Omaha daily bee., 1911-04-12
RECALLS THE ENGINE FAKE
How Scientists hit at Te1eRrRpher's
wonderful S1T.OOO,OOO
Invention.

Fifteen years ago the scientific world was
startled by the announcement that a Min
nesota man had invented a rotary engine
so powerful that though it could be placed
inside a large trunk 1t would have force
enough to drive big liner across the At
lantic ocean Every scientific organization
Of note and every large railroad company
appointed a commission of experts to in
vestigate. Learned scientists arrived from
foreign countries on almost every steamer,
ready to study this wonderful invention of
an American. Newspapers devoted col
umns to the subject and the air was full
OF reports about the millions of dollars
that capitalists were trying to force into
the pockets of the young inventor
1t was fully a month before the scientific
world was able to convince itself that the
invention was valueless. Then one Of the
greatest fakes OF the kind ever known went
down into history.
The story is recalled at this time because
of the appearance in Chicago of II. G.
Hays. president of the Hays-Weaver Mil
ing company of Brainerd, MINI. Mr.. Hays
was responsible for this scientific upset,
though he insists that at first he was taken
in as much as anyone else. He was so
convinced OF the Inventors sincerity that
he dreamed of becoming a multimillion-
alre.
At the time the inventor became famous
he was a telegraph operator in a railway
station. Hays was the editor Of the Sleepy
Eye (Minn.) Dispatch. Probably not more
than dozen people in the town knew the
inventor, but inside OF a month he was
known to everyone and was elected mayor
by reclamation because Of the fame that
he had given Sleepy Eye. The residents
had to open their private homes Is accom-
modate the throng of scientists and news
paper reporters. who poured into the little
place
Sleepy Eye papers were singing the in
ventor's praise daily and the young in
ventor was reciprocatlng by offering the
aspiring city thousands Of acres of land
for park purposes with at least million
in cash to improve the property. Sleepy
Eye is still waiting for the immense park.
at was easy work." said Mr.. Hays, who
is in Chicago on business connected with
his flour mills and new railroad in wis
consin in which he is interested. TT is
so easy to fool even scientific people that
one cannot but be astonlshed. There was
nothing but fake to the engine, and yet
we could have sold out for more than
8, 900 at one time. And I could go in
and do the same thing right over again
today in spite of the warning of the past
81 believed in the man, especially as he
had a United States patent. It appears
that a clerk in the patent office made 9
serious mistake in his papers and really
gave government Endorsement of the in,
vention. That was what fooled the scien-
lists. The operator would never permit
anyone to see his invention and refused e
discuss It vNth anyone. I was his man
ager and he referred all questioners Il
me. He declared that the German gov
eminent had purchased the rights To-
81 100000 and showed kilograms TO tn,
effect that advance payments amountinl
to 100000 were on the way
1T was the failure Of this money to ar
, rive that caused the exposure Of the fake
, OF course. he might have had an invention
Of ordinary merit but that was all
Sleepy Eye was full of scientists
in order TO make as strong a showing
, as possible the new engine was placed II
, high chair and photographed in that po
: sition. I first became suspicious when tn
inventor baked at allowing me to have
, small model. l wanted to have an engin
, that could wear as a watch charm, an,
e If what he said was true, It would hav
been large enough then to run a sewinl
machine. Chicago News.