The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1900-10-11
WON FORTUNE BY A DREAM.
A Successful Mechanical Device That
Came to the Inventor While
He slept.


Robert Corning, of Buffalo, says, ac-
cording to the New York Tribune:
Il ran across an old school friend on
the train recently whom l had lost
sight of for years, and the talk nat
urally drifted on what we had ooth
been doing since our happy salad days.
NV tale was soon told, and, while not
devoid of certain successful features
was of cut and dried character, but
when he came to unfold the story OF
his life it really sounded like 1alry
tale. After leaving school, which he
did before completing the full course,
Benedict returned home and entered
the bank, which was sort of family
institution, becoming its cashier, and
upon the death of his father was prac-
tically the sole manager and director
To him in the course of his regular
business came a man who desired to
build in the little village a pearl but
ton factory. The security offered for
the loan was sufficient, the business
proposition good one, and SO money
was advanced to the pearl button
mandatory, and as the trade IN
creased the obligation to the bank
increased as we'll But one fine day
the manufacturer failed and Bened1ct
and his uncle took over the business,
as they felt that the bank should not
be held responsible. For two or three
years after that the factory was con-
Quoted on a paying basis until some
genius made the discovery that the
hitherto useless shells of the Mlssis-
sippi river mussels or clans could be
made into pearl buttons and sold at
a much cheaper rate than the button
then on the market. Dozens of fac
tories started up on the banks of the
Mississippi, and, presto! the bottom
fell out of the pearl button business
in other parts of the country.
"There were my friend and his uncle
with pearl button factory on their
hands, with the business completely
ruined. SO they cast about them fol
something else to manufacture IN the
farmer button factory. The more they
looked about the less it seemed that
they would find what they were look
ing for, when one morning Benedict
woke from a sound sleep in which he
had dreamed of a carpet stretcher ana
tacker that could be manipulated
standing up. So vivid was his dream
that in that instant between waking
and sleeping that partakes OF BOTH ne
now swears. he saw the stretcher ac-
tually before him in operation on MS
bedroom carpet. Being devoid OF any
knowledge of mechanics, he sent Tor
one of his workmen, described what
he wanted and told him to see what
he could do. The model turned out
worked to perfection, and Benedict
took it to Washington and patented
it He then, somewhat in fear as to
the result, started in to manufacture
the carpet stretchers. He bought the
material for his first thousand at 80
days. The goods were completed IN
Is DAYS, sold and paid for in the next
ten and the money was in hand to
meet the 3O-day order, so that not
cent was actually advanced in cash
| for the new venture. To-day they are
being turned out at the rate of 4.Oo0
day and are selling like wildtire,
while Benedict is drawing a double
| income from the invention. First, he
gets a royalty on every one manufac-
tured. and, besides this, he receives
dividends from the stock he owns in
the factory He accounts for it by
the fact that he was worrying night
and day over what to put in that
blessed factory, but it reaches further
than that, TO my mind, and l think
telepathy must have entered into it.
The story is absolutely true in every
/