I'll tell you. I thought law books should be written for one purpose only
and that was to tell me what rights women had over their children. That
was what I was looking for and that's all I cared for. I was just that
silly. He said, "Well, you just don't know what you want to do." I said,
"I know what I want to do. I want to go in business." "Empty-headed
little fool," he said. "The thing for you to do is to try. Do you know
that if you went into business, I bet you a hundred dollars you couldn't
make a hundred dollars in six months." I said, "All right, I'll take
it." He said, "That's provided it isn't a business that will disgrace
us."
Page 21 I said, "It won't disgrace us. I promise
you that." I had been trying to buy a house. I looked around with all
the different agents in Aiken and they were a bunch of blockheads. I
couldn't find anything. So, I decided I'd go down to the city office and
see what I could get. The city clerk, Mrs. Sarah Bush, was a friend of
mine. I said, "Mrs. Bush, would you read me a list of the licenses you
have for sale down here?" She said, "Why Mrs. Salley, what in the world
do you want to know that for?" "Well," I said, "I've decided to go into
business. I'd just like to pick out one, maybe two." She laughed and
started and came to real estate. I said, "I'll take one of those." I
said, "Go on." She came to insurance. "Well, I believe I'll take one of
those. What will it cost me to take those two?" She said, "Twenty-five."
"I've got twenty-five dollars. I'll take them."
The chief of police was standing there. Mr. Julian B. Salley was mayor at
this time. He was just grinning ear to ear. He began to write them out.
Think of getting licenses on real estate and insurance as easy as that!
Now you have to sweat blood to get them.