The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-05-04

OI meteOrlc rises from poverty
and humbleness to wealth and sue
cess, the United States furnishes
nothing more striking than that
of j. A. Whitehead, president Of
the Whitehead Aircraft company Of
England, but it should be stated that
Mr. Whitehead, though Britisher
now, has American citizenship papers
and got his business training in San
Francisco.
Unknown two years ago, Mr. White
head now is one of the most prOmi-
nent men In Great Britain, and in its
shining figures. He started his career
two and a half years ago with no
asset in the world except credit with
a small hotelkeeper in q London sub
urb. Now he owns the biggest air.
plane factory in Great Britain and has
under his ownership $50 acres of fac
tory buildings and airdromes. His first
pay roll was $35 q week, with borrow
ed money. His pay roll now is $780,
900 week. He recently obtained per-
mission from the treasury department
of England to increase his capitaliza-
ton by $5,000,000, and so complete was
the confidence of English investors in
his ability to make good" that the
amount was subscribed before the
bonds were issued.
Airplane Yet in Infancy.
Mr.. Whitehead is a far. seeing man.
IIa coro III oirnIapo h,,cipacc 6pcnitp
it's magical development during war
time, is just in its infancy; that when
the war is over there will be flying
machine services for mail and pas
sengers and expresses all over the
world, and that where thousands Of
machines are required now tens of
thousands will be needed after the
war. He predicts that the airplane in
dustry Will see the same wonderful
transformation that the automobile in
dustry experienced some twenty years
back.
Furthermore, Mr.. Whitehead says
that the day the war is over he will
start machines on a flight to New
York and he has no doubt that within
a short time he will have established,
In cooperation with others, regular
mail service between the metropolis of
Europe and the metropolis of the
western hemisphere.
1t is, of course, not possible to go
into details in describing the airplane
works which Mr. Whitehead has built.
1t is one of the wonder spots of Eng
land, and the thousands of employees
whom l saw at their work one day
this week are turning out these "eyes
of the army" at rate which may well
cause alarm to the Huns, who perhaps
as soon as anyone else realized that
the great war would be won in the air.
Mr.. Whitehead believes that the war
will be won in the air, and he says
there Is no question that the English
supplemented by his
American industrial captain, will pro-
vide the machines which will give the
allies an overwhelming superiority
At recent luncheon given at Mr..
home, Buccleuch house,
on the Thames, he told privately the
story of his marvellous career This is
it:
Sentenced to Be Shot.
At the outbreak Of the war Mr.
Whitehead, then on the sunny side of
forty, was in San Francisco just get
ting on his feet after a rather adven-
turous experience which had taken him
to all parts of the world and in way
gave him the reputation, as he now
says, Of 'black sheep"
The turning point in his career had
come at Monte Carlo some years be-
fore. He received financial aid which |
enabled him to shift his course in life |
and take a turn for the better.
AS soon as war was declared, al |
though he had become an American |
citizen, he enlisted in a British regi- |
nent and came to England. He was
1T the battle of Antwerp, and there, af-
Ter watching the work Of enemy air.
planes, reached the conclusion that air.
planes would decide the war sooner
Or later.
To get out Of the army was not an
easy task. He did it by insubordina-
ION, anu Wlleu S6uIcuCCO ~ UC SliOl
produced his American citizenship pa
oers and said that he didn't think the
authorities would kill him. They
lidn't. They paid very little attention
@ his claim that he had committed
preach of discipline for the sole pur-
,ose of employing his talents in more
effective way to the service OF his
He was sent back home with
black mark against him, filled with
hagrin, but glowing with confidence
hat he could manufacture airplanes
N a big scale and be factor in the
Of the world struggle.
He had not cent. He had no
riends who could help. His parents,
uite naturally, turned deaf ear to
lis overtures for aid. His first step
vas to 20 to the war Office and, as he
aughingly says, with true American
ptimisn, ask for an order to build air
lanes When asked II he had fac
DRY he replied that he had. Then he
7ent out to look for one, so that the
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