Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-11-24

George Ferris was born at Galesburg.
ILL.,. on February H. 1859. When he was
but very young the family removed to
Carson City. New. and II was there the
young wheel-bullder spent the years OF
his early boyhood. In 1876 he came East
He began course AT the Rensselaer,
Polytechnic Institute OF New York city,
I'm that year. In 1881 he graduated with
high honOrs. In 1883 he accepted a posi-
ton with the Louisville Bridge Com
pany, OF Louisville, Ky. IT was while
with that company he first visited Pitts
burg.
He went there to superintend the con-
struction of the structural stuff TO be
used in the Louisville and Nashville rail-
road bridge at Henderson, Ky. After
the completion Of The contract Mr.. Fer
ris engaged in the inspection OF struc-
tural work on his own account
I'm 1881, while pursuing that vocation in
dependently, the firm of G. W. G.. Ferris
AZ CO.. OF Pittsburg. was established The
concern still exists. In 1886 he was mar
red 10 Miss Beatty. of Canton. o.
1t was i'm 1892 that Mr.. Ferris conceived
the idea Of the wonderful Ferris wheel,
that has attracted the attention of all the
people of the world. and which VIII 80
down I'm history as one of the greatest
wonders OF the century. The monster
passenger wheel conceived by Mr.. Ferris
was built under his personal supervision.
1t was at a chop dinner In Chicago
construction Of the White City that Mr.
Ferris evolved his idea OF the wheel In
speaking Of 1t to a writer afterward he
sail:
I'VE used to have a Saturday afternoon
club, chiefly engineers at the World 8
Fair. il was at one OF these dinners I'm
chop-house that l hit on the idea. ] re-
member remarking that / would build Il
wheel-a monster. / got some paDer and
began sketchug II out. / fixed the size
determined the construction. the number
of cars we would run, tho number or
people it would hold. what We would
charge, the plan Of stopping six times
I'm the first revolution and loading and
then making a complete turn-in short
before the dinner was over / had sketChed
out almost the entire detail, and my plan
never varied. The wheel when built.
stood In the Plaisance as it stood before
me then"
The young engineers proposal was for
a perfect pinion wheel 30 feet in dame
ter IL was to be. moreover a tension
wheel-that Is 10 say. a wheel with ten
sion. and not solid sp0kes. His brother
engineers said promptly IL could not be
buiit-that is. 10 be q success When II
( revoved. 10 would become an ellpse Be
sides. there was no way Of revolving
such an enormous mass anyway. There
were objections I'm multiple-nOt that they
exactly secuted the idea. It's author s
position I'm the engineering world was TOO
well established But in the interest of
his long and hard-earned reputation they
advised him 10 let the project alone.
OF course. he did nothing Of the kind.
Satisfied that he had hit upOn a feasible
plan. he drew II up. and submitted II 10
the World STAIR directory Here, too,
singularly enough. he found opposition.
He had satisfied too well the demand OF
Mr.. Burnham. the director Of works. His
design was a novelty so absolute and
original that the powers Of the fair hest
tated to so much as 10 give II recogni-
ton. After first granting a concession.
the directory withdrew II. and not until
December 10Th. just four and half
months before the fair would open, was
the concession finally confirmed
Under the circums stances. in no other
country but America would the wheel
have ever been built. It took three years
to complete the Eifel tower Even here
n took two years 10 build the ST. Louis
bridge. Both were comparatively simple
work. The builder OF the Ferris wheel
had not only to construct a work equal
Ing these. but I'm such q way that u
would move. and. moreover, move per-
fectly-a far greater problem.