The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-12-31

Golfers OF the Roberts company wer,
filled TO overlooking and the Robert,
| brothers rolled up millions OF dol
| lars
The Roberts patent reissued lr
/ June OF 1873. perpetuatlng the bur
/ densome load upon oil producers. Ir
/ November OF 1875 suit was brought
| in the circuit court against Petei
| Schrciber OF OIL City charged with
| infringing the Roberts patent. Rob
erts wanted his scalp.
The case was contested keenly
I for four years. coming up for fina
argument in May OF 1879. BY un.
| lmpcach8ble witnesses IL was proved
that explosives had been used in
, water wells and oil wells, substau'
. tially in the manner patented by
Roberts, years before the holder q
the patent had been heard Of as a
tOrpedOist
But the mastery presentation OF
facts was wasted on Justice Strong
and MCKennan. they had sustaine ed
the monopoly IN previous suits and
apparently would not reverse them
selves. no matter how convincing the
reasons Tho flood Of light thrown
upon the situation Rt this hearing
bad the effect of PseventinE an eX-
tension OF the patent and reducing
The price OF torpcdoes thus benefit
ing the Oil region greatly.
Colonel Roberts d led at Titusvllle
Friday, March %, 1881. The last
week Of his life he said he had ex-
pended n quarter Of a million dollars
tor torpedo litigation. He left a
arge fortune and one Of the most
profitable monopoiies in the United
states. He was responsible for
more lawsuits than any other man
in this country,
The first fatality from the use of
nitrogiycerin in the oil regions be-
fell William Munson. In the summer
Of 1867, at Reno. He operated on
Cherry Run. owning wells near the
famous Reed and wade. He was one
OF the earliest producers 20 use tor
pedocs and manufactured them un-
der the Reed patent
n small building near the bend Of
the Allegheny below Reno served as
his workshop and storehouse. For
months he new industry went along
quietly, 1t protector prospering az a
result of his enterprise. Entering the
building one morning in August. he
was seen no more. How u occurred
none could tell, hut a frightful ex-
plosion shivered the building, tore n
hole in the ground and anlihilated
Nunson. The mangled bits were
carefully gathered up, put into a
small box and sent to his former
home in New York for interment.
The sensation produced by the
first fatality had not entirely sub
s.ded when the second victim was
added TO n list that has since length
kept in magazines located In isolated
oned aparllingly. To insure compar-
ative safety the deadly stuff was
llaccs. In 1867 the Roberts com
The sensation produced by the
first fatality had not entirely sub
ided when the second victim was
added to the list that has since
langthened appaIllnsly. To insure
comparative safety the deadly stuff
vas kept in magazines located in
'solated places, In 1857 the Roberts
company built one Of these re-
'eptacles two miles from Titusyllle,
n the side of n hill excavated for
he purpose
"Thither Patrick Brophy. who had
'harge, went al usual one morning
n July, 1868, An hour later g ter
rifle explosion burst upon the sur
oundirg country with indescribable
violence. Horses and people on the
streets of Titusville were thrown
.own, chimneys trembled. windows
dropped into atoms and for a time
the panic was fearful.
THE thought suggested itself that
the glycerin magazine had blown up.
At once thousands started for the