Mexico weekly ledger., 1884-02-21
ing instead of selling their instruments

ing instead of selling their instruments.
first adopted It with my own.
ssWell, there were the sewing machines.
You remember old Elias Howe, who SIM
ply invented the putting Of the eye Of the
needle In the point got an immense for
tune out of II. At the time of his death
he was receiving a royalty of 81 on every
machine sold, or s25o,oO0 per year. All
OF the original sewing machine Inventions
| have returned fortunes to those who
| managed them properly.
"Then see what fortunes have been
amassed out of improved patents in asri-
cultural machinery by such men for in
stance as Mccormick the reaper and
| mower man, and others.
| ''Why frequently u patent on very
simple thing makes its owner rich. For
instance the toy, known as the return
ball, simply rubber string attached to
wooden ball, yielded its proprietor $780,
900 in Cuba alone, and the simple thing of
the spring on coal oil lamp has been
worth $4,000 to the inventor. But l
need not multiply instances. Vast num-
bers could be named.'
"What is essential to the success of an
inyention:"
'The elements of permanent success
are: /. Utility; ?. The way it is brought
before the public. To hold its own II
must meet felt want, be decided i'm
l ~f S,s
! convenience. But then it is equally a.
, important that 1t be properly introduced
I The fact is that even poor invention
. frequently succeeds temporarily through
, the ability of those in possession of it T.
, strike the fancy of the public. But re
ally merltorious invention properly adver
tised has the snrest prospect of success
The public will not go after it. 1t mus
be brought before them. There Is no wa.
in my Judgment of pushing it like tn
newspaper. Its columns are the most eff
> fective medium through which to Great
expectation and demand confidence"
"There exists, Doctor, in some quar-
:. ters, a prejudice against patents. Do yo
Il think it is just?"
81 certainly think it Is not. Throug
the inventive genius of the age have bee
known to man. 1t would hardly be pos
sible to enumerate them. Some of til
i, greatest men of our country were inven
i, tors. There was DR.. Franklin, for in
| Of xvhn and nI
~ Mott, who, by simple invention of
stove, was enabled to endow Union Col
lege with 100000. There has been q
- little fraud in pushing patents as in an
branch of business"
;, "Have inventors usually reaped ii
~ rewards of their genius?"
unfortunately as rule they have no
20 A striking illustration is that of the il
- ventor of the railroad truck, the be
=, thing about railroad. He died poo
:, vention. Inventors are not always bus
ness men. Financial capacity, good maj
~ agement and push are as essential here ;
elsewhere. Given these in the manage
~ ment of an improvement, which combin,
=. economy, practicability and wide rans
~ of usefulness and nothing lies in the WI
of success.
=. "The fact is that there is practically l
-. limit to the growth of an invention whit
90 is universal in its application and that
-, economical and practicable. Proper
managed, energetically and judicious
= pushed, fabulous fortunes have time al
49, again been made out of such improv,
=, ments and they can and will be mat
- again. Nothing is more certain.''
-, But the reporter, feeling that he hi
to sufficiently taxed the Doctors generosit
thanked him and Withdrew.