Carroll County democrat. (Huntingdon, Tenn.) 188?-1971, 1918-05-03

London.-With ali of it's cases
pf meteoric rises from poverty
and humble1iess to wealth and sue
cess, the United States furnishes
pOthing more striking than that
Of ]. A. Whitehead, president of
the Whitehead Aircraft company of
England, but 1t should be stated that
Mr.. Whitehead, though a 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-
hent men in Great Britain, and In its
industrial life is easily one Of the most
shining figures, He started his career
two and half years ago with no
asset in the world except credit witEs
a small hotelkeeper in a London sub
arb. Now he owns the biggest aiF-
plane factory in Great Britain and has
under his ownership 450 acres of fac
tory buildings and airdromes. His first
pay roll was $35 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 100000, 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 far seeing man.
He says the airplane business, despite
Its 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
b 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.
It 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 I 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 xryone 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
manufacturer, supplemented by his
american industrial captain, will pro-
vide the machines which will give the
allies an overwhelming superiority.
At a recent luncheon given at Mr..
iWhitehead's 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 rather adven-
furious experience which had taken him
TO all parts of the world and in way
gave him the reputation, as he now
humorously says, of "blaek sheep"