The Portland daily press., 1874-03-14
Abuses of the patant Iawc

Inc facts touching the operation of the
patent laws TO which public attention has
been recently called, especially by a speech
delivered in the Natl nal House of Represen-
tatives by Mr.. Saylor of Indiana, make nine
teenth century civilization look pale and
stunted. These facts are not by any means
newly discovered, but they have never before
been presented in SO systematic form, NOT
taking Mr.. Saylor's exact figures, but MAX
ing use of facts derived from other sources as
well as from his speech, it may be stated as a
representative case that the farmer, whose
profits are only two or three per cent, pays to
the manufacturer of agricultural implements
profit of nearly sixty per cent, this terri
BILE extortion being rendered possible by the
unreasonable and unnecessary precautions
taken by our laws to secure to inventors of
useful articles adequate compensation. As a
remedy for the obvious hardship of sucli
cases it is proposed, in lieu OF present restric-
tive regulations. to allow any person or cor
poration TO engage in the manufacture of any
article on paying to the owner of the patent
right royalty of say ten per cent of the mar
ket value of tie manufactured article Wheth.
err this be the true remedy or not, it must be
admitted that the existing state of affairs is
more oppressive than people generally sup
pose. The fact in relation to agricultural i'm
plements is surely important enough to chal-
lenge general attention, but what is disclosed
about the sewing machine should excite gen
eral indignation. 1t is said that sewing ma
Nhinac fo;l 70 b,,t 81
at most, including the wooden frames that
support them and all the necessary accesso-
ries. A great combination of capitalists has
obtained possession of a patent that places
the manufacture of machines wholly under
its control. Not poor working woman or
consumptive seamstress in thu country bnt
must pay to this monopoly and to its sales
. men royalty of from $45 to $50 for a ma
chine or compete hopelessly with that ma
chimes work with her unarmed hands.
When the sewing machine was invented
the philanthropic observer of human progress
would naturally have broken out into a pean
of thanksgiving and triumph He would
have said here is heart-saving and back
saving and head-saving machinel Here is
something which viii give the poor sew
ing girl sleep and rest and healthl Here
is something which will take off half the
curse from womanklnd! The "Song of the
Shirt" will nevermore be sung by any hui
man being who has personal experience of
its truth! and to small extent this dream
has been realized. But the most note worthy
consequence Of the introduction of the
sewing machine has been like that of all the
other great Inventions which preceded ii,
the increased facility with which capitalists
can add to their accumulations. I. is right
that he who gives his life to the perfecting of
labor saving machine should be reasonably
compensated, but not that he should nullify
the inherent usefulness of his discovery by
placing it beyond the reach of those whom it
is especially fitted to relieve. And certainly
it is monstrous that through the operation of
patent laws and the powers conferred on
corporations, the monopoly should be enjoyed
indefinitely by capitalists after the inventor
has secured ample compensation and has par
ted in whole or in part with his interest in his
invention. The men to whose genius and
perseverance the making and perfecting Of
the sewing machine is chiefly due
long since reached an ample reward.
Yet the men and women who are worth
only the income of each days hard labor are
compelled by the laws to pay to the capital
lists, who monopolize the sewing machine
business, millions of dollars year. This is
all wrong and should be corrected. The plan
suggested above may not be the best possible
one but something should be done to. correct
the hardships of the cases cited and many
others like them.