The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-11-12
AMERICAS BUTTER KING
AN EXAMPLE OF SUCCESS THAT
IS TYPICAL OF AAIERI-
CAN OPPORTUNITY.
CAREER IN CHICAGO PROMISED WEALTH,
An Interesting Sketch of The Operations in The
Many Factories Which Mr.. Newman
Has Built Up.
(From the New York Press.)

VI EOtIl the new 1OIh Il ItSS.J
''He's the worlds butter king, and he
lives in our State" said the Chicago
man. Ellis name is John Newman, presi
dent of the Elgin board of trade, the
body which controls the greatest butter
producing center in the world. His
first step to his present eminence was Il
clerkship in Potter Palmer's general
store i'll Chicago, on a weekly wage
of S3. He was wiry, active and little,
fresh from an English country home.
Now he possesses directly or indirectly,
$500 farms in Illinois. Wisconsin, Min
nesota\ and Iowa, the products of which
go to make proyender for the cows
which give the milk Mr.. Newman needs
in his business. He skins cream from
100000 quarts a day.
.'He was one of family of eight
boys. There were no opportunities for
the Requirements of riches in Johns ma
tive village, so, when Ii years old, he
was apprenticed TO draper for three
years. No pay was allowed him for the
first year of service, although he got
his board. A few pence a week was his
reward in the second year of bondage,
and a shilling or two a week in the
third year. Things were going along like
this, with little prospect of improve
ment, when the young man determined
TO act upon the advice given him by an
aunt living in Chicago, and he embarked
for the United States. The voyage was
so rough and Mr.. Newman spent SO
much time contemplating the deep green
sea from over the railing that even TO
this day he is disturbed by memories
of it, and has resolved firmly never TO
visit the scenes of his childhood until
the Atlantic is bridged.
young Newman reached Chicago one
chilly fall morning, in 1859, when the
destined metropolis of the West had
received violent impetus toward fame
and commercial power. The centre of
the commercial section was then near
Randolph and Lake streets, and the
important business establishments of the
day were those of Potter Palmer and
Ross q Foster. A strong rivalry exist
ed between these two houses, and TO
this was due, in a measure, Newman's
subsequent success. 1t was Saturday
when he arrived in Chicago, and the
following Monday he went to work in
the Palmer store. AT the end of the
week he received his So, which he paid
toward board and lodging for seven
days, leaving deficit of 30 cents. 1t
was a good deal like getting on in the
world backward, but John was stout OF
heart and confident, and the landlady
was trusting.
HE had applied himself assiduously
to his duties during his apprenticeship
in England. and it was soon made plain
TO his superiors that his early training
had given to him an ability to discern
and a tact much above the average
of the clerks in the establishment. So
a change in his fortune took place. His
skill promoted him to important placesl
first with Potter Palmer, and then with
Ross & Foster, and with one or the
other firm he earned a living for some
time.
MIR. Palmer went East one fall to
buy goods, and in his absence Ross x
Foster offered to John Newman more
money. He accepted. When Mr.. Pal
mer returned and found John gone he
promptly offered to John more money
than the rival firm was paying, and
John went back. Thus, for several
years, he danced back and forth between
in the salary lists, but always dissatisfied
and disconnected because he found no
opportunity to own business of his
own.
AS THEATRICAL MANAGER.
'He kept his eyes open, and when
the Crosby Opera House was on the
eve of opening he boldly made applica-
ton for the management of all the bus
mess before footIights. Mr.. Crosby
glared when the stunted little English
man in the bob-tailed coat which had
made him conspicuous even in Chicago
in a time of freaks presented himself,
and CURLY informed him that there Were
exactly 1,200 applicants for the place
ahead of him.
Make mine the 1,201st,' retorted
Newman quietly. L am willing TO take
my chances with the Others
''He came to Crosby with letters from
many prominent men whom he had con-
trived to know in his mercantile career
and the owner of the theatre found them
worthy of consideration. Newman was
appointed manager eventually and was
successful in the new line from the be-
ginning. Among the novelties which
he introduced We're 100 pairs of opera
glasses, which he rented, and as New
man owned the glasses, this was the
first real business of his own.
About the close of the war Between
the States Mr.. Newman stopped in Ell
gin, on his way to visit his aunt on
farm few miles away. At that time,
of course, all things commercial were
in a state of great uneasiness Prices
were likely to indulge in a general ret
rograde movement, and men in business
were just as ready to sell for cash as
TO retain their wares. The leading
country store in Elgin belonged to the
Mcneil Brothers, who, receiving an
offer from Mr.. Newman, decided to turn