The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-06-05
MONOPOLY.
The Sewing Machine MOnOpOlists Again
at Work.

The sewing machine ring, not con-
tent with the enormous sums already
extorted from the people, are again at
tempting to renew their power by lob
bying a bill through congress, which
will extend their monopoly for seven
years longer.
The A. B. Wilson feed patent was
granted for one of the first abortive at
tempts to make a practical sewing ma
chine but so imperfect and crude was
the model, filed with the application,
that We doubt if any machine con
structed like it was ever used, or was
capable of being used practically. Yet
it happens that as this is the first case in
the patent office that shows an approx
nation to the modern feed motion, the
patent has been construed by the courts
to cover all styles of feeding devices in
| which the cloth can be turned around
the needle, in which the cloth is fed
between two clamping surfaces. In
view of these decisions of the courts,
although the patent was granted for an
impracticable machine, the commits
sioner of patents extended it for seven
years and Wilson, with an eye to the
present application for an extension,
Immediately sold, for the comparatively
| insignificant sum of $4,000, all his
rights to Messrs. Wheeler & Potter, as
| trustees for the Wheeler Il Wilson,
Grover & Baker, and Singer companies,
aud it has ever since been held and
used in common by those companies as
their most effectual instrument in mo-
nopolizing the sewing machine business,
and in extorting millions yearly from
the poorest and worst paid people In
the land. On the strength of the small
amount of money for which Wilson
sold his patent, the combination now
wants the privilege of plundering the
people for seven years longer. In con-
sidering this sale of $50, 900, it should
be remembered this valuable patent
was not owned by poor man who was
obliged to sell his rights for mess of
pottage the wealthy Wheeler & Wilson
manufacturing company were doing
business amounting to millions of dol
lars yearly, of which three-fourths were
clear profit the patent was sold to the
presidents of the Wheeler & Wilson
and Grover & Baker companies as trus-
tees for the combination of three cor
porations, of which the Wilson COM
pany was one of the most interested
that any capitalist conversant with the
sewing machine business would gladly
have purchased it by paying a double
eagle for every dollar that Wilson is
stated to have received and that who
ever owned this patent had the whole
sewing machine business in control,
and could dictate his own terms as to
royalty. In view of this, it is plain
that the object of this sale was simply
to form foundation on which to apply
to congress for another extension to
enable the owners of the patent to con-
tinue their extortions, and compel the
poor seamstresses and other purchasers
of sewing machines to contribute for
another long period to the groaning
Golfers of these grasping corporations.
A few figures will show something
| near the amount that has been wrung
from the people by these cormorants.
! The Singer machine is probably the
most expensive one made by any of
these companies, and that, as we learn
by a sworn statement of |. NJ. Singer,
costs on an average, $11.S3 to build.
Those made by other companies refer
red to cost much less but we have been
unable to find any reliable or sworn
statement of the expense of building
these machines, and we will therefore,
for the sake of argument, estimate
them at the same price. The plalnest
and cheapest of these machines are
priced at $50 dollars each. If from
this we deduct S25 as fair selling price
(which would be considered an enOr-
nous profit, in any other business, on
first cost of $11. 83), we find that these
companies have extOrted from the peo-
pie $50 on each machine they have sold,
over and above the very liberal profit
we have estimated above. These COM
panies alone, according to their sworn
statements, sold, in 1872, 445,776 ma
chimes an if one-fourth of these were
exported, the balance sold in the United
States will amount to 334, ,332. Now
multiply this by the $50 above the fair
profit, and the product gives the enor-
nous amount of $10,029, $50. If, IN
addition to this, we deduct One-fourtb,
fol export, from the number of machines
sold by the favored licensees of these
companies, we have a balance of 2S9,-
7S8 and if we multiply this by the $50
as before, we have product OF $S, 693,-
$40, which, added to the above, will
give us a grand total of $l8, 723, 800 as
the amount extorted, mainly from the
poorest and neediest of the people OF
the United States, in one year alone,
by the operations of this ring, who, not
content with this Wholesale robbery so
far, want the privilege of continuing it
seven years longer which Will enable
them, without allowing for any incI ease
of business, to bag the modest sum OF
$131, ,065, 200, over and above an enor-
nous legitimate profit.
That the extension asked for will be
for the benefit of this ring of capital
lists, and not solely for the poor (?) in
ventor and ostensible applicant, is
clearly shown by an inspection of the
before mentioned assignment, in which
it is stated that / have assigned, sold,
and set over, and do hereby assign, sell,
and set over INTO said Wheeler
Potter all my right, title
and interest in and to the same
1Oith all renewals, reissues, and eIten-
8ions thereof"
From this it is very plain that the
only object of this application is to re-
new the power of this formidable ring;
and if the people generally do not stir
themselves, this mighty incubus will
be fastened on them for seven years
longer, as the best of legal talent and
the most influential of the "third
house" have been retained to work the
case through. The sum of $50, 900 has,
we are credibly informed, been raised
as first installment and sent to Wash
ington to be "placed whore it will do
the most good ;" and if the people do
not let their representatives know their
will on this point, it is possible that
weighty reasons of which the ring is 30
lavish will have the usual influence, and
the people be obliged to endure another
seven years servitude to these wealthy
extortioners but if due efforts are
made, the ring will undoubtedly suffer
an ignominious defeat and in the
course of a year or two, as soon as man.
ufactories now organizing are ready
with their machines, the price OF these
necessary implements will be reduced
to reasonable proportions, as machines
can be built which may be sold at
good profit at from $15 to 800 each.-
Scientific american.
Cremation has been adopted in
Havana as a prevention to the spread of
smallpox. In the Gale de Prado fam
lies are abandoning their houses, and
the dead are given to the burners. 1t