Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-05-16
FREE TRADE in SEWING MACHINES.
The Last of the BurdemsOme Patents
Expired-A General Cheapening Of
Machines.

The Last of the BurdemsOme Patents
Expired-A General Cheapening Of
Machines.
From the N. Y. World
At noon, May s, expires the last of
the series of patents upon the essential
portions of the sewing machine which
have enabled the owners to exact roy
atty from all manufacturers. From that
time forth any one can make sewing
machine. For many years past com.
bination of large manufacturers :
the Singer Manufacturing Company, the
Wheeler & Wilson Company and the
Grover & Baker Manufacturing Com
pany-have bought up and controlled
inventors patents, and concentrating
their rights, have been enabled to re-
strict such general manufacture as
would interfere with their business.
One OF the most important of their
patents was the old Howe patent for an
eye-pointed needle, a shuttle, and other
mechanical devices for sewing, which,
however, expired nearly ten years ago.
Another patent was for the four-motion
feed, which was invented by Allen B.
Wilson and patented in the name of one
Fitzgerald, and was known as the Fitz-
gerald patent. This also expired three
years or more ago, and was likewise a re-
lief to the outside manufacturers, who
had for many years paid a royalty for
it's use, as it was an essential in every
machine.
The last patent which they hold, and
the one which expires next Tuesday, is
known as the Batchelder patent, granted
in 1856 and renewed in 1870, and is for
what is known as the needle-plate, an es-
sential in every machine. The needle
plate. is the small piece beneath and
through which passes the needle to con-
meet with the shuttle. The patent really
covers all styles of feeding devices in
which the cloth is fed between two
clamping surfaces. For the privilege of
using this article on their machines all
companies outside of the combination
have been obliged to pay royalty of $3
on every machine sold, except those
which are intended for expectation.
They have complained loudly about this
tax upon them and hail it's expiration
with unconcealed delight. One COM
pany displays an account showing that
they had paid during the last ten years
the sum of $50, 900 as royalty to the COM
panies controlling this patent. All
these manufacturers have been obliged
to keep a record of the plate-number of
every machine sold, and make oath to
the accuracy of their royalty statements,
a thing which appears simple enough,
but which they say has caused them I'M
told annoyance in the way of having ma
chimes returned to them, exchanged, and
other like transactions, for which they
have been held to rigorous account, at
much time and expense. The royalty
of So on each machine is not in itself
large item but upon new machine to
be put on the market any royalty might
be charged, which efectually limited
manufacture. ..s..
But after next Tuesday it becomes the
privilege of any person to make a sewing
machine as much as it is his privilege to
make broom or plough, OF course
there are hundreds Of patents which are
held by the various companies, greater
or less number by each one, to initiate
any one of which would be an infringe
ment of patented rights, but these cover
only mechanical details, appliances and
attachmentsn none of which are in any way
machine.
In regard to the cost of sewing
machine many erroneous statements have
been published, and the general impress
sion of the public has been that the pro-
fits have been enormous, and that this
royalty was much larger than it really
has been. The sum of So is but small
item on $40 sewing machine, but a good
machine of that kind costs just about $15
to place complete in the warerooms.
The cost Of selling the machine is much
more than the cost of producing it. The
following statement was obtained from
careful average Of the business of first
class company, and was based upon the
sale of 1000 machines upon the lease
system:
Cost of manufacturing $40 machine. 81 5. 90
Proportion of expenses of distributing
offices on each machine .......- .... 1000
Commission paid to canvassers, 80 per
cent. 2l0O
Cost of collecting quarterly payments. ZOO
Two years interest on same. ........... $50
Total. $1,000
The President Of the Wheeler & Will
SOL OOulp dlly Sdlu we WILL furnish
our $50 machine to any one who will take
the number we sell annually for 800
each. Nothing but the protection af-
forded by patents has brought the sew
to its present perfection"
he added. "In other countries, like
Germany, where they have been allowed
to pirate our inventions, they have never
made a single original Improvement in
their machines, but here there has been
constant strife to improve them by out
sidersy and we inside have had money to
work on them. It costs us three years
time and 100000 to produce our No.
machine from our No. 6. We have
not yet decided what will be done in the
way Of reduction in prices. We shall
probably put our $55 machine down to
$45, which was the price before the war;
Az the Singer Manufacturing Com
panv's Office the President said: "There
was time when great competition
arose as to who should sell the most ma
chimes. The Singer outsold the others
largely, but there was looseness in the