Andrew Carnegie：Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, Additional Excerpt 343

He did so and had it transferred. Fortunate, indeed, was this, for in a short time the bank failed with an enormous deficit. My cousin, Mr. Morris, was among the ruined shareholders. Many others met the same fate. Times were panicky, and had we been individually liable for all the debts of the National Trust Company our credit would inevitably have been seriously imperiled. It was a narrow escape. And with only twenty shares (two thousand dollars' worth of stock), taken to oblige friends who wished our name on their list of shareholders! The lesson was not lost. The sound rule in business is that you may give money freely when you have a surplus, but your name never--neither as endorser nor as member of a corporation with individual liability. A trifling investment of a few thousand dollars, a mere trifle--yes, but a trifle possessed of deadly explosive power.

Source： https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17976
Locator：Additional excerpt 343 · Verified：2026-10-19 · Verification：Short excerpt

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