The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-05-17

did not, within two years, comply, with
either requirement The Legislature in
1913 declared the contract forfeited, and
provided for entering suit for the recov-
cry of the first payment. This action
brought the final fulillment of the con-
ultions on the part of Whitney, in 1904,
ana then the Legislature of 1904 ordered
the suit discontinued and reinstated the
contract in accordance with which the de-
ierred payments were promptly made.
Inc Legislature of North Carolina. in
Decenhoer' 1902, bought the patent right
Ior that state, and agreed to pay for 1t
Wy special tax of two shillings and six
pence on each saw used in a gin within
the state for four years. This tax was
properly collected and turned over to the
inventor amounting to about $4,000
Whltney's plan in Georgia. as shown
ny MS letters and other evidence, was to
o"h an the gins and gin all the cotton
hdde IN the country Ii is but human
nature that this sort of monopoly should
De odlous to any community; and when
10 this is added the fact (as shown by
ietters to Whitney in Connecticut, from
MS partner Miller in Georgia) that Whit
hey and Miller could not supply the de-
nahd for gins, it seems natural that
there should have been much infringe
ment After the gins were introduced in
I''f' there was large cotton crop made
LOT the next season, ION the presumption
tnat 1t could be prepared for the market
on the new machines But when the crop
was gathered and the gins were not
Forthcoming. many planters had crude
gins made in their own blacksmith shops.
from this circumstance, arose the rumors
that the various workmen who made the
gins were the original inventors One of
the traditions crediting the invention to
Jesse Bull of Columbia county Georgia
afterwards of LAGRANGE Ga0, arose
from the circumstances of a gin having
been made for Bull by one of his en-
ployes, Nathan Lyons. 1t is said that
when the first Whitney gins were in use
in the country, no one but women were
allowed to see them, and that Nathan
Lyons, disguised as woman. saw the gin
and copied it. This legendary story has
no authentic foundation. The voluminous
evidence in the infringements suits no
where refers to such an incident. Quite
a number of legends about the invention
of the gin have no foundation whatever
in fact. For example. the pleasant little
story about the gin brush being suggested
by the lady with her turkey tail fan.
Laying aside all legendary stories, 1t
appears that the real facts about the cot
ton gin are:
ELI Whitney of Massachusetts. grad
uate of Yale College, invented cotton
gin, consisting of spikes driven in a wood
en- cylinder, and having a slotted bar
through which these spike teeth passed,
and having a brush to clear the spikes.
He obtained patent March IA. 1894,
signed by George Washington, President;
Edmund Randolph, Secretary of State,
and William Bradford. Attorney General.
"Hodgen Holmes of Georgia, an unedu-
Gated mechanic invented an improved
gin, using circular saws properly spaced
passing through spaces between ribs
For this invention he obtained a patent
May II. 1896, signed by George Washing
ton, President; Timothy Pickering, Sec
rotary of State, and Charles Lee, Attor-
ney General.
"Whitney's invention, consisting of
combination of a wooden cylinder, carry
ing annular rows of wire spikes, with a
slotted bar and clearing brush, was fun
damental.
1.-THE practical application of the fun
dameTtai idea was Holmes invention of
the saw gin, which consisted of a man
drel or shaft carrying collars separating
circular saws which pass through narrow
spaces between ribs.
whitney went South utterly impecu-
NOUS. He received from the Southern
States the following amounts:
From South Carolina ................ $50 900
From North Carolina Cat leasD..... 10000
From Tennessee (abouD .............. 10000
Total royalties from Southern
States. certainly as much as 49,. $4,000
"At that time. this was a fortune.
'In Georgia, his firm MILLER & Whit
new attempted to monopolize the ginning
business. This brought on long and vex-
atious litigation and the object was
never successfully accomplished.
The ruins of the building where Whit
new built his first gin still remain.
They are not far from the ruins of the
old Greene plantation house at Mulberry
Grove, and are hardly more than an I'M
distinguishable heap of brick and stone,
A member of the Savannah Camera Club
recently visited the site of the old build
ings and secured number of interesting
photographs of the ruins, both OF the
Greene house and the place where Whit
new built his gin.