, 1881-06-12
THE MEMORY OF 4 GREAT 1AN.

SupnlleN.
THE MEMORY OF 4 GREAT MAN.
lii the long list of centennial anniversaries
Of the events which have taken place during
the great century which was inaugnr;lted by
tile American Revolution, time has brought
the one llundre.ltl recurrence Of the 9th day
of June, on which day in 17sl was born George
Stephenson, the father uf steam railway
transportation. II is Il credit to the clvlltzn-
ton Of the age tllat the busy world has found
time amid the celebration Of historical battles
by sca %nd by land, and the conlmemoratlon
Of heroes and warriors, and explorers and
scientists, to recall the memory of one Of tlla
great men Of the century, great because Ut
the services he rendered III the cause OF
peaceful labor, production, and commerce.
The life of Stephenson is Il history Ut tile
triumph Of lnind,-of struggle between the
intellect and the pride Of igllOranco ami
prejudice. This man, whose discoveries and
inventions have reyoluti0nlzcd the civilian
ton Of the world, was the son Of very poor
and humble parents, living i'll the town
Of Wylan, near Newcastle, England, in
the great collicry district. Ills father was
the foreman OF 4 pumping-enslne Mt the
colliery. There were six children, and the
weekly income of the family was SO small
that it was litcrnllya struggle to find the
means to support the family. When old
enough lie was employed i'll taking his
fathers dinner to the pump. Ills next occn-
patton WIS herdtug cattle, and it was part OF
his work to close the gates of the tralnway
over which the coal-wagons were hauled and
keep the cattle from the track. At II he was
made assistant to his father, receiving one
shilling a day. lie mide miniature copy
Ut the engine ut which he worked, and while
SO engaged discovered the great want to him
of even the knowledge how to read or write.
At this time he received some instruction at
night, ana progressed sufficiently to read and
master simple arithmetic. lie worked at
various collieries as fireman, and in 11ao had
the advantage Of better instruction, especially
i'll arithmetic. In order to increase his earn
ings, lie learned to make and mend shoes
aud to mend clocks At2l years of age lle
was made brakeman of a collery engine. In
1904 he had charge Of all engine i'll spiu-
ming establishment, md spent several years
employed at various places as fireman or ell
gineer, and so unpronising were his pros
poets that his wish to e1nlgrate to America
was only defeated by his want of means TO
do 50, 4 writer thus states his first marked
success:
Long before Stephenson gave anything like
evidence Of future greatness ne scored many
local trIumph5 In the way Of mechanical skill
und invention. notably in curing m atmos-
pherlc, or Nrwcolacn. engine ut ktllngworth
Culllery, which hnd been unable to keep the
watsr IL the PIT down. working d1y ana ngh
in tho North of England had failed ut the work,
George, us mere matter OF curiosity. examined
tho engine, and, when asked his opinion, said if
he had his own way he would pump the pit dry
i'll week un1 guarantee that the inen should be
Mt work In that time. Notwithstanding some
opposition snccrs, thu prOprletors i1trusted him
with the job, and he accomplished II exactly Us
he said he would.
For many years the theory Of locomotive
had been discussed, and several machines
were constructed and tried, but these invel-
tions were all designed to run on common
roads, and not upon tracks. In this Stephen
son always differed from tile Others. he hold
ing that the locomotive and tile railway were
inseparable. As early as 1915 lie had i'll
vented his first railway machine, and his first
works are thus mentioned:
1t was on Nov. Is, 1s:2. that George Stephen
son first really demonstrated the feasibility of
railways He constructed with the authority
of the proprctors OF the Hetton Collicry Com
motive made II speed III four miles un hour,
drawing behind it Il weight Of sixty-four tons.
Many spectators assembled to witness tho wun-
dcrful sight. md Sir. Edward pensc, Il famous
Quaker, was so satisfied with the result that he
ton to Stockton.o1~Tcc and set about getting
the authority of IN lct OF Parliament to work
i: Tue story Of the Stockton & Darlington
tegcticc OF the BrlIlsi, Parliament than are tho
l:ter historical accounts OF the railway bills in
the llousc OF Commons. 10th Lords and
might and min. The cnSinocrs and survey
ors, " they went about their work, were
molestcd by lnobs. George Stephenson was ridl-
culc1 and denounced rs Il llaniuc and n1t those
who supported him rs iunatics and fools. The
Stockton & Darlington Railway, however, con-
strnctcd only for tho purpose Of hauling conla,
got through after s0lne years with less troub!0
and expense than tho lines which followed. Tho
railway was opened for trnl!ic OH the eth Of
,ltlced the owners to let him open it with the
locomotive ilc drove the engine himself and
carried ninety tons or merchandise and l:U pas
'scngers. who intrusted their lives behind his
iron hDrsc. 1t WIS essentially Il conl inc, and it
was estimated thut lU,0W TONS year would be
hauled upon it to the loonl ships as ballast.
Very shortly, however, thu statistics showed
aU0,U0O tons /. year, and what wns regarded US II
mere foolish whirn gradually developed into u
2rcut and profituble institution.
Parliament threw out bill authorizing a
railway from Liverpool to Manchester. Tho
whole country protested against 1t, and the
curious objections urged arc thus stated:
Tho entire country seems to have risen against
the project, and in Parliament some OF the great
est lawyers unu scientists of the time scoited ut
the scheme and sneered ut the engineer. George
Stephenson, although buntcred and worried OH
all sides, stood steudfastly by his project III
spite OF the declarations that the smoke from
the engine would kill tho birds and destroy the
cattle along the route: that tho fields would be
ruined; that. even II be was successful. horse
flesh would go out Of fashion; people be driven
mad BY noise and excitement. and, Indeed, the
active imayinations Of the entire nation seemed
to be ut work to invent possible horrors that
would mark the coursc Of the railway train,
After years OF struggle the road was au-
thorized, and his biographer states: