History of the Ameri an episode of Columbia Workshop -

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Episode Transcript

(00:03):
The Columbia Workshop under the direction ofIrving Reece. High up on a building
on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, immortalizedin granted are these words of Abraham Lincoln.
The patent system added the fuel ofinterest to the fire of genius.

(00:30):
The American patent system is perhaps thestrongest single bulwark of democratic government. Under
its protection and encouragement, invented genius, flourished, and made of a small
struggling nation the greatest industrial power inthe history of the world. Because of
the contribution of the American patent systemto civilization, the Columbia Workshout is proud
to dedicate this program to the onehundredth anniversary celebration of the United States Patent

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Office. Let us turn the pagesof history to Venice. In fifteen ninety
four, in the Haunt of theDoge, a young man fingers a petition
nervously, while a group of noblesstare very well. I am ready to
speak up, young man, ifit please your Highness, I have prepared

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a paper, then read it quickly. Yes, your Highness, your humble
servant has invented a machine for raisingwater and irrigating land at small expense and
great convenience. It seems not fetthat this invention, which is my own,
discovered by me with great labor andmuch expense, be made the common
property of everybody. I humbly petitionyour serene highness, that you deign to

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favor me with the right so thatno one but myself or my heirs be
allowed to make this new instrument.My reason of your benignity thereof, I
shall more attendively apply myself to newinventions for universal benefits. Yes, go
on, that is all, mylord. You believe then, that if
I grant this right, you willapply yourself to other beneficials invention. Yes,

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your highness very well subscribe, yourhighness cause to be entered that from
this day on for twenty years,no other man shall have the right to
make this machine. Yes, yourHighness, your name Galilei, Galileo.
On the fruits of Galileo's promise,I shall more attentively apply myself to new

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inventions for universal benefits. The worldhas long been aware. Thus was a
young man destined to be one ofthe world's greatest scientific minds, encouraged by
the dose of venice. But suchwas not the case with other all powerful
nobles or in other countries, andsuch great abuses existed under governments in which
one person had the power to createor destroy inventor's rights based on whim or

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favor, that few were encouraged todevote their energies toward him. Named Eli
Whitney, first out of Yale,left for Savannah, Georgia, to visit
the cotton plantation of his friend,Missus Nathaniel Greene. It is an afternoon
in the summer of seventeen ninety two. Young Whitney, who has showing a
marked aptitude for mechanical design, watchesa group of negroes in the shadow of

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the plantation. This is mister Stiles. Oh, how do you do mister
style? How do you do that? Your people work hard here. Yes,
this seeding cotton takes a long time, and we've got shippings to make
regularly. Tell me do they haveto pick each seed out of a cotton
ball by hand? Yes, sir, it seems it should be some easier

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way of doing it. We're it'shardly possible a machine that damaged the ten
of fibers. I waited mister Whitneycould make a machine of woods. He's
made some very clever things for me. He would earn the gratitude of the
whole South. It might be done. Hello, Weli, like you're here
for a vacation. I won't haveyou worrying about cotton. A machine could

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do all that work in an hour. Why, George, I will do
it. The backbreaking burden of theNegro slaves preyed on the mind of Elive
Whitney. In five weeks. Hecarried a strange looking spike roller into the
shed. Hello, mister Whitney,could I interrupt your word for a few

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moments? Why yes, sir Aliboys take a rest. What's that you
got there, mister Whitney, that'sa cotton gin, miss style? I
think it may work? May Isaid it here? Sure? Set it
right down here? Now? Canyou have one of the slaves bring me
a basket of cotton bowls? Well? Are you sure? Missus bean won'd

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man? You know cotton is prettyexpensive in spike. It's the bell.
If missus Hewett here's this, we'llbe thrown out apparatus looll, we'd better
go to bed and start again earlytomorrow. What oh, nothing there?
That little thumb screw will hold?I can only stretch that diaphram or wee

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bit tighter confound that hammer. Theregoes our room on board. Why missus
Hewett has complained three times this weekabout the noise she's coming up the stairs.
Now I'll run into the front room, hook up that old battery and
make the adjustments. I'll fix thetransmitter in there. We can make a

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just after you get rid of herto come in. Ah, good evening,
Missus Shuett. Please come in.It's not evening, mister Watson.
It's nice. You and your friendwill have to stop that noise, yes,
missus, And if you keep burningthe gas this late, I'll have
to increase your ring well. Ofcourse, in the way you will little

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this room with all those wires.What are you men doing, missus Hewett.
Mister Bell is a great man.Someday maybe the world will remember that
this house because of these wires.Someday the world will be able to talk
through these wires, Missus Ewett.Mister Watson, you've been drinking no,
Missus Ewett, think of it.People will be able to hear through it
or blocks all the way from Bostonto New York. You please hold this

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wire. I have got to typethe connection. All right, but why
can't your friend hold it? Well, mister Bell's in the front room making
the connection. The wires alive.It bit me. Oh, I'm sorry.
It was an accident. Mister Bellmust have opened the circuit. I
wonder what Watson come here? Whythat's mister Bell's voice. I thought he

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was in the front roofs. Listen, mister Watson, come here, talk
to missus. Franklin Harris on boardthe Aquitania. Are about twelve hundred miles
at see now the Aquitania. Itis long distance operator. This is the
amalgamybe Smelling Company. Please cross tonight our offices in Seattle, San Diego,

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Chicago, Baltimore, and Tanta fora conference. Boy, just a
moment, son. A few feetof wire which carries the first words of
Alexander Graham Bell, accidentally after hehad spilled some acid and called for his
assistant, spread into a network ofone hundred and fifty million miles of lines
over five continents, carrying sixty ninemillion calls a day. But if the

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first words carried over the line werestrange, stranger words still signal lines.
Another historic milestone and American invention lessthan a year later. It is the
lap and try to keep the revolutionsuniform about one a second right, and
have to bend close to the mouthpiece. Are you ready, yes,
sir, but what will you say? I hadn't saw that. Let me

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see, I've got it ready.We were turn. Mary had a little
lamb. Its fleece was quite asnow and everywhere let Mary went, the
lamb was sure to go. Allright, Weaver, that's enough those maccantized

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apples, Tom or Rome, beauty, Yes, and you'll have to transport
to our homes. Tom, weuse the two dollars to buy more tin
for Weaver. Just throw the Ciagar'shouse now. Now we'll set the needle
back. Now when I signaled,turned the crank at the same speed.

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Would you like to listen, misterCosey, and you too, common God,
hold this dear air already Weaver turned. So I hope they're good apples.
Its pleas, Sue SA. Sureit works, mister Edison. It

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worked. Thus with the words ofa nursery rhyme, Man's voice was first
captured and imprisoned on a sheet oftin poil. From its humble beginning,
like all great new inventions. Itinspired a host of other inventions, culminating
with the sound motion picture Edison's phonographhave the irate gods melt his wings and

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plunge him to his doom. Manhas been rebuked for centuries for attempting to
soar. It is a far cryfrom the songs of Albert and ancient Rome
and the dreams of Da Vinci andFloren's four hundred years ago. To a
bicycle repair shop in Dayton, Ohioin nineteen two, where two brothers talk
while working. Here comes father wilburIs his fike ready. Yep, just

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finished, Catherine's with him. God, Hello, father, Hello? Can
your bicycles finished? Father? Well, I didn't come about that anything wrong.
Boys, you will have to upthose glider flights. You've been disappointing
the village undertaker for months. Theycouldn't stop now sa oh, it's too
late to quit. Your business isgoing to pieces. You're the laughing stock

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of the whole town. You'll bothbreak your next before you finish. Please,
Stock, You've already flown the glider. You've found out that it stays
up. What are you after?No power? I'm here, fellows,
right? Sure? What do youwant us to do. We want to
lift this machine on the track.Weag it's seven hundred and fifty pounds,
but at its seven of us help, it shouldn't be hard use now.

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Heck, I can lift it myself, all right? Say when I know
over there? All right, i'lltogether an out. Good. I'm either
down now, thanks very much?Boys, all right? Will then strap
yourself in? Oh? No,ifill we tossed the coin four days ago,

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but you won then will well?I had my chance. That restraining
wire slipped, yes, I know, and you didn't go up, so
it's still your chair. I don'targue. We've waited long enough. Get
in, as you say, strapped. Yep, we got the benzene on.
Benzine on has to switch on.Switch on. You can propelor a

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cray All right, I'll warm upa bit or a right, that's right,
that's right. I'd like to havewords. Did you be I'm Haynes
are Yeah, you're mister Hannes.Would you learn stepping over here? But

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didn't never hear each other? Notat all? Oh? What can I
do for you? Well? Misterright, I want to be fair about
all this in my paper. Butyou fellas. Don't really think this that'll
lift off the ground, do you. Well, you can't really say,
mister Haines, we think it will, but you'll be able to tell in
a minute. But I think itall right, horrible coming. Sorry,

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it's the hens. I gotta seemy brother. Well, do you think
they'll make it a hand? Well, I think they're durned food or you
thing. I can't say, gotsome money they deserve to throw that work.
Why I even even stayed up longer? Were the dame thing's too dangerous
for any good side? It couldn'tgo more in a few miles, and
the new autos dangerous enough for that. No, No, I don't think

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it about person hasn't chance for Honolula. That's why Alan wake, Alan Wow.
Another cantell in China alive board forthe China Clipper. Slowly, gracefully,

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the twenty five ton low remotor birdsgets along the waters of San Francisco
Bay, SIPs under the new bridge, rises to the infinite loop points is
crouded China. To Lecklid, firstAssistant Commissioner of the United States Puttent Office,
who will tell you something of thefuture of the puttent system. We
now transfer you to Washington, dc. The variety of inventions and experiences

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of the past have frequently led tothe question has everything of any importance been
invented? Those who have studied thehistory of inventions answer emphatically no. In
eighteen forty five, the First Commissioner, Patton Sellsworth, said his resignation was
of no great concern because mankind hadachieved all of which it was capable,

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at least in the direction of materialperfection. Since then we have seen the
telegraph span continents and oceans. Thencame the telephone, and later the radio.
At the time of the beginning ofthe radio, with its dot and
dash signals from station to station andfrom ship to shore, the horseless carriage
clattered down our streets even at thattime. The which there will cross continents

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and oceans on pathways as definite asto altitudes and direction as the straightest railway
track. Great airships will take offin land with the accuracy of the schedule
of commuter strains day and night,in clear weather, fog or storm.
The number of our airports will ofcourse greatly increase. Automobile transportation as we
know it today has many problems whichmust be solved. The problems of road

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crossings and the automobile parking and storageneed only to be thought of as having
been worked out ideally to envision theactual conditions in a very short time.
For example, automobile parking and storagein the cities will be like the handling
of airplanes. On an airplane carrierdriving to the hotel or theater, one
will step out of his carn andwill drop from sight to be returned to

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the owner promptly on call. We'reall looking forward to the air advent of
television. Developments in the photoelectric celland other electrical marbles are bringing practical use
of television nearer every day. Soon, television will take us to the scene
of action of news, events ofpeace or war, accident or parade.
We may watch distant football games nowwhere we only listen. In the realms

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of science, we may expect manysurprises. For instance, in the near
future, electrical microscopes will give usdetails of minute wonders seen with enlargements many
times that of which glass lenses arenow capable. And by the same token,
electrical telescopes may take us hundreds ofmillions of light years of distance farther
out into the universe, we willalso be able to see in the dark.

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With all these things, there mustfollow the development of human engineering.
Our relations to each other in thecommunity, state, and nation must be
studied and improved in proportion to ourdevelopment of instrumentalities which serve man, not
only well Man June in next weekfor the workshop's presentation of one of the
outstanding experimental dramatic scripts, Rhythm ofthe Jute Mill by William Robson. This

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is the Columbia Broadcasting System