Evening journal., 1905-09-30

ness it is to keep abreast of the times.
organization well nigh perfect
The cash register trust consists Of
one concern, which pays a bounty to
its skilled worlSmen for ideas which are
patented as the property of the trust
II also maintains a corps OF high-priced
skilled artisans. inventors whose busi-
ness it Is to keep abreast Of thctimes.
Thus it happens that il a new machine
is put on the market. while the in
ventor and his hackers are perfecting
their plant. building up their business
and preparing to compete with the
trust In its own field this inventive
corps of the trust is at work dissecting
and studying every part Of the new
machine. They perfect IL wherever
possible. improvements on general
ideas are worked out and the game Of
checkmate carried to the utmost limit
Upon all these ideas patents are taken
out not for the purpose OF utilizing
them IN the product Of the trust, but
to prevent the competitor from inn
proving his own cash register.
"The law is weak in this respect 4"
said one of the officials I'm the Patent
Office. discussing this subject. Under
our patent laws. no matter what the
original article may be, 1t can be im-
proved by any person and that im-
provement patented. The real inventor
may have had all these ideas in his own
mind and intended TO put them into
execution, but he frequently finds when
he comes here TO file his papers that
some one else has been before him and
made the perfection of his own machine
impossible. The cash register trust is
taking out patents weekly, almost
daily, / might say. and they utilize but
few of them. Their object is TO fore
stall anyone else who might wish to-
use them"
II is we'll known at the Patent ONCE
that one of the strongest competitors
of the trust was recently forced to the
wall IN this manner, supplemented by
the unusual selling methods OF the
trust Its local statesmen kept watch
of al retail stores and wherever an
opposition register was sold or left for
trial. the storekeeper was threatened
with suit for having i'm his possession
a cash register that infringed a trust
patent If this did not work a much
more elaborate and expensive trust
machine would be offered in exchange
for the opposition register. the customer
being allowed the fun cash value of the
independent register in exchange.
In this way the trust has forced out
Of business every cash register that has
so far endeavored to contest the market
with it. 1t is therefore Of interest that
a new company has recently been
organized with sufficient money back
of it to give the trust a fight to the
finish
The cash register trust has been
making careful inquiry into the patents
of this new concern whose ideas have
been patented both in this country and
abroad. A number of recent patents
have also been purchased and these
together with the expiration of the
basic patents OF the trust puts this
new concern in position where II is
claimed II can turn out so perfect a
cash register and sell it at such low
sum by comparison with the trusts
figures. that II has no fear of the usual
methods by which previous compete
ton has been eliminated. At all events
an interesting contest for the business
of supplying the world with cash
registers Is anticipated and the eager
ness displayed al the Patent Office by
the representatives OF the trust would
seem TO indicate that the Trust fears
it is at last to have a competitor that
cannot be crushed.