Watt and Arkwright and
Stephenson and Crompton and their ilk, protected by their government
and its patent laws, made their country the peaceful conqueror of the
world. The story of the work of the inventor is a poem of mighty
meaning and of wonderful deeds. The inventor proved himself a mightier
magician than ever the world had seen.
"A creature he called to wait on his will,
Half iron, half vapor--a dread to behold;
Which evermore panted, and evermore rolled,
And uttered his words a millionfold."
Such was the outcome of this grand modern "trust," a combination of
the wisest legislation, the most brilliant invention, and the most
wisely applied capital. There are "trusts" of which the outcome is
most beneficent.
Since the days of Watt, the improvement of the steam engine and the
work of inventors has been confined to matters of detail. All the
fundamental principles were developed by Watt and his predecessors and
contemporaries and it only was left to his successors to find the best
ways of carrying them into effect. But these matters of detail have
been found to involve opportunities to make enormous strides in the
direction of securing improved efficiency of the machine. The further
application of the principle which led Watt to his greatest
inventions; of the principle, keep the cylinder as hot as the steam
which enters it, of that which he enunciated relative to the advantage
of expanding steam, and of that affecting the regulation of the
machine; have reduced the costs of steam and of fuel to a small
fraction of their earlier magnitude.
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