Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-09-05
THE DIME BANK MAN.
SINGULAR ROMANCE OF THE NOW
CRAZY INVENTOR.
A Child Originated the Idea-Made q For
tune and Became Insane-His Luck In q
Lottery Ticket Which Brought the Need
ed Capital at the Right Time.


tune and Became Insane-His Luck In q
Lottery Ticket Which Brought the Need
ed Capital at the Right Time.
eff you want romance, if you want
stories of gold, blood, luck, everything
that goes to make up the gamut of hu-
man passion, come with me to the pat
ent Office, and behind those cases filled
with dry as dust specifications and legal
phraseology will show you skeletons
that once had red blood in their veins ?"
Thus spoke friend of mine, one of
the best known patent attorneys in
Washington, and then he walked across
the room and picked up from his desk
one of those little cylinder banks to hold
So worth of 10 cent pieces which were
all the rage a few years ago. Holding
the toy in his hand, he said:
''When you come to write the ro-
nance of the patent Office, you can make
chapter of what I am going to tell
you You remember the craze for these
banks few years ago, and how 1t
turned everybody to saving dimes until
at last there was an actual scarcity of
that coin created? Well, the history Of
this patent is worth while telling.
81 never advance man money on his
patents or speculate in them. That is
not my business, which is simply to
represent him in legal capacity before
the office. But one day man came into
my New York office with an idea which
he wanted to patent and about which
he wanted to consult me. I told him
that the fees and expenses would amount
to $135.
Mr.. Connolly,'I I said, 4 haven't t
$135 in the world, and I never expect
to have that much at one time
81 looked at the man, and I looked at
the model and said to him, I have
never yet taken an interest in patent,
but will pay all the expenses in con-
nection with this patent if you will give
me a quarter interest in it.
"'Wby?' he asked.
"'Because you have fortune there, ,
I told him.
However, the man said he would
see about it. A few days later he came
back with his brother-in law, who had
advanced the money. I procured his
patent for him.
''Now, to go back and tell you how
this man conceived the idea for the
bank. He was in the employ of the
Pennsylvania Railroad company at Jer-
sey City, receiving salary of $14 a
week. He was not an uncultivated man,
but had q little knack for mechanics.
He was in the habit of spending his
Sundays with his sister, and one day
when he called there he found his neph-
ew, a child of about 3 years old, sitting
on the floor shaking a toy bank and try
ing to get the money out. His sister ex-
planned that whenever the yOungster
dropped a cent into the bank he, like
most children, was wild to get all the
money out to count, and she went on to
say to her brother, why can't you in
vent bank which will show how much
there is in it,, and the brother said he
thought he could.
'"That gave him the idea After he
got his patent he had few banks made,
and ON Saturday nights he used to put
them in a basket, carry them around to
the toyshops in the neighborhood and
dispose of them. He found only one
drawback-he could not make them
fast enough to supply the demand. Aft
er he had been doing business in this
way a few weeks he came to see me-
He told me what he was doing and
then went on to say: Mr. Connolly, do
you think you could find some one who
would lend me So, 500? There is fac
tory in Newark which can buy for that
amount and which is just the thing I
want for making my banks. If I can
get hold of that factory, am sure can
sell all the banks / can make.
81 told him I thought I could get
him the money and to come and see me
later he came in and said he didn't
think I need bother about finding him
that money, as he expected to have it
next week. 1 asked him where he was
going to get it from.
"You will think I am embellishing
this story, because it sounds so improb-
able, but am simply relating the facts
without the slightest exaggeration or
ornament He said he had a lottery
ticket, and he expected it would draw a
prize. But wait; let me tell this story
of the lottery ticket. He and some other
men working at Jersey City decided to
make up pool and buy lottery ticket,
each man to put in 81. When the time
came, the others backed out, and only
himself and one other, carpenter, put
in their dollars The ticket drew $5, 900.
with his share he bought out the
Newark factory and in short time had
600 men at work turning out these
banks, and even then he could not keep
up with orders. He was soon making a
clear profit of 1000 week, then 50,
900, then almost that much day. Dur
ing the time the craze lasted, and you
know it was not of short duration, he
made large fortune"
''And what became of the mani" I
asked.
"Oh, they put him in an insane
asylum. He couldn't stand prosperity.
He lost great deal Of his money about
as rapidly as he made it, although for
tunately he put a couple of hundred
thousand or so in real estate, which his
wife now has "A Maurice Low in
Boston Globe.