At first it was a hard
struggle. The American business world was slow to appreciate the
commercial possibilities which these new-comers represented, but
it learned them in course of time
It was at the beginning of this transition period that my scheme
was born in my mind. Schemes of that kind were in the air
Meyer Nodelman, the son of my landlady, had not the remotest
inkling of my plans, yet I had consulted him about them more than
once. Of course, it was all done in a purely abstract way. Like the
majority of our people, he was a talkative man so I would try to
keep him talking shop. By a system of seemingly casual
questioning I would pump him on sundry details of the clothing
business, on the differences and similarities between it and the
cloak trade, and, more especially, on how one started on a very
small capital
He bragged and blustered, but oftentimes he would be carried
away by the sentimental side of his past struggles. Then he would
unburden himself of a great deal of unvarnished history. On such
occasions I would obtain from him a veritable treasure of
information and suggestions.
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