The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1891-01-16
STORY OF THEEcoTToN.clN.
What This Great Invention Has Done to
DeveIope an Immense Industry.

What This Great Invention Has Done to
DeveIope an Immense Industry.
The effect of Whitney's invention
upon the production of cotton was i'm
mediate and striking. l have already
said that cotton was an unimportant
factor in colonial productions. In 1876
attention was called to the possibility
of raising cotton for the English mar
ket, and more vigorous efforts were
made. In 1871 the south produced g.
100000 pounds, of which 1S9, ,3l6
pounds were exported. The following
year. however. the expectation was
only $4,000 pounds. So difficult, in
fact, was the process Of ginning that
tobacco, indigo, and rice bade fair to
be the permanent products of the
southern states. In the winter of 1892
SO came the invention of the cotton
gin. Encouraged by the hope of its
success the planters, during the follow
ing season U793), raised 5000, 900
pounds of cotton and sent 487, 900
pounds to England. During the fol-
lowing year the use of the cotton-gin
became more general in Georgia and
South Carolina. 1t is not surprising,
therefore, to find a product of 8,O00,-
900 pounds in 1874, and an expectation
of over 1.6O0, 600 pounds. Year after
year the area of the cotton-producing
country, the number of planters and
their slaves, and the amount and value
of the crop showed rapid growth. In
1900 the product was 35. 900, 900 pounds;
in 1910, So, 900, 600; in 1920 100, OOO,-
900; in $780, $50, 900, 900; in 1840 $50,
100000; and-to omit the intervening
decades-in 1880, the crop was 3,200,-
O0000 pounds. The debt which the
nation and the world owe to Eli Whit
ney is proclaimed by the eloquence of
statistics. They indicate that Robert
Fulton was not wrong when he said
that '.Arkwright, Wait, and Whitney
were the three men who did most for
mankind of any of their contempora-
ries'' Nor was Lord Macaulay too ex-
travagant in saying: What Peter the
Great did to make Russia dominant Eli
Whitneys invention of the cotton-gin
has more than equaled in its relation
to the power and progress of the
United States"
A few months after his graduation,
in the autumn of 1892, Whitney was
engaged as tutor by gentleman from
Georgia. During the journey from
New York to Savannah he enjoyed the
company of Mrs. Greene, the widow of
the famous revolutionary general, and
her family. Teir friendship proved to
be of inestimabie value. On arriving
in Georgia he found the position for
which he had been engaged already
filled. Without resources or employ
ment, he gladly accepted the invita-
ton of Mrs. Greene to remain at her
house while he was carrying out lsis
project OF studying law. Under her
h,,,
months.
The first opportunity for employing
his peculiar skill was in making q
tambour frame. Mrs. Greene COM
planned that the one she was using was
imperfect, and tore the thread of her
embroidery. Anxious to please his kind
benefactress, Whitney quickly COLI
structed frame SO superior to the one
in use as to excite the wonder and
delight of the whole family.
This exhibition of skill was still in
the mind of Mrs. Greene when party
of revolutionary officers who had
served under her husband came to pay
their respects. Many of them, if not
all, were planters. In discussing the
state of agriculture and their needs
they lamented the lack of machine
for separating cotton fiber from the
seeds. With the pressing demand in
England for raw cotton this was the
only obstacle to their prosperity. BY
happy inspiration Mrs. Greene re-
marked: Gentlemen, apply to my
young friend, Mr.. Whitney. He can
make anything" Whitney, protesting
against the praises of his friend, re-
moved what hopeful expectations the
most ardent may have had by calmly
replying that he had never seen either
cotton or cotton seed.
Mrs. Green's object in her friendly
introduction was to attract the atten-
tion of her influential visitors to the
promising young man whom she was
befriending. The conversation, how
ever, had an unexpected result. The
young law student threw aside his
books, and soon set off for Savannah.
There he wandered about the wharves
in and around the storehouses, seeking
a sample of cotton. After long /
Search he returned with small parcel.
A work-room in the basement of the
house was set apart for his use. He
made the tools necessary for his task,
drew his own wire. and proceeded to
construct gin (''engine" is the full
form) for separating cotton-fber from
the seeds. His purpose was divulged
to no one save Mrs. Greene, The VIM
Ter of 1928 was nearly over when his
mysterious task was fully and salts
factorily completed. Early in the
spring the cotton-gin was set up in a
shed and prominent planters from all
over the state were invited to see it
work. Itwas successful from the start
The machine for which there had been
such clamoring for many years was at
last provided by the ingenuity of a
Yankee student.-Edd0ard Craig Bates
tn the Nea1 England Magazine.