The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-04
POOR BOYS DREAM.
SENTIMENT IN LIPTON's CHAL-
LENGE FOR AMERICAS CUP.
Ambition of HIS Life-When Penni-
less Lad He LOnged to own n Swift
Yacht-Now That He Is Rich and
Powerful He VIII Crafty HIS

sOuIs Des1res
From the Chicago Inter-O Ocean.
Once upon a time-that is the way the
writers of fairy stories would put it. but
this is not fairy story, so we will be
exact. One day, thirty-hve years ago, a
ragged little boy sat on one Of the docks
that line the River Clyde at Glasgow. and
watched the vessels on the broad river.
The yachts fascinated him most, although
a love of the sea and the men who go
down to the sea In ships seemed innate
with him. But it was the yachts, with
their broad expanse of sail. skmming like
great white swallows over the water, that
caught his boyish fancy.
When I grow up to be a rich man."
said this ragged little boy, II Will have
a yacht of my own. And it will be the
finest and the fastest that was ever built"
And The dream of this ragged little boy
has come true-at least in part. He is
now rich man, a very rich man, and he
has yacht of his own, but whether the
finest and fastest that was ever built
remains to be seen.
1t would be difficult to recognize in that
ragged little boy of the Glasgow docks the
Sir Thomas tombstone Upton of to-day,
who Is planning to win our cup from us.
He could have had his yacht long ago had
lie so wished. but he always said he was
too busy. Besides, the time hadn't come.
Now he thinks he is rich enough. With
a fortune of $4,000, coo, he is content to re-
linquish a portion of his many interests
ut her haF nd tc ri 10
joy hobby which all these years has lain
dormant within him.
Sir Thomas, it is unnecessary to state,
was not born of his title. 1t has been less
than year since he was knighted. He is
a bachelor, ana has made several trips to
this country, to the great concern of
match making mammas with marriagea-
bic daughters, who laid their traps to no
purposes.
Sir Thomas has business houses in New
York and Chicago in addition to more than
400 others in various parts OF the globe.
He Is a contractor for the British army
and navy he raises tea IN Ceylon; he kills
800 hogs a day in Chicago; he makes ginger
ale in Dublin; he has warehouses in Cal
cutta and Colombo; he sells tea in New
York; he makes candy in London, and now
he is going to sail a yacht in an interna-
tional cup race. A wonderful man is Sir
Thomas tombstone Upton. And, should
he be fortunate enough to win, which no
true American believes, no one will envy
his great luck, for he IS one of the men
people admire, a merry self-made man,
not bit purse proud, and as plain and IN
assuming in his manners to-day as he was
thirty-five years ago
No less than 10, 900 persons are in his en-
ploy. He is a firm believer in liberal ad-
vertising and does his own printing. OF
printers alone he has 200. and he keeps
them all busy.
His visits to America have Invariably
attracted widespread attention. On second
thought however, that sentence should be
modified There was one that did not,
and that was the first. No one paid the
slightest attention to him then. He was
not Sir Thomas tombstone Upton then.
He was Just Tommy" and when he land
ed in New York from the Storage Of one
of the Anchor line boats he had just three
sfillings in his purse. But he jingled them
braVely against each other, did this en-
bryonic multimillionaire and cup challen-
ger. and started out to look for work. The
experience was a valuable one to him. He
admits that now.
Sir Thomas father whose name was also
Thomas--''Tammas'' il was when spoken
was a Glasgow workman. He was TOO
poor to send his boy to school. There was
no such luxuries for little Tommy. AT
the age of 10 he was a messenger boy an
a stationer's shop, and 1t Is on record that
more than one of his messages was forgot
ten as he loitered along the docks, look
ing at the ships and building castles In the
air as to what he would do when he be-
ca me rich. His salary was 90 cents week
For two or three years this went on, but
one day Tommy disappeared. His pa
rents heard nothing from him until one
day they received letter from New YORK
saving he had run away to make his
fortune. He dirfted to South Carolina, and
worked on q plantation. Here he discover
ed that his chances of accommodating wealth
were decidedly slim. He shook the dust OF
the plantation from his feet and drifted
to Charleston.
new life. It seems to have been born In
him. but all his life until now he has not
had time to give away to He slowed him
self away or a coasting vessel, and work
ed his passage back to New York. Here
he worked at odd jobs, doing anything he
could find to do. By frugal living he man.
aged to save enough to pay his passage
home 10 Glasgow.
II was not propItious homecoming for
q had who had gone away to make his for
tune. but the experience was useful one.
IL had sharpened his wits and given him a
broader view Of life. Sir Thomas himself
declares that his first trip to the states
was the one that made him. He had stud
led Yankee SuIGNuHSSS W q S0ON eANN%AAe-
age.
The Glasgow workman had saved 800,
his entire fortune, and so persuasive had
Young Thomas grown that his father ad-
vanced it to him to start In business with.
The result was little provision shop. Here
the young man worked day and night. he
was his own salesman, his own porter,
and his own delivery wagon. He slept when
he found time to sleep in little room
back of his shop. He took down the shut
ters in the morning and put them up again
at night. After business hours he de-
liVered the goods he had sold to his Gus
toners during the day.
He was like the gentleman of Mr.. Gill
berts merry muse who
Cleaned the windows and swept the floor,
And polished all the handles of the big
front door.
And from that humble beginning Sir
Thomas Johnstone's Upton controls 40
stores. sixty OF them being in London.
little by little he spread out his bust
ness enterprises, for time combining his