The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, February 26, 1914, Page 7, Image 7
THE TRUTH AB(
T
Mr. D. A. Tompkins' Bo
Legends.?Holmes,
gian, Impr
The one-time classic controversy as
> to the real inventor of the cotton gin
has been revived recently by the publication
of two articles in The Columo?
tViq finet was hv Air. A. G.
Uid OtcatCT- i uc XXX wv ??
, Kollock of Darlington, S. C., who recorded
a tradition ^current in Fairfax
county to the effect that the machine
had been invented by a Colonel Kincaild,
whose wife, according to the
story, had innocently exhibited it to
Eli Whitney, a young New England
school teacher, not realizing its importance,
and that Whitney had
quickly appropriated the idea and
claimed the credit.
This elicited a communication
from Mr. W. J. Elliott of Columbia in
which he set forth the contention
that the gin was invented by Ogden
Holmes, who obtained a patent signed
by George,, Washington, president
of the United States, and that prior
to this a stranger had been permitted
to see the contrivance under circumstances
similar to the other case.
As a matter of fact the entire subject
of the invention of the cotton
gin was cleared up a dozen years ago
by Mr. D. A. Tompkins, of this city,
who investigated the subject personally
and with painstaking care and
entire freedom from bias. His infor
' mation was obtained by a study of all
the original documentary evidence
rkHtainahio and was extensivelv circu
lated not only as one chapter in his
book: Cotton and Cotton Oil."
which is a standard work on the
subject, but also in pamphlet form.
Mr. Tompkins shows, in brief:
That Eli Whitney, a graduate of
Yale college, invented a cotton gin,
consisting of spikes driven in; a
wooden cylinder, and having a slotted
bar through which these spike
teeth passed, and having a brush to
clear the spikes. He obtained a
patent March 14, 1794, signed by
George Washington, president; Edmund
Randolph,' secretary of State,
and William Bradford, attorney gen.
eral.
That Hodgen Holme of Georgia,
an uneducated mechanic, invented an
improved gin; using circular saws
properly spaced, passjng through
spaces between ribs. For this invention
he obtained a patent May 12,
1796, signed by George Washington,
president; Timothy Pickering, secretary
of State, and Charles Lee, attorney
general.
That "Whitney's invention consisting
of a combination of a wooden
cylinder, carrying annular rows of
, wire spikes, with a slotted bar and
clearing brush, was fundamental.
That the practical application of
the fundamental idea was Holmes'
invention of the saw gin, which consisted
of a mandrel or shaft carrying
collars separating circular saws
which pass through narrow spaces
between ribs.
That whereas, Whitney went South
utterly impecunious he received from
the Southern States the following
i* amounts: From South Carolina, $50,000;
from North Carolina at least
$30,000; from Tennessee about $10,000,
making the total royalties from
the Southern States certainly as
much as $90,000, which at that time
was a fortune.
Mr. Tompkins' book is replete
with technical descriptions and picture
of the various models, as well
as facsimiles of the certified patent
specifications and drawings and a
synopsis of the testimony "in the
twenty-seven law suits relating to infringements
in Georgia from 1796 to
1805.
Mr. Tompkins shows that in 1792
"CMi "VXrViifT?*iv rvf Maocnphiispftfi wpnt
Uli Tl uivav; v*. .. ?
by boat to Savannah, Ga., from which
he intended to go into the interior as
tutor to a private family. On the
same boat was traveling Mrs. Na*
tbaniel Greene, the widow of the
American Revolutionary general,
who was returning from a Northern
trip to her home at Mulberry Grove,
near Savannah. On this journey
Whitney naturally made the
acquaintance of Mrs. Greene. Arriving
in Savannah, he failed to perfect
hte arrangements for teaching and
, accepted an invitation from Mrs.
Nathaniel Greene to make his home
at her house, and pursue the study of
law, which was his great desire.
While he was in Mrs. Green's house
he exhibited great talent for
mechanics and made himself useful
in that respect around the plantation.
In the spring of 1 793 some old
comrades of General Greene; Majors
Brewer, Forsyth and Pendleton, who
lived near Augusta, called on Mrs.
ilreene. In the course of their visit
they discussed the troubles of agriculture
in the upper country and
mentioned the fact that much upland
cotton could be profitably produced it
r
)UT
HE COTTON GIN.
]
>ok Refutes the Mythical '
an Illiterate Geor- !
oved on It. 1
?
?? ?
I there were only some method by *
which the lint could be separated c
from the seed. Mrs. Greene propos- 1
j ed that they -talk over the matter
with young Whitney. The result of t
that visit was that Whitney was c
1 4-Vm 2
! given a room in me uasewcui, ui mg
| house and, after considerable exi
perimenting, produced a machine
that successfully separated the lint
| from seed. In 1793 Whitney went
j to New Haven. Conn., to confer with
! his old friend and patron, Elizur
Goodrich, and others, in relation to
obtaining a patent. The original
description in Whitney's words, ac:
companying his petition for patent,
! was filed with Thomas .Jefferson, secretary
of State, at Philadelphia,
: June 20, 1 793. Whitney also made
; affidavit concerning his invention be|
fore Elizur Goodrich, notary public,
and alderman of New Haven, October
28, 1793. A patent, as previously
stated, was issued to him March
j 14, 1 794.
The patent drawings says Mr.
Tompkins, amply refute the claim
made by friends of Whitney that he
j invented the saw gin also. The
| Holmes machine *was set up in the
j grist mill of Capt. James Kincaid on
j Mill Creek in Craven (now Fairfield
I county, South Carolina), and is rej
ported to have been the first of the
j saw gins used in that State.
The drawings and specifications of
the Whitney invention, filed in 1S04
! in the United States district court,
" ^ tn ho tho nil
C5a\ UUUclU, cti:u UCI1C1CU IU u\s 1.UV ??
ly authentic documents on the sub- i
i ject now in existence (the original
! having been destroyed by fire), con- ?
| tain no reference to an alternate s
method of constructing the cylinder, ?
as for instance, the use of circular s
' saws. Nor does the drawing show t
any suggestion of saws. 1
Contracts with States.
On December 19,1801, the South *
! Carolina legislature passed a bill 1
, purchasing the Whitney patent right
! of the State for $50,000, agreeing
| to pay $20,000 in cash and the re- 1
| mainder in three equal annual in- ]
J stallments provided Whitney would c
I make within a reasonable time two ?
models of his gin, in his very best ?
style, and and file them for public
' inspection in the State capitol and *
provided, further, that Whitney K
i should refund all amounts previous- ?
; ly collected for license in the State. ]
The cash payment was promptly c
made. But Whitney did not within '
two years comply with either require- 1
j ment. The legislature in 1803 de- (
' clared the contract forfeited and pro- *
vided for entering suit for recovery j 1
of the first payment. This action | 1
j" brought the final fulfillment of the j
conditions on the part of W/hitney in i ?
1804, and then the legislature of
| 1804 ordered the suit discontinued!
! and reinstated the contract in accor- j
dance with which the deferred payments
were readily made.
The legislature of North Carolina
in December, 1802, bought the
patent rights for that State and j
; agreed to pay for it by a special tax |
! of two shillings and six pence on each !
j saw used in a gin within the State for |
four years. This tax was properly col-!
| lected and turned over to the invenI
tor, amounting to about $30,000.
! Whitney's plan in Georgia was to
I own ail the gins and gin all the cot'
ton in the country. Naturally this
sort of monopoly was odious and
i when to this is added the fact that
i
j Whitney and his partner. Miller,
i could not supply the demands, it is
i natural that there should have been
: much infringement.- After the gins
j were introduced in 1794 there was
a large cotton crop made for the next
j season on the presumption that it
| could be prepared for the market
j on the new machines. But when the
j crop was gathered and the machines
j were not forthcoming, many planters t
| had rude gins made in their own
blacksmith shops. From this circumstance
arose the rumors that the ,
j various workmen who made the gins
j were the original inventors. There
; are numerous legends about the in|
vention which have no foundation in ,
c
j fact. j
! ^ i
KNIGHTS IX WASHINGTON. t
! Soutli Carolinians Attending Pythian ]
Jubilee.
Washington. February lit.? ]
; Among the South Carolinians here i
j in attendance upon the Golden .Tubi- ;
; lee of the Knights of Pythias are ;
i Messrs. \V. G. Harvey, of Charles- ;
ton; C. D. Brown, of Abbeville: \V. 1
. E. Derrick and Milton K. Jeffords,
j of Orangeburg; J. H. Adams, of Fur- :
I man: J. F. Williams, of Columbia, <
! and J. Thomas Arnold and B, A. Mor;
gan, of Greenville.
i
DEFENDING HERSELF.
Fighting for Her Moral Character,
Says Dr. Saunders.
Columbia, S. C., Feb. 19.?Dr.
Sleanora B. Saunders, the young
voman physician, to-day told the legslative
committee appointed to investigate
the affairs at the State
lospital for the insane that she con>idered
two letters written by the
governor, asking that she retire from
Via incHtiitinn tn hd a rpflpp.tion 11D
m her moral and professional repltation.
"I am contending for my reputaion.
What I did was for the benefit
>f the white women patients in the
isylum. I am not contending for the
etention of my present position. I
hink that I have been slandered,"
;aid Dr. Saunders in the course of
ier testimony which took up more
han two hours.
One by one she answered the vari>us
charges brought by the other as;istant
physicians and submitted afidavits
and documentary evidence to
move her testimony. When she made
he various points of her defense the
arge number of spectators in the
aipreme court room cheered her.
Dr. Saunders denied that she mediled
with the other departments, but
dated that if she trespassed it was
n the interest of the State's unforunates.
J>r. Saunders' Statement.
Columbia, S. C., Feb. 19.?"I had
10 idea then that the governor had
vritten any letters. We talked of it
juite late. I thought of it all night.
iVe went down the next morning to
:he room. I had read the goverlor's
letters before I went into the
oom and I thought they were most
mjust. We went down to the meetng,
and of course the harrowing circumstances
you already know. Of
course I remember quite a little of
t. but certain remarks and the readng
of these letters burned into my
,vhole being like burnished steel.
"I felt that they were most unjust
ind most untrue, and in fact I considered
the remarks of Dr. Griffith
md the letters of the governor as
slander. I tried vainly to show them
hat day that what I had done was
.'or the hospital's good, and if they
lad not objected previously, not givng
me warning, that it was rather
infair then not to give a chance to
jven have an honorable discharge."
"I told them that day that I was
lot insisting on the retention of the
position; that I simply wanted a
dearing on the insinuation, or even
mv insinuation of wrong-doing morilly,
or professionally on my part."
Thus Eleanora B. Saunders, M. D.,
.he young woman physician at the
State Hospital for the Insane, to-day
spoke to the special legislative committee
that is investigating the
charges in connection with the asyum.
She was on the stand for
learly two hours and in that time
iemonstrated that she was one of the
liost important parts of the State's
nstilution for the care of unfortulates.
When she was making her dramitic
recital of the fight that has been
vaged against her by the men physicians
and the governor of South
* * ? ? " ? - - ? /%?-, iff i 4- V\ A OCX*
^aroima m cumiei'iiuu ?im mc avium,
tears came to her eyes for a
ninute, but she quickly regained her
lomposure and proceeded to ably deend
he'r position at every point. She
von the admiration of every one of
he large number of spectators, and
vhen the hearing was concluded and
sven before, when she would make
;elling points in her defense, the
:rowd cheered her. Time and again
Dr. Saunders reiterated the state>
nent that she was not fighting for
ier position, but for hen moral charicter.
Dr. Saunders cleared up every
charge that has been brought against
ier and showed that she has never
nterfered with any department except
for the good of the department.
When Dr. Saunders completed
vhat was considered the most briliant
testimony ever given by a witless
in this State, the chairman askid
if any of the accusers desired to
?ross-examine her.
The accusers did not ask one ques;ion.
RESURRECTION IN MORGUE.
Vegro About to be Embalmed Was
Running at Last Report.
With a yell of terror Ed. Williams,
i "dead" negro, being prepared for
jurial, jumped from the slab in a
ocal undertaker's morgue and fled.
:his afternoon.
Williams had been found apparently
dead, lying in a road near here.
He was taken to the undertaking
"ooms and everything was made
ready for embalming. To the amazement
of the undertaker, the corpse
stretched out its arms. With a
rawn, it opened its eyes and looked
around. One hand rested on some
thing clammy.
The corpse looked around and saw
its hand on a real corpse. One second
later Williams was running down
the street at full speed.?Eliwood
Pa.. Dispatch.
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in a G,ass of J&5
i?3S /"I 1
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J?* "There's a
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Next to Postoffice Telephone 69
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The telephone aids the busy farmer to keep
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.f .1 c .1 i i
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arrange plans for community work after the crops
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Every farmer needs the help of the telephone.
See the nearest Bell Manager or send a postal for
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This bank gives you protection for your savings and pays you
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PEOPLES BANK Bamberg, S. C.
/
LETTERS DISMISSORY.
On Saturday, February 28th, I will
file my final account with Geo. P.
Harmon, Judge of Probate for Bamberg
county, as administrator of estate
of Geo. W. Farrell, deceased,
and will thereupon ask for letters
dismissory as such administrator.
JOHN COONER, Administrator.
Bamberg, S. C., Jan. 26^1914.
Real Estate Bargains
84^ acres good land near town
limits, dwelling and outbuildings,
worth $2,500.00, under wire fence. If
sold promptly will sell at a sacrifice.
388 acres 7 miles from town; dwelling
worth $2,500; timber enough to
pay for property and some to spare.
Prices and terms right. Must be sold
at once. See me quick or you will be
too late.
Modern two-story dwelling in the
town of Bamberg, prices and terms
right if sold by January 1st. With
.the new railroad coming in now is the
time to buy city property.
H. M. GRAHAM
FRANCIS F. CARROLL
Attorney-at-Law
Office in Hoffman Building
GENERAL PRACTICE. .
BAMBERG, S. C.
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5 or 6 doses 668 will break
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better than Calomeland does not
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J. F. Carter B. D. Carter
f!ARTER. to. CARTER
Attorneys-at-Law
BAMBERG, S, C, }
Special attention given to settlement
of estates and investigation
of land titles.
? '
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? Successors to W. P. Riley. 4
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Office in J. D. Copeland's Store
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State Dental Association.
Office opposite new post omce ana
over office Graham & Black. Office
hours, 8.30 a. m. to 5.30 p. m.
BAMBERG, S. C.
6. MOTE DICKINSON , '
INSURANCE AGENT
Will Write Anything
Fire, Tornado, Accident, Liability,
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My Motto: "Bay What I Need
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'Phone 10-L, or at Oil Mill
BAMBERG, S. C.
If
PRUDENCE
m m m
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'
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External and penetrating. $1.00,
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{improved Saw Mills.
(VARIABLE FRICTION FEED. ^ and^Rcliable
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