The Paducah evening sun., 1910-02-09

ported amalgamation OF the Maxwell
Briscoe Motor company with th.
United States Motor company shoule
give rise to general inquiries into th,
eeasons leading to this union. There
fore, and In order to answer numer
Gus inquiries, have set fonth In Oh,
Following a general statement of tn,
considerations which were the mos
powerful factors in leading 10 the as
rociation OF the interests and facili
Tics OF the United States Motor com.
pany and the Maxwell-Briscoe Motol
company.
The automobile. as II Is used In
this country today. has become so I'M
portant an item In our industrial de-
velopmcnt that II deserves AN atten-
pon claimed by few other fieldts; In
short II has become commodity the
interest in which Is not confined TO a
comparatively small number OF manu-
dacturers and distributors but Is
shared by every one to whom time Is
of value and who has occasion 10
need transportation.
To begin with what | consider the
unost important matter. ! want TO fay
hhah the circumstance Mkely 20 pro-
duoe the most far-neaching conse-
quences Is the patent situation, which
has been source OF oontlnuous
hazard TO the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor
'oii'i'any as well as TO every other
automobile msnufacturer.
The Selden patent. basic as Il Is
in reality covers only part OF the field
ana there exist besides Il a number of
other patents protecting the various
structural features OF The modern
motor car. which, like the Sclden
patent, VIII make themselves felt IN
very short time.
As matter OF fact. the patent ST
nation In the industry Is a most I'M
portant and interesting one to which
but htuie attention has been given
nntl the recent decision OF Judpe
Hongh CLEARLY established the validity
OF the Sehien patent. This decision
opefsed the eyes OF the MAXWELL
Bris'uoe Motor company. and cost lis
treasury sl50.0 900. which we're spent
an The protection of our dealers and
their business. Yet even the payment
OF this sum did not altogether cllmi-
nate future jeopardy Of our interests.
1hs jolt woke us. so TO speak. I'm
mediaicly the bsst patent attonnoys OF
the country were cot 20 work on
thorough investigation OF an existlnc,
automobile patents and the result of
their nearches We must confess. was
somewhat Of a surprise 60 US. for We
found that nearly every important
structural feature used IN the pres
ent day automobile was covered nv
patenfs more or les fundamental. 80
thHt We as wcli as other makers wcr.
Pitcer In a most hazardous position
witf regard 20 the future.
One u the results OF our patent In
Nestigation was the realization OF fhe
fact that the Columbia Motor Oar
company. OF Hartford, Conn. had
what might BE- termed a corner" on
practicaily all good automobile pat
en's. We considered these patents
sach menace TO the security OF our
business that we Immediately opened
negotiations with the owners of the
Columbia Motor Car company. Who. |
We discovered were very confident In |
me strength of their position. They !
Rad invested large sums OF money In |
this branch OF their business and
under advice OF good counsel had
brought shrd1u ctaoln shrdlu shriila
purpOssd 10 use these patents as n
controlling factor IN the automobile
industry, having been awaiting the
decision In the Selden litigation.
To MS II seemed desirable for the
good OF the Maxws-ll-Briscoe Motor
company and the Industry as a whole
to have control OF the patent sltta-
uon obtained by n company that !
would have enormous facilities for
Manufacture and distribution. and |
advised the United States Motor com
pany TO purchase the Columbia Motor
Gar company.
There are other reasons AS we
stated In the first notice given out in
reference 10 the matter. the main
'uea and governing motive In the q,
commercial sense. were that the i
United States Motor company, the
Maxw'ell-Briscoe Motor company and
other constituent concerns would in
The concentration OF effort find the
certain means of bringing forth an
Ideal product. of conducting the man.
and marketing operations
ON broader and more scentific lines
and OF overcoming generally the OBJ
stacles which now inevitably present
themselves to an automobile concern II
nj the time when It reaches certain
degree of magnitude.
The Maxwell-Briscoe Motor COM (
pany has reached point where 1t
produces 10000 automobiles during
single year. Yet II Is true that In .
producing this number of cars we I
always have been and still are de- te
pendent upon other manufacturers 1
who either produce rough or finished |
parts or furnish the numerous ex- ,
traneous components OF a complete .
motor car.