few months in town every penny counted. Despite this fact, every day he bought several papers, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Journal of Commerce. And all evening he would pore over the financial news. He knew the price of wheat and other commodities, the fluctuations in the various exchanges, and the monetary condition of many foreign banks. But most of all he was interested in railroads.
One evening he wrote a technical article on railroad management. To his surprise it was purchased by The New York Times. It was an excellent way to help out his income. After that he wrote for newspapers regularly and most of his articles sold. When his employers at Brown Brothers discovered that he was a writer, they advanced his position. He was too clever simply to be a runner. For awhile he was an assistant-teller. Then once more he was advanced. He became secretary to one of the managers.
By 1893 Templeton was well on his way to success. He had accumulated a tidy sum of money by judicious investing. His boss had taken an extraordinary interest in him and was a constant adviser. Most of his money was invested in Great Northern stock which was paying heavy dividends. At last the road had completed its trackage through to the Pacific.
When the Northern Pacific Railroad went into receivership during the panic of 1893 Templeton was one of the few who reasoned that the stock was a buy because he knew that Morgan and Hill were anxious to affiliate it with the Great Northern. Should this dream materialize he believed that the stock would go up by leaps and bounds. Quietly he bought at ridiculous figures. There is no better time to make money than during a period of depression.
And at that memorable time when Northern Pacific stock shot up a hundred points, Templeton Blaine sold out at an enormous profit.
Three years before, he had married Helen Dane who had been a stenographer in his office. He moved from 71 Wall Street to rooms in the Stevens House on lower Broadway where he took his young bride. He was too busy with his endless plans to think of buying a house just then.
29
