William Louis Douglas.
William Louis Douglas, of Brockton, Massachusetts, who, through the medium of his widely advertised shoes, is probably one of the most easily recognized men in the United States, was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, August 22, 1845. The career of Mr. Douglas emphasizes the fact that the days of opportunity for young men without money or influence are by no means over. He was an orphan, handicapped by lack of schooling, a victim of injustice and apparently without any prospects in life whatever. Now he is the owner of a vast fortune, a great business, an honorable place among honored men, and has influence for good in laboring circles, and no small power politically. When Mr. Douglas was five years of age, his father was lost at sea. At the age of seven he was apprenticed to his uncle to learn the shoemaking trade. The uncle proved to be a hard taskmaster, and at the expiration of his apprenticeship William found himself the owner of just ten dollars and remembrances of many hard knocks. Subsequently he tried several ways of getting a livelihood, from driving ox teams in Nebraska to working at his trade. In conjunction with a Mr. Studley, he opened a boot store at Golden, Colorado. The venture did not pay, and returning to Massachusetts he took to shoemaking again until 1870, when he removed to Brockton to become superintendent of the shoe factory of Porter & Southworth. In 1876, with a borrowed capital of $375, he went into business for himself. Successful from the start, he, six years later, built a four-story factory, which had a capacity of 1,440 pairs of boots daily. In 1884 he placed on the market his well-known $3 shoe, with which his name and his face are so prominently identified. He has broken away from the old traditions of manufacturers by establishing retail stores, where he sells direct to the public. The Douglas factory of to-day was erected in 1892, and has a capacity of 10,240 pairs of boots daily. There are 2,724 employes. Mr. Douglas is Democratic in politics. He has been a member of the common council of Brockton several times and was its mayor in 1890. It was through his efforts that a bill was enacted in the state legislature of Massachusetts for the establishment of a board of arbitration and conciliation. Labor troubles are practically unknown in the Douglas factory. Mr. Douglas is also the author of the weekly payment law that observes in Massachusetts, is president of the people’s savings bank of Brockton, a director in the Home national bank and ex-president of the Brockton, Taunton & Bridgewater street railroad.