Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-01-15

ing their offspring insured to still
greater debasement. But the means by
which these results are brought about
do not lie on the surface. The greedy
| tyrants of to-day are the same greedy
tyrants that they were a century ago
only that they have to deal with more
intelligence In the MASSES, and their
ways are more tortuous and secret.
read with great pleasure your
speeches delivered at Riggs Grove and
Topeka, and was glad you had referred
to that one of the many forms of mo-
nopoly from which the people suffer,
and (which, though usually least adverted
to, perhaps burdens them as heavily as
any Other--I mean the patent lars.
But general complaints rarely enlist
sympathy or promote reform. / there
fore descend to particulars.
1t is curious and alarming fact, that
| througha perversion of these laws there
is actually imposed upon every man in
this country a poll tar for the benefit of
a ring of INSCRIPTIONS capitalists /
refer to the Wells hat-body monopoly.
The Constitution of the United States
empowers Congress "to promote the
progress of science and useful arts, by
securing for limited times to authors
and inventors the exclusive right to
Retrospective writings and discoveries. )"
Under this provision Congress enacted
certain patent laws, ole of which very
Justly provided that no patent could at
tach to any mechanism, continuance, or
design already known I; provision es-
sentially differing from that of the En-
glish law, which enables the patent to
be taken for anything, but compels the
patentee to make good his claim of
originality and usefulness before the
courts of law. Under our law the patent
accords an almost indefeasible pre-
sumption of originality; under the En-
glish law it is simply caveat.
Previous to 1888 many persons had
invented machines for making hat
bodies, by which, after the fur is re-
moved from the skins of animals it is
felted and fashioned into hat The
soft felt hats so common In this cOun-
try, and which the necessities of the
climate almost compel us to wear, one
of which is probably worn by every man
whom this address will reach, are all
made by the processes thus invented !;
the main features of which are are the
feed-roll, the picker or doffer, the per-
forated and revolving gauze or wire
cone, and the air-sucker or exhaust
continuance. Only two more contriv-
ances were needed to render the ma
chimes perfect, and these to regulate the
flow of fur on the revolving cone, so as
to bring the bur batting to any desired
thickness, and to remove the completed
hat-body from the cone without injury.
The first of these improvements was at
tanned in 1888, through the ingenuity
of man named Thomas r. Williams,
an American, then residing in London;
the other by one Ponsford, who patent
ed his improvement in England in 1889 ;
and so the process was perfected.
Two years previous to the patenting
of Ponsford's improvement in England,
an American named Henry H. Wells
went to London and took out patents
for several processes previously in use
in this country, and invented by other
people. Williams, observing this, and
fearing that Wells might go back to
America and repeat his trick here, by
adopting his Civilians inventionhs his
own-the more because he became
aware that Wells had obtained drawings
of his machine-sent to the American
Patent Office drawings and specifca-
tions of his invention, and applied for an
American patent, at the same time
warming the Commissioner against
Wells. These papers were deposited
in the Patent Office May 8, 1885. The
Commissioners Directing to the word
ing of Williams specifications, sent
them back for amendment and called for
working model, etc. but before these
demands were complied with by Will
Jams, Wells returned to this country
and succeeded in getting patented as
his own, not only Williams invention,
but Williams invention covering the
very points previously objected to
by the Commissioner against Williams.
Wells caveat was filed in 1874. and a
patent issued to him in 1910. The very
foundation of the patent, as will have
been perceived, was grounded in fraud
and injustice (; but this is not the worst
of it. Many persons have since in
vented machines for making hat-bodies.
notably one Boydon and one Hill, but,
diIuOuSu luclI Cldllub IOr OrlglQallty
were sustained by the courts of first re-
sort, the Wells hat-body association
audaciously and fraudlently adopted
their In provement as their own, and OBJ
tanned by corrupt means an extension
of their monopoly, including these
stolen improvements T; so that in effect
they have monopolized not only spe-
cific machine embodying contrivances
not their own, for making hat-bodies,
but the very principle of making hat
bodies-wLich involves all machines.
They refuse to sell the machines or to
allow them to be used by others they
compel every manufacturer to bring his
fur to them to be made up into hats );
they mix the fur Unfortunately they
waste it in the manufacture they adopt
the styles thus compelled to be confded
to them. Thus they not only levy
poll-tax on the people, they stop the
progress of invention, and even forbid
the development of economy and taste
In manufacture. Their profits have
amounted to vast sum, to be reckoned
in millions. The last extension of their
l. i L