Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-04-14
GREAT INVENTIONS.
All of Them Have Met With Fierce
Opposition. -


Lord Palmerston, the then prime min
lister of Great Britain, declared in an
impassioned utterance: 1T shall not
be made, it cannot be made, 1t will
not be made, but IL 1t were made there
would be war between France and
England for the possession o, Egypt.
Although 1t did not take ten years
to prove Lord Palmerston In the
wrong, this incident is an epitome Of
the whole story of invention and re-
form, both before and since. The rank
and file of the world Is hopelessly in
ert. Their inertia makes them resist
with all their sluggish strength the
efforts of those who would hasten for
ward. In every age there are few
geniuses, a few discerning men, who
are supposed to see visions and to
dream dreams. But the visionary the
cries Of today have a way of becoming
the matter of fact history OF tomorrow.
Marconi, whose praise Is now ring
ing in every nation, is the same Mar
conf who eight years ago was worry
ing his parents about sending. mes
sage through a hill on their estate,
and about whose wild schemes thou
sands were predicting the direst fall
ure few years later. Opposition had
an effect upon Marconi which was ia
vorable rather than otherwise.
"In the beginning" he says, Il had
the whole scientific world against me,
saying and doing everything possible
to upset me, but want to state that
I feel grateful to them for their oppo-
sition. Particularly do wish to thank
the leaders who continually opposed
me. I am sure I would not have Teen
half so successful If it had not been
for them. And afterward, when they
changed their attitudes, 1t helped me
so, as it had a good effect upon the
public confidence in my work. If they
had not noticed me at all, 1t would
have done me more harm than any
thing else. Their criticism made me
look forward with all the more deter
mination to the time when I should
be able to show them that they were
wrong"
The triumph Of George Westing-
house, second only to his invention OF
their air brake, was the lighting OF
worlds fair in 1893. His success only
came because of his indomitable will
and courage. He had taken the con-
tract for $1,000,000 less than the offer
Of any other company, and every
means was adopted to throw obstacles
in his way. Injunctions were served
upon him without number, but glor-
ious success crowned his efforts, and
It was we'll known that the million
dollar surplus divided among the
stockholders after the fair was over
was the amount saved in the light
ing contract.
When after nine long years OF re-
search and experiment, Bell completed
the first telephone in 1876, 1t was not
accepted as feasible by the world at
large. A few scientific men pronounc-
ed Il "a wonder In electric telegraphy,
but most people considered 1t only a
novelty and scientific toy. Business
men generally doubted IL 1t would
ever be a useful factor in the daily
life of the business world. Nobody
dreamed that 1t would revolutionize
business as 1t has or that 1t would
become the untold blessing to man
that it has. Bell and his hackers
had endless skepticism to overcome
before the time came when he began
to draw his large dividends.
The discouragements which have
been offered to American inventors are
as nothing, however, to those which
have been thrown in the path Of such
men in England. Stephenson was
branded as an impudent quack, as a
fool, and as a knave. Expert engin-
GERS derided him, went into the wit
ness box and loftily exposed" the i'm
practicability Of his projects. Men
were told that railways would prevent
their cows from grazing and hens
from laying. The poisoned air from
the locomotive would kill the birds as
they flew over the trains, and render
the preservation Of pheasants and
foxes no longer possible.
Householders along the projected
lines were assured that their dwellings
would be burnt up by the fire from the
engines. Travelling by railway would
be highly dangerous. Country inns
would be ruined. Boilers would bursr
and blow the passengers TO atoms.
The landscape would be made bare
and barren. The canals would be re-
duced to the condition Of unusued
bitches, the coaching business ruined.
The Quarterly Review statel:
"As to those persons who speculate
on making railways general through
out the kingdom, we deem them end
their visionary schemes unworthy Of
notice"
Those who have mainly benefited
by the introduction Of railways, The
great landowners, whose estates have
been developed and their value eror-
mously enhanced, were among the
most bitter of the new ideas oppo-
nents. The mobiles themselves opposed
the bills in parliament, what time
their keepers were assaulting the Off
cials intrusted with the duty Of max
ing surveys.
The cost to the early companies was
appalling. Unheard Of sums were de-
manded by way Of compensation; and
one company found it's bill for parlia-
mentary costs total up to $25o0,o0O
before ever a sod of the railway was
turned.
Ressemer's story is so near to our