Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1852-12-09
For the Spy.

Editors Of The Spy-Sirs:--It has always
been subject of wonderment to me, why the
great inventors of past years were prosecuted
and i'll used, by the communities in which they
dealt | say ofpast years, for, ill within few
days past, | was under the impression that the
vast benefits derived from their once derided eff
forts, had secured to the inventive genius of The
present day, an immunity from the ills of their
| predecessors; but scene that witnessed few
days past, in this city, satisfies me, that however
progressive the age may be in the use and en-
joyment of the labors of genius, the spirit of
jealous envy, of the olden time, still pursues and
harnesses the inventive mind. Can you, Messrs.
Editors, explain why an honest, honorable, ENTER
prlsing, and highly cultivated mind, should incur
the bitter luminosity OF any man in the com
munity of which it forms part? Before you an
swer the question, permit me TO lay before you
a case in point, which has been indirectly alluded
| to before.
AT an examination in this city, before COM
missioner, in matter of evidence, an attempt
was made to destroy the testimony of a ceIebra-
ted inventor, and for this purpose, two ex-Gov-
errors were called to the stand. Both swore that
they would not believe the inventor under OATH
They acknowledged no personal acquaintance or
! dealings with him-knew Of no dishonorabIe act,
but had heard that he had failed to keep his prom
! Use, in the production Of an important invention
| Now, let US see who and what is this man. that
two ex- Governors could not believe, under oath,
although even foul mouthed rnmor could not
! specify faint 10 assist them.
He is the man that, in 1913 made the discov.
cry that oxygen was magnetic, and was laughed
at, till Michael Farady, President of the Royal
Society of London, corroborated his experiment
| in 1919.
He is the man, that, in 1S44, discovered that
| oil nd ~,
and prosecuted for his andacy, by the scien-
tfc world, till his undeniable demonstrations, in
/ 1919, and those Of Mr.. Paget, before the Royal
! Society of London, in 1851, sienced his calum-
| niators.
He is the man, that, in 1916, received patent
for accomplishing that, which the philosophers, of
both the old and new world, had pronounced
beautiful in theory, but impossible in practice,-
the production LENSES with parabola curves
lie is the man, that. In lS47, solved the prob
lem of adapting the paddle wheel with fixed
buckets, to the navigation of canals, without
causing swell. For half century the best en-
| gineers Of the world had exerted their genius in
vain, but this man grappled with the question, it
was solved, and now, the canal, the river, and
the lake, bear on their bosoms the evidence of its
| success.
He is the man, that, in 1850, made that i'm
portaut discovery in chemistry, the catalysis of
hydrogen-a discovery unlocked for and as
tonishlng, as to call down its authors head,
one universal expression Of derision. But The So
Der second thought induced some of The scoffers
to test the matter, and soon, host of experiment.
ers gave evidence OF its TRUTH and when the pro-
lessons of chemistry in our colleges, and the Uni
ted States Metallurgst endorsed the fact, the fact
was admitted, but It's dlscoverer has not yet been
/ forgiven.
To- tI,a, hat IN
for the now celebrated 'VentiIaling Rail Road
Carr Who is there that has rode, on hot
and dusty day, in one of these dust-expelling re-
frigerators, without Involuntary calling down a
blessing on its inventor. The freeing a car from
dust and cinders, and giving it perfect ventia-
ton without subjecng its occupants to annoying
currents of ait, was on accomplishment of no
small undertaking, the failures of many emf
nent engineers can testify.
He is the man, that, in 1852, received pa
tent for the discovery, that moist air has The prop
erty of acting as a solvent of the volatile hydro
carbons, converting them, to great extent, into
permanent gases.
have omitted many minor inventions, the sub
jects ofpatents, giving the most prominent, and
sufficient, to my mind, to satisfy all questions as
to what the man is, as ain inventor. Now let US
look at his claims as an honest man. and citizen
His numerous mechanical and scientific pur-
suits leave him no time TO enter the arena of DO
lltlcal life; therefore we must seek him IN the
shop and his home. A man of sanguIne temper
ament and benevolent heart, he has made what
the wise ones call bad bargains, and worse debts,
and he has consequently met with many pecunia-
ny difficulties. At one time, his embarrassmenfs
were so great that his creditors compelled him to
take advantage of the law ,made and provided for
poor debtors He passed through the ordeal, and
stCei legally freed from all claims. But he ceased
not TO toll and struggle, while his honest heart
throbbed under the weight Of moral obligation;-
he paid them alt-those who Imprisoned him and
al-dH 1oere paid, to the last cent, with the in
terest to The time of payment.
have spoken Of this mans benevoerce let
me illustrate what mean Early one cold morn
ing in January, 1850, the steamboat train from
New York landed in our depot family of sick
emlgrants, consisting of husband, wife, and two
children. They had all been the victims of ship
fever, and were set out in the keen air, emaciated
with sickness and hunger, pennless, houseess,
and without friends. They huddled themselves
together in a corner, shielding their little ones as
well as they could from the intense cold Hum
dreds of our citizens passed them by, as the morn
ing grew; but the CHASTITY look Of the mother, the
woe stricken face of the father, or the waing of
the freezing, starving babes had no power to ar
rest their progress; 1t was too bitter cold to STOP
At length, this man came along-this man, with
"great moral defect put the perishing family
into carriage, conveyed them to comfoSable
home, provided food and medicine, and bore and
paid their expenses one month, till health and
hope came again to them; and now they are in.
dustrlous members of our community If there
be any who doubt this statement, let them in
quire Of DIR Buxton. This act stands moi alone
others, many others, Of like generous nature can
be written him, but they not needed. As
citizen, he has been used in our courts as a wit
ness and expert, without any attempt to impeach
his integrity, lie has twice been Chairman of
the Committee on Mechanics New Inventions,
&C., in our Mechanics Institute, and his reports
have been noticed in the Scientific American, p
and other scientific journals, as models fcompre-
hensive and graphic description. With all these
facts in view, again inqure--what is the rea~
son that such man has enemies. bitter enough
toswear they would not believe him under oath,
although they cannot cite one single act of the
man, of dlshonorable nature? B.HP
P.S. II would not be fair in the writer, to let
this communication go before the public with the