The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-20
AFRAID OF THE FIERY TEST
UHr AN UNUSUAL COMPETITION
ED TO COME oFE.

Rival Makers or EIreproef Material were e
Have had = Comparative rrIni or Their
Wares Yesterday. but ono OF Them Lost
Courage and Hna the show Knio,ned.
1t occurred to the manufacturer OF an alleged
0reproof material some months ago that Il
would be q good stroke OF business and perhaps
the means Of downing one or two rivals to ar.
range a competitive test Of the output OF his fac
tory. Having hit upon this plan Of getting q
little FREQ advertising, the manufacturer roped
in q prominent city official whose business It is
to know about all kinds of building material
and proposed to him that BIO be the Judge Of
the test when It came of. The city Official
agreed, and forthwith the challenge of tho
manufacturer was placed In his hands. 1t
was addressed to all manufacturers of fire"
proof material and stated that the challenger
was prepared to stack his product up against
any other fellows product, and show by q COM
petitive test that 1t was the only real thing In
tho ~nreproof line that was being turned out
The challenge was ignored by the moro SUBJ
stantisl firms in that line. but finally there
jumped into the ring one who had recently gone
into the business. and who was sure that his
product could knock the spots out Of the stuff
turned out by the challenger.
Pretty soon the city official got q notice from
the accepter of tho challenge. telling him to nx
q date for the test. The official fixed yesterday
morning as a time, and an open lot uptown not
many blocks from the East River, as the place.
The rivals agreed on certain conditions, 1t is said.
and then the newspapers were invited to send
representatives to witness the thing, and may be
to write a little something about 1t. Tho news
papers are always invited on these occasions.
There wouldn't be any profit In having the test
unless the winner could, In the words of Insect
o,Connor: ".Git his name in the papc."..
But somebody got panic-stricken on Thursday
night and 1t wasn't the fellow who had accepted
the challenge. The excitement was tho result
Of a rumor which reached the ears of the chal.
lenger to, tho effect that, the city official had
changed tho conditions Of the test at tho last
moment The challenger rushed to the city
official, also to the enemy and to various others
concerned in the tost; he charged undue In
against fair play, but was informed that the test
would be made in the way regarded ss best for
bringing out the qualities of the two
materials. Then he wanted to withdraw from
that the whole thing be stopped. Again he met
with a refusal, so he rushed down to the Office
of q friend, who 10 a State Senator. also u lawyer,
and laid the matter before him.
w must stop the test" he said. I'VE will
az I'm informed 1t will"
Nothing easier" said the State Senator.
So the manufacturer and the State Senator
hied themselves to the Court House, where
cured an injunction. which was served on tho
city official ut his house, with the result that
tho test didn't take place.
Tho Injunction will como up for argument in n
things about each other and the product Of their
factories. 1t 10 not at their own request that
the names OF the manufacturer are left out Of
this story.