putting new

facings and bindings on dress skirts; another did the mending on

underwear; another coats, suits, cloaks, dresses and men’s wear, while

the fourth mended laces, gloves, fine table linen and dainty things that

women usually throw away when torn, because no one seems able to mend

them.

The girls roomed together, and they had cards printed, setting forth the

class of work they did, and these they took turns in distributing in

various parts of the city, often bringing back considerable work as a

result of these expeditions. They were not only polite, pleasant and

obliging in their manner, but they did the mending so skillfully, and

yet so reasonably, that work came to them quite rapidly, so that they

soon had all they could do, and in time they set up a regular

dressmaking and mending establishment, which grew into such proportions

that they were obliged to hire other girls to help them do their work.

PLAN No. 159. BEAUTY BAGS FREE

A lady who knew how to make a simple, cheap yet very effective beauty

bag, advertised in a number of papers that for 25 cents she would send

complete information for making the same, and also send one of the

beauty bags free. She received hundreds of answers, enclosing 25 cents

each, and to these people she sent the following formula, together with

one of the bags complete:

Get a package of Quaker oats and a yard of cheesecloth; cut the cloth

into pieces, 2¹⁄₂x5 inches, and with each of these make a little flat

pad, by doubling, once, and overcasting or loosely button-holing two of

the three open sides. Fill with the Quaker oats, then overcast the

remaining side. On going to bed, fill a basin with warm water and allow

the bag to soak a few seconds, or until you see a little milky substance

ooze forth. Then use this beauty bag, thus made, as a wash cloth,

thoroughly rubbing the face and into every little crevice or wrinkle.

Keep moistening the bag as you use it. The effect produced will be

surprising, as it leaves the skin soft and clear. But do not use soap,

unless you wish to ruin your complexion. The bag will cleanse your face

much quicker and much better.

The orders continued to come, and the enterprising lady was many

hundreds of dollars ahead at the end of the first three months. And

still the orders came, for the offer is one that appeals to every woman

who wants to improve her looks--and where is the woman who doesn’t?

PLAN No. 160. DUSTLESS DUSTERS

A Seattle young woman built up a business of her own by making and

selling dustless dusters, in two different styles both made of

cheesecloth, as follows:

One formula: White paraffin oil, 4 pints; cottonseed oil, 1 pint; a

little oil of citronella to give it an agreeable odor. Saturate the

cloths in this solution, and pass through a clothes wringer to take out

the excess of the oil. Put in envelopes to fit.

The other formula: One quart of gasoline; 8 ounces of whiting, or, what

is better, cilica, 8 ounces; oxalic acid, ¹⁄₈ of an ounce. Thoroughly

mix and immerse the cloths, and hang up out doors to dry. Then place in

envelope for mailing.

Dusters made in this way do not soil the hands, and the dust will stick

to the cloth instead of flying everywhere. They do not have to be washed

out, but simply shaken.

Use the dustless duster the same way as any other duster. It does not

injure the finest surface.

A few small ads. in the city and other papers offering to send the

dustless duster complete for 25 cents, brought answers, and as they gave

satisfaction, almost every one sent out brought in from two to half a

dozen orders, so that in a short time the young lady was doing a

splendid business.

PLAN No. 161. COPYING PAD

The following directions for making a copying pad were sent out for 10

cents each by a young man in Chicago, to those remitting that amount to

him, in answer to an ad. he inserted in a number of newspapers covering

wide territory:

Take white gelatine, 4 ounces; glycerine 20 ounces. Melt the gelatine in

water, then add the glycerine, after warming it, and stir until well

mixed. Pour into a pan 10x12 inches square and ¹⁄₂ inch deep. Write your

copy on a sheet of paper with ink made of methyl violet, 1 ounce; water,

7 ounces. Put on the stove and heat until dissolved, stirring often. Add

hot water, to replace that which evaporates. When dissolved, add 2

ounces of glycerine. Use a new pen in writing. Lay copy face down on the

pad, and let it remain two minutes, then take it off. From 50 to 100

copies may be taken by laying blank paper on the impression, and

repeating the operation until as many copies as desired have been made.

Clean the pad with a wet sponge as soon as you are through copying, and

keep it in a dry place.

He sold several thousand copies of these instructions, at 10 cents each,

and most of this, of course, was clear profit.

PLAN No. 162. CLEANING COMPOUND POWDER

A compound that will thoroughly clean clothing, gloves, carpets, etc.,

and that can be sold at a profit for 10 cents a package, is something

that everyone wants and that anyone can sell.

A young man in Spokane, Washington, who had an excellent formula for a

compound of this kind, tried it and found it successful. He put it up

with the following ingredients, when making a small amount, and simply

increased the amounts of each in proportion as larger quantities were

required:

Powdered castile soap, 2 pounds; borax powder, 2 ounces; powdered

saltpetre, 4 ounces. Mix thoroughly and put up dry in small envelopes,

holding about one teaspoonful each.

Directions for use: Dissolve the contents of package in hot water, leave

stand until cool, and apply a small quantity to affected spot, whether

of dirt or grease, then clean with a dry cloth. This compound will not

explode, but is harmless and safe to use.

Placing a rubber band around either twelve or twenty-four of the

packages, he put 500 packages in a small hand-bag, and made a house to

house canvass. At each house he would ask the lady if she had any boys

or girls. If so, wouldn’t they like to make some money or earn a

valuable premium? The answer usually was yes, and he would then leave

with the lady as many of the packages as she thought her children could

sell at 10 cents each, taking her receipt therefor. He would then go on

to the next house, and make the same arrangement. In less than half a

day he placed the entire 500 packages in homes for sale, and a week

later called and collected for those sold, allowing a cash commission of

2 cents a package, or giving some small, inexpensive premium, whichever

was preferred. In most cases the mother would have tried the compound

herself, and finding it excellent for cleaning goods of all kinds, she

would usually order several more packages.

He also placed considerable quantities of the compound in general

stores, where it sold readily, and later made it a mail order

proposition by advertising it in a list of good papers.

PLAN No. 163. SEWING LESSONS FOR CHILDREN

Why shouldn’t the little girls begin to learn dressmaking as soon as

they are able to use a needle and thread? That is what a Seattle lady

thought, and she advertises in the daily papers that she will teach

dressmaking to children on certain afternoons of each week for 25 cents

a lesson.

She already has a large number of pupils, is rapidly enrolling more, and

says it is surprising the way the little misses show an interest in the

work.

PLAN No. 164. CUCUMBER CULTURE

A young Irishman, who had a wife and two children, was working as a

motorman, at $2.00 a day, and his entire future seemed to be limited to

that $14 a week, with no holidays or Sundays off, to allow him to get

acquainted with his family.

One particular locality on his route impressed him as an ideal place for

raising cucumbers to supply the market a few miles away. The prospect

looked good to him, but as he had only about $500 in cash, and it would

require at least $1,000 to build a greenhouse, the outlook was not

especially inviting.

Finally, after many efforts, he succeeded in borrowing $1,000, built a

greenhouse, and began the culture of cucumbers. He was apt at the

business, and the first year he made enough to pay back the $1,000, live

well, and have a neat little sum saved besides.

Then he borrowed $1,700 more, built another greenhouse, leased more land

and at the end of eighteen months was again free from debt.

He increased his acreage, enlarged his greenhouses, and began to grow

two crops a year, instead of one.

He now has thirteen acres of ground all under glass, and owns an

establishment free from debt, conservatively valued at $50,000.

He made a specialty of cucumber and the marketing of this crop.

PLAN No. 165. PALMISTRY BY MAIL

There are thousands of people who don’t believe--or at least pretend

they don’t--in palmistry as a means of learning what the future has in

store, but almost anyone is willing to pay for having the palm of the

hand read, either through confidence or curiosity, for “there may be

something in it, after all.”

Anyway, a lady in a southern city decided it was worth trying, so she

sent 50 cents to a New York publisher for a book that revealed about all

there is to be known of that science, and made a careful study of this

book.

She first obtained an electrotype of a very pretty woman’s head,--not

her own--and used it on her letter heads, which also bore an assumed but

rather fancy name suggestive of the mysterious. She inserted an ad. in

several papers, offering to read people’s palms for 50 cents each, and

received many answers to this.

She had provided herself with a box of carbon impression paper, and to

each person replying she mailed a piece of this about 4x8 inches, with

instructions to lay the carbon paper on a sheet of plain white paper, on

a hard, smooth surface, such as a table, the carbon side next to the

white paper, and press the hand firmly down on the back of the carbon

paper, so as to get a clean impression of the palm on the white paper,

and, when this was done to send the impression, with 50 cents for a

reading.

She was surprised at the large proportion of those who sent the money,

but she gave a very good reading of each palm, and no one seemed to be

dissatisfied, for she received no complaints. She had previously sent

each one a letter, explaining how the ancient philosophers and others

had recognized palmistry as a well established science, and this no

doubt had impressed the recipients with the fact that it had much value

as a means forecasting the future, as well as relating the past.

PLAN No. 166. STARTING A WEEKLY PAPER

The journalistic graveyards are full of monuments to the misdirected

energy and zeal of aspiring “newspaper men” who had plenty of enthusiasm

but lacked experience, or resourcefulness in the matter of ideas.

The young fellow, however, of whom we are going to speak had ideas and

knew how to put them to practical use. He knew very well that a new

weekly newspaper that did not have something besides its own merits to

amuse and keep up a local interest would be but a short-lived affair in

any community, so he devised a method which he felt sure would create

that interest.

He employed a thoroughly competent publicity specialist to write him a

small book with a catchy title, which he could offer as a premium with

each subscription to his paper. The publicity man turned out an

interesting piece of work, which he completed in four days, and for

which he charged the prospective young publisher $75.

A printer charged him $250 for 5,000 copies of these little books, and

after giving one of each to 500 new subscribers of his paper, he

advertised them in his own and other papers, and sold the remainder at

10 cents each. When the supply was exhausted, he had more of the books

printed and continued to sell them until he had realized a profit of

$2,000 from them.

By this time his weekly newspaper had grown in circulation and

advertising value so that it was bringing in a good revenue every year,

but he kept on advertising and selling books with good titles, as he

found this source of income was well worth the additional effort.

PLAN No. 167. MARKETING A PREPARATION

By a carefully considered plan of furnishing a number of drug stores

with free wrappers for their bottles, boxes, combs, brushes, and a host

of other articles which every druggist sells, an enterprising young man

who had the formula for a preparation of unusual merit, but with no

money with which to push the sale of it, succeeded in getting it so

thoroughly advertised in his home city that he was soon able to open a

handsomely furnished office and employ a number of assistants to put it

up. The preparation was exceptionally good or it would not have brought

the “repeat” orders it did.

He began his plan by offering free to each druggist 1,000 circulars

setting forth the superior qualities of his preparation, these circulars

being the proper size for wrapping all ordinary packages that come from

drug stores, that is, about 9x9 inches, but with the printed matter set

in a space 5¹⁄₂x7¹⁄₂ inches, and at the bottom of each set of circulars

the words, “For Sale by,” followed by the name of the druggist using the

wrappers and having the preparation for sale. The man who owned the

formula thus got his preparation well advertised at practically no

expense, while the druggists realized much benefit from it.

PLAN No. 168. DEALING IN NUT MEATS

You would hardly think that cracking various kinds of nuts and selling

the meats would be much of a business, yet a young lady found that it

paid her very well, and brought in many dollars during certain seasons

of the year.

She lived in a section of country where nuts of all varieties were very

plentiful, and had noticed the waste in shipping unshelled nuts in bulk

to the market. She believed it would save considerable in the way of

transportation costs if only the meats were shipped. Besides, the

difference in the prices would mean a neat profit to anyone doing the

work.

Walnuts and hickory nuts were the principal kinds growing in her

neighborhood, and these she gathered in great quantities when ripe,

removing the outside hulls by pounding them lightly with a stout stick.

Providing herself with a good nut cracker and set of picks, besides a

dozen or so glass jars, she began cracking the nuts, aiming to extract

the meats in halves or as large pieces as possible, and placing them in

the jars which, when full, she covered tightly with tops so as to

exclude air and dampness, and found that in this way they brought the

highest prices in the market.

She previously had arranged with a number of bakers and confectioners in

the city to take all the nut meats she could supply, and could have sold

many more had they been available. To help meet the demand, however, she

purchased a few barrels of English walnuts with the shells cracked and

packed them as she had done with the others and sold them at profit over

their original cost.

PLAN No. 169. STARTED A LUNCHEON CLUB

Living near a large motion picture studio, a young married woman

originated what she called a luncheon club for the purpose of serving

the members of the company with a dainty luncheon every day at a

moderate cost, yet one that yielded a fair profit to herself.

Having obtained the names of the various players from the manager of the

studio, she wrote a note to each of them, announcing her plans and

inviting them to join her club. The members were to pay a stated price

as weekly dues payable in advance, and each could bring a friend at so

much per luncheon.

Having a good supply of linen, silver, and all the little accessories

for personal comfort, she made her purchases with much care, selecting

only such materials as were necessary, and writing out a menu each week,

which was varied by many combinations that prevented any appearance of

sameness from day to day. She soon learned the little whims and

preferences of each guest, and made it a point to serve each one with

what she liked best.

A large number of the girls from the studio joined her club at the very

beginning, and each of these members she greeted personally, as a

guest, upon her arrival thereby creating a feeling of home-coming that

had an excellent effect.

She did all the cooking herself, setting out the lunches on small tables

intended to accommodate only two guests at a time, and everything about

the place she kept scrupulously neat, clean and inviting.

Her club became very popular and she soon had all the members she could

serve during the luncheon hour.

Though she could have charged more, she maintained the reasonable

charges established at the beginning and found that the venture paid her

a very satisfactory profit.

PLAN No. 170. TWO SISTERS SOLD SPECTACLES

Two sisters, both stenographers in down-town offices, were having their

vacation, and being desirous of making some money at the same time they

were resting from their regular work, they were induced, through the

advice of a well-informed friend, to take up the selling of spectacles,

especially after he had assured them that this was a line in which the

receipts were practically all profit.

Their friend informed them where they could buy spectacles for about 18

cents a pair, which they could readily sell for $1.00 per pair, and they

bought several gross of these, of different magnifying strength, and

various styles of frames, together with a black carrying case and a few

testing cards, all of which came with the spectacles. These they set

upon a high tripod for making an attractive display of their wares,

while one of the girls sat upon a high stool behind the tastefully

arranged stock of goods. They had secured a good street location, on the

inside of a well shaded sidewalk, and began explaining the merits of

their spectacles in a quiet, ladylike way, to all who stopped to inquire

about them. Their sales averaged about ten pairs a day, or $8.20 clear

profit.

PLAN No. 171. KEEPING BROOD SOWS

“Even $50 to $90 seems a rather big price to pay for a single brood

sow,” said an old farmer who had made a success of hog raising, “but let

me tell you a little story:

“One spring two of my sows farrowed twelve pigs each, and we raised

twenty-three of the twenty-four. When they were eight months old, those

shoats brought $494.71, but at war-time prices they would have brought a

very large sum.

“Suppose a young sow produces seventy-five pigs during her life-time,

and she may do even better than that. If this sow were owned by a small

farmer, he could raise the pigs for almost nothing, and after he has

saved out twelve of the best ones as the foundation of a superior herd,

he can sell the remaining sixty-three, when they are eight or ten months

old, for enough to make a good-sized payment on his farm, and to pay the

cost of raising 500 more pigs, besides.

“The good breeder must be a good feeder, and he will find that, with

ordinary intelligence in the selection and care of his pure-bred stock,

he can make more money, and have better meat products, many times over,

then he can ever hope for from the ordinary scrub stock.

“If farmers will pay more attention to the raising of pure-bred hogs,

they will be better off, and be at much less labor and expense, than

from any other branch of farming. Let every farmer encourage his boy to

have a few blooded pigs of his own, so that he may have the benefit of

all the profit they will bring, and boys will not be so anxious to leave

the farm as they are now.

“I’ve tried it, and I know.”

PLAN No. 172. FARM WOMAN’S WAYS OF MAKING MONEY

Unlike most farmers’ wives, this woman had plenty of time to devote to

various ways of making money, and put a dozen plans into practice, all

of which proved productive of good results.

Her first plan was to pick arbutus, which she sent to the store of a

friend in the city, fresh each day, where it sold readily for 5 or 10

cents a bunch, nearly all profit.

PLAN No. 173. HOME-MADE CHRISTMAS CANDY

Early in December she made up a lot of nice candy at home, which sold as

fast as she could make it for 25 cents a pound, delivered. She made many

kinds, and realized a good profit on all of them.

PLAN No. 174. GROWING TOMATO PLANTS

This she found to be a profitable source of income. She raised the

plants from seed, starting to plant about the middle of March, and each

4-cent package of seed produced plants that sold for $4.00.

PLAN No. 175. BAKING FOR BUSY PEOPLE

Most farm women are very busy, and often find it convenient to have some

one do their baking, especially when they have company. This lady would

either go to different houses, and do the baking for the families, who

furnished their own material, for which she charged 35 cents per hour,

or would do the baking at home, using her own materials, and sell the

bread, cakes and pies she baked, at good prices to those too busy to do

their own baking.

PLAN No. 176. TAKING ORDERS FOR DRESS GOODS

She arranged with reliable firms in the city to send her samples of all

the new dress goods they received each season, and she showed these to

the various women in the neighborhood, taking a great many orders for

different patterns, on all of which she was paid a commission that

amounted to a considerable sum each year.

PLAN No. 177. TAKING ORDERS FOR EXTRACTS

She makes considerable money each year taking orders for various kinds

of extracts, as well as for a popular summer drink, which comes in boxes

selling at 25 cents each. The drink is made by dissolving the

preparation in water and adding a little sugar. It is a delicious drink,

made in a minute.

PLAN No. 178. PICKING CRANBERRIES ON SHARES

As she lives in the country where cranberries grow in great quantities,

she earns many dollars each season by picking cranberries on shares, and

her share always sells readily at good prices.

PLAN No. 179. GATHERING CHESTNUTS

In the fall of the year she gathers chestnuts, which are plentiful in

that vicinity, and these she sells at surprisingly high prices, for

everybody wants them.

PLAN No. 180. PLAYS, AND TEACHES PIANO PUPILS

Along with her other accomplishments she is a good pianist. She plays

for dances and other gatherings, and gives music lessons to a number of

pupils.

PLAN No. 181. PRESERVES FLAGROOT

Flagroot preserves bring high prices in the cities, and she adds many

dollars to her income by gathering, preserving and selling this.

PLAN No. 182. MAKING AND SELLING MAY BASKETS

Although May Day “comes but once a year,” she manages to turn this

anniversary to good account by making and selling the baskets that are a

requisite for its observance.

PLAN No. 183. RAISING AND SELLING POULTRY

But her greatest source of pleasure and profit is poultry raising, her

selection and care of birds enabling her to keep only those that produce

the most money.

PLAN No. 184. MONEY-MAKING FOR WOMEN

The wife of a farmer living in the middle west has worked out several

plans for making money at home, and finds that they all pay her very

well.

One plan is to make shades for lamps and electric light globes, of rice

and crepe paper, decorating them with water colors, pressed leaves,

flowers, holly, etc., and these she sells to her neighbors for 10 cents

each as they are very pretty and quite durable, with care.

PLAN No. 185. CROCHET AND OTHER PATTERNS

She designs pretty patterns in crochet edgings, insertions, medallions

and initials, and these she sells at six for 50 cents, through ads. in

the local and city papers, delivering them by mail in most cases.

PLAN No. 186. HANDKERCHIEFS, COLLARS, CUFFS, ETC.

These she makes with rolled hem and crochet edge, and sells them at 25

cents to $1 each. Pop-corn balls rolled in clear syrup she sells at two

for 5 cents, while her potato chips bring 5 cents for a small bag. She

makes braided or woven rag rugs, white or in colors, with woven or

stenciled borders, and sells them for $1.25 and up, while hand-made

place cards, favors, etc., bring $1 per dozen.

PLAN No. 187. ANNUAL SALES IN PARLOR AND HALL

Every year she holds sales in her front room and large hall, and sells

pies, cakes, rolls, bread, cookies, doughnuts, plum puddings, fruit

cakes, jams, jellies, canned fruits, vegetables, etc., besides her

needle-work products, and always clears a handsome sum from these sales.

She also takes orders for roast ducks, geese, turkeys, chickens and

squabs, and finds a ready sale for all these from all classes of people,

at special prices. Many of these are delivered by parcel post, and prove

a good source of revenue.

PLAN No. 188. OPENED A BEAUTY PARLOR

A talented young woman, living in a small western city, wanted to open a

beauty parlor, but realizing that she was not familiar with the

necessary details of the business, went to a city some distance away and

took a course of lessons from a dermatologist in the approved methods of

removing wrinkles, moles, birthmarks, freckles, tan, superfluous hair,

etc. The course cost her $25.

Before leaving the city, however, she also paid $15 for instructions in

manicuring, and $10 for the necessary instruments with which to do this

class of work in a satisfactory manner.

Arriving at her home town she sent personal letters to all the

prominent women of the place, inviting them to visit the neat and

attractively-fitted-up parlors she had opened in her home, and stating

her qualifications for doing the work required.

Responses to these letters were numerous, and as the lady did

exceptionally good work, her reputation spread rapidly throughout the

community, and inside of the first year the net profits she realized

from her small-town parlors were greater than those of many similar

institutions in the large city. She was both capable and careful in the

treatment of her patrons, who became permanent customers and made her

plan an unqualified success.

PLAN No. 189. MADE A HAND LAUNDRY PAY

A man who had some experience in a steam laundry in a city moved to a

small town of 2,500 inhabitants and established a hand laundry that in a

short time became a paying concern.

He had but a few hundred dollars in cash, but found he did not need a

great deal. Before leaving the city, he had bought a light

collar-and-cuff ironing machine that cost him $50, while $25 more paid

for a few little accessories he knew he would need.

He rented a store room some distance from the business center, hired a

couple of experienced women, and advertised that he would do better work

than the steam laundries of the city could do, and at lower prices,

calling particular attention to the fact that the machinery in the big

laundries tear the clothes to pieces. He also offered to do mending of

men’s articles free, and by turning out high-class work from the very

first he soon had all the business he could handle.

PLAN No. 190. MAKING INKS AND MUCILAGE

Everybody uses ink, and most people need mucilage at one time or

another, so that the making and selling of these necessary articles

afforded a man in a small western town a very good money-making

opportunity, which he improved with considerable profit.

Books of formulas for making these things can be procured from a number

of sources, but the formula for preparing indelible marking ink proved

to be one of the most profitable of them all. This ink is made by taking

equal parts of green vitriol and cinnabar, powdered as finely as

possible, and mixing them with unboiled linseed oil. When strained

through a cloth this makes a fine indelible ink, and he found a good

demand for it from laundries, department stores and various other

places.

He employed salesmen to canvass near-by towns, and in a few months had

established a permanent and profitable business of his own. The

ingredients for these articles cost but little, the labels and bottles

being the principal items of expense, and the margin was sufficiently

large to justify him in paying a liberal commission to agents.

PLAN No. 191. NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENT

In every town, large or small, there are always news items of more or

less interest, mainly local, but often of national importance, and the

man or woman who can collect these items, put them in readable shape,

and send them to the newspapers in the neighborhood cities, or larger

towns, can always derive something of an income from this source. The

editor of one of the largest and most influential of western dailies

thus relates how he began his newspaper career in this manner:

“I lived in a town of about 1,000 inhabitants, which did not boast of a

weekly newspaper, and yet there were many local happenings that would

have been of great interest if published in the city paper, which had a

rather extensive circulation in the town.

“I wrote to the editor of this paper and offered my services as

correspondent from my town. He was glad to secure my services, and

offered me a very fair rate of compensation, based upon a certain amount

per column.

“I made it a point to write only actual and dependable items of news, to

clothe them in proper and dignified language, with an occasional dash of

humor in those cases where it was not only permissible but added to the

force and interest of the article, and my letters were all published

just as they were written.

“I added other daily newspapers to my list from time to time, and, as

these were all sent to me free, I began to absorb the world’s news and

soon became well informed on current events. Besides, my income grew

until I was doing very well indeed, but when I was offered a position as

reporter on this paper I accepted the offer, and have risen steadily

until I am now managing editor, a position assured to me as long as I

care to hold it.”

PLAN No. 192. AN EXCHANGE MART

How a man with original ideas established an “exchange mart”--something

he had never heard of before--and built up a good business along a novel

line, is told by himself as follows:

“Knowing the tendency of people to sell what they have and buy or trade

for something they haven’t, it occurred to me that I could supply the

wants of both classes, and make some money for myself at the same time.

“I rented a store room and bought two blank books, one of which I marked

“buyers” and the other one “sellers,” and then inserted an ad. in the

local paper, asking those who had anything they wanted to sell to come

and see me. I ran another ad., to the effect that it would pay those who

wanted to buy anything, no matter what, to call upon me.

“Before long I had on hand a large assortment of articles of every kind

that were for sale--books, furniture, tools, musical instruments--almost

everything--and each of these I carefully listed in my sellers’ book,

with the name and address of the owner, and the very lowest price at

which it could be sold. A number of people also called to ask for

certain articles, and if I did not have them I made a note of what was

wanted, in my buyers’ book, with the name, address and phone number of

the person wishing it, together with the highest price he would pay.

Then I advertised for those things to be brought in, and when they came

I bought them as cheaply as possible. Next I notified the prospective

buyer, who would generally respond promptly and pay the price he had

named, or a little more if the article particularly pleased him, and

the difference between the seller’s lowest price and the buyer’s highest

price was my profit. And this profit amounted to over $2,000 at the end

of the first year.”

PLAN No. 193. AUTO AND CARRIAGE POLISH

Of the many thousands of automobiles in use a great many of them have

the varnish worn off or scratched, through carelessness and hard usage,

and this fact gave an enterprising young Portland man an idea.

He made up a considerable quantity of a fine polish from the following

formula: Orange shellac, 30 ounces; Venice turpentine, one ounce; castor

oil, one ounce; gum sandarac, one ounce; nigrosine, one ounce; wood

alcohol, 9 pints and 6 ounces. These he mixed, and shook them until

thoroughly dissolved.

This mixture he put up in pint tin cans, with tight-fitting tops, the

same as paint cans, pasted an attractive label on each can, gave it a

fancy name, and was ready for business.

The directions for using were: Remove all dust and dirt with a clean

cloth, and apply the dressing to the body of the auto or carriage with a

soft camel hair brush, letting it dry thoroughly.

At first he took orders for applying the polish to autos himself, but he

later decided he could make more money by employing agents to sell it

for him. Each can cost but a trifle, and sold readily for $1, so that,

after paying the agents liberal commission, he still had a net profit of

over 50 cents per can. Later he began to advertise it throughout the

country, and in a few months he had built up a mail order business, that

netted him a good living.

PLAN No. 194. SINGING SONGS THROUGH A MEGAPHONE

With a strong, melodious voice, a megaphone, a hand organ in a covered

wagon, and a few hundred copies of a popular song, a young man in New

York City earned a good living.

This young man, standing up in the front part of the wagon, would stop

the horse at a crowded corner, place the megaphone to his mouth and,

giving a sign to the man manipulating the hand organ in the covered

wagon, would commence to sing one of the latest songs of the day.

When the crowd became interested, as it always did, he would stop

singing, offer the copies of the song, words and music, for 10 cents

each.

The song sold rapidly, and when the ten minute limit for stopping in one

place expired he would start up the horse, move on to another location,

probably in the same block, and repeat the performance.

PLAN No. 195. A SUBSCRIPTION AGENCY

Most magazines, as well as daily and weekly newspapers, are always glad

to pay a liberal commission for subscriptions, and some of them offer

bonuses besides for good lists of subscribers.

A young man in an inland city of the Pacific Northwest, who had a few

hundred dollars, fitted up a neat little down-town office--after

securing a subscription agency for a number of leading periodicals, made

a list of the same in alphabetical order, with columns for the regular

price and the price at which he could supply them. If his commission was

$1 on a year’s subscriptions, he advertised to send a $4 magazine for

$3.60. Where his commission was 80 cents, he deducted 25 cents to his

subscribers; if his discount was 40 cents, he would deduct 15 cents from

the rate and so on.

He issued an attractive circular showing the various discounts he would

allow on each subscription to any of the magazines or other publications

listed, and sent these circulars to those answering his ads. in a number

of papers covering his territory, and was surprised at the number of

subscriptions he received through this system of discounts. While each

subscription thus saved 10 per cent or more from regular subscription

prices, it still left him a neat profit on each, and as the lists he was

thus able to send in were quite large, he received enough in bonuses

besides the discounts to himself as agent, to make a very comfortable

income.

PLAN No. 196. PUBLISHING PROGRAMS

There is always more or less money to be made in a good advertising

plan, and here is one way an elderly newspaper man turned his knowledge

of printers ink to good account.

Whenever a church or social organization in his town proposed to give an

affair or other form of entertainment he would offer to get out a good

program for it free of cost to the parties planning the affair, and this

offer was always gladly accepted. Sometimes he even offered a percentage

of the proceeds for the privilege, and this too, was acceptable.

He would get the best figures possible from a number of printers, and

let the contract to the one who could do good work for the lowest price.

Then he divided the program into small spaces for advertising, which he

could easily fill at fair rates, and usually came out with at least 50

per cent profit on the undertaking.

There were so many of these programs to be obtained in his town, that he

continued this as a regular business, and made an excellent living out

of it.

PLAN No. 197. CHURCH POST CARDS

Any plan that will help to raise money for a church is always gladly

welcomed, but a plan that will do this, and at the same time make a fair

profit for the originator, must be a “good one.”

A young printer in an eastern city inserted the following ad. in a

number of religious papers all over the country:

“To raise money for your church, send us a photograph of your church or

your pastor, and we will send you 500 high-grade post cards, with photo

on each card. Sell these at 10 cents each, send us $20, and keep the

balance. This is easy, and can be done in a week or less.”

The answers came in, the cuts were made from the photos, and the printed

cards sent out. The post cards, printed, cost $7, the electro of the

photo $3, and the other $10 for each set was net profit.

As from two to ten of these were received each day, one may judge as to

the profits of the plan, while hundreds of churches were better off to

the extent of $25 to $30 for each 500 cards sold.

PLAN No. 198. MAKING SACHET POWDERS PAYS WOMAN’S COLLEGE EXPENSES

A young lady, who wanted to make some money to help pay for a college

course, proceeded to make the money by making sachet powder, her first

“batch” amounting to fifty pounds. As a basis for the formula, she used,

at various times, powdered starch, fine sawdust, oatmeal, and corn meal,

and colored the completed preparation with a small quantity of analine.

The powder itself she made as follows:

Wheat starch, 6 parts; orris root, 2 parts. Reduce starch to a very fine

powder, and mix well with the orris root, then perfume with attar of

lemon, attar of bergamot and attar of cloves, using twice as much of the

lemon as of the others. This is really a violet sachet powder, but she

gave it a fancy, high-sounding name, which added greatly to its selling

qualities.

By advertising it in a small way, she created a demand for it that

required help in making up the powder and filling the orders, and by

placing it in a number of drug stores, she succeeded in providing

herself with an income far in excess of the cost of a thorough course in

the college of her choice.

After her graduation, she continued to make these sachet powders, which

were mostly profit, and as they were of unquestioned quality, she

received a revenue from their sales that paid all her expenses and gave

her a nice bank account besides.

PLAN No. 199. MAKING CARPET CLEANER

A married man, who had endured the horrors of house-cleaning time so

often that he knew how that ordeal was dreaded by housewives and

husbands alike, felt that he could bring a feeling of peace to thousands

of homes, and also bring himself a good income as well, by removing the

most formidable of the house-cleaning nightmare, the taking up and

cleaning of carpets.

Therefore, having a very fair idea of what would be a good thing to use

for the purpose, he proceeded to make a carpet cleaning compound, as

follows: Powdered Fullers earth, 4 pounds; common salt, 3 pounds;

turpentine, ¹⁄₂ pint. These he mixed well, passed through a sieve, and

packed in half-pound packages. The entire cost was but a few cents, and

the paper boxes and labels added but little to the expense of making it.

He used this preparation by sprinkling over a square yard of the carpet

at a time, rubbing it with a stiff, dry scrubbing brush, and going over

it a second time with a softer brush, after the dirt was removed. The

same powder can be used for several squares, until it is too dirty to

use.

He placed an ad. in the local papers, offering to send a free sample of

the cleaner to anyone desiring it, and received many requests asking for

samples. The assurance that carpets would not have to be taken up to be

cleaned, clinched the argument, and as there was enough of the sample to

show what it could do, he received calls for more.

Then he employed agents, on a good commission basis, to sell it from

house to house, and soon had a demand for it that extended over several

states.

PLAN No. 200. THEY PICKED BERRIES

Owing to the failing health of the husband, a man and his wife went

camping in the mountains, just about the time berries were ripe and

plentiful, and seeing an opportunity for healthful exercise as well as

considerable financial profit, they began an extensive berry-picking

campaign.

They had taken their bedding, some canvas cots, a stove, and a small

tent to use in case of bad weather. They camped near several cool

springs, and a mountain stream, from which they caught a great many

trout.

Impressed with the immense quantities of berries all around them, they

went to the nearest town and bought a supply of jars, cans, and glasses,

200 pounds of sugar and had 1,000 labels printed. Then they began their

berry picking, canning, preserving and making jams and jellies of the

berries at the same time, and sending them to the city hotels. Their

products were carefully packed in apple boxes, and went through in fine

shape.

When they figured up their receipts they amounted to $132, while their

total expenses were $40, leaving them a net profit of $92, besides an

enjoyable vacation. This proved the possibilities to this work, and this

couple continued to put up more berries and received in return for their

work a good living.

PLAN No. 201. WROTE A CHURCH HISTORY

A former newspaper man, living in a western town of 10,000 people,

became impressed with the importance of a well written church history,

and suggested the idea to the pastors of several of the local churches.

They approved the plan and promised him their support and co-operation.

Selecting one of the leading churches he interviewed the members, and

from them obtained information concerning the history of the

organization, past and present, with a complete list of the membership,

as well as the names of those who had died since the church’s

organization. Many interesting personal sketches of the older members

were obtained and a review of the early struggles through which the

society had passed in its infancy.

Usually a photograph of the church itself, as well as those of the

pastor and a number of the more prominent members, were included in the

book, while all the auxiliary organizations of the church were given

considerable prominence. The book was well printed, and sold readily to

the members and friends of the church, at a price which netted the

author a good profit.

Having succeeded so well with this church, he proceeded to write

histories of other churches in the town, and later extended his work to

other communities. It paid him so well that he has made it his business.

PLAN No. 202. A LIQUID GLYCERINE SOAP

He was a $10-a-week drug clerk, in a small Nebraska town, but he had

ideas and formulas of much merit, and one of the latter was that for

making a superior liquid glycerine soap, as follows:

Best soft soap, 7¹⁄₂ ounces; tincture of soap bark, 3¹⁄₂ ounces;

glycerine, 1 ounce. Put into a vessel and warm gently until dissolved,

then add a dash of some selected perfume. Then strain and make up to 12

fluid ounces by adding the necessary amount of warm distilled water. The

soap used in compounding this should be the best transparent kind.

A trip to the nearest city revealed the fact that the agents of office

buildings, large factories, department stores, etc., were greatly in

need of this product, to be used in their sanitary toilet equipment, and

would pay good prices for it.

In the course of a week, he took orders for several hundred dollars

worth and then placed it on sale in the drug stores, at the same time

notifying his patrons and the public in general to that effect.

That was ten years ago, and today that former cheap drug clerk is the

owner of one of the best pharmacies in the city.

PLAN No. 203. MAKING AIR PENCILS

Air-pencils used in writing show cards and for other purposes can be

made at home very cheaply, and sold at considerably less than the kind

one buys at paint stores, and elsewhere, at the same time yielding a

good profit, and a young man, who did card-writing for a Minneapolis

department store, figured out a way to make them.

At a drug store he bought a white rubber syringe bulb, No. 3 size, open

at one end only, and cut off the neck down to the bulb part. Then he

got a small oil can, of the size used for sewing machines, etc., and cut

off the screw or thread part of this. He inserted this in the bulb of

the syringe, and secured it with a fine wire twisted about the neck of

the bulb. He then screwed the nozzle of the oil can into the neck, and

the air-pencil was complete.

To fill the air-pencil, he unscrewed the nozzle from the neck of the

bulb, pressed the bulb partly together, placed the neck or mouth of the

bulb in the lettering mixture, and released his hold on the bulb, thus

filling it by suction. Then he inserted the nozzle in the bulb, and was

ready to begin lettering.

Whenever he was through using the air-pencil, he rinsed the bulb out

thoroughly, with water, as the lettering mixture, if left in, would soon

harden and render the pencil useless.

This home-made pencil worked so perfectly that he decided to make a

number of them for sale, and did so, getting good price concessions on

both bulbs and cans when buying a good many at a time. Having made up

about 200 of the air-pencils, he advertised them in a journal devoted to

department stores, and sold the entire lot from the first ad. Receiving

calls for more, he made them up in larger quantities, and, offering them

at about three-fourths the regular prices, sold several thousand of them

at a very good profit.

PLAN No. 204. PROFIT FROM AN AIR-PENCIL

A young card writer in Los Angeles, who had bought an air-pencil for

doing his work, after becoming thoroughly familiar with its use,

concluded to take orders for various kinds of work from the city

merchants, and follow this as a special line.

Aside from lettering show cards and the like, he also did considerable

work in objects, done in relief with leaves, flowers, scrolls and other

designs. He also did considerable work in home decorations, such as

vases, flower pots, panels, picture frames, and other made designs, such

as “Merry Christmas,” “Home, Sweet Home,” “Happy New Year,” and other

placards, for which he found a ready sale.

The materials used were alabastine, bronze, flitters, diamond dust and

analine coloring powders; white and colored cardboard of all sizes;

white wood, glass, and metal ware, used to some extent for expensive

pieces of work. He utilized many new and original ideas in his work, and

showed remarkable taste and talent in execution.

An idea of his profits may be gained from the statement that plain

lettered card signs that cost him from 1 to 8 cents to produce, he sold

for 15 to 20 cents, while those more elaborately made with diamond dust,

flitters, gold and silver lettering, costing 2 to 6 cents each, brought

him from 20 to 50 cents each. Mottoes, finely executed, sold for 75

cents to $1 each. In many cases he gave instructions in lettering and

sold outfits for doing the work at $2 to $3 each, and made considerable

from that source.

For making his lettering waterproof, he used two parts alabastine, 1

part flour, 1 part linseed oil, stirring them well, then quickly adding

cold water. For the work thus treated he made an additional charge that

paid its cost many times over.

PLAN No. 205. A HOME-MADE WATER FILTER

An old gentleman living in a western town of 5,000 people, unable to do

hard work, but obliged to earn his own living, hit upon a plan that

brought him a small income upon which he could live with comfort. His

plan was to make a simple water filter; and, as the local water supply

was not of the best, he sold all he could make.

Taking a small wooden pail, not painted on the inside, he bored a hole

in the bottom and covered the bottom of the pail with flannel. Then he

put in a layer of coarsely powdered charcoal to a depth of 2 inches,

then a 8-inch layer of coarse sand, and on top of this a 8-inch layer of

coarse powdered limestone. Setting the pail over a jar, he allowed the

water from the faucet to drip slowly into the pail, where it was

thoroughly filtered before going into the jar, and was therefore

perfectly safe for drinking.

This first filter he sold for 75 cents, and with the profits on this

sale he bought several more of the pails and a quantity of the charcoal,

with a few yards of flannel, and made these up as before. The people of

his town were glad to get so good a filter for that price and he

supplied several hundred families, and his net profits were sufficient

to maintain him. He is now making filters for other towns.

PLAN No. 206. CONDENSED MILK

A poor widow, living in a small southern city, was practically dependent

upon a splendid cow, which gave more milk than she and her few customers

could use.

She therefore conceived the idea of converting this surplus into

condensed milk that would keep for an indefinite period, and bring good

prices when shipped to city customers by parcel post.

Taking 10,000 parts of fresh milk, 50 parts of white sugar, and 2 parts

of carbonate of soda, she placed all in a porcelain vessel, and with

constant stirring evaporated by heat of vapor bath at 140 to 160 degrees

to the consistence of a thick paste.

Placing this paste in small glass jars, she sold it readily at fair

prices, and realized a good profit from its sale. One pint of this paste

is equal to ten pints of fresh milk, and being a distinctively country

product of assured purity and cleanliness brought a good living to this

woman.

PLAN No. 207. A NEWSPAPER MAN’S PLAN

He published a weekly newspaper in a field that was covered by one of

the papers of a large city about thirty miles away, and he was very

desirous of showing a special service to the people in his community. He

made it a point to find out the people who came into the city, and to

ascertain this early. So each morning he went to the Water Department of

his city and obtained the names and addresses of parties who had water

turned on, and from this information, made a statement in his paper

concerning each person’s arrival. When the paper was published, he sent

a boy around to get the newcomer’s subscription. When there was a

refusal, the boy was instructed to say: “Well, the editor desired you to

have a copy anyway, so I will leave this copy.” The new arrival, upon

reading over the paper, found his name mentioned, and on his next call

the boy easily secured a subscriber.

This is an excellent way for a person running a small paper close to a

large city to build up his subscription list. This man succeeded to the

extent of seven or eight hundred dollars a year.

PLAN No. 208. PERFUMED BAGS FOR THE BATH

The delights of the bath are increased 100 per cent by the use of a

perfumed bath bag, which a druggist friend made up as follows:

Fine oatmeal, 4 pounds; bran, 1 pound; powdered castile soap, 1 pound;

powdered orris, ¹⁄₂ pound. Mix well together and tie up in muslin bags,

of any desired tint, and fasten with ribbon or silk. Each bag contained

about one pound of the mixture, and sold readily at 25 cents each.

Anyone can make considerable money by making and selling these.

PLAN No. 209. VINEGAR MADE PROM STRAWBERRIES

Thoroughly mash a quantity of ripe strawberries into a paste, and let

stand for 24 hours. Then press out the juice and let it stand for a few

days, to ferment and to allow the slimy contents to separate. Then

filter the juice and put into clean, well-closed bottles, and put in a

cool place, where it will keep a long time. Added to good cider vinegar,

when ready to use, it makes an excellent flavoring.

It was cheap and easy to make, and profitable to sell.

PLAN No. 210. CANNED FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

While Mr. Farmer devoted his time and attention to the larger operations

of general farming, his wife made a profitable side issue of such

subsidiary lines as the orchard, the garden and the poultry yard, in all

of which the products were of the highest order.

Buying Mason jars in large quantities, at a practically wholesale price,

she utilized these in the canning of fruits, berries and vegetables, as

they keep longer and look better when put up in this way, and bring much

higher prices.

While her specialty was tomatoes, she also canned peas, beans, carrots,

beets, turnips, parsnips, sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkins, sweet corn,

shredded cabbage, brussels sprouts, and many other products of that

kind, and they retained their original flavor and appearance throughout

the entire year, if kept beyond the winter season. Of fruits, she canned

peaches, pears, apples, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries

and strawberries, put up in their syrup for making pies and puddings as

well as for general table uses.

Hundreds of city people gladly purchased these canned fruits and

vegetables, and though she sold them at prices lower those asked for

inferior grades in the market, she still netted a good profit from all

her products.

PLAN No. 211. PICKLES AND RELISHES PRESERVED

She made immense quantities of the most delicious pickles and relishes.

She made these from the very best recipes she could procure anywhere,

and the product was so excellent that she was proud to have it known

that it was due to her own skill in making everything just right.

The pickles and relishes she made of green tomatoes, and the profit on

them even at her reasonable prices were great. Pickled cucumbers,

cabbage, celery, onions, cauliflower, beets, beans, and a score of other

garden growths, took up a large portion of her time and brought large

returns, while chow-chow, pickalillie, and other appetizing relishes

were in demand.

Like the famous “Pin-Money Pickles” of a southern woman who started on

nothing, Snider’s Catsup, which was launched in a small way by a wife,

and Heinz’s fifty-seven varieties, this farm lady’s articles were

popular because she turned out only good products.

PLAN No. 212. HER POULTRY PLAN

An Ohio farm woman had learned, through experience, that there is no

profit in scrubby poultry; that these birds eat as much as the high

grade, and bring only the lowest prices in the market. She therefore

weeded out the mongrels and substituted pure-breds. Instead of selling

common eggs at the corner grocery for 20 cents a dozen, she was soon

selling settings at $2.50 to $6, and had a fine lot of high-grade

cockerels which not only matured early but showed greater size and bulk,

and brought more per pound than the common ones. She also dealt in the

best strains of ducks, geese, turkeys, etc., and these were very

productive of cash returns, also.

A few ads. in farm and poultry journals brought many orders for

pure-bred poultry and eggs.

PLAN No. 213. SELLS FLOWERS AND GARDEN SEEDS

This enterprising woman would never plant a seed of any kind except the

very choicest variety, and the result was seen in the superior products

of her orchard and garden. Not content with even this showing, she was

continually experimenting in the cross-breeding of the most select

specimens of plants, flowers, vegetables and fruits. For instance,

through these methods she developed a climbing tomato vine. This vine

was a thing of beauty and a wonderful producer, and she received big

prices for a few seeds, as everyone who saw it was anxious to have some

of the same kind in their own garden. Her sales from garden seeds alone

often brought her as high as $500 in a single year.

PLAN No. 214. BEE-KEEPING

One would think this farmer’s wife would be busy enough without adding

to her long list of home industries, but she realized that real honey is

a luxury, for which people will pay good prices, so she installed a few

colonies of bees and, with her usual thoroughness in all matters

pertaining to the productiveness of the farm, she gave them that degree

of care which is necessary in order to secure the best results. That

orchard and garden proved a veritable paradise for the bees, and they

well repaid their favorable surroundings with a yield of choice honey

that not only supplied all the family needs but furnished several

hundred pounds for sale at high prices every fall. As the colonies

increased, so did the revenue they brought, and as but little labor or

expense was involved in their keep, they returned very large profits.

PLAN No. 215. PICKLED PLUMS

Having a number of plum trees in the orchard that were loaded with

fruit, she sold 800 or 1,000 pounds of them at good prices, and still

having more of them than she could use, she pickled them, as follows: To

every 7 pounds of plums, add 4 pounds of sugar and 2 ounces each of

cinnamon stick and cloves, 1 quart vinegar and a little mace. Scald the

vinegar and sugar together and pour over the plums. When the jar is

full, scald all together, and they are then ready for use. One taste of

these always made people want more.

PLAN No. 216. HOME-MADE FIRELESS COOKERS

Only those who have used fireless cookers can have any adequate

conception of their practical value, or realize the manifold advantages

their use affords. But fireless cookers, as they are made and sold

today, are prohibitive in price to many people, costing, as they do,

from $12 to $30 each, according to the number of “burners,” and

thousands who would be glad to have them are obliged to go without.

It was an intimate knowledge of this condition that prompted an

enterprising citizen in California to supply these people with fireless

cookers which he could make in his own woodshed, and supply them at less

than one-third the prices asked for the “boughten” ones. Anyway, he

decided to make a few and see what could be done in the matter of sales.

He purchased a quantity of lumber one inch thick, and this he cut up

into sufficient lengths to make wooden boxes 18 inches wide, 16 inches

deep, and 18, 30 and 40 inches in length, with a hinged cover of the

same materials as the sides, ends and bottoms of the boxes. The 18-inch

boxes were for one burner, the 30-inch for two burners, and the 40-inch

for 3-burner cookers.

He placed a thick layer of excelsior all around the inside of the box,

holding this in place with burlap, long, slender nails being driven

through the burlap and excelsior into the wood of the sides and ends,

while a thick cushion of burlap and excelsior was made to fit over the

tops of the kettles, and cushions of the same kind, made in circular

form, to fit closely around each kettle as it set in the box. The bottom

of the box was also fitted with a thick cushion of the same material. On

this bottom cushion was laid a thick piece of soapstone, upon which the

kettles rested, and this, when heated on top of the stove or range upon

which the food in the kettles had been partially cooked, completed the

cooking and retained the heat for an indefinite period. The air spaces

left in the corners next to the circular cushions, he filled with

excelsior.

He made arrangements with a wholesale hardware house for a special price

on granite kettles of the proper size, in lots of 100 or more, so as to

avoid the misfits that would result when housewives attempted to fit

their own kettles into the circular spaces made to hold them, and he was

thus able to make them uniform in size.

In order to first test the merits of his product, he made one of the

3-burner cookers and gave it a thorough trial in his own home. The

demonstration was most convincing, and proved that the fireless cooker

which he could turn out at a cost of not to exceed $3, was just as

practical and effective as those made by the large manufacturers.

The 1-burner cookers, which cost him $2 to make, he decided to sell for

$5; the 2-burner kind, costing him $2.50, at $7, and the 3-burner ones,

that cost him $3, including the kettles, at $8.

He began by thoroughly canvassing his own town, and was surprised at the

large number of orders received. The income from this work afforded him

a very good living.

PLAN No. 217. CIVIL SERVICE AS A CAREER

SCOPE OF THE CIVIL SERVICE LAW

For the following valuable information we are indebted to the Federal

Board for Vocational Education.

This article was prepared by Herbert E. Morgan, of the United States

Civil Service Commission, at the request of Charles H. Winslow, Chief

of the Research Division of the Federal Board for Vocational

Education. Acknowledgment is due to Dr. John Cummings, of the Research

Division, for editorial assistance.

The adoption of a career is always a matter of great importance. To the

discharged soldier, sailor, or marine who, through force of

circumstances, must “begin again,” the particular place he will fill in

the great army of the world’s workers is probably his chief concern.

The purpose of this little pamphlet is to inform, in a general way, the

men who made sacrifices in order that the world might remain a decent

place to live in, as to what the United States Government has to offer

in the civil branch in the way of employment for those who seek it, and

the conditions under which it may be obtained.

THE GOVERNMENT A LARGE EMPLOYER

Our government is the largest employer in the world. The limits of its

activities are those of the field of human endeavor. Before the United

States entered the war nearly 500,000 persons were employed in the

Federal civil service, about 300,000 of whom occupied positions

classified under the civil-service law and rules. Of course the service

was greatly expanded to meet the demands of war conditions. In a normal

year about 40,000 appointments are made in the classified civil service.

About one-tenth of the positions in the Federal civil service are in

Washington, D. C., the balance being distributed throughout the country.

On January 16, 1883, Congress passed what is known as the civil service

law. This act created the United States Civil Service Commission. The

fundamental purpose of the law is to establish in the parts of the

service covered by its provisions a merit system whereby selection for

appointment shall be made upon the basis of demonstrated relative

fitness without regard to political, religious, or other such

considerations. To carry out this purpose a plan of competitive

examinations is prescribed.

The term “classified service” indicates the parts of the service within

the provisions of the civil service law and rules requiring appointments

therein to be made upon examination and certification by the Civil

Service Commission unless especially excepted from competition; the term

“unclassified service” indicates the parts of the service which are not

within those provisions and therefore in which appointments may be made

without examination and certification by the commission. Under the law,

positions of mere unskilled laborer and positions to which appointment

is made by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate, are in

the unclassified service. Unskilled laborers in all branches of the

service in some localities and in certain branches of the service in all

localities are filled through competitive examination under regulations

promulgated by the President.

Included in the classified service are positions in or under the

departments and offices at Washington, D. C., the Custodian Service, the

Customs Service, the Engineer Department at large, the Freedman’s

Hospital, the Forest Service, the Government Printing Office, the

Immigration Service, the Indian Irrigation and Allotment Service, the

Indian Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the Land Office Service,

the Lighthouse Service, the Mint and Assay Service, the National

Military Park Service, the Navy Yard Service, the Ordnance Department at

large, the Panama Canal Service, the Post Office Service, the Public

Health Service, the Quartermaster Corps, the Reclamation Service, the

Rural Delivery Service, the Railway Mail Service, St. Elizabeths

Hospital, the Steamboat Inspection Service, the Subtreasury Service, the

United States Penitentiary Service; and the position of fourth-class

postmaster, except in Alaska, Canal Zone, Guam, Hawaii, Philippine

Islands, Porto Rico and Samoa.

CHARACTER OF EXAMINATIONS

Where, in the opinion of the Civil Service Commission, such an

examination is practicable and desirable, applicants are assembled in

examination rooms in certain specified places, conveniently located

throughout the country, for written scholastic tests. In many cases,

however, the competitors are not required to assemble for a written

examination, but are graded upon their training and experience and,

where necessary, upon their physical condition. These so-called

nonassembled examinations are given for two general classes of

positions, viz: (1) Mechanical trades and similar positions, and (2)

high-grade technical, professional, and scientific positions, and

administrative positions which can not adequately be filled by promotion

and for which the Government requires men whose fitness is demonstrated

in a record of successful experience. In such examinations, competitors

are rated upon the sworn statements in their applications and upon

corroborative evidence gathered by the Civil Service Commission. In some

examinations of this character, these, published writings of the

applicant, and the like are considered. Applicants for positions of mere

unskilled laborer are given a physical examination only.

In all cases the examinations are practical and are designed to test the

qualifications of the applicant for the particular kind of work for

which he applies. The commission’s system of rating insures a fair and

impartial judgment of the relative merits of applicants.

NUMBER AND DIVERSITY OF EXAMINATIONS HELD

The vast range of the activities of the Government requires employees in

many parts of the country and with widely differing qualifications.

Examinations are held by the Civil Service Commission for all kinds and

classes of positions, from mere unskilled laborer to the highest grades

of technical, professional, and scientific positions. It is not

practicable to name in this publication all of the hundreds of

occupations which exist in the Federal civil service, but the list of

positions for which examinations have recently been held by the Civil

Service Commission will convey a fair idea of the broad scope of the

opportunities offered by the civil service.

DEFINITE INFORMATION CONCERNING PENDING EXAMINATIONS

There is seldom a time when examinations of less than 100 different

kinds are open. Definite information as to the kinds, dates, and places

of current examinations may be obtained from any representative of the

Civil Service Commission or by writing to “The United States Civil

Service Commission, Washington, D. C.” In any request for information

made by mail the inquirer should state in general terms his desire and

qualifications in order that his inquiry may be answered intelligently.

The organization of the Civil Service Commission consists of

approximately 3,000 local boards of examiners in every part of the

country, reporting to district secretaries in 12 civil-service

districts, all under the supervision and direction of the commission at

Washington.

The local boards of examiners have their offices in the post office or

customhouse in each city in the country that has house-to-house delivery

of mail and in some smaller cities that do not have such delivery.

The district secretaries are located as follows:

Secretary first United States civil service district, customhouse,

Boston, Mass.

Secretary second United States civil service district, customhouse, New

York, N. Y.

Secretary third United States civil service district, post office,

Philadelphia, Pa.

Secretary fourth United States civil service district, Sixth and G

Streets NW., Washington, D. C.

Secretary fifth United States civil service district, post office,

Atlanta, Ga.

Secretary sixth United States civil service district, post office,

Cincinnati, Ohio.

Secretary seventh United States civil service district, post office,

Chicago, Ill.

Secretary eighth United States civil service district, post office, St.

Paul, Minn.

Secretary ninth United States civil service district, old customhouse,

St. Louis, Mo.

Secretary tenth United States civil service district, customhouse, New

Orleans, La.

Secretary eleventh United States civil service district, post office,

Seattle, Wash.

Secretary twelfth United States civil service district, post office, San

Francisco, Calif.

All district and local boards of examiners are supplied currently with

announcements of examinations and are fully informed concerning civil

service matters generally. Discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines, as

well as all other citizens, are advised to keep in touch with the boards

of examiners in their respective communities in order that they may be

informed as to opportunities for employment. Those who live in

communities in which the Civil Service Commission is not represented may

obtain information at any time by writing to the nearest district

secretary or to the commission at Washington.

MECHANICAL TRADES POSITIONS

Local boards of examiners for certain branches of the service receive

applications for some positions, principally mechanical trades and

similar positions and positions of unskilled laborer. Local boards of

this class are located at navy yards and naval stations, at ordnance

plants, at district headquarters of the Engineer Department of the Army,

at headquarters of lighthouse districts, at projects of the Indian

Irrigation and Allotment Service, and at projects of the Reclamation

Service. Information relative to position which are open in any

particular establishment may be obtained by communicating with the

secretary of the local board of civil service examiners at the

establishment. The locations of the various establishments of the

services named will be furnished upon request by any district secretary

or by the commission at Washington.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The civil service regulations specify certain physical defects which

will debar from all examinations and other defects which will debar from

certain examinations. These regulations are based upon the requirements

of the service as established by the several departmental heads.

The general regulations provide that the following defects will debar

persons from any examination: Insanity, tuberculosis; paralysis;

epilepsy; seriously defective sight of both eyes which can not be

corrected by glasses; loss of both arms or both legs; loss of arm and

leg; badly crippled or deformed hands, arms, feet or legs; uncompensated

valvular disease of the heart; locomotor ataxia; cancer; Bright’s

disease; diabetes. Defective hearing will also debar from examination if

the duties of the position are such that the defective hearing of the

employee would be likely to result in injury to himself or his fellow

workers or would otherwise impair his efficiency. Other physical defects

may debar persons from certain examinations. Announcements of

examinations specify the additional physical requirements if any are

provided.

_On April 16, 1919, the President authorized, on the recommendation of

the Civil Service Commission, an amendment to the civil-service rules

which permits the Commission to exempt from physical requirements

established for any position a disabled and honorably discharged

soldier, sailor, or marine upon the certification of the Federal Board

for Vocational Education that he has been specially trained for and has

passed a practical test demonstrating his physical ability to perform

the duties of the class of positions in which employment is sought._

PREFERENCE IN APPOINTMENT

An act of Congress, approved March 3, 1919, provides as follows:

“That hereafter in making appointments to clerical and other positions

in the executive departments and independent governmental establishments

preference shall be given to honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and

marines, and widows of such, if they are qualified to hold such

positions.”

The foregoing provision applies only to appointments in the departmental

service at Washington, D. C.

Section 1754 of the Revised Statutes provides that persons honorably

discharged from the military or naval service _by reason of disability

resulting from wounds or sickness incurred in the line of duty_ shall be

preferred for appointments to the civil offices, provided they are found

to possess the business capacity necessary for the proper discharge of

the duties of such offices.