The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-01-05
MILLIoN-DOLLAR BUBBLES

Charles ID. lsaacson, in LeSl1es Weekly.
 It is the custom of commentators of the times to grow euIogistic over the mighty minds and organizations which have impressed their inven- tions and products upon an epoch, winning their own success and the inevitable millions of dol- lars in wealth. But mine is different narra- tive. It is of the million dollar ideas that never happen; of the men who actually failed.
 Many whom acclaim as great came peri lously near the danger line. Alexander Graham Bell was refused capital, was ridiculed in the newspapers of Europe and America and tech ncal papers refused to take his idea at all seri- ously. Disaster faced Carnegie; his partners were through his workers were being paid with groceries instead of money, but he just man. aged to pull throughi Look at the Wllys auto mobile fortune; at one time with not $50 of credit and $80,0 to be paid at once, somebody saved John N. Willys, after all the banks had refused him and he had about decided to enter into voluntary bankruptcy. August Hecksher, who has just come to much prominence by his gift of $4,000,000 for a Children's Home, went to bed one night with nice fortune and awoke to find himself broke. His business Is zinc; the whole monopoly of zinc interests were against him, he was broke-the chances were ten to one he would never rise again. But he is worth many hundreds of millions today.
 Edison believed that ore could be extracted by magnets from powdered rocks. The plan was feasible, indeed it was absolutely logcal.> It was plainly scientific He organized the financial backing for the scheme he worked five years on it's development. He built plan and the most wonderful of plants and sank more than $5 ,000 in the creation. But when the ore was produced-there was no profit! The thing could be done, but it cost more to do it than the rocks could yield
 Look again at millionaire. This time 1t is Mccormick, the harvester originator. At the beginning, when the reaper was offered, for solid years not one buyer of machine could be induced, cajoled, persuaded to put down his money. Not even at $50. The first machine was sold ten years after it was offered to the world Then look at the cash register. It did not instantly grow into world success. For years Patterson was the most unhappy financier and promoter of an invention that ever tried to buck fate. When success came, finally, it was unexpected.
 Now, if the men we recognize among the really remarkable financial winners of our epoch so often stood on the threshold of defeat, what are weeto think of the others who did not sur vice?
 I have always contended the new idea was less difficult to bring into being than it was to bring to the people. Always the cry of "give the people what they want" has meant the hold ing back of progress.
 Very few people know how Mark Twain spent his fortune in machine for typesetting. The famous humorst gave up his writing for the machine. He put his money in the invention he spent in the neighborhood of $200,000 on pushing the idea. The machine succeeded, but Mark Twain never made dollar out of it. The famous novelist was prevented from writing, nearly lost his life in the excitement, and for a l time became a pauper.