ROMANTIC STORY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4715, 23 June 1924, Page 4

ROMANTIC STORY.

FORTUNE WON AND LOST. £1,090,009 OFFER REFUSED. One or the most romantic busmess earners of Hie war is that of Toomas vowau Steven, shipowner, of St. Airliew s Square, Edinburgh, who has oecii omcialry announced a banarupt in the Edinburgh Gazette. From a clerk in a Leith shipping olliee Mr Steven, who is now only 38, in 12 years made and lost a big fortune. At the age of 23 he and his twin brother were working as clerks in Leith. Shortly before the war they decided to launch into the. shipping business on their own, Mr Thomas Steven was the brains and driving force of the firm, and soon built up a small prosperous business. He first chartered a boat and carried cargoes from Leith and Grangemouth to the Continent. Then came the formation of the firm of Messrs T. C. Steven and Company, the owners of the Steven Line, which traded between Leith and many Continental ports. When the war came tne firm shared in the prosperity of the great shipping boom. The Steven Line were able to increase their charters, and the Government paid them very large sums for the vessels which the firm had under charter. Mr Thomas Steven laid the foundation of his fortune by carrying oil for the French Government. He ran his vessels uninsured, and only one was lost. £19,090 A YEAR. Mr Steven and his brother became owners of a fleet of steamers, and occupied large offices in St. Andrew’s Square. At the height of the shipping boom Mr Steven’s income was estimated at more than £10,090 a year, while it is also stated that about 19.17 the firm was offered £1,900,000 for their business. The compatty placed a contract for t.wo vessels, which were to have cost altogether £60,000', but charges rose at such an alarming rate that they were faced with the prospect of having to pay fully three times that figure. They contemplated cutting their losses, but were urged by the Government to carry on, and they actually paid for the vessels £120,000 ..in cash and the remainder by an advance of £60,000 from the bank. The vessels that cast £lBO,OOO were valued at not more than £40,000 shortly after they were put in commission.