The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-05-03

UhC loHS-ulStaHCc CclepuOHc pOSSiUle,
the Bell company is now held under
the Berliner patents, and the ambitious
clerk is we'll to do.
Thomas l.. Wilson, of New York,
was dabbler in experimental chem
istry. He hit upon a cheap method
of making carbide of calcium, which
up to that time bad been known only
as laboratory product and the dis
covery has brought him wealth, cal
cium carbide being the source of facety-
lene gas.
DR.. Bell, the telephone man, was
school teacher. lie took the first
working model of his telephone to John
A. Logan and offered him a half inter-
est for $4,000, saying that it would do
away with the telegraph and that there
were millions in it. Logan said: Il
dare say your machine works perfect
ly, but who would want to talk through
such thing as that, anyway? ad-
wise you to save your money, young
man." Telephone stock is worth to-
day sSO,OO0,00O or some such sum, and
Bell got several millions of the money.
He offered tenth interest to an exam
liner in the Patent office for $1OO. 1t
was refused. That tenth interest was
worth 81 100000 within Is years, and
the man to whom it was offered is
still examining patents at $4,000 per
annum.
Edison was teleprapher when he
made his first important invention. He
took it to a company ON Broadway.
New York, and the manager told him
he would pay $4,000 for it and not a
cent more. The future Wizard was
astonished, never having thought ofre-
ceiving such an immense sum. He
feared the check might be bogus and
was sure of it when the paying-teller
of the bank refused to cash it offhand.
However, when he secured identiica-
tion the money was handed him. 1t
was the greatest day in Edison's life,
and, though he has received millions
since then for his ideas, has never been
made so happy by subsequent sue
cess.
Hugo Cook, of Dayton, Ohio, was a
worker for wages in that city when he
made the invention upon which one of
the most efficient cash registers in the
market is based. He received royalty
of 50 apiece, AM enou 5h are sold in
year to give him an income of about
$4,000.
W. L. Bundy was a matchmaker
when he invented the workmen's time
recorder, which is now coming into use
all over the world tor the purpose of
keeping "tab" on employees in facorics
and other business establishments.
Large capital has been invested in
the contrivance, and Mr.. Bundy is
rich man.
Westinghouse, who invented the air.
break, was machinist. His idea was
worth many millions to him
Gramme, Bel elgian, who invented
the ring dynamo, was carpenter by
trade employed in the making Of mod
els for electric machines. He could
hardly read or write, but he bought a
dictionary and book on electricity and
tried to teach himself. His invention
revolutionized the manufacture of dy-
namos, brought him fortune and made
him famous.
These are only a few out of many
instances which serve to show the op-
portunites that are open TO the work
man or the toiler for days wages who
has mechanical turn of mind and
keeps his eyes open. There are for
tunes waiting to be picked up by any
body who has the luck or ingenuity tc
see them. The Patent Office at Wash
ington is an institution whose doors
are open to poor and rich alike, and
many man who is struggling for
bread and butter today will be enjoy
ing wealth few years from now, thanks
to new ideas, which, if they happen to
be good ones, will always find ready