The Washington herald., 1915-02-06
HISTORY BUILDERS.
The Most Prolific of American In
Ventors.
written Expressly for The Washington Herald.l
By DIR. Z. J. EDWARDS.


written Expressly for The Washington HeraldJ
By DIR. z. J. EDWARDS.
One afternoon few years ago, while
l was chatting with the late George
Westinghouse, it occurred to me to ask
him II, while he was working out the
problems which it was necessary to work
out il he were to perfect his inven-
tions. any ideas occurred to him that
might be available at some future time
in working out other inventions. or IL
there came to him the germ of an idea
which might contain something Of
great value.
"Oh, yes" Mr.. Westinghouse replied.
That experience is one which l sup
pose almost everybody whose mind
turns to invention or who devotes
himself to scientific research has had
Nobody can tell whether there is value
in an idea of that kind or not until
test is made OF it. but some of the
most valuable inventions we have
came from the developing OF a germ
which had suddenly occurred to an
inventor while he was at work upon
some difficult proposition.
81 wish l could file in an orderly
way, so that there could be convenient
reference to them, the ideas that have
occurred to me. l have made ii a
point to go still further, for l fire.
quently buy ideas which other invent
ors have have brought to me because it
has seemed to me there might lurk
in them something of great value.
Many times men get an idea and par
TALLY work it out. There they stop,
, whereas If they were patient or If they
had time and means to develop the
idea they would be sure to give us
something of great value"
/ said to Mr.. Westinghouse that in
a chat which l had with Edison. in
1892, he told me that ideas or germs
of ideas almost numberless came to
him while he was at work on some
one or another of his inventions He
had tried to make some record OF
these ideas and had accumulated a
great many memoranda. lie said in
the characteristic way which always
suggests the keen sense of humOr
which dominates him, that an inventor
ought to live two hundred years and
then he would have opportunity to try
out some of his plans.
Mr.. Westinghouse smiled when l
thus spoke of EdiSon's age limit and
then said seriously that the ordinary
span of life is too short for one who
possesses talent for discovery and in
ventiOn to make it possible for him
.
He said: Some time ago ! was
speaking TO a locomotive manufacturer
who had for some time discussed with
me the possibility OF pcrfeCtiuE great
motors which would be capable OF
hauling by electric energy an ordi-
nary freight or passenger train. Our
conversation drifted to some of the
improvements upon the locomotive en-
gine which had been made many years
ago. He told me that Seth Boyden,
= who discovered the process for max
ing patent leather. is entitled to the
gratitude of manufacturers of loco
motive engines because he is the man
who invented the cutoff which rcgu-
lates the steam in the cylinder. and
he also invented something that has
been in universal use since his day,
which is the convenient method of re-
versing a locomotive engine
"I am getting little away from
what I intended to say to you" said
Mr.. Westinghouse. Il wanted to say
that Boydens brain was fairly burst
ing all his life with ideas. ! think,
all in all. that he developed the great
est variety of apparatus and in differ
ent fields of any American inventor
He was like Edison in one respeCt-he
believed that the Scriptural limit OF
seventy years is altogether too short
for an inventor and he once said that
he had ideas enough to occupy him for
three times the ordinary life OF n man.
Many of his best ideas, he said, would
/ die with him"
| WoryIght 1915. by Z. ]. Edwards. All rights To-