The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-08-23
DOUGLAS, LEADING BR0CKT0n CITIZEN,
 70 YEARS OF AGE
Former Governor of Massa- chusetts Hearty at Three
 Score and Ten.

Sunday Aug 22, marks the roth milestone in the life of w L. Doug sachusetds and Brockton's most vide 1y known citizen MT Douglas was born in Plymouth in 845, and has led a very busy life. He is in splendid physical condition now, owing to his careful living and is still the active directing head of the great shoe man ufacturing business that bears his name In the sunmer MT. Douglas lives at his beaafifu1 seashore estate at Marion and travels back and forth to his business in his automobile Not only do these trips give pleasure. but it affords opportzrnity for a busy mind to formulate plans for making his a1- ready great business greater The Douglas business has grown to such huge proportions that Mr. Douglas can and does a successful business on a very small margin Of profit. s
 The Douglas factories are located at Brockton. and the company oHsas and operates nearly a hundred retail shoe stores in the princfpad cities of the co7fntxys Added to this is some eight th0saaand retail shoe dealers in various parts of the country who have the agency for the sale of the Douglas shoes. These outlets keep the big .fac- tories fn this city busy under normal conditions, and even now in war times the Douglas c0nnpany is getting it's s
 MT. Douglas has not undertaken the naauufacture of army shoes for any of the countries at war, prefer ring to centra11ze all his enegfes in proper43S caring for the domestic bus 1ness, which he predicts is going to be steadily better.
 A thorough optfm1st at ITO, MT. Douglas looks back over a long life that has not always been one of ease At the age of five his father " as lost at sea Two years later he was ap- prent1ced to unc1es who was a shoemaker and began his employ rnent begging shoes by hand He was eight years learning his trade, dur ing which he suffered hardships and injustice, and finally left his uncle with a mere pittanee in ready money. He worked four months in Plymouth cotton mill for 33 cents a day, and after attending school for one term, found employment at Chj1tonyi1Ie Later he worked at bootmakfng first at Hopklnton, then at South Brafn- tree for about three years. Tn the spring of 1865 he went west, return ing to his trade in association of Ze-. phaniah Myers of Black Hawk, Col. in 1887 he opened a retail boot and shoe stoPe at Golden City, Col, in partnership with Alfred StudIey. for merIy of Scftuate. This enterprise proved a great success, but at the end of a year Mir. Douglas sold out and returned to Massachusetts He was engaged In s1loena1fng at Plymouth until 1870. During 1S71-76 he was superfntend ent Of the shoe factory Of Porter 6 Southworth Of Brockton. and then with a borrowed capital of $875, became a shoe manufacturer in his own name. The growth of his shoe business to It's present propor- tions forms an important chapter in the history of American enterprise. In 1881 he erected a three-story factory 8. Broclxfon, where a daily output of 1s440 pairs of shoes was steadily maintained, and in 1888 introduced the famous w. L. Douglas three-dol- s<- shoe. we'll known throughout the United States by virtue of his extens- i've advertising. A new factory was erected in 1892, in order to increase t11e daily output, and by continual additions the capacity has been in creased. until at present the Douglas plant is the largest in the country under one roof devoted to the nanu- fracture of mems fine shoes.
 For 2 6 years MT. Douglas conduct ed his immense enterprise under his own name, but in 1909 the business was incorporated as the W. l.. Douglas Shoe Co. with himself as president Ihs zeal pioneer Of the low priced custom shoe. MT Douglas owes