The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-08-24
THE CUP. CHALLENGER.
SHE THOMAS LIPTON 1S HIS BEST
 FRIENDS KNOW HIM.
How He Lives and Works and Plays Is n Plain Man, is Up Early and Works Late.

Works Late.
 Within few days there will land or
 our shores tall gentleman who, in his
 own country, is knight, and who or
 his last visit here was presented with g
 loving cup, because he showed how tC
 accept defeat gracefully. A plain mar
 is Sir Thomas Lipton, to whom a lov- v ing cup is doubtless as gratifying as x title. He may be pardoned, therefore
 for taking fancy to other cups, and
 wishing to carry back with him the
 trophy which bears with it the title tc
 the International yacht championship
 It has been rather consistently hinted 2 that the operations of Sir Thomas, both
 in the direction of obtaining possession
 of the America's cup and of philan-
 thrOpy, have not been undertaken
 without an eye to a possible eventual
 reward in the way of some higher dis
 tinction than that of knighthood. This
 Impression can be authoritatively con- 4 tradicted and the statement added
 that within the past year, Sir Thomas \ has been offered higher titular honors,
 and has declined them In conversa-
 ton with the writer recently the yachts
 man said decisively that he had no de-
 sire for higher rank than he now en- x joys.
 A This statement was also made by an < Intimate friend of Sir Thomas in talk on the personal side of the grocery
 knight as it is known to him, in begin
 ming which he remarked: He's plain x man." And wherever you see Sir
 Thomas Lipton, whether it is on the deck of his yacht, or playing golf at his country place in Southport, or in < his private office in the big building in 4 City road-home of the coster and the
 tramcar--or at the wonderful cheap
 food palace that his money gave to
 London's poor, that phrase, "He is a
 plain man. describes him better than any other,
 Although his reiterated intention of
 s'lifting' the American trophy his < wealth and his practical philanthropy
 have brought him so prominently into
 the public eye, he is retiring by dispo- .sition, and although thousands of col umns have been filled with descriptions
 of his deeds and his personal appear
 ance, scarcely anything is known of
 how the man of many plans works and
 amuses himself.
 The building in City road is Sir { Thomas retail headquarters, and here x 1t is that he spends the best part of his < time His office is a big, luxurious room finished in various expensive woods and what light comes in from soutside filters through tall windows of stained glass, dozen electric bulbs supplying the additional needed light. The office furniture consists simply of a few lid-lool1ing chairs and the large desk, studded with electric bells, at which Sir Thomas sits. If you mounted one of the chairs you could survey the -iplrpersa>-.roo adjoining, where Sir
 hpmas' city clerical forces--some Hundreds of men and girls-are ranged fin long rows, posting" books, check ing accounts and humping typewrit- CTS,
 N Upon this scene Sir Thomas arrives punctually at 10 every morning, having driven in from Osidge, as his country place is called, some twelve miles out Of London. He is in his office practi- cally all day. lunching i'll the building, and 1t is said that if you dropped in any time before 10 most evenings you would find him still there.
 One would not relish the post of Sir Thomas' excellent secretary. He Is with the sportsman all day, and when business is over they drive out to Osidge again, where a game of billiards | is the rule, but the talk of business is l carried on up to the time of going to ! bed. That is usually 12:30 or 1 o'clock, | but the men are up for breakfast at 1 7s80 and lose no time getting started | for the city again.
 Four or five hours sleep are all that | Sir Thomas ever requires, and he is usually up and out of doors at an un- earthly hour Although he works so hard, and his operations are upon so great scale, he is never weighed down pr apparently harassed by them, his cheery smile seldom leaves him. and he ts always ready either to hear or tell a joke His devotion to business ap parently impresses no one who knows him as that of moneys -grubber, but one who plays business as scientific eame. q don't believe he has any thing else to do," said his friend-"any- lining else he cares to do. He has no family, no rela tives. He goes to the opera occasionally gives dinner par ty, but I think none of these things appeals to him like his business"
 He is hardly ever absent from Lon don, excepting on short trips to Glas- row. Supper is the only time that he takes holiday, and this he devotes to yachting. "But," added the person who described Sir Thomas recreation. don't imagine for a moment that busi- ness is lost sight of because Sir Thomas s on board the Erin. Every important and the details of every mat ,erI on which it is necessary for Sir Thomas to pass are sent on to him z laily, his secretary is always with him, , md he spends several hours every morning directing how every business i natter and letter shall be dealt with.'' , He is still the brains of the business. f )f course, it has grown beyond all Z bought or chance of personal aten- c ion to its details, and each of his great is in charge of a man in l whom Sir Thomas has confidence, and , le is constantly in communication with T ach of them, reviewing them, as it p ,sle, continually, making them de \ cribe their plans of operations, per- 2 ecting those plans by suggestions and a