The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-14
PASSED BULLOCK CARTS CAR
TYING COTTON. "A
ny FRANK G. CARPENTER.

Bombay, 1910.
most progressive mil1ionaires Of the
Asiatic Continent. refer to ID. j,
Tata, the head of the rich Tnta FAM
lily. which owns the Tai Mahal, at
Bombay. the biggest hotel OF the far
east; which holds the majority OF
stock In the largest cotton mills OF
Inria, and which is about starting a
steel and iron industry here In Hin
dustan. which may make them the Car.
negies OF Asia,
The Wenlthy Tntns.
Have you ever heard Of the Tatas7
Their family Is to Hindustan what the
Mitsuis arc to Japan. the Rothchilds
/ 70 Europe or the Vanderbi1ts and Astors
4 to the United States. It is n family
OF miuionaires. which makes It's money
breed like Australian rabbits, and
whose every touch turns all things to
gold.
1t Isl one Of the Oldest families Of
history. It comes from the rich scot
!, OF fire worshipers known as Parsees.
Its ancestors were priests OF that re-
ligion, and they are supposed to have
descended from the kingz Of Persia.
The Tatas were driven out Of Persia
with the other Parsees and they set
tied on the coast above Bombay. BY
and by they drifted away from the
priesthood and went into trade. The
great grandfather OF the present heads
OF the family was a government con-
tractor at the time of our Civil War.
He made and lost several fortunes
and gave hundreds OF thousands OF
rupees to the support of his faith.
Jamsetjee Nusserwanjee Tata, this
,1~rVv oc a. NV
and engaged in general trading. He
made money and invested in cotton
mills and later on established a spins
ming and weaving industry, which has
revolutionized that business IN India
He established mills not only at Bonn
bay, but in different parts Of the in
terror, and handled them so we'll that
the stockholders got on the average
90 per cent. lear. as we'll as stock
dividends worth millions In one mill
he paid back In profits more than
thirteen times the original capital,
and he founded other enterprises
equally good. This man became a
multimillionaire. and when he died he
had interests in all parts Of India as
we'll as in England and China, Japan
and other countries Of the far east.
j. N. Tata introduced all sorts OF
modern inventions into the cotton in
dustry He believed in throwing old
machinery on the scrap heap, and he
had everything up-to-date. It was to
s benefit Indian travellers that he founded
the Tai NIahal Hotel at cost of one or
two millions, and he had his own
steamers to- fight the great liners
which We're charging high freight
rates. He was a charitable millionaire.
He gave away great sums TO the
church andtthe. established the Tata
Research INSTITUTE. at Bangalore. for
the education of.Parsee young men
One TO the big schemes Of this man
was to utilize the rivers OF the hills
back of Bombay to generate electric
ity for the cotton mills. This is now
being done by the building OF great
dams across the necks of three valleys,
thus making reservoirs with a surface
area OF 5000 acres and a storage Ca
pacity OF S.0oo.0 100000 cubic feet The
power Will be conducted to Bombay, a
distance OF forty-three miles. by over
I head wires. # ssis b #
Indiu's Big Steel Works.
Moro important than all the above
are tho plans Of the elder Tata for
"a steel and iron industry for Hin
dustan. II first heard Of them through
the viceroys minister Of commerce
and industry at Calcutta, and I have
learned more from D. J. Tata, the son
a5of ]. n. Tata, here at Bombay. x I met
Mr.. Tata In his of1ice. and we talked
for an hour about these steel works.