The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-07-01
PlrENr POLITICS IN OkLO.

At the recent State Conventi,n of the
Republican party in Ohio, for the nomi
nation of State officers, the following res
olution was unanimously adopted as the
policy of the party. .aIi
"SIxTH.- We demand reoi8ion Of ho
patent lars as WiH relieve industry from dll
oppression of monOpoies," By the aCcep'
tance of this resolution, all the candi'
dates, on the Republican ticket in Ohio
now stand publicly pledged to use Their
best endeavors to deprive the citizens o.
that State, and other States, Of their ex'
isting rights to obtain patents. This may
be good way to gather votes, but to us
it looks like egregious folly.
If there is any one law that gives more
satisfaction than another, to working
men, mechanics, inventors, and the pub
lie in general, it is the patent law, which
secures to the humblest individual limi-
ted rights and property in new thoughts
or inventions; and the attempt of these
politicians, to legislate those rights away
will, we are confident, be scornfully re-
buked by the masses Of the people
The existing patent laws of the United
States secure to every man, woman, OF
child, who makes new and useful ir-
yention, the exclusive monopoly thereof
for the period Of seventeen years; after
which the invention becomes public
property, and all persons may freely en-
joy its use,
Under the stimulus of these beneficent
laws, hundreds Of new arts and occupa-
tions are yearly added to the national in
dustries, contributing marvelously to the
development and prosperity ofthe coun-
try. The great State of Ohio has long
been prominent for the number and use
fulness of the new inventions made by
her citizens; her remarkable growth
in population, manufactures, and wealth
is very largely due to the encouragement
she has always given to the extension Of
patent monopolies within her borders.
Many of her towns and cities are largely
dependent upon, and in some cases have
been nearly built up by, patent indus
tries.
Indeed, it is questionable whether Ohio
could to-day harvest her crops or carry
on ordinary industrial operations if her
citizens did not make use of hundreds of
these monopolies which her astute Re-
publican politicians now join in denoun-
cling as disastrous to industry. We think
they must know better. But if they are
in earnest, if they really believe that in
dustry is oppressed by patents, we advise
them to commence at home and clear
them out of their State.
Let them begin, for example, at Spring
field, Ohio, a thriving town brim-full of
patent monopolies. Let them take, first,
the Champion Harvester concern, where
they turn out reapers and mowers at the
rate of one complete machine every four
minutes. The great west is supplied with
these splendid machines, they have a
worldwide reputation, the farmers think
they cannot get along without them;
while hundreds of families at Springfield
live in comfort by industriously engaging
in their manufacture; and the founder of
the concern, once poor, struggling, in
ventive mechanic, after years Of exertion,
has made himselfcomfortable, ifnot rich,
by his monopoly. Butthis sort of thing
say the politicians, is oppressive, and
ought no longer to be tolerated. To be
sure, the patent will expire before long,
by its own limitationsi but if we are to
believe the politicians, it ought to, be
broken up forthwith, and the Industries
of Springfield and ,ther Ohio towns
should in future be strictly guarded, 2 by
legal enactment, against the Introduction
Of any more of such prosperity breeding,
but oppressive, industrial patent mo-
nopolies Scientific american. 511i iha