Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1889-01-01
wHlTNEYs COTTON GIN.
circumstances Under Whio!i the First
Specimen Was Produced.

Circuns.uncns Under Whloi the First
Specimen Was Produced.
There Is no doubt that the first in
ventor OF the cotton gin was Eli Whit
uey, and that all other claimants to tho
honor are pretcudcrs. Whitney was
the son Of Massachusetts farmer, and
was born in December, l7Gj, at West
borough, III ,aat State. From his
earliest childhood he showed that re-
marliable power of mind that is known
us inventive genius, and peculiar apt.
ness in handling tools II is said that
before he was ten years old he could
use any tool that he had ever seen
with deXtorlty, and before he was
twelve he hal made a viOlin, and nc
quired wide fame as skillful mender
of fiddles. lie became nail-maker,
and at this business and other applica-
tions of his manufacturing skill
he made money enough TO tako
n college course. He entered
Yalo College in 1889, graduated
three years latcr and went South to
teach. His ambition was TO become II
lawyer, and he began the study in
Savannah, while boarding In tho
family Of the widow OF General
Nathaniel Greene, aud elsing out his
scanty means by coaching boys for col
lege. One day he chanced to hear
Mrs, Greene complaining of the clum-
siness OF her tambonr, and readily
made n much better one for her, TO her
great delight. At that time few
pounds OF cotton was all that could DO
cleaned by a single laborer in day.
A planter IN Mrs. Greone's presence
expressed wish that Il machine could
be invented ior the work, and she ad-
vised him 10 consult young Whitney.
saying: III any one can make the ma
chine, he can" At that time w hitney
had never examined cotton boll.
though he must have seen the plant
growing in the lc,ds. He was ready
enough to undertake tho task but for
two obstacles. he had neither money
nor tools, An old college friend sup
piled the money, and the tools
Whitney made himself, Mrs.
Greene and Miller, who after
ward became Whitnsy's partner,
were the only persons allowed to sec
the machine in the process of costruc-
tion, but the news OF the onderful in
vention and its valuo got abroad, and
before It was complete some wretches
broke open the building one night and
carried off the unfinished machine.
Half mad with rage and despair, the
young man left the State for which he
was TO create such great prosperity,
went back 10 Connecticut and there
completed his work. But he had
scarcely been away from Savannah
week. when two other claimants TO tho
invention had appeared, and n few
months later the stolen invention came
out. However, Whitney received his
patent in March, 1894, and he and Mr..
Miller began the manufacture of tho
machines in Connecticut The patent,
however, was continually infringed
upon. aud Whitney had TO struggle
hard to secure any reward for his la
Dor. In 1901 the South Carolina Leg
islature granted him $50, 600 for his iu-
vention, but he had to endure innu-
merable and vexatious lawsuits and de-
lays before he got the money.
North Carolina allowed per-
centage on the machines and paid it |
honorubly for a number of years, aud
Tennessee pledged herself TO do the
same thing, but basely repudiated her
contract, For years Whitney struggled
or against an accumulation OF mis-
fortunes, lawsuits, the burning OF his |
factory, false reports that his machine
injured the fiber Of the cotton, the re- |
fusal of Congress to allow the renewal
Of his patent; until at last, convinced
that be would never receive just
compensation for his invention, he |
turned his attention TO the manufacture |
Of firearms for the Government, from
which he reaped comfortable fortune.
He was the first to adapt machinery to
the manufacture of the parts of "A gun,
50 that any one piece should be equal
ly adapted to any one Of thousands of
arms made by the some pattern. Sew
aral Of his inventions were applied by |
others to other manufactures OF iron
and steel, which added considerably to
his reputation, but not to his wealth.
Inter- ocean.