Washington sentinel., 1901-05-04
N. ~, SENTINEL


mechanics and other persons
obliged to work for days wages,
and in not few instances the ideas
evolved from their brains have
produced veritable showers OF
gold. Some oi the inventions, in
deed, have brought millions oi
dollars, while in numerous other
instances they have made their
orIginators independent.
w. M. Tenne, Of lion, N. Y,
was a mechanic working by the
day when he began to produce
typewriting inventions. His ideas
in this line have brought him
wealth, and he is now suPerintend'
ent oil a type writer manufacturing
company. To Jenne and c, L.
Sholes--two men whose names are
almost unknown to the general
public--is chiefly due the develop
ment Of the writing machines oi
today Sholes, Who died rich,
began as a mechanic, and a uni
versally known typeW ritter was TO
a great exten, his creation.
Mergenthaler, who received mil
lions from the linotype machine,
was originally an expert mechanic,
engaged in making telescopes and
other scientific apparatus. His
contrivance is now in use all over
the world, the mechanical com.
position having taken the place OF
the human tvpesetter in nearly
every great newspaper othce.
L. G. Crowel was likewise a
toiler at days wages when he be
gan to invent Improvements in
printing machines, His contrlv-
ance Tor folding, which brought
him a large fortune, made possible
the present enormous editions OF
many PACED newspapers. Up to
that time the lack Of folding de-
vice had set a limit on the output
OF the printing press but now the
Croweli folder takes the sheets as
they receive the impressions, packs
them into neat shape and stacks
them up all ready tor distribution.
Frank A. Johnson was a mech
anic in Minneapolis when he took
out his first patent for typesetting
machine. His inventions in this
line have brought him wealth, and
he owns large blocks Of stock in
the companies that manufacture
mechanical tYpe5etters.
The process OF Welding metals
under water by means oil the elec-
trio arc vas not recognized at first
as a great discovery. Its inventor,
George P. Burton, was a mechanic
and every cent he could get hold
Of he spent on his idea, until, just
as he had begun to despair he sold
a part interest in his patent for
SIoo, 900.
Alexander P. Morrow was a
mechanic employed by bicycle
company when he invented the
coastcr-brake which bears his
name. Two hundred and Fifty
thousand of these brakes have
been sold, and the royalty has
made Mr. Morrow rich.
+. A. Flanegin had a little Jew
elry shop in Washington, but at
length he devised a method OF
cleaning oil wells by dropping an
electrIc stove down into them.
Formerly, when such wells became
choked with paradn they were
cleaned by exploding nitrogly-
cerin cartridges, which was a
costly method and risky. The
electric stove process, which is
cheap and can do no damage, has
made the inventor a rich man.
William Painter, OF Baltimore,
was a poor man, The notion oi
crimping a piece Of metal around
the neck Of bottle, to take the
place Of a cork, struck him, and
he became we'll off. Many bottles
nowadays have such caps
Augustus Schultz, OF New York,
invented the modern method Of
tanning, which has reduced the
process Of making leather from an
affair of year or two 10 one Of a
few weeks, thus reVolutionizing
the business. All OF the thin,
tough leather manufactured now
adaYs is made in this way. When
Schultz began his experiments he
was so poor that, it is said, he had
to prepare his solutions in tum-
blers. His invention made him
rich.
Charles NJ. Hall was a student
at Oberlin College when he dis
covered a solvent by which alum
mum could be separated from its
ore. Though the metal is very
plentiful in nature, every clay
bank being a mine Of it, the diff
Guilty was to part it economically
from other substances with which
it is commonly found combined.
Hall solved this problem, and his
process, which is IN use today, has
made fortune for him.
Charles J Van Depoele, inven-
tor OF the under running trolley,
was a mechanic. Nov, thanks to
this and other ideas in regard to
railroading, he is rich man.
Emile Berliner was clerk, and
he paid a mechanic fifty cents a
night to teach him something about
electricity. The teacher Nas very
ignorant of the subject, and that
was one reason why Berliner was
led off the beaten track. He be-
gan to make discoveries, and finally
he evolved ideas which made the
lone distance telephone possible,
Tl..1H tvvc hntnr rraNI ~, lvy