MILLIONS HANG ON A THREAD.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 30 December 1926, Page 4

MILLIONS HANG ON A THREAD.

COATS AND COTTON. FAMILY’S VAST FORTUNE. In his palatini mansion in the heart of the Scottish Highlands iives Lord Glcntanar, the present head of a lamily which enjoys Uni proud d.Utinction of having produced no fewer than eleven millionaires.

The “open sesame” which opened the door to this wonderful fortune was literally a mere thread, lor the name of Coats has been made lamous throughout tho world by billions of reels of cotton ■

Seven of the millionaire Coats whose wills have been proved have left fortunes aggregating £15,366,075. They are Lord Glcntanar, who left £4,6*12.263 j Peter Coats, £2,526,270; James Coats, £l, 961, 745; S.f James Coats, £1,773,870; Archibald Coats, £1,499.125; Daniel Coats, £1.234,802; and Sir T. Glen-Cfiats, £1,725,600. In addition, Mr W. A. Coats, who died about a month ago, was known to bo a millionaire, as is also Sir T. Glen-Coats, Mr William Hodge Coats, the present chairman of tho company, and Lord Glcntanar, the second baron! Of the fifteen millions Hjtecl above three at least have enriched the State in the form of dealli duties, and, assuming that the living heads of the family have made similar fortunes, the wea’th of the Coats must total to date something like £25,000,000! The story of how this colossal wealth was created, wealth which is. of course, only a £ riffling proportion of the gross profits of tho business, is a recoivi or enterprise and progress allied to keen' business acumen.

FOUNDATIONS LAID. ■ It was in 1824 that Mr James Coats laid tho foundations of this gigantic concern by opening a small factory for tho manufacture of cotton thread at Ferguslie. Trade developed so rapidly that he was compelled to call for the assistance of his throe sons, who abandoned their professions and became partners in the firm.

After the death of r.hcie father they continued his progresivo business policy, and gradually the present worldwide trade came into being. > It was, of course, inevitable that ai title of some sort should sooner or later come to the family, and Sir Peter Coats was the first to bo honoured. His son, Sir James Coats, was probably the most astuto of an astute line of business men. He did everything on a large scalo, and his enterprising methods are such as to command respect even from the go-ahead American millionaire manufacturers, of to-day. YYlien tho American Civil War began Janies quickly realised that he must lose no time in looking after the largest and most valuable market for the products of his company, so he sailed for New York and lived there for some years.

• Soon the. heavy protective duties of the United. States began to* menace liis business, but ho did noli wring his hands and implore tho British Govern- ‘ merit,.-to retaliate. Instead, lie deter-J mined to build factories in America, and at Pawtucket he erected an enormous plant. For similar ; reasons lie built factories in Canada, and it was not until after a thiiy-ono years’ absence that ho was able to return to his native Scotland. Needless to say, his long sojourn was most profitable to his company, and as a direct consequence the business underwent a phenomenal expansion.

James carried on the traditions of unostentatious generosity that had made his father a popular and muchloved personality throughout the West of Scotland. But never did he throw' away his money in promiscuous phi'anthropy—it was all carefully planned. SPARTAN LIFE. The typical industrial magnate of today leads a spartan existence, and the late Sir Thomas Glen-Coats, M.P., who was one of the most influential hosts of tho Liberal Party, was one of the signatories to a request to the Govern-, ment of eighteen years ago for a special tax on incomes over a certain amount.

Later, in 1919, when allegations of profiteering wero made against tho firm, Sir Thomas said: “It is surely remarkable that our enterprise 111 canning the flag of British trado to every market in the world during she better part of a century should be regarded in certain circles as a crime.” Moreover, at tho company’s suggestion, their accounts and costings were investigated by a Board of Trado committee, who exonerated them from the charge of profiteering.

The London home of the present Lord Glentanar, who is a bachelor of thirytwo, is a mansion of dreams. It has a marble-paved loggia adorned with

the choicest works of Italian artists. There is a Louis Seize ballroom and reception rooms, exquisite boudoirs, and tapestried Empire sullies, with their sunken marble baths.

HIS SCOTTISH ESTATE. Glentanar, in Aberdeenshire, a superb building with wonderful gardens, was the scene of a great forest fire in the drought year 1920, which affected 8,000 acres, and it is a remarkable coincidence that exactly 100 years previously to the day and to the hour, a similar devastitig fire swept over the same ground. One of the millionaires, Mr James Coats, jun., who died in 1812, left .■€1,964,745, but no will. This is believed to bo the largest sum ever left by a man without making a mill. Yet another millionaire Coats, Daniel, who died worth 1,204,802, left no will. The most formidable rivals to the Coats are the Wills, of Bristol, who, if the present heads of the firm are included, can point to eight millionaires in the famiily. Here the record of the amassing of millions is again one of bold commercial strategy, and Lord Winterstroke, the founder of the world(renowned tobaoeo 'conctem, was a. 9 astute a business man as Sir James Coats.

A reel of thread, a packet of cigarettes—these two simple commodities hnvo created the wealth of the Indies, the vast bu'k -f wh'eb has +.o the country itself and has assisted to, create new sources of riches tor tno betterment of tho people of Britain and of the British Empire.