The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1896-07-23
A GREAT BOTTLE PROBLEM
FORTUNE AWAITS THE MAN WHO
SUCCEEDS IN SOLVING 1T.


Attempts Of Dealers in Liquors and Meds'
cines to Get Bottle that Can't be Re.
file Thousands of Devices, but None
Just Right.
With the persistency and almost the
despair with which Diogenes searched
for an honest man, the distillers OF
high grade whiskeys, the brewers of
ales and beers whose labels are proof
Of the beverages, and the winners of
wines that are test proof, have searched
for a bottle to contain their products
which can be used once, but never used
again. This search has been going on
for years, and there now little more
prospect of its ending successfully than
there was when it began. Such bot
tie is desired by the liquor men To pre-
vent the sale of inferior brands in bot
ties which originally contained high
grade liquors.
1t is estimated that more than half
the bottles used in the putting of first
class liquors are, as old bottles, bought
up by the bottlers and makers of low
grade ales, beers, wines and whiskeys,
The old bottles are cleaned and filled
with inferior goods. which are put on
the market, and sold for the goods
which lne bottles originally contained.
This practice has resulted in great loss
to the firms of established reputation,
while, at the same time, the consumer
has been cheated. This practice is not
confined to the liquor business either.
Bogus patent medicines-fuid eX-
tracts, elixirs. syrups and pills-are put
on the market in this way. and even
food products sold in bottles arc thus
counterfeited. 1t is said that there is
infinitely more swindling practised i'll
this way than the bunco steerers, check
raisers. forgers, and confidence men
ever thought of. And the swindler
does much more harm than the tricks
of criminals. because it affects more
people. and it is much harder to detect
and punish the swindlers,
"Why," said dealer in fluid c&-
/ tracts, the other day. these bottle
| criminals in any community. They
will do anything and dare anything for
| the sake of selling their spurious goods.
| They fear neither God, man, nor the
! devil They care no more about the bane
! full result of the game they play than
| they do about their own honor. These
people really play with human life.
Of ,t,,ff
in bottles that once contained the gen
uine article is little less harmful than
so much rank poison
This may be an extreme view to take
| of the situation but it is, nevertheless,
| true that the system of forgery that
has been practised for years by the
| bottle swindlers has wrought no end
| of harm. and because of it the manu-
| facturers of bottled goods. as well as
| the liquor men. stand ready to make a
| modern CrocSuS of the man who in
| vents bottle which can't be retilled
and has practical value. Men pos
sessing inventive genius know of this
fact, and, for years, have been work
| ing to accomplish the desired result. II
! is Wd$i knoWn in the Patent Office that
| the relation which exists between IN
dustrial demand and inventive activity
is very close. Thus, as it became more
| generally known how great was the de
mand for a non-refilla bic bottle, the
| Patent Office began to be flooded will
| applications for patents. According to
the Official Gazette of the Patent Office
| issued May -, upward of 1000 applica
tions for patents on bottles which can
not be refilled are now in fhe Patent
Office, and something over 100 patents
| have already been granted.
The fact that none of the patented
bottles is on the market indicates thai
| there is some fault in all the inventions
| The truth is, none of them is thorough
ly practical in it's workings. This comes
! largely from the fact that the condi
tions to be fulfilled are not fully under
| stood by the inventors. Some of those
who have been trying to invent bottle
which shall meet all the requirements
complain that the bottlers themselves
haven't a clear notion of what they
want. According to an article on the
non-refillable bottle published in the
Scientific American not long ago, the
situation is about as follows: One deal
er says that the present shape of bot
ties must not be materially changed
The inventor begins working with this
idea in mind, and another dealer in
bottled goods comes along and tells him
that the shape of the bottle doesn't mat
ter so long as the desired result is OBJ
tanned Then he is informed that il
any liquid whatever can be introduced
into the bottle, once it has been filled
and emptied. the invention is useless
Another dealer combats this view by
telling the inventor that, if the bottle
cannot be refilled under ten or twelve
hours, ii is practicable. AS to the cost
of the bottle one man tells the inventor
that it must not cost to exceed three
cents. Another man says i've cents.
Then II is pointed ont that any inven-