The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1901-09-05

First Business Venture Earned In
America.
The Philadelphia North American
publishes an interview obtained by its
correspondent with Sir Thomas Upton,
in which the Irish baronet tells the sto-
ry OF his life, origin and business sue
cess This is the story as told in his
own words:
was born in 1851, the year that saw
the birth of the Americas cup, and my
birthplace was Glasgow, Scotland. My
father and mother had come there
some years before from the north OF
Ireland, and my father had started as
dealer in provisions in a small way.
was one of three children. but my
brother and sister never reached adult
age. dying when quite young.
Up to the age of II | attended school.
and when | was old enough | helped
my father at odd hours. Then want
ed TO do something for the family and
induced ay parents to allow me TO
leave school aud become messenger
for another shopkeeper.
do not know and | cannot conceive
of any greater happiness than | expert
enced Mt the end of my first weeks
work My hours were long and my
work hard for so young chap, but all
that was forgotten when my master
handed me 81 as my weeks work. |
ran with 1t home and gave it to my
mother.
l came TO America at the age Of Is,
and I was n steerage passenger. had
a very little money-only enough to get
me across and then to take me to
Charleston, S. G. There in looking
l heard of the ricetelds, and after a
time | secured "A position with the own
er of one Of them.
l was not laborer, as has been stat.
ed, but more of an accountant and later
an assistant manager. I worked hard,
and after several years, when nearing
my majority, l returned home with
money in my pocket sufficient to en-.
gage in the provision business, as my
father had done before.
OF course, my first venture was I'm
Glasgow, where my parents had resid-
ed. and 1t was q very small venture,
assure you.
had made up my mind that the one
thing necessary TO commercial success
was to first attract attention and then
give satisfaction. knew that once |
had n customer / could keep him by
honest dealing, and the problem was
therefore to get him.
tried hundreds OF schemes. One OF
these was by placing cleverly drawn
cartoons in my windows touching upon
popular events of humorous charac,
ter.
One of these, recollect now, was a
picture representing two men, one very
stout and the other very thin. The lean
man had legend, 81 am going to Lip
tons" The stout man was supposed
TO be saying, 81 am just coming from
Lipton's."
When success began to come, hit
upon another thing. That was buying
without the assistance of mlddleman
Business increased so that in a few
years | was able TO open second place
in another part of Glasgow. This was
again a small provision shop, and in II
l installed man.
With three shops going successfully
and my business reaching out, l turned
my eyes to another city of Scotland
and In a half dozen years Upton shops
were beginning to spring up not alone
fharn hut I'm ENGLAND n wpll
The English are tea drinkers, as every
one knows, and at that time tea drink
ing was prevented from becoming uni
versal because of the expense.
1t was then that Ceylon tea suggest
ed itself to me. / considered that supe
ror in many respects to China tea, ant
do so now. But at that time the bust
ness was so poorly managed that there
was little or none OF 1t in the Englisl
markets, and that only Of an inferior
grade.
| studied the subject and came to th'
conclusion that the best way out Of i
was for me 10 acquire tea plantations
of my own. l therefore made a voyage
to Ceylon to carry OUT this purpose.
simply bought ticket to Australia
and when the steamship reached Co
lombo l went ashore and forgot 4
come back. l worked very quietly an'
before many days had acquired quit
an estate in the country.
My American interests were acquired
for the same reason as the tea planta
tions-the desire to have only one stel
to the consumer. 1t was in 1887, as
remember, that l saw that l woul'
have to get my own meats. l there
fore came to this country and wen
west
After Investigation / determined Il
go into the pork T0cking business II
South Omaha, anu soon the LiptoI
pork packing establishment was al
assured fact. 1t could not compare II
size with the great establishments o
the Swifts, Armours, Hammonds an'
others, but 1t employed a number o
men and around 1t grew a very pros
porous little community, which now 4
city of itself.
W. want IN Chicago because II. wa