Evening journal., 1913-11-24
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The AgeS---0ld Bone Pr0tO-
type Of the Sewing Ma
chine Needle
BY Holland.

Colonel Edward Jay Allen. Of Pitts
burgh, Pennsylvania, had great career
before the beginning OF the Ciyil War.
He WAS the pioneer who blazed a
trail from the Missouri river TO what
Is now the State of Washington, in
1862. He had knowledge of Alaska
and some hint of the wonderful re-
sources of that fey and barren penin-
sula long before Russia sold II 10 the
United States. He became familiar
with the Chinook Language and had
good opportunity for study of the
racial peculiarities of the Alaska In
dams
Colonel Allen is now in his eighty
fourth year But his mental yigor IS
unimpaired and nothing but the se-
we're wound he received at Gettysburg,
when he was in command of a Penn
sylvania volunteer regiment, prevents
him from walking with as firm a milf
tary step as that which characterized
him when he assumed command OF
his regiment. Colonel Allen has gain
ed high authority in certain depart
ments of applied science. and for that
reason his counsel has been frequent
In sought by those who contemplated
certain commercial activities in which
science was 70 play some part OF who
had invented apparatus of one kind
or another upon whose commercial
value there was a desire to obtain
Colonel Aliens opinion.
Some years ago very earnest
energetic man, with the eye and man
nerism OF an inventor. who was abb
sorbed I'm his pursuit, called upon
Colonel Allen so that he might have
discussion with him respecting cer-
tain invention.
In the course of the conversation
he said: "My invention is a basic one.
| mean by that that there has been
no other apparatus invented from
which ] or any one else could have
obtained the idea upon which my in
vention is based l. therefore, call
Il basic invention"
your inyentiOp may be of great
commercial value" Colonel Allen re-
piled, but / am confident that YOU
are mistaken in your belief that yours
Is a basic invention. ] doubt if there
is any such thing as a basic inven-
tion. ! am persuaded that every In
venti0n has either been suggested by
some other apparatus earlier made or
something which contained the very
idea of what is called the basic in
vention"
Well I don't agree with YOU" re-
piled the inventor. For instance,
take the case of the sewing machine
needle That is a basic invention.
The inventor transferred the eye OF
the needle from the blunt end TO the
point and by doing that he made the
modern sewing-machine possible.
That is what / mean by a basic in
vention.
WELL" replied Colonel Allen, 81
don't question your statement that the
man who Invented the sewing machine
needle worked out what he thought
was something absolutely original.
But this invention had a predecessor,
and can show you am example.
have now hone needle which was
made and used by the Alaska Indians
for their handiwoIk. The eye of that
bone needle is iust behind the point
precisely as the eye of the sewing
machine needle is Those Alaska In.
dians probably as far hack as prehis-
toric times invented the bone needle
with the eye at the point. and Il has
been In constant use among those
tribes for hundreds, perhaps thous-
ands of years. speak whereof I
know, for possess one OF those
needles which 7 brought home FROM
Alaska as a curiosity