St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-12-04

"i lH\thttu- 10 anotnef party. ana soon
after patent was issued to that par
~ covering this improvement. This
patent WAS valuable; in lsE1 it WAS
said to he worth il million of dollars.
but this patent finally run out. and IL
patent to Mr.. Lyman for different de
vice WAS rc-iSSued, covering that of Mr.
Fairbanks. and is now held we be
lievc 10y the Lyman Refrigerator Co.
SO far things run smoothly for aught
we know. The improved refrigerator
came int" general if not universal use
We think nearly every refrigerator
made of late Years has had this i'm
prnvrmrnt. This includes refrigerator
ears. aud the immense articles used in
pork packing establishments. etc. ~
well a> the common household article
We learn that the company which holds
the last patent has brought action
against parties using rciIigcrItor> with
the elevated icr-boN. also against mali
uiacturcrS. claiming an Infringement of
their patent. and demanding royalty
on all now in Use of two dollars Il Square
foot. To some of the large pork pack
ing establishments in the west. this
amounts to Il tax of two or three thou
sand dollars. Manufacturers and users
have combined to resist the enforce
mcnt of this tax. Within the last few
weeks men in the interest of both par
ties have been t" this place "imtcrN lew
ing" Sir Thaddcu> in this matter And
every domestic and servant that could
hr hunted up VIII" has ever lived ut his
house has been questioned aud cross
questioned relative To the construction
OF the refrigerator which has been in
his hnu>, since I-lG. Fortunately fnr
the ends of Justice. the man who helped
construct this tir>t improved rctrigcra
ton i Vet living and still at work tuI
f.. y I. Fairbanks \ Co.. and his ties
tim"nN confirms that of the inventor.
Could this testimony Ice broken down,
the singular spectacle would Ice Wit
ncS>cd at forcing Il man Ia pay Il royalty
on his own invention. This suit in
wolves millions of dollars and * Il fat
thing t"I the lawyers.
Not the least noticeable tcatur,
brought ont 10y this suit j. the fact that
the inventor of the Platform Scale. i,
ais" the inventor of an impr"\ cincnt il
rctri"rrat"I> :" Important and Valuable
and in such universal use.
Agree with Thine Adversary, Quickly
Ccltain things have trlu>pircd in thi,
place of late which seem t" cnpha>iz,
the above quotation. \ few Years ago
our Village and town authorities. il
widening one of the streets. took :: very
narrow strip of land belonging t" ;
thrifty and wrll-mcann" Ili>lInan. (w,
call no names Two libel suits III,
enough at one timc.) making him Il ten
der of fifty dollars for the same. Tn,
landowner. like many before him. iii,
not want to part with his lrnd. althnu Il
the price rendered MAS thought hv many
+" Ice more than its value. He S"u%h
legal counsel the demands of the tow
were resisted hot water WAS thrown Il
the trustees and body Writ> were serve,
ON the Selectmcn. luiunctionS Wcr'
procured. Sand things We're made to hun
generally. notwithstanding. the bank
wall went up. and the street Wa
widrmcd and improved according (" tn,
minds of the authorities.
Meanwhile the several suits got int,
court The land damage WAS adiud%c,
bN the legal tribunal t" be ten dollars
j. instead of the fifty rendered by til,
trustees. Other suits went in about the
same way: but one has been ON til,
docket wear after wear. The tow
through its agent has tried more than
once to get it removed. but the land
geS Last Saturday the first sclectmar
WIS sent for. The plaintiff had com,
to his SENSES and had procured anothr
lawyer Ia get the case ont Of coHrt: an,
he made the same proposition that tn,
Srlcctman made il year or two ag"
that is. that each party pay his cost:
and quit.
And now comes the moral of thi:
little story: The plaintiff disclosed t,
his new counsel. that he had alread,
paid out on these suits 800 in money
besides his own time and the ,on>e
uucnt ANNOYANCE. In short. instead %
taking the fifty dollars rendered him 10y
the village, he is ont of pocket abou
5000. and then settles the suits on hi,
advcrSarN'S own terms. Comment i:
unnecessary.
Another case, somewhat different:
toWnSman wanted to borrow S2JOO il
money. \ kind mcighl'ur WAS fouh,
who would accommodate him. But sly
per cent. was no induccmcnt could ge
much higher rates. Nou know, Yet he
had scruples about taking more than
legal interest. nlil h'ih no o',It'llohS u
. Il hundred dollars bonus. This wa,
agreeable all around. Time went on
Events occurred which compelled til,
law to settle this business. 1t occurre,
to the borrower that the hundred dollar
bonus WAS rather crowdimg the mourn
ers. He consulted Il lawyer. The law
yer told him at once that it was illega
and Ia. need NOT uaN it, The renIainde