The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-02-02
INVENTOR OF STREET
lETTER-bOX FASTENER
ON THE WITNESS STAND
Samuel a. Croft Tells How He
Secured Adoption of the
Device.
NEPHEW ALSO TESTIFIES
Says Inspector Mayer Promised
His Father and Uncle Immu-
nifty from Arrest.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1.-Samuel A. Croft,
the inventor of the street letteT-box fast
ener, contracts for the furnishing of which
are alleged to have been improperly OBJ
tanned, to-day took the stand in the postal
trials and told how he conceived the idea
of getting up the device. and the efforts
made by him TO find someone beside his
brother to take an active interest in placing
it. The fastener had been adopted and an
order for the Washington postoffice paid
for. he testified. before Mr.. Lorenz. in 1885,
proposed to work up a sentiment in favor
of it among the postmasters of the coun-
try. The witness declared he never spoke
word to Machen about the fastener other
than to admit, in response to a question put
by Machen at public test, that IL fitted
too tightly. Up TO that time he said he
never had heard of Mr.. Lorenz and after
making the agreement with him, witness
said he never saw him again until last
summer, nine years afterwards.
Preceding Samuel A. Croft on the stand
was Diller f. Croft. son of Diller B. Croft
who said in response to a question by the
district attorney that should the govern
ment see fit to purchase the fasteners the
Groffs now have on hand they would pay to
Mr.. Lorenz his share of the profits. in ac-
cordance with the agreement made in 1895
The witness said that while calling on Ma
chen in June, 1899. the latter informed him
that he would require a reduction in the
price of the fastener from $3.50 to S1.25 each,
and added: You can furnish them at that
price or not, just as you see fit
The Croft brothers. said the witness, ac-
cordingly were compelled to reduce the
price to the latter figure. Mr. Croft, re-
ferring to the conversation between his
father and the postoffice inspectors at his
fathers house, declared he overheard In
spector Mayer say to ID. B. Croft:
What we want to do. Mr.. Croft, Is
to get on the government side, and we will
see that both you and your brother get i'm
munity. We also will see that you get the
$4,000 due you and will retain the statement
about this matter previously made by you"
The witness further testified that his
father turned down" the proposition "flat-
footed"
In response to other questions he said
that in June, 1895, several efforts were made
TO dispose of an interest in the fastener
without success.
testified in his own behalf. He said that
he first conceived the idea of a letter box
fastener in 1883, after noticing the defects
of the old system and related the curious
experiments made by him before perfecting
his invention. As early as $685. MIR. Croft
said, he showed a model of his invention to
various officials of the Washington post
office. including the postmaster and super
intendent of delivery. we'll as a number
of letter carriers. AT the suggestion of
Major Bell, superintendent of delivery, Mr..
Grof said he wrote the then superintendent
of the free delivery division asking the use
of few letter boxes for purposes of MAX
ing a test of the fastener, which request
he said, was granted. Two test boxes were
put up and were in use for year before
the fastener was adopted. He declared that
at that time he never spoke a word TO
Machen about the fastener. Later an of
fetal test was made, but he declared he
got no satisfaction whatever out of Machen.
The witness stated in reply to a question,
that he never heard Machen say at the test
referred to: IF il don't work better than
that / won't recommend it, although he
said the remark might have been made
by some of those present, was testified
by John +. Clark, a letter carrier, called
by the government, in his cross examina-
ton. Continuing, Mr.. Croft explained that
the first price of S1.50 for the fastener was
fixed In 1895 by striking an average OF the
cost of the old fasteners and the amount
annually required to keep them in repair.
The figure was referred to, he said, in
the course of a conversation with Mr.. Ma
chen before the fastener was adopted. Al
the time the first order was paid for Mr..
Croft said he not only did not know Mr..
Lorenz by sight, but had never heard OF
him.