New-York tribune., 1910-01-11
WRIGHTS TALK OUT
REPLY TO CRITICISMS.
Legal Steps Meant Only for
Money Making Imitators.

Az O''S0 AA e''e'"e -
The Wright brothers, speaking in the Of
fees of the Wright Company, No. 52I Fifth
avenue handled without gloves yesterday
the critics of their recent legal actions to
protect what they claim to be their inVen-
tions in the science OF aviation.
They were asked about the adverse local
and foreign comment that has been made
since they instituted proceedings against
the Herring -Curtiss Company and Glenn FL
Curtiss for infringement of patents, and
against Louis Paulhan. of France. who
went through town last week on his way to
Los Angeles. where he hopes to fly.
SUCCESS BROUGHT IMITAToRs.
This pretended indignation of infringing
aviators is but an attempt to blind the
public TO the true situation said Wilbur
Wright. "Ten years ago. when we began
experimenting, there was such indigna-
tion because we were monopoizng the fly
ing art When the case was desperate no
one talked pompously of removing it from
our care in the interests of the advance
ment of the art Such talk began only
after we had brought everything into a
fourshng condition.
I'm the year 1900 the proba blity that any
man would get back any part of the money
he invested I'm flying experiments was not
valued at one chance In a million. Yet on
such a chance We spent every cent which
we had accumulated by years OF saving,
ard worked day and night for years amid
the laughter of the world.
When. however, the problem was solved.
we found that men who had been accumu-
lating money while we were spending 1T
were willing TO rush in and by their SUI
perior financial resources attempt to reap
the harvest we had prepared before we
could garner it ourselves. The pretence
that we are endeavoring to prevent others
from doing anything to advance the art OF
flying is absolutely untrue. So also is the
charge that we are the first to inject
spirit of commercialism into noble art by
our legal proceedings against men who seek
nothing but to lay down their lives in the
cause If need be-
we have never taken legal steps against
any man unless he wantonly tried to make
money for himself by pirating our particu-
lar inventions without compensation to us.
Our proceedings have been exclusively
against money makers who have wished to
profit by the use of inventions which do
not belong to them. No man who confined
himself to the development of the art has
been molested by us.
THE present outcry comes chiefly from
the men who are going from place to place
giving shows for money. 1t was not in sci
entifc experimenting that Bleriot was in
jured and Delagrange killed, nor was 1t for
such purpose that Farman and Paulhan
wandered to America. We have always
encouraged real development of the art. In
the recent trial at Buffalo it was shown that
so long as the Aerial Experiment Associa-
ton remained a scientific society we freely
gave advice and encouragement to its men,
bers.
Our objection began only when an at
tempt was made to profit financially by the
use of our invention, and when the so-called
marvellous advance of French invention in
the last year has consisted almost entirely
in copying more and more closely the main
feature on which our patent is based, and
exploiting it sensationally In money making
shows, we think the advancement of the art
will not suffer greatly If these imitators
compelled 70 do some real experiment.
ing and inventing instead OF step by step
bringing their method of lateral balance
closer each day TO an exact copy Of ours.
FOREIGNERS SHOWN UP.
when Farman and Bleriot raise the cry
that we ought to encourage the advance
ment of the art by others instead OF re-
sorting TO law they seem TO forget that
only a short time ago they were raising a
very different kind of cry TO the effect that
in our eagerness to encourage and stimulate
others. we wrote articles and delivered ad-
dresses which destroyed all legal right to
invention in France.
'"They claim that we were not secretiye
enough in describing our own experiments
and thus forfeited our rights by revealing
the invention TO the world before the patent
was issued. Many of the people who have
seized this excuse for using our invention
without compensation, or thanks, to US
spent several years abusing us for being too
secretive and mysterious, and now abuse
us because we do not encourage others to
make experiments in a money making man.
ner with our patented inventions
On the highest authority il was learned
yesterday that the men behind the Wright
brothers are not expecting munifcent ffnan-
cial returns from their investment. because
the arrangement with the Ohio men for the
division of the profits gives 75 per cent TO
Wilbur and Orviile Wright. leaving only
20 per cent to be divided between Cornelius
Vanderbilt, Theodore P. Shonts. Allan A.
Ryan. Morton +. Plant, Howard Gould. An
drew Freedman. Robert j. Collier Edward
j. Berwind August Belmont and Russell A.
Alger- 1t was characterized yesterday as
an unusual contract for such men to make
and patriotism was said to be the governing
influence.