The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-01-10

When he got into that gar
ret he forgot the world. His wife or his daughter
might call him and he might answer mechanical
ly, but 1t is doubtful if he heard them. He would
forget his meals. possibly some engagement. so
absorbed would he become. Sometimes he would
climb into the garnet early Sunday morning and
when hours later he would appear in the pulpit
his hands would be stained with the hemicaIs he
had been using. Once he went into the pulpit
with his vestments discolored by the acids. He
did not know it.
In that garnet the preacher-scientist developed
the Photographic film.
Success with his invention brought sorrow to
the clergyman. 1t was in 1887 that he completed
his work on the film. Whatever his dreams Of
fortune they were shattered. A Photographic
company attempted to prevent Goodwin from OBJ
tanning a patent. The company was rich. The
clergyman was poor. A man who is poor has a
tremendous handicap in such a legal fight as the
one that followed. A rich corporation can hire
lawyers of fine ability. The law is very slow.
The suit became a fearful burden to the preach
er. Year after year the case dragged on. When
the case had been in the courts 10 years the Rev.
Mr.. Goodwin died. He was poor. He would not
have been SO poor had he never invented the pho
tographic film. Possibly the struggle to carry on
the suit and to gain what he believed was his
own shortened his life.
After the clergyman died his rights to the film
were sold to a company. His widow got stock in
this concern in return for the sale of the inven-
ton. Years passed and the lawsuit went from
court to court, A few months ago-26 years after
the Goodwin invention was perfected-a decision
was handed down supporting all Of the Goodwin
claims and declaring the company that had fought
the clergyman from the first to be infringing the
Hannibal Goodwin patent.
What does triumph mean at this late day? Han
nibal Goodwin's widow is past eighty. His
daughter is sixty years old. Money cannot COM
pensate them for all the years that are gone, the
years of disappointment, hope deferred and of
poverty. And even now they may not get the
money.
1t will not sadden the aged widow If she never
gets a dollar from the film her husband created.
Great expectations" she says, makes ones
life discontinued. We have taken this matter phil
osophically. We have expected little. With this
decision rendered we still expect little or moth
ing"
The one great satisfaction she has and that
counts more than money is the vindication of all
that was claimed in behalf of her husband as the
man who gave the film to the world.
Alexander Graham Bell will go down in history
as the inventor of the telephone and compare
lively little space will be given to Daniel Draw
baugh, yet Bell and Drawbaugh filed their patent
papers the same day, and after eight years of
litigation, in which same of the greatest lawyers
in American were engaged, three justices of the
Supreme court Of the United States supported
Drawbaugh's claim to priority and four supported
Bell. By the narrow margin of one vote Bell was
made rich and ~Drawbaugh continued poor.
Bell came on his invention by chance, Draw
baugh by laborious study. Bell had every ad-
vantage in an educational way. Drawbough work
cd for years in his fathers blacksmith shop.
Most ochis life Drawbaugh was hard pressed for