The San Francisco call., 1905-05-14
His Employees Present Him
With a Testimonial
Of Esteem.
BY His Rise From Poverty to AT.
iluence His Neighbors Have
Been Benefited.
Special Cable to The Call.

LONDON. May 13-There is a lesson
for every American boy who has his
own way to make in the world in the
Londons cheap caterers. whose 1900
employees recently presented him with
handsome testimonial. They did this
just to show that they regarded their
propriate tribute to a man who in his
rise from poverty to affiuence has al
ways commanded the esteem of those
who have worked for him. Tall and
lanky. stoop-shouldered with features
rather sad in expression and singularly
wistful looking eyes. there is nothing
about John Pearce that suggests the
typical self-made captain of industry.
He would never be picked out of
crowd as strikingly successful man
or a particularly brilliant one in any.
respect He has been sized up wrong
oftener probably than any other man
in London.
He was born fifty-eight years ago in
one of the slums Of Hoxton. When he
was a little shaver his father died,
leaving his mother TO carry on the
struggle against poverty alone with
family of hungry children on her
hands One room was all she could af-
ford. but there she reared her brood,
and besides contriving to feed and
clothe them all she put right notions
into their heads, so that ultimately
they all turned out well. What a tough
time they had of 1t may be inferred
from the fact that at the age of years
Johnnie" had to start working for
living. He hired himself out to pict-
ure frame maker for half a crown. or
81 cents, week. At the age of Is he
was working for a builder at the
princely wage of 75 cents a week, with
breakfast thrown in. 1t was customary
in those days to pay off the hands in
saloons-a pernicious practice, to which
the law long ago put stop. On one of
these occasions young Pearce got
drunk for the first and only time in his
life. 1t was a case of good coming out
of evil He lost his job; but he swore
off, and temperance was a great gamer
thereby. In the four score and one res
taurants under his control scattered
through London not a drop of intoxi-
eating liquor is allowed to be sold.
A VALUABLE LESSON.
After learning the lesson of sobriety
at the cost of his situation.he obtained
situation at a pastry cooks. In his
long tramps to and from work he OBJ
served how great was the need among
casual and other laborers Of good and
cheap food. 1t suggested an opportu-
nifty for him to become his own mas
ter He hired costermonger's barrow
at 25 cents week, bought a humble
urn and a few crooks and set out to
earn his fortune as a cheap and per-
ambulating caterer in the city road.
He did not even dream then that he
was laying the foundation of a colossal
business.
His low-priced restaurants increased
even faster than his family. and every
year sees additions to their number
In 1897 they were all amalgamated un-
der one company-the British Tea
Table Company, with a capital of ST.
500 900. The first years profits of the
concern yielded a dividend Of IA per
cent. Few enterprises in America pay
that much. Some idea of the extent
, of the business that began with per-
ambulating coffee stall may be gained
from these figures. At its eighty -one
houses the annual consumption of fresh
meat amounts to 2,016,000 pounds; of
bacon, 225.o0O pounds; of -four. 1000
tons; of potatoes, 1900 tons; of milk,
265, 900 gallons, and 4,250. 900 eggs.