Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-08-16
The Cochrane Patent for Milling.

Ex.Gov. Cadwallader C.Washburn,
of Wisconsin, in conversation with a
representative of the New York Tri-
bune recently, gave history of a
patent for milling wheat which
threatens to impose tax of millions
of dollars on the -four consumers of
the country. He said j:
81 am particularly interested just
DOW in fighting the Infamous patent
right swindle which is going to levy
tribute on every loaf of bread made
in this country. You haven't heard
about it? Why, it's making a great
sensation in the West. Its long
story, but / can give you the gist of
it in few moments. am by the
way, the largest miller 10 the United
States; my Mills being at Minneap-
oils, Mimi. All millers are now using
what is termed the high process of
grinding, which was generally intro
duced into this country about 1877 /,
but had been used in Europe for fifty
years. | will explain the terms of
high and low grinding. Low grind
ing means the bringing the upper or
running mill stone low down and in
close proximity to the neither stone,
by reason of which the largest
amount of flour is derived from the
first grinding, but, as necessarily
must be the case, great deal of the
outer coating of the wheat, together
with the embryo, would be reduced
to such fineness as to 60 into the
-four, and separation was impossi-
BILE. The high grinding is the direct
opposite of the low, and the object is
at the first grinding to get rid of the
bran at once and make as little
-four as possible. This is done by
blowing the bran off the coarse
ground grain or middlings,and after
wards grinding fine the small white
granules. | bought my machines in
France. This improved process is
now absolutely indispensable to sue
cessful milling. Deprive any miller
of it and he is ruined.
A ring of spectators in Washing
ton have lately got hold OF an old
patent, never used, and have got it
re-issued so as to cover all the ma
chimes for effecting the process |
have described. 1t is called the
Cochrane Patent. After quietly
taking out the reissue, they went on
without making any noise and took
q suit up to the Supreme Court, with
man of straw for defendant, and as
no real defense was made, they easily
obtained decision based on an opin-
ion given by Justice Miller. Now
this gang OF patent swindlers are at
lacking the heaviest millers with
suits, expecting to terrify all the
others. They have singled out the
Jewels of Brooklyn, the Henals of
Richmond, and my mills at Minneap
oils. They have put me under bonds
in the enormous sum of $250,000,
pending the conclusion of injunction
proceedings.
learn that the rascals propose to
be magnanimous, and grant licenses
to such millers as will recognize the
validity of their patent, for the mod
crate sum of $4,000 for each run of
stone, which for this city alone
amounts to the vast sum of Sc, 200,-
900. While primarily this great sum
would come from the millers, really it
all comes out of the farmer and con.
sumner at last, and they are the PEG.
pie most interested in the defeat of
this enormity. As there are over
6 900 run of stones in the United
States, this license will amount to
$50, 100000. We are going to bring
this great outrage before Congress
next winter, aud try to have the pat
emit cancelled. The grain growing
sections OF the west are indignant over
the attempt of this enormous fraud,
and the grain consuming east ought
to be equally aroused. for the at
tempted tax on the chief necessary
of life affects both alike.