The Washington herald., 1915-02-05
HISTORY BUILDERS.
The First American Maker of Patent
... Leather,
written Expressly for The Washington HeTaldJ
By DIR. f.. J. EDWARDS.

| written Expressly for The Washington HeTaldJ
By DIR. f.. J. EDWARDS.
Some years ago happened incidentally
to mention to the late Capt. Frederick
c. Wagner that George Westinghouse
had, in 1881, told me of the improvement
! Of the turbine water wheel which had
been perfected many years ago by a
reared upon a farm. His name was
Boyden. 1 said to Capt Wagner that
Mr.. Westinghouse stated that Boyden's
turbine made it possible to capture
practically the entire amount of en-
| ergy that is in the waterfalls or that
part of the waterpower which is
brought into contact with the tug-
| bine.
II did not know that Boyden," said
Capt. Wagner, but a good many years
ago, when l was in active business,
made the acquaintance of Seth Boy
the Boyden of whom Mr. Westinghouse
spoke to you"
Capt. Wagner was for many years
prominent in the business life of New
| York City, and he was brought into
notice at the North at the time of the
civil war by reason of the fact that
he, as provost-marshal OF New York
City, assisted greatly in the suppress
sion of the draft riots or 1868.
II have been told" said Capt. Wag-
ner. that Seth Boyden's achievements
were of such importance to the city
of Newark. N. j., that a monument
in bronze has been erected to his mem
ory. l suppose that 1t was due to Mr..
Boyden's inventions and energy that
Newark became the leading city in
the manufacture of harnesses and sad
dlery in the United States.
"Boyden was a most interesting man.
At first sight OF him you would have
thought that he was an unusually
homely man. but II you talked with
him a little while that impression pass
ed away because his strength of nina
and earnestness, combined with an
unusual gentle manner, were strangely
attractive.
81 can tell you one incident about
Mr.. Boyden which I learned many
years ago and 1t is one which could
not be matched by many of those in
the United States who have made i'm
portant discoveries. l think II was
when Mr.. Boyden first went to Newark
to live. He went there. l believe, with
the purpose OF establishing a little fac
tory for the manufacture of harnesses.
He was entirely self-taught but he
had a wonderful mind. In some way.
I don't remember exactly how, his at
tention was fixed upon a certain kind
of polished leather which was useful
in the manufacture of harnesses. 1t
occurred to him that he could make
better leather of that kind and so
make it that it would be cheaper than
the article which had been in use.
He experimental with various kinds
of polisheS and varnishes and when
he had got his formula perfected he
spent some time trying to find out how
he could make that polish set in the
leather so that it would be perma-
nent. At last he got il and to the
astonishment of the community he
produced a beautiful specimen of what
we now call patent leather Some
leather OF that kind had been manu-
factured in Europe, but not in the
United States.
II am safe in saying that II Mr..
Boyden had kept the secret of his
formula and protected his process by
law he would have gained very large
fortune, but he did nothing of the
kind. He practically let the world
have the formula and the process.
Some of his friends reproached him for
having done that, but he did not feel
that the criticism was justified. He
said that IL was true that he had found
out how to make patent leather, but
he did that for advantage in the busi-
ness he was engaged in. He went out
of the business and he was perfectly
willing that anybody else should use
his process, for the more this was done
the greater would be the aid to the
people of the United States. He never
regretted that he did not maintain
exclusive propriety rights in the pro-
cess by which patent leather is made"
Copyright, !gl5. by L. J. Edwards. All rights re-
serTedD
Tomorrow DR.. Edwards will tell of
The Most Prolific of American Invent
ors.'