The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-05-16


But | learned the trade and be-
| came a cigarmaker and had my own
bench, and made enough money soon
to be able to look around a bit. |
was of mechanical turn of mind
and studious, and wondered
/ whether some of the work of cigar
making could not be done by ma
chinery.
1T took a long time to prove
| that cigar could be made that
way" he said. 1T was 1870 when !
made my first machine
1t was so funny, only 1t was very
serious at the time. You see,
| thought that the filters of the cigars
could be punched by machinery, and
made machine that would bunch
them, and so simple that a girl
| could operate it. 1t looked good.
But when the machines were put in
operation It was soon found that they
made so much dust that the girls
would soon choke. and they could
not stay near them for half an hour.
One day | was down in my shop
| trying to find way to suck out the
air and still prevent the wrapper
| tobacco from being taken up.
saw the lid OF an old -blacking
| box lying on the floor, and an idea
suggested Itself to me. i picked It
| up and punched holes in its top with
nail. Then ! fitted II on my sue
| ton machine over the tobacco and
turned on the air. The wrapper to-
bacco flew up again and was held
against that lid Of a shoe-blacking
box. l was discouraged, angry.
Here was another defeat.
| Then, as / was looking at that
wrapper tobacco held against that
perforated box another idea came to
| me.
That idea revolutionized the
making OF cigars. From that time
air has been used for the most deli
cate work of cigarmaking. Up to
that time 1t had been necessary to
employ persons with only the most
delicate touch to handle the wrap
pers. and even the most careful of
them wasted lot of valuable to-
bacco, while the waste of time was
| enormous.
When looked at the tobacco on
that old blacking box lid," he said,
II saw a delicate leaf held tightly
against 1t, and not only that, but
held firmly and smoothly. Why
should man have to smooth out
the leaf and hold 1t while he cuts
the wrapper If air will do that for
him?' / asked myself. And SO I
made my first machine that used air
suction In handling the leaf tobacco.
For year nobody would touch
it--and / needed money very badly
Then a shrewd Yankee named Will
liams came over from Newark, and
said he had heard about the ma
chine. And he knew what there
was to 1t, but he gave me only S6,-
600 for 1t, He is a millionaire many
times over now, and all through my
invention, The American Tobacco
Company alone paid 100000 a year
royalties on it while the patent was
In effect
But / still had my Dreams" he
said. 80 / went on inventing, and
it was not long till had made my
stripping machine. This was one
of the best. / did not sell that for
miserable $4,000. got $500, 900
for 1t. That made a great differ.
ence.
When was without money
eight years ago l invented, and that
is how got the money to buy prop.
erty and build theatres and build the
opera house. And when / needed
money for my opera was able tc
sell rights in my latest invention
100000 for the Porto Rican rights
$l5O,000 for the European rights
100000 for the Canadian rights,
Again the enigmatic smile.