1901: Man profits sharing typewriter with partner

Transcribed from the Los Angeles Evening Express (Los Angeles, California), January 28, 1901 – “Do you see that young man over there?” said a man on a cable car, indicating a young man reading a paper in the seat opposite. “He’s one of the greatest financial geniuses in the country, if little things are any indication of a man’s ability and character. He’ll be a millionaire before long, or I’m no judge of people.” The young man’s appearance did not seem to indicate that there was anything out of the common about him, and his admirer’s companion said so. “Well, I’ll tell you how I came to discover his genius,” said the man who had spoken first. “When I tell you what he did I think you’ll agree with me. He secured a typewriter [i.e., typist] without paying a cent for it, and without doing a stroke of work for it, and he did it in a perfectly honest and legitimate way, too. In fact, he actually made money on the transaction. I only discovered how he did it by accident, and I’ve been…