The Yale expositor., 1914-01-08

Tyler Home, invented the spring bed.
Elias Howe was lame, lazy and shiftless For
years after he married his wife supported him and
their children by sewing. His wifes patient in
dustry no doubt led him to think of ways to light
en- her toll and the sewing machine the re-
suit. When he took out his patent he sold half
interest in it for $500 to the man from whom he
rented a garrett. Eleven days after the granting
of the patent he assigned the other half interest
over to his father, nomnally for $1,000, but
really to satisfy claims for small sums the father
had given to him
To support his family he became a locomotive
engineer. He was not much Of a success as an
engineer and lost his job. That was fortunate
although he did not think so at the time.
His brother had been sent to England to intro
duce the sewing machine and thought he was
doing wonderful piece of business when he sold
the English rights for S1,250 There was one
saving clause in that bill of sale. 1t provided
that the inventor should get S15 for every ma
chine sold.
Elias Howe with his wife and three children
followed his brother to England. He got work at
$50 a week at manufacturing HE own machines
lie was so incompetent as a worker that he was
discharged. For two years he was poverty
stricken and only escaped Jail in England by TAX
ing the poor debtors oath. Through the charity
of sea captain he and his family were brought
back to America
Two weeks after his return his wife died owing
to the privation to which she had been subjected
Destitute and forlorn Howe drifted about from
place to place. His father took pity on him and
reconveyed the half interest in the patent to
Elias Then Howe took advantage Of the fact
that various persons were infringing on his pat
ent and sued them. For four years the suits
dragged along. Howe won most of them and col
lected $4,000 in one instance With this money
he repurchased the half interest he had sold to
the owner Of the garnet for $780,
That was one of the few sensible things he ever
did In business way. When he. died in 1867 at
the age of forty-eight he left s2,00O,00O
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin He was
New Englander who went south, and on the plan
tation OF Gen. Nathaniel Green of Revolutionary
fame saw the slaves separating the lint from the
cotton seed by hand Few things that came
from the brain of many have worked greater
revolution than the cotton gin. Without injury
to the fiber cuts the lint from the seed and piles
1t into the frame in which later It is baled
From his invention, which may be cassed as
one OF the ten most important in history Whitney
never got dollar of profit. Immediately upon
the introduction Of the gin dozens of persons
pirated the invention. Whitney tried to protect
his legal rights and soon became involved in a
lot OF lawsuits. Some of them he won without
much trouble, some Of the more important were
carried from court to court and were dragged on
unfortunately.
The affair became OF the scandals of the
time Mr.. Whitney, Disguised with the protracted
and expensive litigation nearly at the end of his
financial resources and despairing OF ever getting
Justice in the courts. determined to let the world
nave the benefit of his invention without profit to
himself. The state of Georgia in recognition OF
what IL had benefited through the gin voted $50.
600 to him That did not the legal costs
the lawyers fees and the time he had given TO
the creation of the gin but with this money he
embarked in business in New England in the man.
ufacture OF firearms, and made enough money I,
live In comparative ease