The Petroleum Centre daily record. [volume] (Petroleum Center, Pa.) 1868-1873, 1870-06-02
ROBERTS PETROLEUM TORPEDO.
TORPEDOES.
THE ROBERTS
PETROLEUM TORPEDO Cd.
Office at the
RED planning MILL.
,Corner OF Pine and second streets,
Near the AsaiirOad,)
ITUSVILLE, PA.

Owing to the large and increasing demand for the
Roberts Torpedoes. and the late decision of the
Commissioner of Patents in refusing to Wm. Reed
patent and the decision of Jddgc r. G. G,ier slis,
taining the Roberts pltent they have LOW Erred
the price Of their Torpedoos
TWENTY PER CENT.
so that every Operator can aiiordto try a To. pedo
before abandoning a Well.
rhe following Is the decision rendered by Judge
Grier on the twenty-second t22l day of Sentember,
1852 in the United States Circuit Court at Phatel-
phia. The case was argued three days by Charles
NJ Keller Of New York, B. 4. Lucas and 5. \. Pur /
viance of Pittsburgh. for defendants. and George
Harding of Philadelphia, and George Ii. ChIisiy,
Pittsburgh, for plaintiff.
OPINION OF JUDGE GRIER.
AsI write with difficulty can only state the con
clusions to which my mind has come after care.u:
examination of this case. !
The com 9lainant has exhibited a patent7dated
18th of April 1865. This IL prma facie evidence of
good title, and puts on the respondents the bur
den of proof that the patent is void or worthless.
ncei not repeat my remarks in the case of Good
year vs.. Day e Wall, c. c. Rep; 22o.) but now
adopt them afording rule oi decision wiich ap-
plies clearly to the present case.
As the infringement of the patent is aduli, ted,
the only questo will be 20 the validity of conf
plainans patent of April 2j, 1858.
at was after speculation had been reduced to
practice and after repeated experiments, that the
complainant succeeded in overcoming 'he prejudice
and ignorance of the people on the subject, and
pprsualing the Pubic tna ule lnNchtiOn was u;
after he hM established It's great utility and value
and "when his genius and patient perseverance, in
spite of sncers and SCOTS" were completely sue.
ccssful, that Reed, who had before made expert
ments on the same subject and was unsuccessful,
imagined that he had the best ih to the invention,
ard after purchasing one OF more complanants tor
pedoes. he applied on the 1st Of November. 1861.
for patent for substantially the same combina-
tons of devices and achinc contained in complain
ants patent. On the 18Th Of the same month the
respondents formed themselves into company or
corporation called THE Reed Torpedo Company
for the purpose of pirating the complainanI's in
vention, and supporting the expense of litigation.
aud thus defraud him of the fruits They have pei!
severed, even after the preliminary injunction vsry
properly gIanicd by the District Judge
Let decree be entered for complainant for per-
petual Injunction and Master appointed 10 take
an account according to the prayer Of the bill.
r. c. GRIER, Judge.
NorE-The passage referred TO bv Judge Grier in
his former decision. 3 Wallace p. $50. adopted as
applicable to this case was as follows:
'.It Is usually the cAsc when any valuable discov-
ery il made or any new MACHINE of great mi iy Is
invented that the ea,tention Of the public has been
turned to that subject previously. and that maj y
persons have been making yeseaIches ana expert
menis. Philosophers ana rlechl nicians may have
III some m asure anticipated in tleir speCu'GtiONs
the possibility or probability of such discovery or
invention; many experiments have been successful
ly tiled, coming very near. yet falling short ui the
desired result. They have produced nothing bano-
fetal The inver ion wheu perfected may truly be
said to bu the eliminating point o. many expert
men g, net only by the inventor. but by many ota
ors lie may hay. profited Indirectly by The unsuc-
ce,sful experiments and failures of other. but Il
gives them right to cia N share o the honor OF
the profit OF tie successful inventor 1t Is when
speculation has been reduced TO practice when eS-
pertinent ha- resulted in discovery and when that
discovery has been perfected by patient ana contn
ued experiments when some new compound. art
| manufacture, or machine has been thu' produced
which is useful to the pGbc that the party making it
becomes apublic benelactor and cntit!edto paeat
.'Aud yet when genius and patient ptrseverancy
have at length succeeded, in spile Of sncels and
scOffs some valuable invention or tisco"ery, how
seldom il il followed by reward Envy rubs him
of the honor while speculators, swndle $, and pi
rates rob him OF the profits. Every unsuccessful
| expermenter who did or did or did not come very
| near making discovery now claims it. Every one
who can Invent an Improvement or vary It's form,
claims u right to pirate the original discovery We
need not summons Morse, or Blanchard, or Wood
worth to prove that this is the usual history of
~ great discovery or invention.
'"rhe present case ACIDS another chapter to this
long and uniform history."-2 Wallace, G. c. Re.
p0It5 D. S99.