Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-11-25
AMERICAN
INVENTIONS
X-Effects of Inven.
tons.
BY Frederic ]. Haskin.

Fiji BY Frederic J. Haskin.
1t would be difficult to overestimate
the part which the inventor has played
in the material prog ess of the United
States. 1t is equally hard to picture the
full effect of his work upon the lives OF
the people, individually and collectively.
We know that the economists attribute
two-thirds of the wealth OF this nation
to the creations of American inventive
genius We also know that there is not
an individual SO remote from the centers
of human activity as to- be beyond the
influence of the invention.
| 1t is only sixty years since manufac-
turing began to be one Of our national
activities. Since that time the value OF
our manufactures has increased more
than tifteen-fold; the wages the en-
ployes of the country's factori>s have
| been multiplied by ten; and the number
of men and women finding employment
has quintupled. The inventor has made
| most of this possible, just as he has IN
| creased the products Of the IA, and Of
the mine.
+
Many industries have been called into
existence through the work of the in
ventor. One CT the most
Electricity in profitable of these is the
use OF electricity in the
ooAAAAoAee' commercial world.
| In less than forty years the .-ctivities
| of inventors in the field of electrical ap-
| plcation have built up an industry with
a total investment of $1,000 0D,G0J. The
products and revenues of the electrical
industries aggregate billion dollars
year. and the 100000 people who find EN-
ployment annually receive wag.s and sal
aries aggiegating half a billion dollars.
Invention is the one wondcr-worker
which may take away from and add to
at the same time. 1t solves the old prob
| lem of eating cake and having 1t.
| 1t makes labor-saving machinery. at
the same time adding to the demand for
labor. 1t subtracts from laboi"S oppor-
| tunilies for profitable employment in one
it's opportunities In another place.
| One railroad train takes the place of
| a dozen stage coaches or hund. eds OF
wagon teams. Yet there is more work
for horses and men in the transporta-
| ton world than ever before.
| The day was when one man Guild turn
| out from forty-two to forty-eight yards
of shifting in a week. Now, attending
six power looms, he can produce 1,oOj
yards. Yet there are more men making
shifting today than ever before.
century ago it was only the well-to-do
| who could enjoy the luxury of a bountifui
supply Of clean
Invention Father of bed linen. 1t
Convenience. ,usa ~ th,rtv
| days of common labor to buy a single
| linen bed sheet. Today they are within
the reach Of even the comparatively poor.
A century ago it required the earnings
of from four to twelve days to buy a
gridiron. Now by working an hour or
| two one may earn enough to buy a good
| one.
| The average individual in those days
had scant supply Of clothing He could
not have frequent changes, and conse-
quently was not physically as clean as
he is today. The rise of textile machinery
has changed all this. and today the very
poor may enjoy as good clothing as the
moderately wel!-to-do did In the early
days OF the republic
The very first problem that faced mortal
man was that of clothing himself. Until
| a. century or two ago the activities of
half the civilized world were entirely abb
sorbed In providing raiment for civili-
zation. Today only a small percentage
| of the people are so employed. and the
| others give no thought to the subject
| except as they come in contact with the
problem at the retail counter.
| The statisticians have attempted to fig
ure out how many people 1t would re-
quire to produce the entire output of the
American manufacturing establishments,
working under conditions which obtained
a century ago. They figure that at least
1O00O0,CO0 employees would be required.
Five million are now so employed. Ac-
cording to this ratio between manufac-
turing employees and population it would
require the population Of the entire globe
to give US 1OO, 600 workmen in our fac
tories.
~
t. Even our dinner tables have been af-
4 fected by the inventor. One may find
on the dinner
Dinner Of Yesterday table the prod
and Today. worid-grapes
from New York, bananas from Central
America, oranges from Florida, raisins
from California, nuts from Europe, figs
from Asia, linen from England, ivory from
: Africa-rnost of it made possible by i'm
proved methods Of transportation.
Not only this, but summers delicacies
may be served In winter. and the win.
ter's good things kept over for summer
The cold storage warehouses of the
United States are said to contain $1,000.
600, 600 worth of products every year, a