The Petroleum Centre daily record. [volume] (Petroleum Center, Pa.) 1868-1873, 1870-05-27
RspRrs, PETROLEUM TORPEDO.
RsERpy PETROLEUM TORPEDO.
rORPEDOES.
THE ROBERTS
PETROLEUM TORPEDO co.
Office at the
lED pLANING MILL.
Corner Of Pine and second Streets,
GNear the RatirOnd,)
- TITUsvILLE, PA.

Owing to the large and Increasing demand for the
A,b,rts' Torpedoe,. and the late decision OF the
Commissioner Of Patents in refu sing to VIM. Recd
d patent. and the decision Of judge Z. C. Gricr sus
tainin the Roberts patent they, have LOWERED
the price Of their Torpedoes
TWENTY PER CENT.
70 that every Operator can sfrordto try a. Torpedo
before abandoning Well.
Ihe following ia the decision rendered by Judge
Grjrr on the twenty.sccond (2,) day of September
lSt9 in the United States Circuit Court at Phadel
phia The case argued three days by Charles
NJ. Keller of New York b. T. Lucas and :. A. Pur 4
yiance of Pittsburgh, for defendants, and George
Harding of Philadelphia, and George II. Chrisiy,
Pittsburgh, for plaintiff.
OPINloNsOF JUDGE GRIER.
As write with difficulty can only state the con
Clusions 70 which my mind has come after careiu
examination Of this case.
The com ilanant has exhibited a patent dated
25th Of April, 1865 This is prma facie evidence of
good title, and puts on the respondents the bur
den of proof thai the patent is void or worthless
Ineei not repeat my remarks in the case Of Good
adopt them as sfiording rule OF decision which ap-
pies clearly to the present case.
As the Infringement of the patent Is admit ted,
the only question will be as to the validity of COM
plainants patent Of April %, 1S5S.
''It was after speculation had been reduced to
prac ice" ard after repeated experiments, that the
complainant succeeded in overcoming he prejudice
and ignorance of the people on the subject, and
persuading the public that his invention was usetu;
after he had established its great utility and value,
and "when his genius and patient perseverance, in
cessful, that Reed, who had before made expert
ments on the same subject, and was unsuccessful,
imagined that he had the best right to the invention,
ard after purchasing one OF more complainant tor
pedoes he applied on the lst of November, 1867,
for a patent for substantially the same combipa-
tons Of.devices and u arhne contained in complain
ants patent. On the 18th Of the same month the ne
CORPORATION called '.The Reed Torpedo Company
for the purpose of pirating the c0mplainan''s in
vention and supporting the expense OF litigation,
and thus defraud him of the fruits. They have pes
severed even after the preliminary Injunction very
properly granted by the District Judge.
Let decree be entered for complainant for per-
retual injunction, and a Mester appointed to take
IN account according to the PRAYER Of the bill
r. c. GRIER, Judge.
yorE.--The massage referred TO nv Judge Grier in
his former decision Wallace, p. 800 adopted a.
applicable to this case was as follows
''It is usually the case. when any valuable disccv
cry s made, or any new machine Of great utility
invented that the attention of the public has beei
turned to that subject previously, and that man,
persons have been making researches and expert
meats. Philosophers and mechanicians may hav'
IN some measure anticipated in their sp CITATIONS
the possibility or probability Of such discovery o.
Invention; many experiments have been successful
~ tlied, coming very near yet falling snort OF th
Ge.ired result. They have produced nothing benc
hcial The invention when perfected may lruly b.
f.id to be the eliminating point OF MANY expert
men =, not only by the inventor. but by many 9th
ors. He may have protTted indirectly by the Insuc
cessfiil experiments and failures of Others, but 4
gives them no right to cain share of the honor o
The profit of the successful inventor 1t Is when
speculation has been reduced 10 practice, when cX
pertinent has resulted indiscovery and when thai
discovery has been perfected by patient ana contin
ued experiments, when some new compound. art
manufacture, or machine has been ihu. produces
which is useful to the public that the party making
becomes apublic benefactor and entitled To patent
"Aud yet when genius and patient perseverance
have at length succeeded. in s,i.e Of sneers ant
scoffs some valuable invention or discovery, how
seldom il il followed by reward Envy robs hin
Of fhe honor, hiie speculators swindles s, and pi
rates rob him OF the profits. Every unsuccessful
experimenier who did or did or did not come ver.
near making q discovery now claims it, Every on
who can Invent an improvement vary its form
claims a right to pirate the original discovery. W
need not summons Morse, Blanchard. or Wood
worth to prove that this is the usual history OF eve
ry grsat discovery or invention.
"The present cese ACIDS another .chapter to thi
long and uniform history."-2 Wallace, c. Y. Re
perts p. ~.