The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-11-23
Lord CoWdray, Head OF
Pearson Syndicate. Has
Done Things In Mexico

ftSO LII 1fI GNLCO
modern lines with steel rails of 80
pounds, although there was much rock
cutting and other hard work to be
| done. The more spectacular part of the
Job was at the terminal ports.
| At Salina Cruz the work was an un-
dertaking of considerable difficulty be-
cause that Pacific port was nothing
but an open roadstead. Without as
sistance from nature the contractor
evolved an outer and an inner harbor
| by means of vast breakwaters of ma
sonry The blocks In some cases
weighed from 80 to 40 tons apiece. The
inner harbor is an artificial basin with
perfectly quiet water.
Coatzacoalcos, the Atlantic terminal,
presented different problem. The river
formed a good natural harbor, but was
obstructed by bar. An elaborate sys-
tenn of jetties was built across there
SO that the bar was secured out by the
action of the river itself. At either place
model town was built UP, furthering
the best hygienic conditions.
In the oil business Sir Weetman was
early to recognize that there was plen-
ty of good crude oil to be got in Mex
leo and there have been reports that
he was for a long time a thorn in the
though to match these there was re-
port not so very long ago that under
the Madero regime the struggle went
against Lord Cowdray to such an ex-
tent that he wanted to sell out to the
Standard. President Diaz was a director
In the Mexican Eagle Petroleum COM
.. pany, as the name of the Pearson con-
Germ in Mexico may be done over into
English
incidentally to the troubles between
Lord Cowdray and the Standard Oil peo-
pie, when he was here in June, 1910, the
story was given out and Sir Weetman
himself said that persons interested in
oil In Mexico and affiliated with Stand
ard OH had half dozen sleuths watching
outside the ST. Regis hotel shadowing
him. Standard Oil said it wasn't any of
Its doing and there was an intimation
that for publicity purposes the shadowers
had been hired by some one close to the
baronet himself, as he was then. Any
way, it was June and for q few days the
sleuths and Standard Oil and Sir Weet-
man got lot of newspaper notice. Then
he sailed away just after having been
notified from abroad that he had become
Lord Cowdray.
year later Lord Cowdray denied
again that he had any intention of selling
out his holdings, which are near Tampico
and Mipatitlan, to the Texas Oil COM
pany. His dealings with the Texas Oil
company at that time were. just to dis
cuss matters profitable to both of them
concerning the business In which both
were engaged, that is selling oil, or SO
Lord Cowdray explained 1t.
Pearson & Son, Ltd, were the contrac-
tors who put the tunnels under the East
| river for the Pennsylvania Railroad COM
pany. This enormous task fell to the
| British firm because it had had the ex-
| perience needed in putting a tunnel un-
| der the Thames in England, the famous
| Blackwell tubes. Although the firm is
| British and the supervising engineers are
| necessarily from abroad the bulk of the
workmen were hired here and the ma
terials were purchased In this country, SO
| that it was the profit for brains and
ability that went to the other side.
Lord Cowdray Remarkable Man
Lord Cowdray, it may be seen from
what has been said, is rather a remark
able parsonage. He is in the neighborhood
| of 81 years old now. He is not what can
be called a self-made man, but under him
the firm of S. Pearson 4 Son, Ltd, has
certainly not failed to make great strides
ahead. The founder of the firm was
| Lord Cowdray's grandfather, and the
son" was his father, George Pearson. 1t
was a big house when he succeeded to it
| as his inheritance, but 1t has been made
much bigger since then, with contracts
at a time running up toward 00000,000
Although he has sat in Parliament, hav-
| ing been elected regularly enough from
| Colchester, he has not had much real time
| for politics and legislation, his time being
| taken up with his business. Among some
of the great things his firm has done ale
| the $20,0O0,000 harbor operation at Dover,
| the Malta dry dock the Halifax dry aock,
| the construction of the Great Northern
| railway and of the Northern and city
railway the ''tupenny tube'D, in building
which tine experience was gained that
afterward insured the getting of the con-
| tract for the Pennsylvania railrcad wcill
| here.
In selecting his title of Lord Cowdray
the head of the Pearson syndicate showed
himself, as a business man might be eX-
pected to be, above average superstition.
Cowdray park, the place he purchased
from the Earl Of Egmont i'll 1909. and from
which he tookShis title had seemad to
bring bad luck to other possessors. al
| though he seems to have broken the spell.
To begin with. It was burdened with a
monastic curse because the old time
monkish owners were driven out by King
Henry VIII.
The Browne Viscounts Montagu, who
lived there for hundreds Of years, were
an unfortunate family, their history be-
Ing a succession of fatalities, until in
1893 the old mansion burned down, on lie
same day that the eighth and last of the
Browne Lords Montagu was drowned in
the Rhine. 1t then passed to Lord Mon
tagu's sister, the Hon. Mrs. Pointz, who
lost her reason a few years later after
seeing her two young sons drowned while
bathing in the sea-. From the Pointzes
the property went to the Egmonts, who
also have been accounted unfortunate In
many ways, SO that all In all Cowdray
park is hardly a cheerful place for anyone
who stops to think of tae past AS man
of action, Lord Cowdray probably does
,ot