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.