Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-10-10
MORE GENIUS THAN euMPTIoN.
Inventors Whose Ideas Have Made the
Wrong Men Rich.

inventors whose Ideas Have Made the
Wrong nIen Rich.
Just why inventive genius and gull
bility should go together it is hard to
say. Certain it is that inventors are
the most guileless individuals in their
dealings with others on business mat
tiers, and fall easy victims to the spiders
who lie in wait for such flies. The list
OF clever men who walk to-day while
those who ride owe their luxury to the
other mans genius and their own
shrcwdness is an interesting one. Here
are few cases picked haphazard from
the chronicle of inventions that fail to
benefit the inventor, or, at least, pro-
duced for him merely a little of what
was his due.
1t is not necessary to be very old to
remember when hooks were first put on
mems shoes in place of holes, in order
to save time in lacing the shoe at the
top. This was the brilliant idea of an
inventor to whom it should have
brought fortune. 1t would have done
so had he been a shrewd business man.
Being merely an inventor, he hadn't
sense enough to keep his idea to him
self until the patent office paddock had
secured it against theft. In the inno-
cence of his nature the inventor con-
fided the idea to friend, while cross
ing the North river on ferryboat, and
the friend hardly waited for the boat
to tie up in Jersey City before he ex-
cused himself, started back to New
York and went on dead run to
patent lawyer, in order to have the idea
secured for his own especial benefit.
Another man is known to-day as the
inventor of the lace hooks He owns a
splendid house, and is wealthy. The
confiding inventor got nothing.
The inventor of a patent stopper for
beer bottles, something that had long
been wanted by the trade, sold the in
ventlon for $4,000 to a man who rec
ognized its great money-making value.
The purchaser is now worth S5,0OO.O 0O
all of which he made from the sale of
the patent stopper. Out of the goodne IS
of his heart he presented the original
owner of the patent with $4,000, so
that the man got $4,000 in all for his
s5,0oo,OOO idea. To give some notion of
the value of the patent rights on this
hottie stopper, it may be said that when
the patent expired and others began
selling the stopper, the price came down
from one dollar to six and seven cents
gross, and even at this enormous re-
dnction good profit could be made.
This last inventor was treated with
princely generosity, however, in COM
parison with the genius who devised
pocketbcok clasp in the shape of in
terlocling horns with balls at the end,
that snapped shut with a slight pres
sure. The idea afterwards applied
to gloves, and became very much in
favor. The inventor relinquished his
prize for the magnificent reward of
kidney stew dinner and so cents, the
latter to pay the inventors expenses
from Newark to New York. The man
who secured the idea and patented it,
after treating the inventor in the royal
manner mentioned, made a big fortune
by his shrewdness. What became of
the inventor is not known.
Another example of the lack of weri-
ness in the average inventors makeup
is man who has conceived almost as
many novel ideas in different way as
has Edison in the electrical world. This
man has made several fortunes and
lost them. To-day he is as poor as
church mouse, but is hard at work on
many new inventions, with some of
which ne promises to make sensation.
He came into prominence some years
ago in connection with a nicl1el-in-the-
slot machine that was patented in al
most every country in the world. Leav-
ing a partner TO look after the inter
ests of the firm in New York the in
ventor travelled through the country
selling state rights.
The state rights were gobbled up in
every direction, and $125,0OO was
shipped in various sums to the New
York office. One fine day the inventor.
while enthusiastically pushing his work
of selling state rights, received tele
gram stating that the sheriff was in
possession of the niclel-in-the-slot
company's plant, and the firm was be
ing sued by creditors. The inventor
hurried back to find that the $125. 900
had been quietly secured by the New
York partner in his own name, while all
that was left for the inventor was the
plant and the debts of clamoring army
of creditors.
The courts could do nothing. So
| trustful had the inventor been that no
| legal artillery could be brought to bear
on the case. The partner is now travel
ing through Europe on the money he
| secured, while the poor inventor is try
| ing to retrieve his fortune in sackcloth,
ashes and Precipitation in a little four by
six office near the city hall.-N. Y Re
| corder.
| 1t Was Auburn.
A San Rafael mother, with hair OF {;
Titan hue, found it necessary TO cor