University of South Carolina Libraries
* THE WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW MR. DUKE COMES BACK (By Edwin Dakin in Commere* and Finance) , + f+H ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦»♦* James Brodie Duke is going to be news again. Time was, in the anti trust days, when Mr. Duke got on the front page at least once a week, and sometimes once a day. Something was always happening to Mr. Duke He was the first trust president to be indicted for a criminal offnese in conducting business. Thereafter he was fnially dissolved. When he and his various companies weren’t ac cused of restraining trade, they were charged with capitalising hydrants. When news about the outrageous to bacco trust was lacking, the papers could tell about Mr. Duke himself. Mr. Duke, it seemed, was not nearly so terrible as his trust; the public rather liked him. Now, at the age of 65, he is return ing from the quiet of years to head the 6157,000,000 merger of the Retail Stores Corporation, which controls the United Cigar Stores, and the To bacco Products Corporation. Why he should wish to worry again with business puzzles the newspapers; surely, they state, not because he needs the money. It's probably just because he loves the game. Twenty years ago Mr. Duke’s money was a live topic everywhere; when ever a paper needed a Sunday filler, the feature writer had only to knock out a few paragraphs on the subject of what Mr. Duke was doing to amuse himself with bis millions, illustrate the article with some clos#-ups of the Duke palace out near Som*/* ville, N. J., and public interest was assured. Him rise from obscurity always lent body to a romantic tale. He was born on a farm near Durham, North Caroolina, in 1557, and grew up with two brothers and a sister. After the war his father started the cultivation of tobacco, then began manufacturing it into cigarettes and plug, using the barn for a shop. The business went pretty well, and when James was 14 his father told him he might go to college. James declined with thanks and asked to go into the business in stead. This was the year one in the, history of the tobacco industry. In 1871 a new factory was buil Things were brought to such a state that tobacco still in hogsheads could be manufactused, bagged, labeled arte, delivered on the car in thirty min utes. In 1889 the business amountet to 84,600,000 a year. Six years be fore he had oosne to New York to tr> to buy out Allen & Ginter; they hao laughed at him. Mr. Duke starteo advertising; he invented the famous coupon; he gave bonuses to retailers, and he cut prices. There are stih many who remember the warlike, slashing challenge of Battle Ax Plug —many who have chewed it. By 1891 the Messrs, Allen * Ginter had stop ped laughing; they were glad enough to call a truce and unite with Mr. Duke to form a company capitalizoa at ¥25,000,000 Thus war born the American To bacco Co. By the time Mr. Duke was 46 years of age he was master of the industry. Merger had followed merger; he con trolled four-fifths of the tobacco out put in this country. Then he extend ed his activities abroad, and bought up competing manufacturers in Eng land, Germany, Russia, Egypt— everywhere. By .1910 the tobacco trust was declared to have more money than it knew what to do with; it paid dividends of 40 per cent, can celed thirty millions of its own bonds in less than a decade—and as a finale offered to buy up a whole bond issue of North Carolina. Duke personally lived up to the nppular idea—still prevalent in Eng land anq ythef continental places—of what an American ptiHioftairc ?b?uld be. Those were the palmy days of the brass cuspidor, and then, at least, Mr. Duke chewed tobacco—his own manufacture—constantly. He had a 2,500-acre estate at Somerville, N. J.; he called it his fapm, and the mansion on it, his ‘‘club,” There was an artificial lake on it of nlflV A£r£» that cost him a million dollars. In aislditign, he had sixteen other lakes, twenty water falls, 200 fountains, 100,000 trees millions of plants imported from Eu rope and Asia, and 20,000,000 gallons of water daily—one fall alone was 65 feet higlt—Alld he had a reservoir James systematized the businessf for 50,000,000, MOttn&ins were built; A Pleasant Ride DELIGHTFUL SHOPPING A MORE VARIED SELECTION CHAS. A. SMITH COMPANY TIMMONSVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA SUBSCRIPTION OFFER The.Weekly News Review Mail to THE WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW, P. O. Box 14, Florence, S. C. ONE YEAR $1.00 SIX MONTHS 50 THREE MONTHS - 25 Enter my subscription for Name Address Am inclosing $ M. O Stamps valleys were dug; 32 miles of macad am drive led through exotic gardens. The whole was open to the public as a park until ruffians started chip ping vital parts off statues of Venus, Psyche, Apollo, and others; also the voods were set on fire. Then the -ates were closed, and the public was nvited to stay out. He always managed to get pub- icity. He was lamost 50 years of age >efore he decided to get married; jrobably he hadn’t had time before, ^ot long after he was divorced. In 907 he married again—Mrs. Nanaline iolt Inman, famous beauty of At- anta. To celebrate the nuptials Mr. Juke decided to make the estate at Somerville duplicate fairyland; and he fountains, lakes, and rivers on (is grounds were made to flow so ast that the Raritan River, which ‘ed them, was pumped dry. The Rari- an Woolen Mills had to close up hop. Wags of the day said that leopatra had slacked her thirst for luxury by drinking pearls dissolved .n wine; but that Mrs. Duke had nanaged to swallow a whole rive? md a mill, Mr. Duke gave comparatively little o organized charity; he said he be- ieved in “helping people help them- elves,” In religion be called him^ ;elf a roaring Methodist? He never oared so loud as to go often to serv- ce, but the Methodists could get a ionation out of him when no one else ■ould. He promised to give the South- jrn Methodist Episcopal Church an innuity of $109,000 a year. About his time, however, some Methodist Jishop started an anti-chewing, anti- smoking campagn. Mr. Duke’s feel ings were hurt. He always had a love for his native South. He heavily endowed Trinity college at Durham, and also erected a negro hospital there. He establish ed a fund fif $50,000,000 to enable Southern farmers tg build their own cotton manufacturing mills, and or ganized the Southern Power Co. to feed them electric power. In this project he diverted some $16,000,000 of the profits of the American To jacco Co. But this latter project did not remain charity. The Southern Power Co. eventually came to furnish power to 45 cities and towns, to con trol the power in three-fourths of the mills in the South, and to have a yearly net profit of over a million. It was not so long afterward that the Supreme Court of the United States dissolved the American To bacco Co. on the ground that it had violated sections one and two of the Sherman anti-trust act, and Mr. Duke sailed for Europe to deVote his ef forts to the British-Amercian Tobac co Co., which he had fathered and reared as blood brother to the Amer- can. Mr. Duke was not, at the mo ment, jq a patriotic mood. When ceftajn officials of a coun try,” he declared, “begin donqunping its pioneers practically as crooks and thieves and as ‘immoral,’ I should think it is time for the old builders of the country, and of its commerce, to unite and get out or seek other fields pf action.” A newspape* reporter asked him if this explained his departure to Eu rope. Mr. Duke shifted his quid and clamped down his jaw. “A closed mouth,” he said sar donically, “doesn’t catch any flies.” While in England Mr. Duke smoked $5 cigars. This meant much to the English public, because the cigars that King Edward had smoked cost only $2.65. Mr. Duke a]sQ gavg out an interview while there, In which he called the progressive spirit in a country dangerous. A New York Times correspondent had called ostensibly not to talk about politics, but to get a description of Mrs. Duke’s gown; the Dukes had just been presented at Court. “I think,” sad James B., “that we are going ahead fa?t enough.” The Dukes were caught in London by the war. Mr. Duke cabled franti cally to Washington for the authori ties to save him. His attorneys were also instructed to help him, and they telegraphed Washington that “the tobacco industry in this country de mands his life and services to save it in the crisis caused by war.” Washington was solicitous, but un perturbed. “The story of Mr. Duke’s disti^ss,” said a dispatch from that center, “is considered remarkable. He did not go into details.” That Mr. Duke finally got back safely, present history attests. He was inconvenienced during the war, because Mr. McAdoo refused to let him use his private railroad car, on the grounds of economy, but things otherwise went sailing. Mr. Duke financed some experimental nitro gen-manufacturing plants for the government, and was interested in fitting out the merchant marine. It is only in the last fortnight, however, that Mr. Duke has stepped back into the real limelight. United Retail has now been absorbed by the Tobacco Products Corporation, with a total merged capitalization of $157,- 000,000. James B. Dixon, who will officially head the merger, has been an associate of Mr. Duke from boy hood; he is the high priest. Mr. Duke himself is the guiding spirit who will work the miracles. The influence that goes with Mr. Duke’s name in the tobacco world is, even in this day of hero worship and public celebrities, a thing remarkable. It only has to bw whispered—and presto, one might have waved a magic wand. He is regarded not only as the founder of the industry but as its super-genius. He is supposed to work miracles and witchcraft. What he intends to do with the merger is superficially evident enough. The Tobacco Products Cor poration is one of the largest of the manufacturers of cigarettes, smoking tobacco and cigarette papers. The United Retail Stores, controlling the United Cigar Stores, is the largest and most important factor in the country in th§ retail selling of manu factured tobacco. Pooling of profits new and more economical methods of distribution, and expansion of the whole htwiness is indicated. The ar rangement is, in a way, a system of eliminating the middleman, thus en- Wouldn’t Quit Job For Million Washington. — Attorney General Daugherty vigorously spiked all ru mors that he would resign from the Cabinet now or in the near future. As long as he has the backing of the President, Mr. Daugherty expects to continue at the Department of Jus tice, ignoring the criticism which is being leveled in his direction. “I wouldn’t have given thirty cents for the office of Attorney General,” said Mr. Daugherty emphatically, as he left the White House after a brief conference with the President, “but I wouldn’t surrender it for a million dollars.” The Attorney General sad he ex pected when he accepted the Cabinet 1 post to be made the target of sertain ; individuals and was prepared exactly for the experience he is undergoing at present. abling the manufacturer to cut prices. Smokers are wondering if they are going to be the beneficiaries of a price war. Cigarettes may even re turn to ten cents a pack—good ones. Miracles may happen. At least, James Brodie Duke is back. 1-3 of Your Life Is spent in Bed! Your comfort and rest depends upon the con- • dition of your Mattress. If it sags in the middle or is hard in spots you spend 1-3 of your life in misery. For 10 days we will re-condition your Mattress, make it over as good as new for $3.90 A. Green & Son, Mattress Factory Next to Rollins Fish Market Phone 256-W. Work Called For and Delivered SEND US YOUR JOB PRINTING Here’s Where Its Made Buy Ice Tickets! The Antidote For Heat. We have had printed for your convenience Ice Coupons in smaller denominations. Its much cheaper and handier this way. Its a sure way to save something every day. Your Ice Man Has These Tickets. Florence Ice & Fuel Company O. G. WESTON, Manager. BUILD FOR LESS fFe paid for our experience, we gladly give it to you Why Wait Forever To Start Your Plans A Little Money Goes A Long Way’s With Us WE DO IT QUICK Dargan-Harllee Real Estate & Development Company 2nd Floor Skyscraper