BataStory.net

1910-1914

Czech pilot Jan Kašpar made his first historical flight by plane in Bohemia. He flew from Prague to Pardubice. Enrico Caruso Concert in New York had been transmitted for the first time by radio. At Jachymov, west of Prague, Marie Sklodowska extracted as the very first in the world the new chemical element – radium.

Bata begins to export shoes also to the rest of the Austria-Hungary Emporium. Company employs more and more workers, so that the number of those who do not have a place to live in Zlin and with non-existent public transport, they commute daily miles on foot, to be seen by their families at night only. Tomáš Baťa decides to build for them affordable housing. But even though it is for the common good of the town of Zlín, he finds that the competitors‘ envy infects the city council as well. Because of that, however reluctantly, he sees in the future the need to play more active role also in City Hall policy.

Elmar Klos (+ 19. 7. 1993), later successful film director and Academy Award winner, who started his career in the Bata Film Studios at Zlin, was born. As well as Karel Zeman (+ 5. 4. 1989) creater of some of the best movie special effects in the world.

Expanding production demands more machines. Although at that time most of the factories typically rent them from their large American producers, Bata rejects to follow the line. Unlike most of his competitors he realized that by renting machines he would got into dependence of their manufaturers. And not just for their maintenance and supply of spare parts, but mainly because of fee to be paid for any single pair of shoes produced on the rented machine. He previews that the leasing can become by that way controlling factor limiting clients’ independent production and marketing.

Czech professor Viktor Kaplan constructed airscrew water turbine named later after him. In America, the first skyscraper with fifty-five levels had been built.

Nevertheless, the need for modern technology leads Thomas Baťa finally back to America again. Not for shoemaking machines, but for machines for their production: he buys there two modern lathes, horizontal and vertical drill and a variety of instruments and products for the production of gears, shafts, cams and forms. Thus the world begins to understand that Bata – after manufacturing and sale of the shoes- enters another train: the train with maintenance, production and sale of custom shoemaking machinery. And this is what their world monopolist producers will never forgive.

Aircraft designer Sikorsky demonstrated in Petersburg his first multi-engine aircraft. And the Krupps iron works began to produce chrome-nickel steel.

Soon, however, there will come a significant change even in the family. In 1911, at the Czech’s ball in Vienna Tomáš Baťa meets Marie Menčíková, the daughter of the Czech director of the Vienna Imperial Library. And only a year later, there is a wedding. Young couple does not rush for their wedding trip.Only after a year they go to the Middle East and even there Tomas however works, examining the local shoes and the methods of their sale.

In Prague, at a secret conference, led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, its fourteen delegates (including two Czarist secret agents) passes new Bolshevik Central Committee of the Russia and adopts to it also Jozif Vissarionovič Stalin.

On the 6th of August 1914 the First World War breaks out. Tomas Bata responds quickly and undertakes daily rides from Zlín to Vienna because of the possible war orders for the army. It is important for the whole Zlin: those workers who will work for the army order can avoid of levy. And Thomas really gets the contract. That large that he even divides it among some of the competing Zlin firms. However, Bata stays crucial company as it can offer also its light and relatively cheap “séglovky” for some special purposes, i.e. fortress artillery crews, as well as field hospitals etc.

Despite the blaze of the World War I the Muses survive. Marcel Proust published his first part of “In Search of Lost Time”, H. D. Lawrence’s his novel “Sons and Lovers”. Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal (+ 2. 3 1997) was born. And Slovak Štefan Banič invented and got patented un the U. S. his air parachute.

Just two months after declaring war, 17.10. 1914 Tomas Bata junior was born in Haussman sanitarium in Prague. Proud father Tomas rode frantic drive from Zlin to Prague, repeatedly stopped by police, only to see him the same day. Well, it was truly extraordinary moment, without which the Bata world would lack the much needed Tomas follower in the future.