New-York tribune., 1911-10-29

this way, together with the environment
Of culture by which they were surrounded
made Of them strong and intellectual men
capable Of converse lion of highest interest
on the rare occasions when they can be
drawn out
The first real interest taken in mechan-
les by Wilbur and Orvile dates back TO
their residence in Richmond. Ind. Being III
need of small wood turning lathe ana no
money being available for the purchase OF
such q machine the inventive brothers set
about to make one for themselves. Secur-
ing piece Of cordwood, the young mechan-
les split and sawed it TO suitable dimen-
sions. Next they whitfield the ends down so
that they would hit in holes bored I'm OPP
nosite sides Of box. Then. cutting a
groove around one end Of the stick, they
fitted to 1t belt made of clothesline, which
connected with the propelling wheel or
arindstone. In addition to this arrange
ment rest was provided for chisel and
al! was ready Tine belt slipped off the
erindstone many times, and in replacing II
the present avstors may have obtained
their first lesson i'm patience. The lathe
itself revolved rather unevenly ana the
motive power stopped at unpropitious mo-
meuts hut the coveted turning was fhalN
accomplished. and the Wright brothers had
scored their first success as inventors.
While their first lathe was sufficient to
accomplish the limited demands made upon
n. II was far from being a perfect model
and tho brothers determined to make bet
ter one Like the first, tho second model
was entirely the product of their own hands.
being big improvement over the earlier
| invention.
An indication of the absorption they feel
, in their work is apparent in the story told
| by the family of the events of the day on
| which the brothers first brought their sec
| ond lathe to a working point. The machine
| had been set up in a hay loft of the harm
on the Wright promises, and the youthful
/ inventors became so deeply interested in
| the successful operation OF their new ma
chine that they utterly failed to notice a
/ storm just passing over them which was
| blowing down many trees and levelling
scores of outbuildings.
Shortly after the invention of the lathes
/ Orvile and Wilbur became interested In
! teiegraphy, and built for their own use
line and instruments. making everything
themselves. even 10 the insulation which
they accomplished by means of contriv-
ance attached to the bobbin Of the family
sewing machine.
Il was few years later after the fam
/ ily had moved to Dayton, that the young
! inventors were given the next opportunity
| to test their genius, this time with the view
7 of alleviating the irksomeness OF trying
and laborious task. Their father had then
assumed charge Of the weekly journal OF
| the United Brethren Church, and the boys
were given the Job Of folding the papers
after they had come from the printing
press.
Only a few weeks expired before the in
genious brothers had planned and built a
crude but labor saving machine, which
folded the papers as neatly as could be
! done by hand. 1t was built almost entirely
of wood, the carriers which lead from the
rollers being pieces Of twine secured from
bundles Of paper.
The folding of the newspapers gave Or
VILE a hankering to enter the printing
business, and soon he formed partnership
with a boy named Stines, both being about
sixteen years old. They collected a few
cases of type and a toy press. Business
prospered so well that it was not long
until Oryile bought the interest of his
PARTNER and took his brother, Wilbur, into
| the enterprise.
Feeling that their talents were too close
ly confined by the mere conduct OF a job
printing office, the brothers decided to
launch a weekly paper. AS was true of
most of their earlier inventions, necessity
mothered their genius. The publication of
a newspaper created the necessity for a
new press, the one used for job printing
being entirely inadequate.
With the determination which had char
acterized their former activities in the line
Of invention, the brothers went to work
with the result that few months later
the first issue of their paper, The West
! Side News" made its appearance. having
been printed on a press made almost en-
tirely of wood. Being Of light construc-
/ ton the press, while running rapidly
swayed about the floor as II about to fall
to pieces, but it did good work, neverthe-
| less. turning out books and pamphlets, in
addition TO the paper, that excelled in neat
ness much Of the printing done by their
competitors with latest improved ma
chinery. 1t is said that on one of the
days on which the Wrights were printing
their paper an agent for printing press
concern happened to pay them visit. lie
was so dumfounded at the work OF the
homemade press that he spent an entire
afternoon inspecting its operation.
After continuing The West Side News
as weekly publication for year. the
brothers turned 1t into daily paper, nam
ing IT THE Evening Item For their
slender capital, however, the new venture
proved too great an undertaking, and after
a few months its publication was discon-
tinued, the job business alone being re-
talned After a time they gave this up,
selling their plant at profit sufficient to
enable them to better experiment along the
lines OF their native inventive ability.
II was just at this period that the safety
bicycle was coming into use, and the broth
ers became agents for several of the stand
ard makes Through knowledge gained in
the repair OF the machines, they soon saw
where improvements could be made, and II
was but a short time until they We're max
ing their own product, which they called
the ivan Cleve." that being the name OF
a family of ancestors who Were among the
hrst settlers in Dayton, In 1876
So successful were the brothers In the BIZ
cycle business that they We're enabled To
lay away few thousand dollars, which
really formed the nucleus OF the fortune
that is now fast falling into their hands.
In addition to being able TO save some
money, the young men We're also given big
ger opportunities to experiment along the
lines of aviation, in which they had become
interested several years before, Their first
interest dates back to a time when their