Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

stamps?"patron,"rest."The Editor's Page"One Thing Thou Lackest"I said to the man at the stamp-vending window,"WThat is your latest in the 3-cent for Ifind it easier to keep my correspondence adornedwith the newest stamp than to keep my conversationadorned with the latest slang and cheaper than thechic coat lapel. Whereupon the man set forth twovarieties, one the Lewis-Clark Expedition commemorative stamp with the dates 1804-1954, and the otherthe image and superscription of a man of distinctionI did not recognize in the subdued light, but on inquiry I learned was George Eastman."And for what reason is this greatness beingthrust upon him?""Well I suppose that his company has given alarge contribution to the Republican campaign fund.""Sir, I percieve that thou art a Democrat." Hisfaint smile indicated that he was not inclined or notin position to deny the charge."George Eastman committedteered.suicide,"I volun"So I have been informed by a formerhe said. Perhaps that helped form the conclusionabout the campaign contribution. It was a littlestrange that the last previous issue of 3-cent stampshad borne the inscription "In God we trust," and nowwe are idolizing a man who seemed to lack thatfaith. Strange reversal! and so sudden! Coming inthe midst of the tourist season when rivalry betweenmanufacturers of films and cameras is at its heighth,could it be that this was a clever trick of commercialadvertising, getting the jump on the competitor?Here was I carrying home the two blocks ofcommemorative stamps one of which seemed just alittle off -color, though I had gone with the intentionof buying that public Confession of Faith in God.of fermenting. ThatScruples have a strange qualitytook me to the public library, not once, but twice, andsearch was made to refresh myacquaintance withthe life story of George Eastman, and verily he didsome remarkable things not unworthy, of imitation.George Eastman was born in Waterville, N. Y.,in 1854. Ah! just one hundred years ago. That explains it. Commemorative material is gettingscarcerand is becomingprofitable to the Post Office department. Look out for a special issue in 1980 !His father started a commercial school in Rochester and the family moved there,after he was established. The father died two years later, and themother went to work to keep herself, her son andtwo daughters. When George was 14 years of age hetook a job in a real estate office at $3.00 per week.At the end of the year he had a bank account of $59.Later he was employed in a bank, and at the age oftwenty-one he had accumulated $3,000. He now feltrich enough to indulge himself in a hobby and investedseventy-four of those precious cartwheels in acamera,148and five more of them he paid to aphotog-rapher to teach him the intricacies of how to make itfunction, for picture taking was not the simple matter in those days that it later became (thanks toGeorge himself). Films were unheard of, so glassplates were used, not dry plates, but wet, and theplates had to be treated with three solutions, the lastone the sensitizer, and all had to be done just beforethe picture was to be taken, so that the travelingphotographer carried all these materials and a darkroom (tent) with him. No wonder George was interested when he first learned of the dry plate thatwas being manufactured in England. He obtained theformula and improved on it, and lo his first factorywas operating with the help of an assistant chemistin a barn loft. The demand for his product soon outgrew the plant, and the part-time operations of thelimited force, and he resigned his place in the bank,and devoted himself to his hobby that had now become his boss.Dry plates, what a magnificent improvement!But Eastman was not satisfied. They weighed toomuch and his product was going everywhere. Heworked out a collodionfilm,with a black paper backing. The next step was a transparent film for thebase, and the black paper no longer stuck to it. Butwe are ahead of our story.In order to use plates or films, one must have acamera, so Eastman made cameras, and aimed tomake them cheap enough to be popular and simpleenough for average intelligence, even though hisprices were said to be 173% above the cost of production. Those paper film cameras had to be sentback to the factory, camera and all, for processing.So the slogan ran, "You press the button, we do theRemember those days? Meantime the factoryand its capitalization was growing by leaps andboundsbut with no bounds. $1,000,000, $5,000,000,$35,000,000, all within a decade. Factories coveringTHE COVENANTER WITNESSIssued each Wednesday by the Publication Board of theREFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHOF NORTH AMERICAat 129 West 6th Street, Newton, Kansas orthrough its editorial office at 1209 Boswell Avenue, Topeka, Kansasto promote Bible Standards of Doctrine, Worship and LifeFor individuals, churches and nationsOpinions expressed in our columns are those of the individual writers ;not necessarily the views of the Covenanter Church or of the Editor.Dr. Raymond Taggart, D.D., Editor1209 Boswell Avenue, Topeka KansasContributing EditorsFrank E. Allen, D.D.Prof. William H. RussellWalter McCarroll, D.D.Remo I. Robb, D.D.Departmental EditorsRev. John O. EdgarMrs. J. O. EdgarMrs. Ross LatimerSubscription rates: $2.50 per year ; Overseas, $3.00 ; Single Copies10 cents.The Rev.British Isles.R. B. Lyons, B.A., Limavady, N. Ireland, Agent for theEntered as second class matter at the Post Office in Newton, Kansasunder the Act of March 3, 1879.Address communications to the Topeka office.COVENANTER WITNESS