Tesla Came to East Pittsburgh in 1888

George Westinghouse Paid $1 Million For Patents Of World Famed Inventor

Tesla Stationed In East Pittsburgh Six Years Before Beginning Of CFU

By Adam Sudetic, Member, Lodge 519

DETROIT, Mich. — Early in 1888, at the still tender age of 32 years, the late Dr. Nikola Tesla entered into arrangements with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation for the manufacture of his motors.

Since the arrangements called for the manufacture of the motors on a large scale, Tesla ran into some difficulty. Regarding this impasse he said:

"My system was based on the use of low frequency currents and the Westinghouse experts had adopted 133 cycles with the object of securing advantages in the transformation.

"They did not want to depart from their standard forms of apparatus and my efforts had to be concentrated upon adapting the motor to these conditions.

"Another necessity was to produce a motor capable of running efficiently at this frequency on two wires, which was not an easy accomplishment."

Tribute To Great Man

By the end of 1889, almost five years before the founding of today's Croatian Fraternal Union of America, Tesla's services at the Westinghouse plant in East Pittsburgh, Pa., were no longer essential.

He then returned to New York and resumed his research and experimental work in his laboratory on Grant Street.

But he was not forgotten by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which in 1893 published a book under the title of "Electric Power Transmission Patents — Tesla's Polyphase System" and had this to say about the genius:

"In the course of our investigations into the subject of power transmission we came upon the inventions of Mr. Nikola Tesla, now so well known for his remarkable achievements, and recognizing the value and originality of his discoveries, and the fundamental character of his patents, and we at once secured the exclusive right to manufacture and sell apparatus covered by these patents, with a right to any further inventions Mr. Tesla might make..."

First To Befriend Him

It is the understanding of this writer that George Westinghouse paid one million dollars for Tesla's patents.

There is a more detailed account of this in the late John J. O'Neill's book on the life of Tesla, "The Prodigal Genius," a book which every American of Croat, Serb or Slovene descent should read. Mr. O'Neill was the Science Editor of the New York "Herald Tribune" and an outstanding personality in his field.

It is my sincere belief that Mr. Westinghouse (1846-1914) and Dr. Tesla were staunch friends to the end of their lives.

I base this belief on the fact that Mr. Westinghouse was the first man who actually aided Tesla.

One need only to recall the treatment of Tesla by the French Comp. abroad and the Edison Company at home to understand the true friendship between Mr. Westinghouse and the man who was born in Smiljan, Lika, on July 10, 1856.

51 Patents On Phase

The system "Multiphase" or "Polyphase," the original discovery and invention of Dr. Tesla, consists of no less than 51 patents.

These are described, illustrated and recorded in a book, "A Compliment," published by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation as a tribute to Tesla.

In this book appears the warning "to those contemplating the use of such apparatus to direct their attention to a selection of Mr. Tesla's patents presented herewith."

In spite of this fair warning, infringement on these patents were made — one involving the New England Granite Company.

(To Be Continued)