Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-27

II was nearly nine years ago, relates
the New York World. that the late Robert
r. Roosevelt suggested to friends seated
at his table at a banquet Of the Holland
society that proper observance be made
Of the b%icentennial Of the discovery OF the
Hudson river. The suggestion was made
during a casual conversation. Its fulfill
ment is now proceeding. Robert p. Roose-
welt liked his own suggestion, and he
v orled to accomplish 1t. Others liked Il,
II is true, but to him, primarily, is given
the credit for concelving the idea and
shaping It into tangible form. He was
filled with enthusiasm, as is evidenced by
the following statement. made after he
had mapped out in his mind details Of the
celebration;
Something magnificent Is bound to come
OF the movement-bridges, b~oulevards,
statues, exhibitions. Yet these are but
signs q. the whole glorious future OF New
York City. to which the Hudson river
largely belongs. Think OF what New York
was 800 years ago and what It is now.
Think Of what II will be 800 years from
now"
II was hts plan In the early DAYS Of
the idea t. erect a fiftv-story building ot
glass and steel 1900 feet in Ac,gh whose
dome of varicolored glass could be seen
for miles. 1t was to be the central struc-
ture in a group Of exposition buildings.
He proposed tina a company be formed
which should borrow S,OOO,O0 each from
the nation, state and city, respectively
and with this money establish the EXPOSE
ton grounds and buildings on a site over
looking the Hudson river. In fact OPP
tons were secured on 1909 acres OF laho
two miles below Peekskill.
julius Chambers writes in the Brooklyn
Eagle; Poor John Fitch!'' Such Is the
exclamation that ought to be upon every
body's lips during the present Of hilarious
exultation Of Robert Fulton-who did not
invent the steamboat any more than did
you or l.
This is, at any time, a painful theme
but coming at a period in which one Arctic
explorer is rending another for the reason
that he reached the North pole earlier, a
few pit.ful memories Of the man VINO
really applied steam to the propulsion OF
boats is apropos. Every New Yorker who
passes up Center street and recalls the
Collect pond that stood at the present site
Of the Tombs ought to feel his eyes get
moist when he reads the gushing glorifi-
cation Of Robert Fulton.
A amboa was seen on the Collect pond
years before the Clermont was built.
Read the life Of John Fitch in Sparks
American Biography learn the whole
sad story from O'Callaghan's "Documen-
tary History of New York" but especially
study Thompson Westcott's Life OF John
Fitch" The latter book is memorable, and
a reader never can forget the facts set
forth in opposition to the claim Of Robert
Fulton.
The Century Dictionary Of Names barely
mentions Fitch. There 1 read: AN Amer
lean inventor; born at Windsor, Conn.,
January q, 1743; committed suicide at
Bardstown, KY, July 2, 1898. He con-
structed steamboats,, the first OF which
was launched on the Delaware river in
1851" Very brief and utterly unsympa-
tbetio-like the treatment Fitch received
during his life! q
The construction of the mt was
not begun until 1906, and it's trial trip be-
san on August IL, 1907!
John Fitch conceived the idea OF apply
ing steam to vessels about April b. l'So'
PRIOR to that time he had applied It to
carriages and had built what was actually
the first the world ever saw!
His first model OF a steamboat was com
pleted in that year. In this model he placed
the wheels inside the hull and operated
than through the b~ottom-very much as
a centerboard is used on a sailing yacht
OF today.