Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-28
Inventors Are Seldom Fleshy

Aside from Gus Andreen and Tom Stroud, there are n, fat men
among the inventors of Omaha. County Comptroller Emmett Solo,
lean, keen. smooth-faced. vigorous and optimistic to a degree that
would please even President Taft. Solomon has been of a mathe-
NAUTICAL turn of mind all his life; and even when he was driving
his old-ttme PAGER, Ed Rosewater, to a record he was mechanically
ticking off the seconds so that the nag should not go a second too
fast to bar him from eligible races. AS a accountant having to do
with tax figuring for a number of years, it was the most natural
thing In the world that he should turn out a calculating machine
which will figure percentages and mills simply by moving a pointer
on a cellulod face which is marked off in tens, hundreds and thou
sands. 1t s called the Modern Calculator, and is in use in a good
many tax offices of this and other states. 1t wipes out the need for
endless multiplication by substituting therefor simple addition.
The county comptroller is aIso the inventor of a folding chicken
coop that has appealed to poultry shippers. For awhile it was made
at Bennington, in this county. but is now being made and handled
from St. Joseph. Mo. A third invention by Mr.. Solomon is a rear
end fender for street cars, designed to prevent folks getting off one
car and running in front of another. He is certain that If the con-
trivance is ever put into use generally it will prevent many a person
from being MANNED or killed.
One of the Oldest and best known of the mechanics of Omaha,
who is also employer and inventor, is Gustav Andreen, proprietor of
storms, Industrial and financial, for thirty years, and hundreds OF
examples of his faithful workmanship are to be found in the city
today. Andrews principal invention is an automatic fire shutter,
which is in general use. 1t can be opened from the inside without
raising windows, singiy or in a series up to fifty windows Firemen
can open the Andreen shutter from the outside simply by directing
a strong stream OF water against 1t. Mr.. Andreen has four patents
on his shutter. He is also the originator of the Nebraska fire escape,
so-caled, which for strength, durability and simplicity so COM
mended itself to state officials that when the Nebraska specifications
for fire escapes were being drawn up some years ago Andreens es-
cape was used as the basis At one time Mr.. Andreen had a COM
bination vault lock about perfected, but got to dealing with some
eastern lock-makers, and soon they had the patent That's an old
story and of no interest TO anyone now" says this old-world master
workman, "and such things are in the history Of every man who
has engaged in the task OF inventing"
Which saying of Andrews recalls the fact that the late Albert
Sjoberg Is credited with many of the ideas that were finally worked
into the United States voting machine which is used in this city
aud county at elections. sjoberg never realized anything on his in
ventive bent
George II. Lee is an Omaha manufacturer who makes machines
that take the place of natural mothers. chicEabiddy mothers. Ineu-
bAtOrs are his long suit. and the perfection of the operation thereof