The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-09-23
JOHN THOMAS WAREHOUSE.

The Sage OF the Sandwich Islands |
Grants the Gazette an Interview and |
Relates Some Interesting Incidents
His early Life and Ambition-How |
He Came to Invest in Cedar Rapids |
-Sixty-six Trips Across the Atlantic
Ocean-What He Thinks of Prohibi-
ton.
Among the few men who have done
much for Cedar Rapids, John Thos.
Warehouse ranks high. His keen
foresight and liberality in invest
ments gave Cedar Rapids tremen-
dous push to the front many years
ago, and it's growth and prosperity is
in no small degree due to his efforts
then and since. He is gentleman
whom it is a great pleasure to meet
and converse with, for he is full of
information and has a charming way
of imparting it. Mr.. Waterhouse
lives at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands,
where he has large interests. He
and his immediate relatives and
friends form "the power behind the
throne" of the government there.
He has large interests in San Fran
cisco, Cedar Rapids and other cities,
and is travelling almost constantly,
being now on his return trip from
the Paris exhibition. Knowing that
a brief sketch of one so noted as he
would be of interest We have noted
some of the facts and incidents of
his life as they were secured In a
pleasant conversation recently had
with this gentleman. In reply to a
question as to his early history, he
said:
''I was born in Berkshire, Eng
land, in 1916, and went to school at
Wood House Grove boarding school
in 1926. The school was Metho-
dist preachers sons school. [ at
tended that until [ was Ii years of
age. i will tell you how the spirit
of trade first came upon me. A man
was allowed to come on the play
ground once a week, Saturdays, to
sell notions, etc. I used to invest
my little money in sundries which l
bought from this man, and sell them
again to my playmates during the
week at an advance, on credit. Well,
I had made little money, and had
heard of the United States, and con-
cluded to cross the Atlantic to this
country. I had become infatuated
with reading the life of John Jacob
Aston, and I started out from Eng
land, April, 1888, with a determine
ton to become a John Jacob Aston.
but want to tell you that I got nc
further than John Thomas Water
house. I have seen a great deal OF
this country. I crossed the Atlantic
ocean six times before steamer
crossed it, coming over on sailing
vessels. Right here I want to tell
you a little incident. When [ was
here on my second trip, I happened
around to Sullivan County, Pa.
There was.a schoolhouse there and
they wanted a master In those days
they used to pay the school-masters
so much a month and let him board
around. As I wanted to collect fure
in the winter / thought this would
be a good place to store my furs, and
to put my notions and made appli-
cation for four months term OF
service in the school, boarding
around, you know. Well I was ex-
amined and got diploma and went
to teaching. A little event took
place there which has been a lesson
to me all my life. When I came
over I was a green Englishman, but
it took the greenness out of me and
I got my teeth sharpened. A great
many wolves were then in that
country and they used to play havoc
with stock, occasionally getting into
the pens. There was bounty OF
$40 head on them. At one of the
places where I boarded was a young
man. He came to me and said, Il
will furnish trap and you furnish
the bait, and we will catch some of
these wolves and go halves on the
profits" Well, I had a horse which
was lame and of not much use, SO ]
proposed to let him kill the horse
and use him for bait, which was
agreed to. About this time [ took a
trip down to New York for ten OF
fourteen days, to buy notions and
other things, and when I returned
learned that my partner had caught
two wolves.
"Gracious," says I, Lucky for
me. Here's $40 for my horse al
ready" So I went to Malthrop,
that was the young mans name, and
he says, Yes, I have caught two
wolves, but not in your trap.
caught them in my traps"
"Do you mean to say" says I,
"that you had other traps?"
"Why, of course" says he.
"That was the first time I got a
genuine bite, but mind you I made
thousands out of that thing, because
for more than fifty years [ have
been looking out for these other
traps and I never get caught in
them"
Glow many times have you cross
ed the Atlantic, Mr. Warehouses;
81 have crossed the Atlantic sixty
six times, and the Pacific many more
times than that; I don't know how
many. My father was appointed to
a position at Australia and Poly
nesia and he went there with our
onk;ro FoDo;l1, ION bro4bore oo1 -;