Evening star., 1909-02-28
Making Good in Shanghai

Making Good in Shanghai
TAKE the case too, of that Drifter with the
flaming red hair, ]. Benton Kirby. 1t was
Just Jack Kirby when he was drifting; but, as
he himself humorously remarked when he was
last met up with, he figured that he'd earned
the right to put on few lugs, and SO, in China,
he became J. Benton Kirby.
Kirby, than whom man on this globe ever
had redder hair, was first errand boy and then
salesman in Philadelphia jewelry establish
ment. Having red hair. Kirby was fighter.
He got into a fight with fellow salesman and
lost his job He had an uncle in the restaurant
business in San Francisco, and so he went there.
c'I always did play pretty foxy in getting
close to some place where there was chance
for me to eat" he said, in telling about that
part of his experience.) His uncle put him to
work as cashier Of the San Francisco restaurant
He got along finely at this until one night
ugly customer refused to pay for his food and
drink. Kirby sound1y threshed the ugly Gus
toner. This seemed to him the only and the
proper thing to do. But he was arrested, and
his uncle was Mortified over his arrest. So his
uncle fired him from the cashiers job.
IL was never intended for hashery, any
how; l was born for the jewelry business,
said Kirby to himself. and in truth he did know
a great deal about that business: the part of
it concerning gems, particularly. He found
San Francisco jeweler willing to trust him to
sell diamonds in San Francisco on memo
randum." He made good at this at once.
Then he heard about the big sugar boom down
in Hawaii With all their sugar derived money,
lulu. Kirby reckoned He induced his San
Francisco employer to let him 60 to Honolulu
with couple of wallets stuffed with diamonds.
The diamonds went like hot cakes, in way of
speaking, in Honolulu; for the price of sugar
was on the bound at that time.
Kirby thus developed taste for sea travel.
With five or six thousand, earned in commits
sions in his pocket, he went down the west
coast of South America, picking up fine old
emeralds at great bargains from innocents who
had the vaguest notions as to the emeralds
value. These green gems Kirby sold in the
United States. reaping very large profits: Then
he heard of an opening in Shanghai, China, a
fine city with a very large colony OF Americans
and Europeans. Jack Kirby went to Shanghai,
bought into struggling jewery establishment
there. and quickly made it the leading jewelry
establishment of Shanghai Then he became
J. Benton Kirby, because" he explained,
nearly all the white folks living here wear
split names and didn't care to be out of the
fashion"
J. Benton Kirby looked wistful one day,
when just arrived American tourist was call
ing on him at his splendid Shanghai establish
ment.
There are just three United States things
that long for good deal out here, he said
to the tourist.
The tourist, naturally enough, imagined that
]. Benton Kirby was going to say he missed
the symphony concerts, the art exhibitions, and
such like of his native land.
Just three things" repeated ]. Benton
Kirby, continuing to gaze refectively at the
parade of carriages past his esta ablishment.
We'll, what are those three things?" in
qured the American tourist.
"A platter of American ham and eggs,
rafting good American variety show. and The
Police Gazette in the barber shops" solemnly
replied J. Benton Kirby. Wherefrom it will be
observed that in drifting and in doing things
]. Benton Kirby was sustained by sense of
humOr.
A Drifter with a Camera
THEN there was Joe Carlisle, the drifting
photographer Carlisle, born and raised in
San Francisco had little photograph and tin
type gallery on Market-st., that city. But he
became involved, somehow or other, in the
Dennis Kearney anti-Chinese sand lot riots
out there. He was arrested and sent up for a
couple of months. That settled San Francisco
far as J. Carlisle was concerned He would
have more of it He, too, made Honolulu
his first jumping off place. He started pho
tograph gallery there on Beretania-st. But he
discovered, to his disgust. that the Honolulu
preferred to wait until they cruised up to
the mainland--to the United States, that is
to have their photographs taken.
So, taking along Photographic kit and
colapsible dark room, Joe Carlisle started on