The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-04-03

as patent had not been granted
: Nathan Lyons donned suit of hi;
l wife's clothes, gained admittance, anC
) being tolerably fair mechanic, con
structed gin on the same principles
: as Whitney's. Miller did at one time
own the Barnett place on Upton creek
on which he operated gin, but the
latter part Of the story of Lyons dis
. guising as woman, etc., appear to be
apocryphal inasmuch as there Is nc
alluslon in any of the correspondence
or court records to any such occur
renee. The story about some one
breaking into Whitney's gin shops and
stealing his models seems equally with
out foundation for same reason.
AS to the oft-repeated charge that
Whitney was badly treated at the
South, and especially so by Georgia,
let us, in good conscience, see what
foundation exists for the allegation.
Whitney sold his patent right to the
State of South Carolina for $50 900 f;
from North Carolina and Tennessee Q
he received about $4,000 and So
600, respectively, through arrange
ments made with the governments of
those States, making total of 500
600 which he made from the invention
In few years and carried North with
him. He came South without dollar.
In Georgia Miller and Whitney re-
served the right of property in their
gin, at first receiving two-thirds of the
net proceeds, The expense being divid-
ed equally between the patentee and
the ginners. But, as Governor James
Jackson says in message to the Geor-
gla Legislature, November 3, 1900,
they found a defect iu the law under
which their patent was obtained and
consequently they determined to sell
the machinery together with their
rights vested In them for $500 each,
and for a license to build and operate
one at the ginner's expense, they
charge $500. But finding that the
law was generally understood and that
they could obtain no redress in the
courts they concluded to reduce the
price to 5000. Governor jackson fur
thur says: "I am informed from
other sources that gins have been
erected by other persons who have not
taken Miller and Whitney's machine
%Nh " bioUSl1 DuG WltlCn Ill SIldll
degree resembles it, and in improve
ments far surpass it, for it has been
asserted that Miller and Whitney's did
not on trial answer the intended pur-
pose the rights of these improve
ments, however, 1T appears by the
present act, melged in the rights of
the patcntees, who it is supposed, on
the lowest calculation, will make by it
in the two States Georgia and South
Carolina) $100,000." The act referred
to was passed by Congress, doubtless,
for the special purpose of shutting out
Holmes claim and establishing Whit
ney's rights to the use of the saw cylin-
der instead of the spike cylinder
which he invented. This accounts for
Holmes not engaging in litigation.
His claim had been outlawed by spe-
cial legislation and it would have been
fruitless.
No wonder that Holmes died
heart-brokcn, mortified and bitterly
disappointed man. He had lived to
see the fruits of his toll and genius
enatched from him and converted to
another's uses. He had lived to see
his wonderful invention revolutiOnlz-
ing the world, but all the honor, the
glory and the emoluments given to
his hated rival. His name should ap-
pear high up on the roll of fame to.
gether with Watts, Fulton, Arkwright,
Draper, Marconi and all the great in
ventors Who have contributed to science
and mechanic arts, thus promoting the
worlds progress. for he bestowed upon
mankind the inestlmable blessings of
an cpochal labor-saving device, simple,
but the more useful because of its sim
plicity. And his services to Georgia
were even more direct and beneficial
than to the world at large, for the inn
mediate effect of his invention was to
Illustrate the designs of Miller and
Whitney, who had determined to mo-
nopolIze the ginning in this State and
were prevented from carrying out their
odious scheme by the prolonged, con-
tinuous and unavailing lawsuits that
ensued as result of the attempt.
The honor of the worlds renowned
invention should be accredited to
Georgia and not to Massachusetts,.
The ashes of Hodgen Holmes repose
in an unknown grave in the city of
Augusta.