The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-09-24

In a country 10 fertile Of great In.
ventions and characterized by pro-
gress In the arts and science which
confn@es statistics and silenccs proph-
ecy. even great worker In the field Of
Original investigation and experiment
may well escape public attention Con
tcmporaneous applause Is monopolized
by those who keep themselves In the
spot light BY premature announcements
Of things almost accomplished;" II mel.
,her comes to or 10 desired by tho real
gcniuses who, like the elder Agassiz,
arc "too busy to make money in com.
mercial cxplcitations, and VINO win not
turn their WORK over to others for this
purpose until II 10 fully completed and
proven. A few words about one OF this
class Of great inventors whose name is
already known from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. rs well a. abroad, will be OF
interest as contribution to American
lndustrial achievements.
In his cottage at Nantucket, sur
rounded by several tracts Of scientific.
ally cultivated farm lan;s. and dis
tinguished from other local farms by the
mast OF the Delany wireless station.
by telegraph wires running in various
directions and by laboratory buildings
and electrical appliances which a farmer
would hardly know how to utilize, the
summer visitor who comes properly ac-
credited will find Patrick B. Delany. He
Is large.fmmed. good -natured gentle
man. somewhat abstracted and with no
time and inclination for the gratihca
tion OF intrusive curiosity. but aifable
and communicative to those whose er.
rands excuse their visits. He was born
In Kings County, Ireland. in lS45 and
came to this country in 1854, and Is a
good American in everything except ma
tivity. With limited advantages OF ele-
mentary education and from boyhood
under the necessity OF self.dependence
he sought employment at 10 as tele.
graph operator, and soon gained such
speed and accuracy as to secure for nim
at Is the responsible position as press
dispatch receiver at Worcester. Mass
He was able to translate accurately
when running from Is to 20 words be-
hind the sender. The difficulty OF this
will be appreciated by anyone who has
tried il. At 20 he was made manager
at Albany of the New York and Buffalo
wires; later he became chief operator
at Philadelphia, assistant superintendent
of the Southern aud Atlantic Telegraph
Company, and superintendent Of the Au-
tomato Telegraph Company. His rare
mental endowments meanwhile brought
him opportunities in the field OF jour
nalism to which he was for time at.
tracted; but his chief intrest was in
telegraphy, and to this he returned with
renewed energy and devotion, and clung
to it when his friend and associate,
Thomas B. Edison, gave up telegraphy
TO pursue the line which afterward
brought him fame. Since 1850 Mr., Del
any has made many inventions Of first
Importance.
The first OF these to attract inter
natioal attention was the Synchronous-
Mpltiplex system OF telegraphy, adopt.
ed by the British government and ex
tensiyely applied in the Postal Tele
graph System, by this invention 81,
messages are sent simultaneously oyel
one wire as easily as one might be,
The six FIRST class circuits" to eael
line created by this invention, may b'
worked all in one direction or in oppo'
site directions, thus diirrentiating i
widely from the quadruplex system
which is limited to two messages sem
simultaneously in oppositite directions
The British rights on Mr.. Delany''
multiplex system were purchased from
him by that government for larg'
sum of money. That It was not EN-
ployed by this country is an interestin!
and Illuminating commentary on the re-
luctance of vested monopoly to recog
nize value in anything it does not orig
mate and .control--for suppression.
As an instance of the meaning of thu
name Delany in foreign countries brie
reference may be made to the recent
visit of Mr.. John Gavey, at that tim'
at the head of Great Britain's Depart
ment of Telegraphy, He had never met
Mr.. Delany prior, to his visit to th'
latters New York city office, 225 Fiftl
Avenue, After making himself known
he most cordially grasped Mr., Delany b,
the hand and stated that it was mat
ter Of considerable Importance to hin
to personally meet man whose name
was so we'll known and honored through.
out the cizilized world, Then followed
a request, which was granted, to wit
ness, in operation, the Delany automat
10 rapid system Of telegraphy.
MIR, Delany enjoys a comfortable in
come from property purchased since the
disposal Of this invention to the British