Norwich bulletin., 1912-03-16
MORE RUMORS REGARDING CONCERN
Hartford Report Lays McCrmHOweD Company Trouble to
Large Expenditures For Vacuum Cleaner Monopoly
Alleged Crooked Dealings Sales in Chicago May Be
Investigated.

OF the seven millions Of McCrum-
Howell stock which has been author
ICED, a large amount has been placed
in Hartford and vicinity. Some esti-
mates Of this amount are in excess Of
quarter Of a million of dollars, says
the Hartford Times.
The shares Of the company have
been looked upon as an investment.
Instances Aare known where women,
having money invested In high class
local securities in Hartford, have sold
them IN order to put their money into
this stock at S1oe per share.
The, troubles of the McCrum Howell
enterprises are attributed by those who
ere acquainted with the companys
affairs very largely to the attempt Of
adr. McCruin to establish a monopoly
of the business OF manufacturing
vaccuTn cleaning outfits, through the
contreI Of certain patents Of which
the most important are known as the
Mckinny patents. McKenny was
a New Jersey plumber who developed
number Of patents on the tools used
in sucking the dust from rugs and
carpets, and he succeeded in forming
a company in New York, with large
capitalization and number of very
wealthy men on the board Of direc-
L -.
Of the Adams Express company, was
the first president of the company,
which opened offices on Fifth avenue
in New York and succeeded in obtain
Ing contracts D equip many large
buildings with pipes and machinery
for vacuum cleaning. The Singer
building, prior TO the construction OF
its high tower, was the principal ex-
hibition place Of the McKlnny COM
pany. The Belmont hotel IN Forty
second street. the White House in
Washington, the Travellers building in
Hartford and good many ether large
structures were equipped. but the
company paid no dividends. Nc
Kenny, it is reported, secured a hand
some fortune through salary OF
ISIS, 600 a year, and when the New
York company, finally failed he was
able to continue in the business In
New Jersey.
Bought Up Mckenny Patents,
1t was some time subsequent to the
failure Of the company that Mr..
McCrum conceived the idea Of using
the McKenny patents as the basis
for q combine which should control
the vacuum cleaning business in the
United States. BY this time there
were number of other strong con-
Germs in the field, the leading ones
being the Spencer Turbine Cleaner
company in Hartford and the St1r-
tevant Blower company of Boston,
which is the property of Governor e.
n. Foss and does a business of over
SO, 100000 a year in air-blowing and
air exhausting apparatus, steam
economizers, etc. There we're also
concerns In st. Louis and Milwaukee
iakN fSI nlo nil
systems, with various forms Of air
suction, air blast and steam blast. The
McKenny concern never built any
machines for creating vacuum, but
used for this purpose air-pumps of
the piston type, which it bought from
the established manufacturers of such
machines.
Law Suits.
! The McCrum- Howell company
! bought out the Wisconsin vacuum
cleaning concern and some others and
sued other companies using the Nc
! Kenny patents on cleaning tools The
companies that we're sued naturally
pooled their defense and there re-
! suited a very expensive patent litiga-
! ton, and also an exceedingly sharp
! and costly contest for contracts to
/ equip big office buildings and public
| McCrum- Howell company was able to
| secure the contract for the new Hart
| ford National bank building, in spite
| of the fact that the Spencer Turbine
/ cleaning apparatus, made in Hartford.
| is known to be good system, having
been installed in the big Office build
| ing which replaced the Fifth avenue
| hotel in New York. 1t has also been
adopted for the great 65 story Wool
worth building on Broadway, now IN
| process of construction. Proof was
, discovered Of the use Of cleaning tools
! Of the McKenny type prior to the ap-
plication for the McKenny patents,
and the result has been that after an
expenditures Of over three-quarters OF
a million of dollars in this effort TO
build up a monopoly in vacuum
! cleaning. Messrs. McCrum and How
/ ell are now In the hands Of a receiver,
F., and have failed in their purpose to
! establish control Of the manufacture
and sale Of vacuum cleaners.
In this case the patent laws OF the
country have proved delusion and q
snare to investors, and the attempt TO
| create a patent monopoly mas been as
unsuccessful as was the effort to con-
troll the manufacture Of vehicles pro-
PEELED by petroleum motors by means
Of the Selden patent. In each case,
however, the original patentee reaped a
fortune, which proves that it is not al
ways the so-called inventor who gets
left when some new mechanical de-
vice is introduced.
| Western Investors Sold.
At the brokerage office of Francis
R. Cooley in Hartford it is said that
most of the selling of McCrum- Howell
stocks has been by western investors
holding from $500 to $1,000 worth OF
stock par value, and that only one
large holder, a Chicago broker, has
been offering any of the stock So
far as known in Mr.. Cooley'S Office
meme of the Hartford holdings Of the
stock have been sold. but sthere has
been considerable buying at the low
figures by investors willing to take a
chance that the depression in the
stocks is only temporary and that they
will reach par again when the panicky
conditions subside.
A Connecticut Corporation.
The McCru1n- Howell company is in
corporated under the laws Of Connec-
ticut, and up to two years ago was
engaged in the manufacture Of radi-
ators, boilers. enamel ware, bath
tubs, lavarorles, and sinks. The cor
OoratlOn mas uYS large pldnlb-tWo Ol
which are at Norwich, Conn, and
the others at Unientown, Pa, Racine
Wis, and Chicago. The company al
present controls the sole rights to
about SIS per cent. Of the vacuum
cleaner patents in the United States
The original capitalization Of the
company was $7.eae,00e. but last fall
on additional amount Of preferfed
stock WIS issued to the par value OF
81, 900 to secure further working
capital, The object of the increase
in capitalization was TO develop the
vacuum cleaning industry. In 1915
the company purchased the plants and
liquid assets of the Model Heating
company Of Philadelphia, American
cir Cleaning COMPANY of Milwaukee