The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-01-26
With Push md Brains He First Pro-
duced Capital, Then Used liz TO
the Greatest Advantage.
CAST STEEL AND WHITE HAIR
A LONG AND TREMENDOUS STRUGGLE
BEFORE SUCCESS WAS WON.
Business Principles of the Great an
ventor and His Views on La
Dor Question.

ESSEN, Jan. lO.-The dynasty that ere
ated the kingdom OF Krupp out OF push and
brains and without a single farthing OF
outside capital is now in its third genera
ton. the present ruler of the vast industrial
empire being the grandson OF the founder.
Friedrich Krupp. His name is Friedrich
Alfred. combining the Christian names OF
his grandfather and father. the first an ut
ter failure the second one Of the most re-
markable successes in a commercial way Of
all times.
To-day Friedrich Alfred Krupp has an
annual income OF twenty million marks
four and half millions more than mis- suze-
rain, the German Emperor. and there is not
a king in all the world having so many peo-
pie directly depending upon him for their
livelihood. And since the great Frederick
and Napoleon no king has been known to
double the number Of his subjects as Fried
erich Alfred did. His grandfather left ten,
his father 9,O0O. Friedrich Alfred employs
900 people, and. together with their fami-
lies, feeds over 10000. more than half
dozen German kinglets together And. I'M
like his crowned colleagues. he feeds their
minds as well as their bodies.
FREE EDUCATION OFFERED.
must pay for their children's education. and
pay mighty, particularly in the fatherland.
Krupp offers free education TO all his en-
ployes; primary, grammar. technical
schools and colleges are open TO everybody
Charity? THE shoe fits on the other foot"
says Krupp; "the more schools / build
the more money in my pocket; there is
nothing so well calculated TO improve the
a healthy body" Furthermore, every
Krupp laborer can acquire a dwelling be-
fitting his station at less than ordinary
renting terms If he chooses. There is, OF
course, no truck system. but the co-opera-
tive stores founded by Krupp millions and
entirely managed by the consumers save la
borer and director alike the profits Of tia
middleman on food. clothes, furniture.
books. everything he wants and needs.
The vessels of the English. German or
Russian navies are classed His Males
tvs ships'-which is pleasant fiction. for
the ships really belong TO the nation. King
Krupp actually owns his feet OF ten ocean
liners, and, besides. over hundred coasters
and river craft. Edward, William and
Nicholas boast Of their private cars-Krupp
owns thirty full-sized trains. fifty locomo-
tives and as many miles of railway as the
New York Central.
The splendid yacht HohenzolleEn. soon 10
visit the United States, burns many hum
dred tons of coal per day-Krupp burns as
many thousand tons the fleets of the
North German Lloyd and the Hamburg
American line together. Really, when you
compare King Krupp with other monarchs.
some of the latter look very much like
thirty cents.
THE KRUPP KINGDOM.
This industrial rulers kingdom occupies
many square miles in and about the neigh
borhood of Essen, Duisburg Neuwied. En-
gers Reinhausen and Sayn in Rhenish
Prussia, and, besides, embraces the town OF
Buckau Saxony, as well large tracts OF
territory OH the Baltic, at Meppen and in
Bilbao, northern Spain, and-let it be un-
derstood-was created wholly out of brain
and push and inventive genius. not even
luck entering into the combination.
The grandfather of Friedrich Alfred, who
founded the factory in embryo. was not a
great genius as the encyclopedias and fat
tering biographers paint him. Neither did
he invent the steel-making process similar
TO the Bessemer. that ultimately brought
his successor fame and fortune. lie only
tried hard to penetrate the secret. jealousy
guarded by the English manufacturers but
produced nothing better than steel fit for
anvils and the like. These he peddled in
the neighborhood of his native town Only
coin stamps and certain cylinders used in
the mints manufactured by him seem to
have been sold abroad.
At the time of his death. in 1896 he left
to his family nothing but tumble-down
shop filed with worn-out tools and a
drawer full of impossible plans and useless
specifications. The firm had not a dollars
worth OF credit, and even the wages OF its
four trained employees had been left unpaid
for some time. The late Alfred Krupp once
told me he inherited nothing beyond a
treasury full of sad experiences and fall
ures."
"Reminiscences Of the mistakes of the
father. made and paid for by laborious
ard unhappy life. were the new firms only
assets. Alfred saw to It that they were not
repeated. making it practice TO go over
the list OF his sire's plumbers every time he
started out on something untried.
MOTHER AND SONS WORK HARD.
Friedrich Krupp left three young chill
dren-Alfred. fourteen. Herman. ten years
old. and a boy baby-and a widow. the lat
ter a studious, energetic and resourcefuI
woman. Asked in later years 10 state the
main reasons for his success, Alfred re-
piled: Avoiding mistakes, necessity. my
mothers influence and inspiration and the
environment In which l grew up-the air
breathed Essen was a gun-making town
for a thousand years. II sold arms 70
Queen Bess OF England"
The fathers death compelled Alfred TO
leave college before he had passed through
two OF the eight classes. the boy assuming
the duties Of master. smith. caster. packer.
bookkeeper. office help and drummer in day
time. while at night he studied mineralogy
and chemistry as far they could be OF
use 10 him in manufacturing. AT the start
he possessed neither technical nor mercan-
tile training OF any sort; OF Latin. Greek
and French he knew "A few hundred vo-
cables. but in all other branches OF science.
including mathematics. ne was wosully be-
hind. u