MECHANIC TO MILLIONAIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 March 1920, Page 12

MECHANIC TO MILLIONAIRE.

HOW HENRY FORD GOT ON. There is more than a little romance in the life story of Henry Ford, the man who made his millions out of motor cars. Few men have had the luck or the good fortune to become millionaires in sixteen years, yet this is what Henry Ford succeeded in doing. Sixteen years ago he was just an ordinary mechanic, working for a few dollars a week like thousands of others. To-day he employs many thousands of other mechanics.

Like all big men, Ford had a knack of taking pains with any work that he had in hand: he worked hard and developed" his ideas.

As a lad he worked on a farm during the summer and in factories during the winter, earning a small wage. Even then it was evident that he had a natural inborn genius for mechanical work.

He tried many jobs' without finding an outlet for his mechanical genius, for he did not believe in sticking to a job when ho could see no prospects ahead. Then, when still a very youn<* man, working in an engineering shop, he heard that a foreman's job was vacant. He immediately applied for the job. The manager thought him too young, and said so. But Ford had ideas of labor saving, and told the manager about them. The result was that he eventually got the job, and within three months his salary was doubled-

Always thinking, always planning, he spent his spare time in experimenting. The motor car was then in its infancy. Ford knew that the world at large would soon want cheap cars, so he began to plan and experiment.

At last, after years of hard thinking and working, he succeeded in building a model car. This, however, used tip practically all the money he had saved, and he consequently found himself without the capital to put his car on the market. His struggle now was to find somebody Who would be willing to finance him. For years he searched, but the big capitalists would not look at Ford or his car. However, when he was almost despairing he came acrocs a not very wealthy man who furnished him with some capital.

With this Ford opened a small workship and started making cars. As fast as he could make them ho sold them. In those days the worked fourteen hours n day and more. Then tliat small workshop began to grow until, at the present time, the Ford factories are the largest of their kind in the world.

To-day, Henry Ford, it is said, enjovs the respect of all his workmen. He will, even now. find time to work with his men in his factories, and chat with them. There is no "side" about him. He still works hard, and may be found experimenting in his own private shop almost any morning before breakfast. He likes to .go down to his vast factory after snipper sometimes. Minglinr? with thi night workers, he will stay till the small hours of the morning, "tinkering with machines and talking to the men. In spite of the fact that he it, one of the richest of men, Ford dislikes wealthy men. "I think a rich man is the worst thing on c-rth," he has said. "I don't want more than my share of money. I am going to get rid .of it—to use it to build more and more factories to give as many people as I can a chance to'foe prosperous. Everybody should have work —good work that will make them happy and contented."