I have advanced the Company two thousand dollars to-day, and Williams must have three thousand dollars more this month.
His pay-day has come and his capital will not carry him another inch.
If Bradley throws up his hand, I will unfold to you my last desperate plan." And if the company had little money, it had less credit.

Once when Vail had ordered a small bill of goods from a merchant named Tillotson, of 15 Dey Street, New York, the merchant replied that the goods were ready, and so was the bill, which was seven dollars.

By a strange coincidence, the magnificent building of the New York Telephone Company stands to-day on the site of Tillotson's store.
Month after month, the little Bell Company lived from hand to mouth.

No salaries were paid in full.

Often, for weeks, they were not paid at all.
In Watson's note-book there are such entries during this period as "Lent Bell fifty cents," "Lent Hubbard twenty cents," "Bought one bottle beer--too bad can't have beer every day." More than once Hubbard would have gone hungry had not Devonshire, the only clerk, shared with him the contents of a dinner-pail.