"Call the main office cashier by telegraph and tell him to come to me at once, here at the house."
There were no telephones in that day, but Captain Will Hallam was accustomed to say that, living, as he did, in the nineteenth century, he made free use of nineteenth century conveniences in his business. He had laced the little city with telegraph wires, connecting his house not only with his office, and many warehouses, but with the houses of all the chief men in his employ, even to the head drayman. And he exacted of every one of his employees a reasonable facility in the use of the Morse telegraph.
Captain Hallam had many rules for the governance of his own conduct. Among them were these:
"Never be a fool—look at the practical side of things.
"Never let anything run away with you—keep cool.
"Never be in a hurry—make the other fellows do the hustling.
"Never let the men you work with know what you are doing—they might talk, or they might do a little business on their own account.
"Never be satisfied with anything as it is—there is always some way of bettering it.
"Never send good money after bad—it doesn't pay.
"Never waste energy in regretting a loss—there's a better use for energy.