New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-09-11

country by these mach..aes would be more tl.e
one hundred millions Of doilsrs year. OF course.
this is merely an estimate bssed Upon the knows
results of limited use and Ia predicstsd upOo tho
suppositiou that tho machine may become uliver-
sal. II is quite safe to take their own statement.
and nom this it is clear that but small
proportion Of this one hundred millions is TO
Dc saved to the country, because not moro
than i've hundred thousand instead of thres
niiions OF families can afford to purchase ma.
chine. Nor is this al The gain. al ,uld ths
mAchine come into universal use, is not merely a
per coinage on the amount Of labor row a ,pe. IL
II ALEC TO be reckoned on the immense increa,e of
sewing which the machine viii create. The c,.sa
is very large one which has few undergsr neuts
of various sorts, not because the material of which
they are made is dear, but because it is expensive
to make them Reduce this, and the making II
clothing will be increased immensely; aud not tAis
merely, but the comforts Of life are enlarged in
more clothes, in clesnlier habits, 10 general refine.
ment, ard in health. There is certainly no OK
sggeration in this. man ia better mao for
clean shirt, and woman better woman for tho
Now, we maintain that this actual loss Of what
the country would gain could these machines
come into general use ought not tol DC but
our opinion is Of very little consequence so long as
Commissioners Of Patents at Washington combine
with their wealthy manufacturers to keep up
the price. The present sewing machine is
the result of various inventions, combination of
&ba ;poapn;ty Of mann man s,mak;,oa. s,ona.sc,I
and sometimes unsuccessful, bat al teadiDg, 10 the
course of years, to the perfection OF this instru-
ment Among these inventors, Elias Howe, jr., ia
unquestionsbly eminent and important, and the
world owes him great debt o. gratitude. If it
owed him any money, we think 1t has dis
charged the debt to the last MILL for it has paid
him on biz patent the good round sum of half mill
ion Of dollars 1t is quite much, wothiuk, as any
one man is entitled to for his share-for bis is only
asbsre-in great invention. If he is not satisfied
with this, and IS disposed to make m're out of it,
we think the lair thug would be for him TO go to
work in open competition with other people In too
manufacture of these machines, by which, no
doubt, be could in ten years more make another
fortune.
lieved BIN of this necessity BY renewing his patent
The result is, that he and three four great manu-
facturers to whom aole he grants licenses, are able
to mOnOpOize the manufacture of these machines.
They are enabled to keep them at prices which for
bids their use for domestic purposes to all but tho
rch and confines them, for purposes Ofrade, to the
hands of capitalists, either larger or smaller; for
bids the possibility of any competition on the part
of other manufacturers, limits all improvement,
by preventing competition in excellence-snd all
this that Mr. Howe and his friends may reap an
enormous profit which in his case cannot have
been less, during the last year, than 100000. As
Democratic Governments are defined as govern
ments created for the good Of the people, @e sub
nit whether the head of department at Washing
ton has not, in this case, disregarded the popular
good in manner more than usually fragrant eVea
for Democratic officials.