Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1905-01-28
GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE

uoiO ANSNinS ShelCHeS Ine career or
George Westinghouse in an article
which we abstract as follows:
When Mr.. Westinghouse sought to
introduce his air-brake, he met with
universal disappointment. At last he
got permission to explain the brake
to Commodore Vanderbilt. The old
man ended by asking: do you mean
to tell me that you can stop a railroad
train by wind? l have no time to
waste on fools"
But Westinghouse kept on and fin
ally pursuaded Ralph Bagley. a friend
who owned foundry, in return for a
NTH interest to make apparatus for a
single train. The first application on
the Pan Handle prevented collision
with a wagon. The brake had proved
itself.
On convincing railroad men in the
United States of the practicability of
his invention, he went to Eureope to
introduce it there, and he met with no
easy task. 1t required seven years to
convince the conservative railroad men
of England
His next project was that of piping
natural gas into Pittsburg. No one had
dared to risk the millions necessary
to do the work. But Westinghouse
carefully computed the cost and the
possibilities of profits, and set about
in 1885 to form company-the Phil
adelphia company. He needed six mil
| lions for his plans, but the public sub
scriptions asked did not materialize.
| He went among his friends, used his
magnetic powers of personal solicita-
| ton, got all the necessary money and
completed his plan. 1t made a fortune
| for every one who went into it, and
gave great impetus to Pittsburg.
During his sojourn in Europe he had
studied electric lighting. then in its
| infancy, and with characteristic fore
sight soon recognized it's possibilities
He bought the French patents on the
alternating current" system, the "di-
rect current" system in use being too
costly for general introduction.
| The electrical industry of this coun-
try was small, and it was headed by
Edison and backed by powerful finan-
ciers. The opposition to Westing-
house was most powerful. In courts,
in legislatures, in council chambers.
| III COhS anu III thC pi Soo tiC w Sot-
inghouse system was stignatized as
the deadly alternating current"
| Westinghouse met his adversaries at
every point and contracts kept coming
in. In the end his opponents were
compelled to recant, and from that
time the directcurrent system for
lighting was no longer heard Of.
Then it was intimated to Westing-
house customers that they could not
buy any of the incandescent lamps
patented by Ellison. Thereupon West
inghouse brought cut the Sawyer
Man incandescent lamp, but after long
litigation the Supreme court decided
this was an infringement on the Ed
son patent. Westinghouse then mar
keted a Sawyer-Man stopper lamp, In
two parts, entirely different from the
Edison lamps in it's essential features
and called the Edison representatives
into court to show cause why he should
not manufacture this lamp. This wa
master stroke of strategy, and hi
success was complete.
His saddest trial came in 1890 ant
1901, when mismanagement and thu
, general financial situation brought tn
Westinghouse company to the brinl
of ruin. With characteristic energ,
he sought to restore order from chaos
pittchurp hanlxers would not helD him