Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1866-06-12
Armstrong and his Patent Cenotaph
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD !:

marks by you in relation to myself
has been called to my attention, and
knowing that there is not q word Of
truth in the article from the Regis
ter, and feeling hat great injustice
has been done me by the insertion of
the article in your paper, and the
very unjust remarks made by you,
Il hope and believe not intentional
on your part), and believing that
you will do me the justice of publish
ing the facts which are susceptible of
positive proof, in order that my
friends and neighbors may not be
unjnstly prejudiced against me, |
respectfully request you to insert in
your paper the following
Abont four years ago some of the
leading citizens of Grant County,
proposed to erect q Soldiers Monu-
ment. My attention was especially
directed to the matter by many of
my friends in Grant County. / read
and examined some of the designs
gotten up at Galena, and other pla,
ces, and at once discovered that the
great difficulty was to get a monu-
ment that would at the same time
be symmetrical in its proportionsand
have a sufficient base to contain any
given number ofnames. After care
full study, much expense, and loss of.
time, | successfully overcome all
difficulties by placing q given mum
Der OF small monuments or pedes-
tails around the main monument f;
this being entirely a new invention
and one which was generally ad-
mitted to be the best arrangement
for a military monument that had
been brought forward. / felt con
siderable pride in it, and exhibited
my plan and design to many ofthe
good people of the west half Of the
county, and wherever seen gave en-
tire satisfaction. About Two years
ago the design was noticed in o very
complimentary ann in the B0sc0~
bel Broad Are which | believe was
copied in the HERALD and Witness.
About a year ago [ went to Lancas-
ter and exhibited my design in the
Herald Office to some of the prem-
rinent citizens Of that place, Mr.. Co
yer, unfortunately for me, not being
present after a full explanation by
me of my plan, it seemed to be APP
proved and appreciated. Under the
circumstances | fail to see any very
" queer" thing in my applying for,
or gettinga patent for this design. |
did not expect that | would get the
work of erecting the monument sim
Ply because | was the inventor of
the design, which was approved, but
/ had a right to expect that a design
so universally approved and known
to be my invention, if adopted as the
plan, would have at least entitled us
to a fair bid for it's erection, and | al
so had the presumption to think
that it would have been just to the
many liberal contributors to the
monument fund, that the contract
should have been let to the lowest
bidder. | had no chance to bid for
the work Mr.. Wright was awarded
the job without competition, although
members of the committee assured
me that | should have a chance in
: the first chance in "--tobuild the
monument, and oy these promises,
Induced me to forward to them q
copy Of my design Dong before they
had let the contract) by their specia!
request, and thus got hold Of my en-
tire invention and this too under a
promise in writing, that | should
have the first chance to build the
monument.
am very sorry hat Mr.. Wright
and his friends would find it neces
sary to make what he and they
know to be false statements through
the public press in order to sustain
him in the course he has seen fit
to take. Mr. w knows 1 am the
original inventor of this design,
which | shall be able to prove in so
clear a name that be will blush
TO think that he ever denied it. He
knows that | had never bid on the
work, or had an opportunity to do
SO, and that he mechanically APP
propriated as his own, or his friends
invention what at the time he knew
was exclusively my property, as is
a mans home, his property, and
mechanically slipped in and got
the contract to build the monument
upon my plan, for a much larger
figure than | would have charged,
to my great detriment as we'll as to
the injury Of those who were to pay
for the work. If this is honorable,
if it is not downright dishonesty, /
should like to know what is and
then in the face of all this to try and
get a prejudice against me by false
statements in the public press, is adj
ding a little more insult to injury
than | propose to indorse. In rela-
tion to the remarks of the HERALD,
| have this to say, l went to Lam
caster by invitation of one Of the
committee for the purpose of making
a bid, and there and then for the
first time learned that Mr.. Wright
had got the contract for the monu-
ment and | did not before know
that Mr.. Wright had any design,
though he knew that / bad one, and
knew what it was. When | went to
Lancaster, and found the contract
let without my knowledge and with
out giving me a chance to bid for it,
and that my design would undoubt-
! adv In ~ 4~-.I-