Evening journal., 1913-06-13
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
How a Slump in JeweIry
Promoted The Locomotive
By Hollaud.


Some time in the late sixties"
said the late James d. Laying to me.
"a young man called on me in my
offices at Pittsburgh to show me an
apparatus he had invented which, he
said would enable the engineer in
stantly to apply his brake to a train.
His name was George Westinghouse.
He showed me models and 1 agreed to
permit him to make test of his ap-
paratus with some cars on the Pam
handle road.
81 saw the test made and l realized
that the most important investment
applicable to railroad equipment that
had heer made in many years had
been perfected by this young man. In
the evening of the day after the test
was thinking this matter over when
It occurred to me that only a little
while before the man who had made
the great advance In railway operation
possible had just died. His name was
Matthias w. Baldwin. l met Mr.. Bald
win occasionally in the last years of
his life and I once asked him if it
were true that he began his business
career as a designer and manufac-
turer of iewelry.
He told me that had been cor
rectly informed and he added that
one of the best forms % mental rec
reation for him, even up to that time,
was the taking of the works of a
watch to pieces and reassembling
them. and also designing, wholly for
his own entertainment, new forms
for jewelry
Il afterward happened to speak of
that 10 someone who knew Mr.. Bald
win, and he told me an extraordinar-
lily interesting stony. The history of
railroad development in the United
States contains many incidents TO
show by what narrow chance OF
happy accident the leaders in railway
development in the early years we're
diverted from other vocations to those
associated with railway management.
1T seems, according to the narra-
tive of my friend, that Mr. Baldwin,
in the early years of the past cen
tury, gained a great reputation as a
designer and manufacturer of jew
elry. He was easily at the head of all
Americans engaged in this industry
His workmanship gave Philadelphia
a pre-eminence as a centre for high
grade jewelry manufacture.
For some reason or other there
came a great falling off in the de-
mand for jewelry. The business was
practically destroyed by reason of
this. Just about that time the pro-
jectors of a railroad which was to
cross New Jersey from Camden to a
point opposite Staten Island in New
York harbor, bought in Great Britain
a locomotive and shipped it to Cam
den. Everybody was interested, and
among them was Mr. Baldwin. He
went to Camden TO look at this loco
motive. He became fascinated with
it. He studied it in every detail. re
believed that he had found an oppor-
tunity to make good the loss of his
lewelry manufacturing business.
Il was told" continued Mr.. Laying
that Mr.. Baldwin actually made a
model of this English locom otive,
which was exhibited as a curiosity in
Philadelphia.
I'm the course of year or two Mr..
Baldwir's study of this locomotive
inspired him with desire to inn
prove upon IT, He was only a few
months in perfecting an invention
which put an end to the rigidity of
the English locomotive That rigid
ity was curious effect at least for
American railroads which we're being
built in many shops here. Mr.. Bald
win determined to work out an idea
by which this rigidity could be elimt
mated and railroad engines could bs
so constructed as to take with east
any curve. He did this and his inven.
tion resulted in the very rapid devel
opment of American railroads With
cut that invention it would have beer
q impossible to haul trains on Americar
railways of more than two cars.
"Mr. Baldwin's invention gave hin
a national reputation and ultimatel,
brought him great wealth. yet if It hat
not been for the drastic change in tn,
jewelry manufacturing and diamond
business he would in all probsbilit,
remained all his life a manufactures
and designer of iewelry."
Copyright. 1918. by E. ]. Edwards
All rights reserved.)
Tomorrow Mr. Edwards will tell O.
D1aa11o~ffar, 90 a