The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-02-04
SEPTIC TANK
DECISION
How It May Affect the Nor
ristown Disposal Plant
in the Future.
ENGINEER POTTS COMMENTS

The United states CIRCUIT OOufb VI
Appeals for the second district, COM
prising the States of New York, Con-
necticut and Vermont has recently
rendered decision of great interest
TO Morristown at the present time.
The case was an appeal from the suit
OF the Cameron Septic Tank Co., OF
Chicago, against the Village of Sara
toga Springs, to restrain alleged in
fringement of patents granted to
Donald Cameron and Others on Octo-
Der 8, 1899, for apparatus and process
Of sewage disposal. The appeal was
6ried before Judges Lacombe, Coke
and Noyes. The first named who
wrote the decision, was formerly
resident of Morristown.
Cameron, an Englishman, had per-
fected plant at Exeter, England,
embodying new features and secured
patents in several countries. In the
lower courts he was beaten in the
suit, but on appeal the. circuit court
of appeals affirmed the patentability
OF the main features of his claims and
referred the matter back to the lower
court for fixing damages, etc.
The claims, briefly, are for a pool
secluding the sewage from light, air
and agitation until the micro organ
Isms have been developed to a sutfi-
cient extent to liquify the mass, then
subjecting the liquid outflow to an
aerating operation, followed in turn
by filtering operation, also claim
to the scum for covering the mass OF
sewage, protecting it from light and
air.
The decision says that Cameron in
troduced the word septic into the art;
he defined it and it is used in the
claims with the meaning he gave 1t.
The septic tank therefore of the
claims is the septic tank in which the
equilibrium is established and in whica
the solids may be indefinitely retained.
This is peculiar structure produced
in part by the hand of man, in part by
the forces of nature. After the Ia
bOrs Of the mason, the plumber and
the iron-worker are over, the micro
organisms are set to work and in the
course of from six weeks to two
months they add an inside floor and
roof CT scum to the masonry structure,
whereupon its temporary iron cover
may be discarded and then for the
first time we have the septic tank of
claim. And because in the prior art
there is no masonry Tor other Struc-
ture which has been thus improved
and modified by the action of anerobic
bacteria, this single element of sep
tic tank is sufficiently novel to uphold
each combination into which it en-
tiers. Several comb in ations were
claimed in the suit.
The underlying basis of the claims
as the same as the one planned In the
Morristown disposal plant as approved
and it would appear that having
settled the question of patent right,
as it appears has been done by the
way the suit was prosecuted, the Cam
eron Company is in position to hold up
every plant erected or planned, and
exact such tribute as they may think
best.
To change the local plans means the
necessity of securing new approval
from the State board and limiting
TO broad cast irrigation or the old sub
surface system of disposal with a
sludge tank to be cleaned out from
time to time, or else pay. There
comes another question, who has
authority to treat with the patentee
or pay any money TO him for license.
1t may be very fortunate that the
disposal plant is not we'll on toward
completion.
The case was reported in the En-
gineering. News of date of January
.23rd.
Plainfield heard of the suit some
time ago and while it was pending
made dicker with the company for
81 800 for rights, for which during the
hast few days it has been priding it,
self.