The morning call., 1892-11-12

CuaHce mere now, i
think, as I had there then. / attended thor
oughly to the details Of business-there is
great deal in that. Even now l look as
carefully after everything as / did when
had little. l mean l pay strict attention to
all the details.
when l was in much smaller way in
comparison to my present standing, and
not long ago either, l was onstantly In and
among the work.
You know in brewing great attention
has to be paid to the thermometer. If the
mercury goes too high the beer will turn
sour and spoil. The men would all knock
of at certain hour and think no more Of
business, but have frequently gone into
the brewery fter all hands have left and
found the thermometer making unpleasant
records, and / have slipped on my over alls
and worked all night by myself
why at one time | only took four hours
sleep In the twenty-f0ur for four months
but it began TO tell upon me and fell away
well, established myself in the con-
fdence of the firm l was working for and
obtained a credit on goods up to $1,000, which
| cleared off within a year. 1t was in the
grocery line.
1T was harder for me to get $4,000 to-
gether than it has been ever since. After l
took my first credit made a strict rule of
cash purchasing. When l came to Cali
fornia / was worth SS000 l started a
grocery-store and also founded the Albany
Brewery. I then went to New York to
learn the sugar-refning trade.
II waded right in. / went to learn the
trade and learned it. But l kept the brew
cry going all the time. When had learned
the business / came back and started the
sugar refinery. When that was placed in a
working condition ! sold the brewery and
devoted myself to the sugar industry.
prospered. When the attempt was made
to form treaty with the Hawaiian Islands
/ fought it, as | saw 1t would ruin the re-
fning business.
u fought 10 bitterly, but they beat me.
when the treaty WAS passed | went to
Hawaii and bought some plantations and
established several new ones. and / can
now produce 1900 tons of sugar a year
which i ship here and refine.
"The next thing did was to 20 to Eu-
rope aud buy beet machinery to establish a
beet factory, which / did at jacksonville.
Santa Cruz County, and also built twenty
two miles OF a narrow-gauge line from
WatsOnville 10 Salinas City to carry freight
to Moss Landing and bring the beets from
to Philadelphia and erected the largest
sugar refinery in the world.
Now that is an outline of how have
lived from the time / worked for my eoard
alone until / became millionaire; my life
has been full of incident and would fill a
book which, il not interesting, would be
comprehensive.
"a man can very well live on $50 week.
Why should he not? Living in this coun-
try is not dear. He could even live on $40
a month"
"How about 10 IL he had family%
THAT would be hard, he could not, but
that depends on his wife. Ii she earned
something he might pull through but then
again that would not be living On $40 a
month.
you must look after details, that is the
main thing"
You would not know me when / am
around the factory. ] will tell You a story.
i was having lot Of goods shipped at
Santa Cruz City depot and was superln-
tending. that Is practically, was working
at loading the stuff. had on my old over
ans and blouse and slouched hat. When
we had finished was around the platform,
anu gentleman came up and spoke TO me-
he was doctor from st. Louis we'll I'D in
cahe-sugar matters, and travelling for his
healih through California. We talked
sugar and sugar cane and beets and beet
sugar and had an interesting time
AT last he said, This Spreckels must
be mighty smart man, do you know him p
On, yes said j, I know him quite well.'