Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-09-21
THE STORY OF A MILLIONAIRE.

eight years of age, began his business life
by vending cakes in the streets OF Kidder-
minister On Thursday, June l6, 1881,
that whilom cake merchant died az Erding-
ton, near Birmingham, full of years and
h0nors, a millionaire in fortune, but leav-
ingbehind him what is more priceless than
untold gold, the reputation Of blameless
life, and vast educational establishments
bnilt under his own personal inspection
and endowed at his sole cost.
Born on the 23d of February, 1875, in
Mill street, Kidderminster JOSIAH Mason
was the second son of poor carpet weaver,
so poor tnat he could only afford to send his
child for few months to dame school IN
the cottage next his own and, as we have
said, at years old the boy was compelled
to face the world on his own account, sell
ing cakes from door to door. After time
he ventured on a higher flight, and having
procured donkey, with paniers, he pur-
sued the calling of dealer in fruits and
vegetables till he had reached his 18th
year. Tired of street life, and largely in
fuenced by desire to tarry at home with
a sick brother, Josiah taught himself
shoenaking but, as he often said in after
life, although he used the best leather and
put into it his best work, he could not
make it pay, and SO gave it up. Mean
while he had been trying hard at self
improvement, being helped to knowledge
of the art of writing by attendance at
various Sunday. schools.
From Is to 20, he tried his hand sue
cessfully at various occupations, includ
ing shop-keeping. baking, carpentering,
blacksmith's work, house painting, and
finally his fathers old trade of carpet
weaving. Resolved to try wider field for
enterprise, he removed to Birmingham,
where he fell in love with and married his
cousin, Anne Griffith, union prolonged
10 mutual confidence and happiness fifty
three years. Some one who knew his
character and circumstances took him to
Mr.. Harrison, split-ring manufacturer, of
Lancaster street, Birmingham, saying,
t'This is the very man you want" MIR.
Harrison, disappointed probably by many
previous applicants, rather coldly remarked,
:" l, have had a good many young men come
here, but they were afraid of dirtying their
fingers Young Mason, who had been
standing quietly in the background, raised
his hands, and, looking at his extended
fingers, said, with quaint humor that
characterized him throughout life, " Are
you ashamed of dirtying yourselves to get |
your own Iving?" This unstudied touch |
Of nature so impressed Mr.. Harrison that |
he at once closed with his visitor, to whom !
he sold his business twelve months later |
for f500, Mr.. Mason being able to pay for |
it out of his first years profits.
The story of Josiah Mason's business life |
thenceforward reads Ikea chapter from
fairy tale Inventing machine for bevel-
ing hoop rings, he SO reduced the cost and
increased the speed of manufacturing them
that clear gain of fl, 600 resulted from
its first years use. The first machine SO
constructed was made in 1925, and was
until very recently still in use in the large |
works at Lancaster street. To the split.
ring trade Mr.. Mason quickly added that
of making steel pens. James Perry, of
Manchester and London, had been the |
first maker of these, preceding by a
short time the earliest Birmingham max |
ers. The two latter had begun to make |
the slit in their pens by machinery, while in |
Mr. Perry's the slit was made by means of |
a hammer. At that time nine pens were |
sold upon card for three and sixpence /;
and one of these falling into Josiah Mason's |
hands, he set about devising improvements,
and the same evening made three pens,
TO pay ninepence postage-to Mr.. Perry. |
That gentleman at once saw the value of |
the improvement. hastened to Birmingham,
and had an interview with Mr. Mason, who |
from that time onward became the sole |
maker of the pens sold under Perry's |
name The trade at first was of very |
modest proportions, the old account-books |
showing that in 1929 and 1880 orders |
were executed by twenty or thirty gross |
at time, from which the concern grew !
until Mr.. Mason became the largest pen.
maker in the world. In 1880 twelve work
people were employed in Lancaster street,
and lie pounds of steel were thought
large quantity to roll for weeks con-
sumption. In 1874, toward the close of
Mr.. Masen's connection with the works,
nearly thousand persons were employed,
the quantity of steel rolled every week for
pen-making exceeded three tons, and about
sixty tons of pens were constantly in move
ment throughout the building, in one or
other of the many stages of manufacture.
The significance of these figures will be
better understood when we add that there
are probably a million and half of pens
to ton.-[Caasell's Magazine.