New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-05-03

trial resources of nations. This inquiry Is not
speculative but historical and admits OF
positive answer. We have space for not more
than one instance each in Great Britain ana
the United States, but they shall be conclusive
Firstly, we quote the summary, when We Gun
scarcely abrdge, of Mr.. Carpmael, patent
agent of long experience. lie was asked !"
point out "a number Of very important lhVeh-
tons which were preceded by such costly eh-
periments that they could not have been earned
out without the patent law" Mr. Carpmaei
answers:
uw.,t IN The nse Of IN. years be.
for. be 90, ,be frs, engine to work efficiently In the case q
machine for spinning cotton, he was several yeaH
befor. he got efficiently 10 work In Me case oil Cromptoh
Itbe inventor Of the mule the same III the case - "
errayes Iwho invented the Jenny the same ih'n' ~
gad to combinz wool by machinery and the first power
by Cartwright he did succeed in getting pracScay 70
work for many years and ho was rewarded by fSsac "
VIVA, he had DONE because he lid been reneraied NJ the
of his patent The paper machine worked out
BY series OF costly experiments which never "0"D
been entered upon but for the patent laws Of the county
this manner might through all manufactures indeed In
no instance has any manufacture into importance in
costly machinery carried for many years the hope Of de-
irving benefit through grant Of letter. patent"
The case may be still more strikingiy pre-
scented in the statement that in 1850 there were
but 10000 people in Great Britain engaged in
the cotton manufacture, in lS0l but $4,000
people, and in 1S23 but 10000 steam looms;
while in 1852 there were 800, 992 steam looms,
employing i5l 900 work-people in 2,557 fac
tories, containing 30,357, d57 spndles. The
increase is due to about ten inventions, every
one of which was protected and stimulated by
patents, and could not probably have been
brought to perfection without such protection
and stimulus. Indeed, the cotton manufacture
of Great Britain may be said to be the creation
of the patent laws
As an insianc OF what patent laws have
done for America. we select Mr.. Bigclow's car
pet.loom invention. Before lc42, al three-ply
and ingram carpets were woven in hand-looms
and all the numerous and costly experiments in
England TO invent a power loom had failed. In
! lsp. Mr. Bgelow, citizen of Massachusetts,
made the drawings of a power-loom, which be
believed would do the work, but he lacked
means 10 put his ideas into iron. After several
fruitless applications to various manufacturers
/ he made a contract with the Lowell Manufac-
turing Company, which reads as if written for
testimonial to the value Of patent laws in
/ fur.hering useful inventions. The Company
agreed 10 pay the expense of constructing a
trial loom, and, if that were successful, to build
a power-loOm MILL and to pay Mr.. Bigelow a
| fixed royalty per yard on all carpets woven
under the patents he should procure. The
consideration of this agreement was that MIR.
! Bigelow should transfer TO the Company the ex-
elusive right TO use all his inventions then exist
ing or subsequently made, so far rs they could
be applied to the weaving of ingram carpets.
The trial loom was successful and the mill was
constructed at a cost of several hundred thou
sand dolars-the capital Of the Company being
S97S, 9jG-and, as Mr.. Holloway justly and
forcibly remarks, "this vast outlay was made,
and in fact the whole improvement was based
upon tie protection given by the exclusive right
under the patents" Mr.. Bigelow could not
/ have perfected his invention but for the Com
pany, and the Company would never have IN
vested its money but for the security OF profit
which the patent right afforded. Subsequent
patents were obtained under the agreement be-
tween Mr.. Bigeiow and the Company; the
former of whom has received as his
share Of the profits Sjoi32 II. The diyi-
deuds of the latter from November, 1889, to
May. 1858, were SG57, sol IL; while those of
the Hartford Carpet Company, to which a.
manufacturing license was granted, were from
January. Is55, to July, lr63 = ,009,6i9 80.
1t appears further that tho public has proiited
more than the inventor and manufacturers
together, for by the power loom the average
net saving in price is estimated at ten cents al
ward. which on the 2jW4, l55 yards man
ufactured by both companies up to April, 1903
amounts to more than $1,000, 900. Finally, it
is not the wealthy, but the people of moderate
incomes. who mainly use these carpets and to-
whom the savings have accrued.
Further information on this subject will be
found in abundance in Mr.. Holloway's report.
1t is of interest historically, as showing the de-
yelopment of inventive genius and industrial
resources, and of interest practically as an adj
monition to q is country to adhere faithfully
whatever Great Britain may do--to a system OF
legalized protection for inventors.
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