Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1899-12-06
BOYS AS INVENTORS.
DEVICES EVOLVED TO FAVOR
THEIR LAZlNESS.
Important Machines that Came Into
Existence Through the Desire of Boys
to save Themselves Exertion-Potter,
Edison, Watt and the Rest.

Existence lhTouSh tht DSsiTe VI Doe
to Save Themselves Exertion-Potter,
Edison, Watt and the Rest.
1t is IA well-known fact that laziness
has been the means of supplying the
world with some of its greatest lnyen-
tons. and many of them, too, by lazy
bows. Humphrey Potter, for instance,
when mere lad, was an attendant on
Newcomers englne--a sort or INK be-
tween the steam pump and the engine
of to-day-and his duty was to open
and close Il valve. But Humphrey was
an idle lad, and he saw that he could
save himself the trouble of attending to
his work by liking plug on Il part or
the engine that came to the place at the
proper time by the general movements.
He accordingly did so, and by his IN
Renuity thus made the important II
vention In Newcomers engine know.
as the "hand-gear."
Humphrey Potter did nothing else
worthy OF note; but Thomas Edison,
who invented contriyance similar In
one respect to his, has followed up bis
success. When the great American in
yentor was boy, he was engaged as
a telegraphist at Shotford, in Canada.
He was night operator, and had to
report six" every half hour to the cir
cult manager. The object of this rule
was to prevent an operator sleeping
while ON duty. But Edison fitted up
wheel with Morse characters cut In the
circumference in such way that, when
turned by crank, 1t would write the
figure six and sign his office call. BY
q little bribery young Thomas managed
to get the Waterman to undertake to
turn this wheel and the youthful teleg-
raphist slept with safety. Again at
Shotford he tried an experiment which
showed his inventive powers. In the
rear of the office where he worked was
could not be extermnated. One day
Edison fixed wires TO an electrical ma
chine, placed the free end of them into
the sink, and turned on the current. In
few moments all that was left of
those beetles was-ashes.
nous inventor worked at indianapolis,
where he completed his first successful
telegraph instrument 1t was an auto
matte repeater, an instrument which
transferred the writing from one tele-
graph line to another without the medi-
UNI Of an operator. This was imme-
diately recognized as an important
achievement for one so young. AT this
time, too, Edison was thinking about
his quadruplex system-a system of
telegraphy by which four distinct mes
sages, two in each direction, may pass
simultaneously over a single wire. This,
however was not perfected till many
years after
The story Of Watt and his early ex.
periments to test the power of steam is
too hackneyed to quote. Everybody
knows Of the scrapes he managed to get
Into for being idle; how he kept taking
the lid Off the kettle and putting it on
again; how he held teaspoon over the
steam as 1t rose from the spout and
counted the drops as they fell
But there are plenty OF similar incl
dents as fresh as this is stale. Brunei,
for instance, of Thames tunnel fame,
invented, at the age of II, a night-cap
making machine which Is to-day used
by the peasantry in Il little village in
Normandy where he first saw the light.
Again, Bewlck in the early days of his
apprenticeship invented graver with
= tine grave at the point that enabled
him to cut outlines in the wood at sin
gle operation.
or living boy inventors there are
doubtless many. A boy of 10, in Ohio,
q little while ago, fitted to his bicycle
an electric light apparatus of his own
invention, the power for which was OBJ
tained by the revolving of the wheels
when riding. The light was good sue
cess. and when in working order lighted
uD the whole of the roadway