Evening star., 1895-06-15


came from this ball of fire in the glass
glooe. 1t was before the days of electric
lighting, and old Uncle Baldwin stopped
and sazed at 1t in open-mouthed wonder.
AS he did so this big, broad-shouldered
young man came to the door. His brawny
arms were bare to the elbow. leathern
apron covered his chest and fell to his
knses His hands were blackened and his
face was smudged with dirt But his eye
was bright, and his athletic form was the
person.tication of vigor and force AS Uncle
Baldwin saw him he said:
That is a wonderful light. I don't un-
derStand 1t. What is K? There is no pine
for gas! Where is the wick and where is
the oil? Say, what is 1t. anyhow"
Tken came the reply:
That is the light Of the future. That is
electricity! 1 am going to light the world
with it!'
The old man. for very sharp old man
he was, became interested ut once. He in
quired how the light was produced He
asked many questions as 10 its cost, and
before he left he had told the young man
that he would take $500 worth of stock in
his company, which had been organized to
push the invention. He rather hugged
himself over his investment as he left the
young man and his ball of fire, and when
half hour later he found himself in the
the most prominent people of Cleveland,
he could not rest until he had told Of the
wonder he had seen and of the stock which
he had secured. AS he spoke the crowd
.
relative, then and now one of the most
influential men of Cleveland, said:
well! we'll! well! And so you have been
taken In by that young fellow Brush and
his crazy ideas about electricity. 1 have
had dozens of chances to buy his stock,
but l wouldn't give cent for a thousand
shares. Why, uncle, tine man is crazy.
His Ideas are impracticabls and Impossible
CT execution, and you might we'll put
your $500 into Lake Erie as to give it to
him." And so the Cleveland man went on
liz ptt tIay Nt~1
who would have nothing to do with
Brush's invention. and he finally persuaded
Uncle Baldwin that he had made a mis-
take.
he came to the door the young man looked
up from his bench and said:
u suppose you have come to back out
of your proposition as to that stock That
is the way they all do. But tell you you
are making great mistake and you are
losing fortune"
The Millions in Electricity.
1t was not many years before Uncle
Baldwin realized how great a fortune he
had lost. Within twelve months after his
refusal the name of Charles F. Brush, the
great Cleveland electrician, was on every
ones tongue. His light had been shown at
the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. 1t
had surprised the scientists of the world
in the great electrical exposition at Paris
and the French government had decorated
him chcvalier of the Legion of Honor for
his achievement. A great company had
been organized to operate his inventions.
The Brush stock had doubled and quadru-
pied over and over again until Uncle Bald
wins $500 worth was of more value than
all the savings and speculations of his life
time The prophecy of the young man had
been fulfilled. His light of the future had
become the light of the present and today
he has lighted the world with it, The
streets of the biggest cities of every con-
tinent blaze at midnight through the
genius of Charles F. Brush. 1 have stood
under his arc lights in Toxic and Osaka,
Japan. 1 have seen them cast their shad-
ows over the pig-ta.led Cinnamon of Shang-
hal and Hong Kong, and 1 have threaded
my way through some Of the streets of
Calcutta, Cairo and Constantinople by the
Brush light of electricity The same light
illuminates the big cities of South America
and Australia, and Europe and the United
States have turned night into day through
the genius of this man. His inventions in
electric lighting alone are held by many
companies the world over, are now repre-
se1ted by an aggregate capital of $780,
100000. and his inventions in other electr!-
cal lines have created a capital of many
millions more. There are today more than
81 200, 100000 invested in electrical indus
tries outside Of the telegraph and tele-
phone and the electric railways of the
world have assets amounting to more than
$500 100000. Mr.. Brush is the inventor of
the storage battery. and all electric roads
which are run in this way pay him roy
atty. He received half a million dollars in
a single sale of some patents in London,
and the rubbing of his electric lamp has
caused the gepii CT electricity to bring him
a greater fortune than that represented by
the widest dreams of Aladdin. The poor
young man is poor no more. The capital
lists OF Cleveland no longer talk about his
crazy ideas Of electricity. He lives among
them one CT the greatest capitalists of
them all. His genius has made his city
noted and the great eletric light cOmpany
which he founded. gives employment to
hundreds of families and it's influence
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Mr.. Brush's Euclid Avenue Palace.
Still, with all this the world knows but
little about Charles F. Brush. With all his
genius he is modest in the extreme. He
early adopted the policy Of keeping out of
print. 1 do not know of a single interview
which be has hitherto given to the public.
He has contributed little to the scientific
journals, and the world knows him only
~ hos Of ha