The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-05-11
TIE COTTON GIN.
How Yankee School Teacher Reyolutioinzed
the Cotton Business-A Southern Exhibition
at the Centenn NAL.

| the Cotton Business-A Southern Exhibition
| at the Centennial.
| [From the Augusta (Ga) Constitutionalist.l
| Some time ago Mr.. W. f. Herring, one
| of the large cotton dealers in this city,
| advertised in.several papers of the State
for an original "Whirney Cetton-gin."
| He intends making an exhibition at the
| Centennial Of cotton in all its various
stages of planting, cultivation and man
| ufacture, from the time the seed ls plant
ed until it comes out in cloth and other
Fabrics. 1t was happy idea to exhibit
| to the world the vast improvements
made in this staple, from its cultivation
| and manufacture from the time that
| Whitney first put his gin in operation up
| TO the present day. Hence, If he could
only raise one OF the original cotton-gins
| it would add wonderfully TO the exhibi-
| ton he proposes to make.
| There is no item of commerce which
has worked greater revolution in the
| worlds history than the single article
| of cotton. 1t is at the present day the
chief commercial item OF the world.
America has given to civilization the
steam engine, telegraph, sewing.ma- |
chine, and various other Inventions, but
| nothing has effected commerce and even
| civilization itself in the same ratio as
| this one invention--the cotton-gin.
| Long years ago, say more than two
centuries, cotton was raised to certain
Iextent. But it amouted to nothing as
al article of commerce and very little
| more for domestic purposes, on account
of the tedious and exhaustive process
lreouired of separating the lint from the
/ seed. and its culture up TO the time
| whitney made his invention did not
amount to anything in the calendar OF
/ domestic economy.
| we are all familiar with the history of
whitney, the Yankee schooI-teacher,
i who came to this section before the be-
i ginningof the present century to teach
Il school, and how or evenings when board
4 ing around among the scholars he no.
ticed the slow process Of separating the
1 seeds from the lint by the members of
the household while sitting around tine
lire alter supper. The quick perceptiye
7 genius of the Yankee Was attracted with
| the idea that this thing could be
done by machinery. and he set
: to work experimenting. His first
Il effort was to perforate the bottom Of an
| old tin cotfee-pot with a nail, and Twill
: ing il around, discovered that the ''rag-
r ged e1ges" seized hold and pulled the
Hint from Lhe seeds, ana righJ there the
principle was developed which has
!, worked such powerful influence in the
history of civilization OF the present Gen.
l tury. After further experiments he
} made gin, which consisted Of cylin-
, der of wood Ia which were driven nll M
bec of spikes, filed to point and slightly
crooked at the end, and, after boxing, it
I'll was worked by crank or band-poWer.
fl Seeing that it was a success, he made
still further attempts, and put up the
!. tirst gin in 1898, at what is known as
n Phinizy's Pond, about one mile below
1 this city.
II However, before he accomplished this,
we must 70 back few years and relate
what occurred i'll Hamburg, just across
e the river, and the object OF penning this
a article. Some weeks since MIR. Herring
advertised for aboriginal eotton-gin, as
, above stated, and q Jew days ago ne re.
, leeiyed from Gel. james Il. Aiken, cot
' ton-buyer of Wlnnsboro, S. o., a letter,
and incIosed in the same envelope was
an ancient document. signed by George
| Washington. President OF the United
y Estates; Timothy Pickering, Secretary oi
i state. and Charles Lee, Attorney Gen.
-Ieral, granting TO Hodgen Holmes, a. citi.
| zen OF Augusta, letters patent Tor a
I ..Iflacpine ior ginning cotton" /" for rIour-
E teen years from the 10Th iof April, 1896.
, Tie document was printed on pafch-
!. ment, aud signed, as above, on the 18th
day OF. May, 1906. The namesiof Seaborn
I. lJohes .and w, Ufquhartatpested.i the sig
: nature et Holiness. hslw 10 - sId
II The following lis the letter written by
! MI, Herring TO Colonel sJa as. II. Aiken,
lof WlnlsbQro. IL might be proper tlv
(, add stnat he is o. brother of Hon. ID.
d Wyatt Aiken, aud The gepgineness Of the
contents Of tue document in a uestion lis
lIurther attested by the signature of Ex-
Goyerpor BonAap and General ID. %.
II Butler, OF South Carolina: ...-.-..
q The history OF the inclosed paper is
this Hodgen Holmes, q native OF Scot
land but " citizen .ot your OWN city. in
2 l775 was the original inventor, and his
5 machine was locked up In Hamburg,
/ S. G., when Whitney, through the. e.infll-
ence Of negro. got q diagram Of it. II
Z, was then known as a 'spaIent for taking
] burrs out of WOOL" On this Infringe
\ ment Whitney got a patent, and called
, it a machine for ginning cotton" This
created a lawsuit in Georgia. In the
meantime Holmes expended some w, 600
aud died iusolyent, His su,Jiwas con
. tinued to the Uniled States Oourt, and
: Whitley sold his claim TO the State oil
+ South Carolina fors$2O. 900. NJ l,a @ls 5sii
/, Holmcs lett but one heir. and the case
! was abandoned. That heir was my
! wiie's mother, the vile OF Dr.. Villa ny
el q. Cloud, OF E4gtdeld, g. IL. No one