Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-28
she Works" Wired Mr.. Vanderbilt
THE NEAT INVENTION PATENTED BY THE YOUNG MILLIONAIRE AND
THE TASK WHICH IT WILL. PERFORM FOR THE STEAM ENGINE.

new York. Oct. 25.-I a the pleas
ure to-day Of e talk with an invento
who, if he We're so inclined, could hire
the services of all of the inventors liv-
ing. for life!
A scion of the house of Vanderbilt
who is not ashamed to don the plebeian
blue Jumpers and who finds more
genuine pleasure In working around
the round houses and machine shops
Of a. great railroad system than in
dancing attendance upon the bellies of
society at opera or ball would appeal
to the average person as somewhat OF
an anomaly.
When a young man who has a me-
chanical turn of mind has his W way
to make in the world it is perfectly
natural that he should turn his atten-
ton to this important end of a rail-
road but it is certainly a trife out of
the ordinary to find the oldest son OF
one Of the richest men in the country
clad in Jacket and overalls. working
side by side with men whose daily bread
depends upon the few dollars a day that
they receive for their labor.
Such a man is Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr.,
and while his course may seem strange
to those who lock upon genteel idleness
as the height of mortal ambition to him
! manual labor is the most natural thing
in the world. Soon after his gradua-
ton from Yale he announced his desire to
enter the employ of the great railroad
corporation that is known as the Van
derbilt SYSTEM" If he had made the
request it is probable that he might have
obtained a pl2asanJ berth in some one of
the executive offices but that was not his
intention. II was his desire to learn
the business from the bottom to the top
instead of trying to study the mysteries
of railroadins from the top to the bot
tom. so he accented a most humble
position Just as If he had been the son
of one Of the poorest men in the land.
This was but about two years ago
and already he has become practically
a master of the mechanical end of the
business. He has shoveled coal: he
has dug in the trenches: he has pol
ished locomotives. and he has helped
to lay rails. but all the time that he
ties he has kept his eyes open and
already he has suggested and carried
J out enough improvements to show hat
he is not lacking in the inventive fac
ulty ana there is no reason to believe
that Ghauheey Depew was wrong when
he predicted that the young man
would ynr he one Of the greatest rail-
0 man3@s rs Of the age.
His laSt ~ greatest feat was the in
v%en;'on ~ = locomtiNe that achieves
greater speed with a smaller eXpendi-
ture of coal than any railroad engine
that has Met been devised. Men who
have .roWn gray in the designing
room % the New York Central com
panN would NJ proud Of this feat but
young NH. Vanderbilt accepts his sue
cess with 2 molastv that argues We'll
for even Aleater achievements in tbs
future.
For yrars engine designers All over
the World have been striving to increase
the speed of locomotives. incidentally
if they should he able To reduce tins TX
penditule IF coal a CUB victory Woul(
be gained. IN entering this field Of in
v~ention Mr.. Vanderbilt had hundreds o,
rivals - contend against but al the very
beginning # his work he showed a degree
Of good Sanse that gave the heads Of III
Departments confidence in his ability t6
I perform the task that h had sat fol
himself.
Instead Of trying to introduce bigger
drive wheels. or 9 method OF multiply
ing revolutions, 0r any orner of the crank
schemes brought out with such regularity
by u~nscfentitic men he got RIGHT down t
the very vitals of the locomotive by de
signing an Improvement of the tire-box
The tire-box is, comparatively speaktn.
the heart of the locomotive. Steam !.
it's life blood and upon the fra-box de.
Ponds the amount of steam produced
Without a sufficient amount of his va.
por the most gigantic drive wheels anf
the most perfect system of multiplying
revolutions would be useless.
His ready acceptance of this fact prov
ed to practical railroad men thai he knew
what he was about and from the tests
that have already been made there is
every reason to believe that he has ac-
complished his purpose. His new loco
motive has shown it capability of doing
more Work at less cost than any Other
engine in use in the New York Central
system add if its durability is proved thu
invention Will Enthusiastically create a