Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-10-25
Cyrus Il. Mccormick Accused
Of Robbing Father Of Fame
RELATIVES IN CONTROVERSY.
Compile Evidence to Show That Son
Should Not Be- Placed In National
Hall Of Fame-Patent Rights Said to
Have Been Bestowed by Parent.
Witnesses of First Deed All Dead.

When Cyrus II. Mccormick took to
himself the credit for the invention of
the Mccormick reaper he lifted from
the brow of his father, Robert McCor-
mick, the laurel which genius had
placed there. and also took from the
memory of his parent the honors
which history gladly would have paid
him. in the view Of other members
of the family who have set out to right
what they believe to have been a
wrong.
I'VE. the descendants of Robert Nc
Cormick, claim that by his great con-
tribut1ons to the arts and crafts in
the contest for human honors he has
won the golden chalice, gaining the
victor's crown, and earned place i'm
mortal in the Hall Of Fame"
That is the contention made by the
descendants Of Robert Mccormick,
who died in 1876, and to sustain 1t
they have collected and published a
series Of letters. statements and aft
uANAtos an lCAuluS " DIV" lAAt AAOO-
ert Mccormick. and not his son Cyrus
H., was the inventor of the Mccormick
reaper.
Gives Invention to Son.
From this evidence it appears that
the father, after many years Of expert
ments, built successful reaper in
1881; that during several years there
after he manufactured and sold. with
the aid Of his son Cyrus, a large num-
Der Of these machines; that at the urg
ent request Of his wife, when his last
years were coming on, he gave the in
vention to his Oldest son, the under
standing being that all Of the children
should share in the profits, and that in
1884 Cyrus H. Mccormick obtained let
tiers patent on this invention.
1t is shown also that In later years
Cyrus II. asserted his fathers inven-
lions were failures; that he (Cyrus)
built a successful reaper in 1881, and
that it was that machine which was
patented. Other members Of the FAM
ly, however, claim Cyrus Fl. is support
ed only by his own statements. while
the other children Of Robert. several
other relatives and neighbors and ac-
quaintances Of the father attest to
their belief that Robert Mccormick
was the real inventor Of the reaper.
John T. Campbell Of the Soldiers
home at Lafayette. Ind. however. says
the first reaper was failure and that
Cyrus should be given credit for rem
edying its defects and producing a sue
cessful machine.
First Reaper a Failure?
II have a statement from an eyewit-
ness of the trial of the reaper on the
farm Of Captain Humphreys in Vir-
ginia," says Mr.. Campbell. my in
formant was John OFT, wealthy
farmer who died some ten years ago
near Rockville. Parke county, Ind.
over eighty years Of age. He said the
elder Mccormick was the inventor OF
the reaper and that he was a black
smith. At the trial the machine would
start off all right and for about ten
feet would cut the straws clean. Then
it would begin to clog and pull the
straws up by the roots, and at two
rods it would choke completely. Sew
eral trials were made, and the reaper
failed that morning, when the neigh.
boring visiting farmers went home.
THE elder Mccormick was SO disap.
pointed and chagrined that he was
taken sick and then and there aban.
doned the machine. His son Cyrus,
who was assisting, saw what the mis-
take Of construction was and the next
year remedied it, and from that time
the reaper was a success.
1.-THE mistake was that the proper
proportion of gearing was missed. so
that the machine Travelled little
faster than the sickle could cut;
hence the ultimate choking and pull
ing up the straw"