The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1903-04-09
After the war Mr.. Duke started g

only three months in the year. Dur
ing the rest of the time they worked
on the farm or helped in the rude lit
tie barn-factory.
This was the early life of James
Buchanan Duke When he was six
teen years old his father offered tc
send him to college Now mark his
attitude and choice at the critica
point i'll his formative young man
hood:
''Give me an interest in your busi
ness, father,' he said. ''Fd sooner
have that than go to college,
Was it Il desire to make money, q
natural love for work or a disinclina
ton toward supposed effeminacy
and Improbable idleness in college
life that inspired the young mans
decision? Nevertheless, the decision
was made, and Washington Duke
gave IL One-siXth interest in his busi
ness to each of his two sons. The
third son was otherwise engaged and
therefore, received no share.
By this time tie tobacco business
had been moved from the first barn
to small wooden factory. James
Duke stayed in the factory and at
tended to the making and packing OF
smoking and chewing tobacco, while
his brother, b. n. Duke, now treas.
urer OF the American Tobacco Com.
puny, went on the road and pro.
NOTED sales. Gradually James be
came the real head of the firm In
1871 the Duke factory was built. In
1881 Washington Duke retired from
business.
Now the power of the man who di
rects an industry involving $125,.
600, 900 yearand employs 100, ,OOC
persons i'll manufacturing O,OOO,.
900 pounds year, began to show
itself. His capacity for work was
amazing. Work was his pastime
He turned his back on all else. IL
1883 W. Duke & Sons had Il business
OF about 100000 a year, and q
total capital OF 100000. In 80 Mr.
Duke had turned the 100000 into
-, 900 by sheer devotion to the
tobacco trade.
For the first 10 years of Dukes
Mixture, a cheap and popular form
of smoking tobacco, the firm lost
money on it. Mr. Duke tried every
known form of advertising in vain
But he would not give it up. Last
year the sales of Dukes Mixture
amounted to one-ffth of all the
smoking tobacco used in America
He brought the Durham factory tC
such state of perfection that to
bacco still in the hogsheads could be
manufactured, bagged, labeled and
delivered on the car within 30 min
uteS.
MASTER OF THE INDUSTRY.
The tobacco industry was scatter
ed and without system. Mr.. Duke
concentrated himself on cigarettes
and smoking tobacco. By 1889 he
600. In that year alone he spent
$SOO,OOO III advertising. He came
to New York in 1884. His first at
tempt to consolidate the tobacco
trade was through an interview with
Mr. Ginter, of Allen & Ginter. Mr.
Ginter treated him with scOrn.
81 don't recognize you even as a
competitor" he said. But the time
was soon to come when Mr.. Duke
was recognized.
In 1889 Mr. Duke merged his own
vast interests with those of Allen &
Ginter, the Kinney Tobacco Com
pany, Goodwin & Company, and W.
S. kimball & Company. This was
the formation of the American To
bacco Company, with a capital stock
of $25, 100000, of which Mr.. Duke
firm got $7,5O0,oOO.
A year before this Mr.. Duke had in.
troduced American cigarettes il
Japan. The japanese put a heavy
duty on imported cigarettes and be
gan to manufacture them from Amer
lean tobacco themselves. The Mura-
brothers were in control. But il
1898 Mr. Duke made arrangements
to build cigarette factories in Japan
The Mural brothers surrendered tC
him and gave the American Tobacco
Company go per cent. OF their stock
The Tobacco Trust now sells 5000,
600, 900 cigarettes annually inJapal
This consumes 10, 100000 pounds O
leaf tobacco and yields ST 100000
a year to the farmers of North Caro-
lima. The Tobacco Trust also sells
1.5OO, 100000 American cigarettes
in China a year, which pays $500,
600 to the North Carolina lea
growers. The magnitude of the for
eign trade in American ci cigarette:
may be appreciated when it is know
that 5000, 100000 American cigar
cites, requiring 2O,OOO,00O pound.
of North Carolina tobacco, were solo
in England last year, and that tht
North Carolina farmers got 50, 800,
600 from that source aloffe.
One American combination afte1
another surrendered to MIR. Duke
until the Tobacco Trust now include
fourteen or fifteen corporations an(
has nearly sixty factories, whicl
turn out annually 300, ,OOO,OOl
pounds of cigarettes, cigars, smoking
anu piuS tobdtIO anu SIuii. iic III
crease in the sale of snuff alone in TIL
United States was more than :, 900,
600 last year.
SO tremendous and far-reaching
the power of the industrial organiza
ton created by Mr.. Duke that evel
in England, with an import duty c
40 cents a thousand on cigarettes t.
protect the English manufacturers
he forced terms from his unwillin;
rivals. The Imperial Tobacco Com
pany had a capital Of $40, 100000
it had control of the cigarette trad
in England;it had the tariff andput
lie sentiment in its favor. Mr.. Duk
went to London and by the daring c
his methods and the stress of hi
energy he compelled the Imperial TIC
bacco Company to surrender to hif
$14. 100000 in stock and cash.
Mr.. Duke is recognized today a
over the world as the master OF til
tobacco industry. And this at tn
age of 46 years.
This is the man who says that tn
only road to success is the actus