The sun. (Wilmington, Del.) 1897-19??, 1901-06-04
IMMORTAL GOODYEAR
The Man Who Devoted His Whole
Life to Rubber Making.
Difficulties and Privntions Encoun.
tered and Endured before the
Benefact0r of Mankind Tasted
the Fruits of Success.


turers OF the United States should
erect an ebonite monument as high
as the shaft on Bunker He, writes
ii. Il. Armstrong, in Ainslee's. II be-
ieye," said Daniel Webster in the ia.
nous patent suit in which he fought
the good fight for Goodyear, that
Charles Goodyear is to go down to
posterity in the history of the arts
in this country in that great class OF
inventors at the head OF which ,tands
Robert Fulton, in which class stand
the names of Whitney and Morse. and
in which class will stand, not sar re-
moved, the humble name of harles
GOODYEAR"
Goodyear was n Connecticut Yam.
kee, born at Naugatuek, December 20,
1900; those now living who remember
him in the mesh knew him as frai1 |
little man with soulful eyes and a |
sympathetic nature. Goodyear after
devotng the energies of his life to
experiments discovered inflammation,
a process which neutralizes the adj |
hesivencss of rubber, while harden.
ing it, SO that heat does not dissolve
it or cold impair its elasticity. The
chemists had sought the great secret
in vain. Triumph was reserved for II
man who was always in debt and
sometimes in prison. and occasionally
reduced to the most pitiful shifts to
| keep the vol. from the door Good
| year was originally hardware deal
er, in small way, but he got inter.
ested in rubber when it began to
make stir in the world with the
first importation Of shoes from Bra
I'll. They were soon being made in
| New England, but the business tum.
bled to ruin when the rubber deeom.
posed in hot weather and gave out
an offensive odor. No one had a good
word to say for the stuff-it sold for
five cents pound in the general dis
gnst-but Goodyear, although with.
out money or credit, set to work to
rehabilitate the reputation of gum
elastic, as he always called It, He
thought Of rubber all dayand dreamed
of it all night. and II adhered to his
hands and clothing so that they were
one and indivisible. "If you meet a
man." said some one who wanted to
describe Goodyear, "who has on an
india rubber cap, stock, coat, vest and
shoes, with an india rubber purse
without n cent of money in it, that
Is he" In chasing what seemed ito
his friends a wil.o'-the wisp Good
year was often in the pawnshops. He
, once left his umbrella with Cornelius
. Vanderbilt for some ferry tickets
and at another time sold his chill
dren's school books for five dollars
which he needed for his experiments
About this time Goodyear met Ma
thaniel Hayward, who was fussinl
with rubber In factory at Woburn
where he was regarded as Harmless!
crank. To Hayward ii was revealed il
a dream that rubber could be hardened
! by mixing sulphur with it and expos
2 ing the compound to the sun. Tit
5 process gnve out rank odor, whlcf
> made Hayward nuisance in the fac
) tory, but he took out n patent on it
. Goodyear, being struck with the idea
d bought the patent. The two mel
leased building and went in for max
ing life preservers. But the secret hat
not been discovered, although Hay
: ward was on the right scent--in no
3 weather il seemed a wrong one t.
| purchasers of life preservers. Good
I. year was not dismayed. After NOR
experiments he took n contract +
make 80 rubber mail bags for the gov
: eminent, and advertised his good LUCK
l The bags were a credit to his skill
but in July the handles dropped OF
and the substance melted. His friend
advised him to go back into hardware
The wolf was again at the door, an
~ GOODYEAR had to divide time in the us
n of the kitchen oven with his wife. II
"a was always baking the compound Q
sulphur and rubber, but with no salts
factory results. Yet he was warm,
e. MS they say in the children's game
O One night while gesticulating on III
l favorite theme with piece of SUI
I'd phurated gum ii came in contact wit
n The red-hot stove. Instead of mel
ing. as usual, the stuff charred lili
leather. Was very high heat needle
G. TO harden rubber? The enthusia'
81 trembled with anticipation. But thei
n was the cold-it was a winters nigh
W Would the mass lose it's flexiblity
Of the freezing air? Goodyear nailed
30 against the house. The next mornir
81 the compound was as elastic as eve
20 He had discovered INFLAMMATION. 1T
~ secret was that rubber, with sligl
admixture of sulphur, hardened ar
ID. lost its adhesiveness but not its fieN
of bility when subjected to a temper
ture of from go to 210 degrees Fab
enheit. Neither heat nor cold afte
80 wards affects it; but it can be owe
~ yulcaniZcd into what is known as e
m, onite. Goodyear perfected his process
& took out patent and for IA yea
en- fought infringements in the courts Y
ate til Judge Grier decided in his favor
ice 1852. The litigation kept him MS po
his, MS a church mouse-he was IN prise
mis- for debt i'm France when the cross
emit The Legion of Honor was bestowed
nm him-but to the end of his life he G
re- perimented with his beloved prodn'
,es. "His business was his religion wro
the his secretary. Charles Goodyear won
'hi- share his last dollar with an unfort
,r nate, and, while his patentees we
~ making great fortunes, he was &C
- tent with meager royalties II he COZ
.ott he left undisturbed to convert fuDb
70 new uses.
oil ON the waters.
~, "I wouldn't fight, my good mer