The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-10-28
BRAINY PAUPERs.
Brilliant Inventors Who Reaped Pitt.
ful Reward.

Now and again man is born whose
brain fairly bubbles with inventive
genius. New ideas stream from him,
and all branches OF science are mas
tered with hardly an effort.
Such was Frederic William Mar
tino. one Of those many brilliant Ital-
.ans who left their native land 70
seek fortune in a foreign country.
MARITIME came to England, and his
name is most familiar from the Mar
tini-Henry rifle. the breechlocks Of
which was one Of his numerous in
ventions.
1t Is an irony Of fate that Martino's
name should go down to posterity
solely through warlike invention
which he himself thought little of
when his greatest work was done in
the cause of peace. for MARITIME was
the discoverer of the process for con-
verting basic Stag into manure, q dis
covery which has put millions into
the pockets Of German manufacturers
but from which he himself, 1t is
stated. never reaped a penny.
The fiuted rib for umbrellas. a new
process for the extraction of nickel
from its ore. new development of
platinoid - immensely important in
electric work-and a brilliant inven-
tion for the reduction Of gold ore,
these are only few of Martino's dis
coveries. And yet he was so lacking
In business capacity that In spite Of
his extraordinary output Of valuable
ideas, he died at Glasgow in 1903 a
comparatively poor and obscure man,
while dozens Of others have been
made richer by his genius.
In 1850 the chemist Lenior patent
ed a motor driven by an explosive
mixture Of air and gases. He used elec-
trio ignition obtained from a battery
and Ruhmkorff coil. actuating a
sparkling plug very similar to that in
use In the modern motor. The sys-
tenn Of valves by means Of which the
suction IF the piston drew in the
charge Of gas for the next explosion
was also designed by Lenoir.
In 1862 he actually produced car
which. II crude. was similar in all re-
spects to that in use today. save that
he employed coal gas instead of
petrol. and in this he actually drove
himself through the streets of Paris.
Yet, for reasons similar t. those
which caused the failure Of Martino,
he never received the reward Of his
genius, and IL was left for Daimler.
nearly thirty years later. t0 produce
the Arst OF the practicabTe ;utocars.
Lenior died in 1900 poor and un-
known.
Three years later. in 1908. the lie
OF George Shergold came to an end
In Gloucester workhouse. Shergold,
originally a shoemaker. was the in
ventor Of the safety bicycle. He built
machine Of this order In the year
1875, the front wheel Of which was
twenty-seven inches ana the rear
wheel some thirty inches In diameter.
In 1900. when II first became gen.
orally known that the man whose in
vention had made millions for 9th ers
was as poor as when he had cobbIed
shoes. public subscription was
raised. and for some time an allow
ance Of shillings a week was made
to Shergold. But the funds became
exhausted. and poor Shergold ended
his life In the workhouse
How many people have even heard
of Scheele? Yet this poor Swedish
chemist was perhaps the greatest dis
coverer Of facts that the world has
ever known.
We always hear in England that
Priestly was the discoverer Of oxy-
gen. Yet ScheeIe made this most
important OF all chemical discoveries
simultaneously with Priestly. And
IL was Scheele who discovered chlor-
Inc gas. Chlorine is perhaps the most
important Of all gases in commercial
chemistry. II is the great bleacher
that gives us white linen or white
straw hats. II is also the best disin-
fectant known. 1t is essential II the
manufacture OF the great pain killer
ohloroform. and it is used extensive
ly for the extra ction Of gold from IFS
ores.
Chlorine's value to the world has
oeen incaicuable. yet Scheele the
man who discovered il, lived hungry.