Hi^ Copy 1 ^A^^c ^::^ 'T^a^-^A^ TN THP; MATTKPv OF THK APPLICATION OF JAMES HAINES AdministraioT of the Estate of JONATHAN HAINES. Dkceased. «' FOR THK Extension of Letters Patent of said Jonathan Haines. lUSON HltOTHKRS, PRINTERS. WASHIXfJTON. JIP^ -^ ■ Be it known, that 1 Jonathan Haines, fornierly of Union Grove, in the county of Whiteside, and State of Illinois, but now of Pekin, in the county of Tazewell, and State aforesaid, have invented cer- tain new and useful improvements in Harvesting Machines for Grain or Grass, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyin": drawings making a part thereof, in which Fig. 1 rei3resents view of the entire machine Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken through the line x x of fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan, and Fig. 4, a side elevation of one of the slotted fingers, which ad- vance before the sickle, for the pur]')ose of supporting the straw while the knife cuts it off. Wliere the same letters occur in tlie several figures, they denote like parts. The leading difficulty in all harvesting machines, the cutters of which were raised or lowered by a lever, previous to my inven- tion, was the very great excess of weight on the forward part of the machine, which ultimately came upon the necks of the horses. To obviate this great difficulty, resort was had to an extra truck or pair of trucks forward of the machine, which besides its ad- ditional cost, caused the team to be placed so far in advance of the machine as to make it impossible to turn a square corner without backing the team. If the team were harnessed directly to the tongue, and the machine properly balanced on its wheels, a cor- ner could be as readily turned by it as by an ordinary cart, but with the former lieavy weight forward, the driver alone could not properly control the machine, and to place an additional attendant on the machine involved additional weight on the machine, at an additional daily cost to the user. The object of my invention was to avoid these serious conse- quences, by relieving the team of all undue work^ and economiz- ing to the user both in the cost of the machine and the daily expense of using it. The nature of my invention consists in combining with the frame of a harvesting machine so hung upon a pair of support- ing wheels, as to be nearly balanced thereon, when on level ground, a hlnged-tongue and operating lever, which lever shall be attached to one, and project towards the driver's seat or» stand, arranged on the other, so that the driver who is the sole conduc- tor of the machine, may from said stand or seat, raise or depress the cutters at pleasure during the operation of the machine, for cutting the grain or grass at any suitable height above the ground, or for passing over any intervening obstacles. And also in com- bining with a harvesting machine a conveyor, which first carries the cut grain horizontally across the machine, and then elevates it so as to discharge it into the bed of a wagon driven alongside of the machine, when the conveyor-frame is connected to the bed by a flexible joint, for purposes which will be described. To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my inven- tion I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings. In the accompanying drawings the machine is represented as being mounted upon three wheels, the two in front A' A', sus- taining the 2)rincipal part of the w^eiglit_, the one behind B, being chiefly designed for steering, and in order that it may the better accomplish that object it is mounted in a vertical post B', which is hung upon hinges, and capable of being turned by a tiller h in manner of the rudder of a vessel. The horses are harnessed to the whipple-trees «, which are secured by a bolt to the tongue C, and push the machine before them. The tongue C is hinged to the rear end of the square part D, of the frame-work, and the lever E, which projects back from the frame is engaged by means of a catch to the notches in the sides of the post c, erected upon the tongue, this catch being so constructed that it can with ease be disengaged, and re-engaged. The frame D, rests upon the axes of the wheels A A', which form a fulcrum upon which it turns, and the projecting lever E, being attached firmly to this frame, whenever it is raised or lowered, it depresses or elevates the front of the machine, and thus deter- mines the height at which the grain or grass is to be cut ; the catch which engages the arm to the notched post c, holding it at any point of elevation at which it may be required to place it. A platform C, is placed upon the rear end of the tongue, upon which the driver, who is the sole conductor of the machine stands, convenient to the tiller h, and the lever E, in order that he may direct the cuiirse of tlie machine, and raise and hnver the cutter to accommodate it to the variations iw the surface of the ground, or the height of the grain, hy this means avoiding both waste of t1ie grain and the inconvenience of cutting too much straw. The principal frame D, may be made of plank or scantling well framed together. It carries the sickle F, reel G, conveyor H, and the gearing which puts them severally in motion. Upon the wheel A, or upon its axis, a cog-wheel D is secured which takes into and drives the pinion e, (represented in dotted lines,) upon whose axis a pulley /, which through the medium of the belt ETEK MURRY, JAMES FARROW. J. C. DUNCAN, JOHN PHILLIPS. Sworn to and subscribed before me, this day of January, A. D. 1870. State of Illinois. ] Count}/ of Tazevjell, | '"^" I, E. W. Rosseter, of Pekin, Tazewell county, being first duly sworn, on my oath state that I have been well acquainted with ''^ Haines' Illinois Harvester,'' both in its manufacture at the 35 shops in Pekin, and its sale and use by farmers, for five years past ; I know that nearly twelve hundred of these harvesters were made and sold the year just past, and about six thousand of them are now in use in the United States ; I know from my own experience in seeing them harvest grain_, and from the practical test and use of them by many farmers who have proved the truth of my state- ment, that grain can be and is harvested with these headers at one-half, or less than half, the cost of harvesting it with reapers or any other harvester now in use. The cost of harvesting with other machines is three dollars or over per acre, with this header, not more than one dollar and fifty cents per acre ; making a saving or benefit to the public of one dollar and fifty cents on each acre cut with a header. Each header well worked cuts on an average three hundred acres each harvest ; one dollar and fifty cents benefit, or saving on each acre so cut makes $450 that each header in use benefits the public each year. The twelve hundred made the last year benefited their owners and the public |540,000. The whole 6,000 headers in use last year benefited the public $2,700,000. The header is gaining in favor with the public, and more will be used each year hereafter if they can be obtained by farmers. This affiant states the above calculation is true, and the public is benefited as he has estimated above. K. W. ROSSETER. State of Illinois, ) County of Tazewell, i C. R. Cummings, of Pekin, Tazewell county. State of Illinois, being duly sworn, on oath states that he is largely engaged in farming, having several farms in Illinois, and was engaged as agent and collector for Barber and Hawley while they were en- gaged in manufacturing and selling ^^ Haines' Illinois Harvester" for years, and that he has been familiar with the harvester and its benefits to the patentee and public since the year 1859 ; that he knew from his own experience that the harvester was very dif- ficult to sell and introduce among farmers from being many years ill advance of their known wants, and subject to many prejudices about grain cut with them spoiling. Great objections were made to them, too, by manufacturers of other reapers and harvesters, increasing the ignorant prejudices of persons unacquainted with their real merit. Afliant states 36 that he knows from personal knowledge and supplied by the prac- tical experience of many farmers w^ho have tested the harvester as to its economy and saving of expenses over other harvesters, that grain can he harvested and saved with it at less than half the ex- pense of any other reaper or harvester now in use. He further states, from same personal knowledge and practical tests of others, that a harvester, well worked, will cut from 200 to 400 acres each harvest. The cost of cutting with other liarvesters is about $3.00 per acre, while with the header the same work can be better done at a cost of only $1.50 per acre, so that each header cutting 300 acres of grain would save to its owner and to the public $450 each harvest ; and thus, if 1,500 headers be sold the coming year, the gain to the public will be $675,000 over and above the cost of harvesting the same number of acres of grain by other reapers and harvesters now in use. Affiant further states that he was well acquainted with the pe- cuniary circumstances of Jonathan Haines, patentee of the Illi- nois harvester, from 1859 to the time of his death, and knows that he was unable to pay his debts until a short time before his death : that affiant knows his wddow and five children are dependent on the patent fees arising from the manufacture of the Illinois har- vester for their support and maintenance. C. R. CUMMINGS. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 22d day of January, 1870. WM. DON. MAUS, Xotary FMic, Pekin, Illinois. State of Illinois, ] Tazevjell County, j ' ' We, the undersigned, of said county, being sworn on oath, state that we have been acquainted with and used the Haines Illi- nois Harvester for the last ten years, cutting on an average four hundred acres (400) of wheat or other small grains each year ; in all cases the grain saved as well, and in some instances, better than that cut by a reaper or other harvesting machines. I have used, and seen used, some of the best reaping machines known, and know, from my own experience and the statement of good, re- liable farmers, that it costs less than one-half to cut grain with this liarvester than it does with a common reaper. Grain can be cut and stacked with ^^ Haines' Illinois Harvester" at less cost than to stack grain from the shock ; after having been cut with the header, if properly stacked when cut, saves better than that bound and shocked, being free from danger of heating and sprout- ing while in stack. Affiant states that, by using the " header," saved more than one-half the cost of cutting, and saving his grain over and above the cost of reaping. Affiant states that it costs at least $3.00 per acre to cut and save grain with a common reaper ; so that, on the average of 350 acres that he cuts with a ^^ Haines Harvester," he saves, at a low esti- mate, |525 each year. Affiant is informed, and believes^ there were 1,200 of these harvesters made, sold, and used the last year, which cut, say, 300 acres of wheat or other small grains each, which, at a saving of $1.50 per acre, saved to the owner and the public $450,000. From same information, affiant states that the 6,000 of these machines now in use in the United States saves annually to the owners, and to the benefit of the public, $2,700,000. Affiant further states that this machine is more durable, less ex- pensive to keep in operation and repair, less liable to get out of order and make delay and damage in the harvest field, does its work better and more rapidly than any other harvesting and grain-saving machine before, and used by the public. Grain can be cut with this machine with much lighter work to men and teams employed to work with it than by any other reaper or harvester. Affiant states that he knew Jonathan Haines, the patentee of the ^^ Haines Hlinois Harvester," for 15 years before his death, in 1868, and knows that he was diligent in his en- deavors to introduce his machine to the public, but, on the account ^ of prejudice on the part of the farmers in general, was only par- tially successful ; and that he has never received adequate remuneration for the time, skill, and expense incurred in invent- ing, patenting, and introducing the header to the public. Af- fiant believes that the merits of this harvester have never, until of late, been known and recognized by the farmers in general : that the machine is becoming more popular, and more will be sold in the year to come than there has been in the past. Affiant further states that he believes that the estimates of the benefits 38 from the use of Haines' Illinois Harvester is below rather than above the true value ; and that the above calculations and state- ments are true, to the best of his knowledge and belief. JOHN McKINSTRY, J. H. McKINSTRY. Subscribed and sworn to before me, February 1, 1870. [n. s] WM. don. MAUS, Notary FuhUc. State of Illinois, \ County of Tazewell, ) John Schafer, of said county, being duly sworn, on his oath states that he has been acquainted with the manufacture, sale, and use of the '^^ Haines Illinois Harvester " for fifteen years past ; that he knows it is the most reliable machine for harvesting gra^ known to the public ; that it cuts and saves grain at less cost and with less waste and in better order, and with lighter labor to men and teams employed with it, than any other reaping or harvesting machine in use by the public. Having used one of these ma- chines for cutting my own grain and my neighbors' for the last three years, I speak from great practical experience of my own and that of many intelligent, practical farmers ; from such infor- mation I know, and therefore state, that this harvester will save one dollar and fifty cents ($1.50) per acre on each acre of grain cut with it as compared with other harvesting and reaping ma- chines now in use by the public. This machine is more durable ; less expensive to keep in opera- tion and repair ; less liable to get out of order and make delay and damage in the harvest field ; does its work better and more rapidly than any other harvesting or grain-saving machine before and used by the public. Each one of these harvesters, well worked, will cut and save three hundred or more acres of wheat or other small grain each harvest, saving to the public on each acre so cut one dollar and a half, (|1.50,) making a saving to its owner and a benefit to the public of $450 each year on each harvester in use. Affiant is informed and believes that 1,200 of these machines were made, sold, and used the last year, benefiting the public by above calculations to the amount of $540,000. On same information, affiant believes that there are 6,000 of 89 these headers now in use in the United States. This number wuuUl benefit the public by their saving of expense each year $2,*700,000. Affiant further states that he knew Jonathan Haines, the pat- entee of the ^^ Haines Hlinois Harvester/' from 1852 till his death in 1868, and know that he has been diligent in his endeavors to introduce this header into general use, but on account of insufficient means and ignorant prejudice on the part of farmers in general, was only partially successful ; and that he has never received adequate remuneration for the time, skill, and expense incurred in inventing, patenting, and introducing the header to the public, and that he died poor, leaving his widow and children dependent on the income derived from this invention for support. Affiant further states that this harvester is becoming more pop- ular and in more demand each year^ and that there will be more sold each year from this time on than in the past year or years, so that there will be more in use each year hereafter than now ; and if the patent on this invention be extended by Congress for seven years from its expiration, the benefit to the public each year will be increased, and for the next seven years the aggregate benefit to the public will be thirty million dollars (130,000,000) or more. Affiant believes that the above calculations of benefit to the public derived from the use of the ^^ Haines Illinois Har- vester'' is too low rather than too high. JOHN SCHAFER. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 29th day of January, A. D. 1870. [>j. s] M. M. BASSETT, Notary Publie. State of Illinois, ) County of Tazeicell, j " Gideon H. Kupert, of Pekin, in said county, being duly sworn, on oath states that he has been well acquainted with the manu- facture, sale, use, and operations of the ^^ Haines Illinois Har- vester" for past twenty years. From personal experience in using this harvester in cutting his own grain, and from statements of other farmers who have tested its benefits and capacity to har- vest and save grain, affiant states that ''Haines' Illinois Harves- ter ' ' is the best and most reliable machine to harvest and save strain now in use. It cuts and secures the grain with more saving 40 of labor and less waste of grain, and with lighter work to men and teams employed to run the machine, than any other reaper or har- vesting machine now in use. Each one of these harvesters will cut 300 or more acres of wheat or other small grain each year when well worked, and at one dollar and a half (|1.50) less cost than with any other machine on each acre, making a saving or benefit to its owner and the public of |450 on each machine in use each year. Affiant is informed and believes there w^ere twelve hundred of these harvesters made, sold, and used last year, bene- fiting the public by their greater cheapness in harvesting $540,000 for last year, over and above any other means of harvesting known. He is also informed and believes that there are about 6,000 of these machines now in use in the United States, benefiting the public each year, $2,700,000. The public demand for them is increasing, and affiant states more will be sold this year than last ; so that the great benefit of $2,700,000 each year, as stated above, will be increased each year as the sales become greater. So that each year's sales will add more than half a million dol- lars benefit to the public from the use of these harvesters, so that during an extended term of seven years of this patent, the public w^ould be benefited more than $30,000,000 from the use of this harvester. Affiant states that from long experience in cutting his own and neighbor's grain wath this and other harvesting machines, and from being present in the capacity of agent in starting and operat- ing this and other machines, he knows that the ^^ Haines Hlinois Harvester " is the best and only real labor and grain-saving har- vester now known to the public ; and that the above calculations and statements are true. And further sayeth not. GIDEON H. RUPERT. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 27th day of January, A. D. 1870. [N.a.J WM. DON. MAUS, Notary Public. State op Nebraska, » County of Plattsmouth, ) Elias Sage, of Plattsmouth, of said county, being first duly sworn, on his oath states, that he has been acquainted with the manufacture, sale and use of '^Haines' Hlinois Harvester" for 41 fifteen years past ; that he knows it is the most valuable machine for harvesting grain known to the public ; that it cuts and saves grain at less cost, and with less waste, and in better order, and with lighter labor to men and teams employed than any other reaping or harvesting machine in use by the public. Having used these harvesters for cutting my own grain and my neighbors, for past fifteen years, I speak from great practical experience of my own and that of many intelligent practical farmers. From such information I know, and therefore state, that this harvester will save one dollar and fifty cents ($1.50) per acre in each acre of grain cut with it as compared with other harvesting and reap- ing machines now in use by the public. This machine is more durable, less expensive to keep in operation and repair^ less liable to get out of order and make delay and damage in the har.vest- field^ does its work better and more rapidly than any other har- vesting or grain-saving machine before and used by the public. Each one of these harvesters, well worked, will cut and save three hundred acres of wheat or other small grain, saving to the public on each acre, so cut, one dollar and a half each year — making a saving to its owner and a benefit to the public of $450 each year on each harvester in use. Affiant is informed, and believes, that twelve hundred of these machines were made, sold and used the last year, benefiting the public, by above statements, to the amount of $540,000. On same information, affiant believes there are now six thousand of them in use in the United States. This number would benefit the public, by their saving of expense each year, $2,700,000. Affiant knows that this harvester is becoming more popular and in more demand, and there will be more sold each year from this time than in the past year or years, so that there will be more in use each year hereafter than now ; and if the patent on this invention be extended by Congress for seven years from its expiration, the benefit each year to the public will be increased, and for the next seven years the aggregate benefit to the public will be thirty million dollars, or more. Affiant believes the above calculations of benefit to the public is too low, rather than too high, for the use of the Illinois Harvester. ELI AS SAGE. 42 AFFIDAVITS AS TO DILIGENCE I, Gideon H. Rupert, of the city of Pekin, county of Tazewell, and State of Illinois, being first sworn, on my oath state :. I knew Jonathan Haines, patentee of ^^ Haines' Illinois Har- vesters/'' and late of this place and now deceased, ever since the year 1836^ and know that he was an honest and industrious man. I know that he spent most of his time in making experiments in harvesting machines before 1849, when he obtained his patent on the ''harvester." After this time, till his death, he devoted all his time and all the means he had and could borrow and all the influence he had to improving, making and selling his harvesters. When he had spent all his own means in building a shop and making a few machines, which did not work well, because he had not means to get good material or suitable machinery, I loaned him money and furnished all the good material I was able to, and, by his hard work and perseverance, he began to make good machines, and I got one and cut my crop of wheat, oats, and other small grain. I then learned it w^as the greatest labor- saving machine that ever had been made in the United States, and did all I could to help him introduce the sale and use of them in my neighborhood. But farmers were very much prejudiced against headers by agents for a host of reapers and other ma- chines, who told them grain cut in that way (headed) would rot in the stack or spoil afterwards. Knowing the value of the ma- chine to farmers, as I was largely engaged in farming myself and had received so much benefit from them, I determined to take a general agency for their sale and try all I could to introduce them to public use. I traveled in Indiana, Illinois^ Missouri and Iowa to sell these harvesters for Jonathan Haines and A. and J. Haines, beginning in the harvest of 1858, and continued to sell machines and collect claims for them up till 1862. So strong was the prejudice against headers, that I found it very difficult to sell them anywhere, and in several places could make sales only on condition of giving good security that the grain cut with them w^ould not spoil, and I remained with the purchasers till the grain was threshed and found good, before they would pay or even give any obligation to pay for the machines I had thus induced them to try. Of the notes and accounts for headers sold by former agents, I found not over one-tenth were good and col- 43 lectible. 80 I came to the conclusion that notwithstanding it was tlie best machine for saving labor and doing good work, it was the hardest one to sell and induce farmers to try that I evei- knew. But for the last one or two years they are becoming con- vinced of tlie great value of these headers in saving labor and saving grain from waste in harvesting, and their use is becoming quite general. To tell all I know of Mr. Haines' difficulty, labor and disappointment in trying to introduce this machine to the public would tire any one to read, but I will here say, that I know he labored hard all the time I knew him and up to his death in making improvements in his machine, so as to make it better and better every year. And I know, too, that he never received one- quarter enough to reimburse him for his time, trouble and labor, and that he was largely indebted to me nearly all the time, and that he used every means in his power to pay his debts, and yet at his death he was still owing considerable. I was one of the appraisers of his estate after his death, and I know his effects and assets were small and not enough to j)ay his debts. He was a man of good habits, sober, and temperate in all things, a good Christian man, kind to the poor, and would give his last dollar to relieve a fellow sufferer. His family and widow need an exten- sion of this patent for their support ; and I think Congress should ^ive it a liberal extension, so they may get some compensation for the great good the patentee did for the public, and did without any remuneration. If any patent ever was extended by Congress for the benefit of a patentee, his family, or to benefit the public, this one deserves a long extension, for it is of greater benefit to the farming community and really saves more than half the labor of harvesting small grain over ordinary reapers. GIDEON H. RUPERT. We hereby certify that we are merchants and business men of the city of Pekin, Illinois, and have resided here and been engaged in business at this place since 1855 ; that we knew Jonathan Haines, of this place, during his lifetime^ and know that he was engaged in the manufacture and sale of the '' Illinois Harvester '" durinec all the time from 1855 till 1863, and that he was indus- trious and enterprising, and constantly endeavoring to introduce his harvesting machines to public use, by himself and by all his influence through relatives and friends. We know, and therefore 44 .state here, that during all the time he was so engaged, up to a short time before his death, in 1868, he was very much embar- rassed, and unable to meet many of his debts contracted for material and labor to carry on the manufacture and sale of his harvesters. The firm of A. and J. Haines, of which he was a member, was embarrassed as much as he ; that after November, 1863, he did not manufacture headers on his own account, nor did A. and J. Haines, from inability to procure money to carry on their shops, but received a patent fee from others, who made and sold them ; but he was still engaged in trying to extend their sale and collect claims due him for previous sales made by himself and A. and J. Haines ; that his widow and family are dependent for support on patent fees arising from sales of harvesters made under his patent, as he left but little property beside a half-interest in the machine shops in this place and some debts to be paid out of his estate. We believe, from statement of many farmers who have used the '"^Headers" that they are a very useful machine for harvesting grain, and should be widely introduced for general use of the public. J. WAGINSELLER, STEPHEN C. WHEELER. HENRY P. WESTERMAN, J. E. LEONARD, President First National Bank. F. W. LEONARD, Vice President First National Bank. F. SMITH, of F. . s ] AZARIAH T. GALT, Notary FuUlc. State of Illinois, ) Cooh County, I " * Be it known that, on this 25th day of December, A. D. 1869, before me, Azariah T. Gait, a notary public, legally commis- sioned and qualified for the city of Chicago, in the county and State aforesaid, personally appeared Samuel F. Hawley, who, being duly sworn according to law, declares, under oath, that affiant is now a resident of said city of Chicago ; that in the year A. D. 1859, affiant went to the city of Pekin, in the State afore- said, and there engaged in the manufacture of the Haines Illinois Harvester, or heading machine ; that although the said machine liad then been in use for many years, affiant found great difficulty in selling machines, except in neighborhoods where the same had been thoroughly tried, because there was a great prejudice against it ; and the opening up of new territory for sale of the same has ever been attended with great difficulty, on account of the bitter opposition of rival machine manufacturers, and the opinion of farmers unacquainted with this machine, that grain cut by it could not be saved. Affiant on coming to Pekin became ac- 48 quainted with Jonathan Haines and A. and J. Haines, and knows that they were engaged in the manufacture of the heading ma- chine, and that they did not make money from the manufacture thereof. Affiant knows that said Jonathan Haines was an indus- trious, prudent, temj)erate man, and that he devoted his time, up to his death, after affiant became acquainted with him, to the perfection and introduction of the said header machine, and never did receive therefrom any adequate compensation for the invention and the labor he bestowed upon it. Affiant was engaged in the manufacture of said machines for eight years, and knows that it is the best labor-saving and grain- saving machine in use for harvesting grain ; that it is and was a hard machine to sell and introduce into use, but now the use thereof is becoming more general in territory where it has been thoroughly tried, and affiant has good reason to believe, and does believe, that if the patent on said machine is extended, that the family of the inventor will reap some portion of the reward which he deserved for his labor and skill. Affiant states that while affiant was engaged in the manufac- ture of the header machine, he paid to said Jonathan Haines a patent fee on each header made and sold. SAMUEL F. RAWLEY. Subscribed and sworn. to before me, this 25th day of December, A. D. 1869. [n. s.] AZARIAH T. GALT, Notanj Public. PATENTEE'S PETITION for P:XTENSI0N OF LETTERS-PATENT. To the Commissioner of Patents : The petition of Jonathan Haines, of the city of Pekin, in the county of Tazewell, and State of Hlinois, Respectfully Represents — That he has, by Letters Patent, dated on the 27th day of March , A. D. 1849, and reissued November 6, 1855, been the inventor and manufacturer of what is known as Haines' Illinois Harvester or heading machine, And that he has been engaged exclusively, by himself and with others from the date of said patent until last spring, in manufacturing said machine ; except the incidental 49 job and repair work, a shop of this kind will naturally draw, and which job-work formed a large share of our prosperity in business. The difficulty and cost of introducing a machine of this kind doing its work so very different from the common horse-power reapers, can only be known to those who have been engaged in such business. Notwithstanding my machine does its work so different from common reapers therefore very naturally requiring greater exei*- tion and cost to introduce it than would be necessary wdth a more common kind ; very many who have been engaged in the manu- facture of those common kind, have entirely failed in business or have transferred it in such a manner as to prevent utter bank- ruptcy, only two of which I will name in this connection w^ho at one time seemed to bid fair to rival, not only the smaller manu- facturers of the West, but even McCormick too. I refer to the John H. Manny establishment, at Kockford, Illinois, doing business under the name and style of Talcott, Emerson & Co., and J. C. Wright, of Chicago, manufacturer of the Atkins cele- brated automaton self-raking reaper and mower ; both of said machines being well known to the Patent-Office. The supposed danger of wheat spoiling in the stack when cut with my machine and stacked immediately, in connection w^ith the great number of shops that have commenced the manufacture of the common reapers in the last fourteen years, each exerting himself to have farmers believe his machine the best, and all acting as a unit in condemning the heading machine, have proved a fruitful source of hindrance to the successful introduc- tion of my machines. After the most diligent attention to and rigid economy in the business^ I find myself to be worth but little more than when I first embarked in the business, as the accom- panying affidavits will show. In fact, had it not been for the job-work done by us, amounting to about |500 each year, clear profits, and the machines sold wholesale to supply the Pacific country, we should have been forced to suspend business long before this. Mr. George Esterly, of Walworth county, Wisconsin^ w^ho commenced the manufacture of a machine in 1846, doing its work just like mine, w^as forced to abandon it in a few years at a very great loss. The necessary exertion to introduce my machine involves such 50 a cumpiicatiou of circumstances, such as machines being sent to many different and distant parts between the gulf of Mexico and the Northern lakes, with failure of sales, with accumulation of expenses in various ways incident to such business, and the dis- honesty of and embezzlement by agents and the bankruptcy of many that purchased machines, with breakage, miscarriage and destruction by fire, render it impossible to give a definite state- ment of our business ; leaving us the only alternative of coming at the result of our business, by estimating the value of our property and notes due us, after deducting our liabilities. I will state too, that in the year 1855 I patented a mowing machine^ and sold about $5,000 worth of rights in that machine, and have not manufactured myself, or the firms to which I have and do belong more than ten of said machines, while the money realized from the above-named sales was put into our business. Then I sold to Ansel Haines, in 1853, the one-half of my interest in my patent of March 29, 1849, for the sum of six thou- sand dollars, on a credit ; said Haines then entered into business with me in the manufactory of said Illinois harvesters, and has remained with me until the present ; but our profits being so limited that he has only paid me about one-half of the above sum. In order to the more rapid introduction of my Harvester, in the year 1855 we received Mr. Isaac A. Hawleyinto partnership with us for two years ; at the expiration of this time, said Hawley purchased of us the north half of the State of Illinois, for which he was to pay us in annual payments about |24,000, and what money has been received from him has been put into our business. Said Hawley then commenced the manufacture of said har- vesters to sell in his territory, but, in consequence of the same obstacles that met us in the same business, he failed to succeed as anticipated, consequently reducing our income from that source. The firm of A. and J. Haines continued the manufacturing of said machines until last April, when we found ourselves unable to continue the business ; consequently we rented our patent rights, shops and machinery, to Samuel J. Hawley and Samuel E. Barber. Said Barber and Hawley have made and sold on the territory rented of us 142 machines in the Mississippi valley the past season, and have made and sent to California for next year's 51 harvest 130 machines, for which they have and are to pay us $25 on each machine sold on our territory as ahove stated. When I first embarked in this business, my property was worth about three thousand five hundred dollars, and at this time I still hold about that amount of property not included in the co-part- nership business. The property of A. and J. Haines is worth about eighteen thousand dollars, consisting of our shops and machinery, and the land on which they stand, and a small amount of personal prop- erty ; tlie real estate is covered by a mortgage to secure our creditors. We have about twenty thousand dollars due us, which, after paying expenses of collecting, and the very great loss by insol- vency, we expect to only be able to pay off all of our indebtedness, and release the above-named property from encumbrances. We have also expended about twelve hundred dollars in the prosecution of a suit against George H. Rugg, of Ottawa, Illinois, for an alleged infringement of my patent of 1849. Said Rugg appealed to the Supreme Court at Washington, where it is now pending, requiring an additional cost to prosecute it to its termination. Also, by the advice of an eminent lawyer and statesman_, now Chief Executive of the United States, we commenced a suit against Messrs. Talcott & Emerson^ of Rockford, for an alleged infringe- ment of my patent of 1849, but up to this time have not been able to bring them to trial ; also, their failure in business since the commencement of said suit renders it quite certain that nothing could be made off of them, even if judgment should be obtained in my favor, the present cost of which is about |500. Also, it cost us about |500 to search out a prior inventor to Jonathan Read, of the scolloped sickle, in consequence of being threatened with prosecution for an alleged infringement of said Jonathan Read's l)atent for said sickle. He therefore prays that the letters patent granted him on the 27th day of March, 1849, be extended for the term of seven years from the 2vth day of March, 1863, he having paid Fifty Dollars into the Treasury of the United States, and complied Avith the other conditions of the act of Congress in such cases made and ])rovided. JONATHAN HAINEJ^. NOYKMUKK 2t>, 1^(12. 52 STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT Pekin, Illinois, November 29, 1862. To the Commissioner of Fatent.^ : • In accordance with the acts of Congress of the United States of America, I submit for your consideration the following statement of receipts and expenditures in the manufacture of Haines' Illinois Harvester, from 1849 up to the present time : Amount of sales from 1849, up to April, 18()2, of 1,328 machines $232,400 Received as patent fees from several parties up to the present time 28,700 $261,100 Cost of building, altering, adding to, and experimenting with the above-named machines, in the above-named time $185,920 Cost of selling and collecting, and losses of every kind, including freights, storage, and des- truction by fire 57,180 243,100 Balance in favor of patent $18,000 There is also in anticipation, from the suit now pending in the Supreme Court of the United States, from George H. Rugg, the sum of twenty-three hundred dollars, which is, however, over- balanced by the cost already in said suit of twelve hundred dollars, in addition to what will yet be necessary to attend the suit to its end ; in connection with the cost in the Talcott & Emerson's case of five hundred dollars, and the fiYQ hundred dollars expended in the investigation of the validity of the Jonathan Read sickle patent. Of the foregoing receipts and expenditures, we still have about seventeen thousand dollars ; also, we have still due us, and uncol- lected, about twenty thousand dollars, which may fall far short of paying our indebtedness. The above-named balance of eighteen thousand dollars^ whicli consists of our shops, machinery, and land on which they are situated, except a very small amount of personal property belonging to the firm of A. & J. Haines, jointly, the one-half only belongs to myself, being nine thousand dollars : I also have 53 due me from Ansel Haines the sum of three thousand dollars. Total, $12,000. JONATHAN HAINES. Subscribed and sworn to before me, by Jonathan Haines, this 29th day of November, A. D. 1862. II. s.j A. lUlADLY, .V. P. Note. — By reference to my petition and the affidavits of C. Denton and Samuel E. Hawly^, it will be seen that I have made an error against myself of $3,500, reducing the balance in ray favor to |8,500, with the probability of a still greater deduc- tion by loss of debts and costs on suit. JONATHAN HAINES. DECISION OF COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS. U. S. Patent Office, March 26, 1863. In the matter of the application of Jonathan Haines for the ex- tension of the patent granted to him on the 27th day of March. 1849, and reissued to him on the 6th day of November, 1855, for improvements in Harvesters. Under the statute and rules of the Office, the first inquiry by the Commissioner upon an application for an Extension is as to the novelty of the invention at the time the original patent was granted, and whether the reissue was confined to the original invention. The original claim in this case is as follows : '^Having thus described the construction and operation of my improved Harvester, what I claim therein as new and desire to secure by letters patent is suspending the frame which carries the conveyor reel and cutter upon the axles of the wheels A A, when the frame thus suspended is hinged to the tongue and ren- dered capable of being turned upon its bearings by means of a lever for the purpose of elevating and depressing the cutter as herein set forth." The claim in the reissued patent is as follows : '' Having thus fully described the nature of my invention, what 1 claim therein as new and desire to secure by letters patent is the combination with a frame, nearly balanced on its supporting wheels and a tongue hinged to said frame, a lever connected to one, and projecting towards the driver's stand or seat on the 54 other J so that the driver, who is the sole conductor of the ma- chinCj may from said stand or seat raise or depress the cutters at pleasure during the operation of the machine, for cutting the grain or grass at any suitable height above the ground, or for passing over any intervening obstacles, substantially as described. "' I also claim in combination with the operative parts of a har- vesting machine, a conveyor which first carries the cut grain across the machine, and then elevates it so as to discharge the grain into the bed of a wagon driven alongside of the machine, when the conveyor frame is connected to the bed by a flexible joint, in manner and for the purpose described." No objection has been found to the claim under the original ])atent, and although the claim under the reissued patent is ne- larged, yet its scoj^e does not go beyond what was contained in the original patent ; some unnecessary restrictions of the original patent are removed, and the two claims under the reissue em- brace features to which Mr. Haines seems to have been fairly en- titled as the original and first inventor. Pending the application of Haines for a reissue, an interference was declared with an application for reissue, by George H. Rugg, on the subject-matter involved in the first clause of Haines' claim, and a decision rendered in favor of Haines as the first inventor. The matter was subsequently submitted to the court on the question of infringement, and decided in favor of Haines. The subject of this claim is that to which the remonstrants seem mainly to direct their opposition ; but thus far no sufiicient ob- jection has been found, and although every feature of this claim may be found to have been sejmrately used prior to the alleged invention of Haines, no harvesting machine has been clearly identified as containing such a combination as is found in that of this applicant for extension. It is complained by the opposing parties that Haines puts a construction upon his claim so broad as to interfere with partiev«« not using the invention. This would seem to imply an assent to the claim, if correctly interpreted. To set this matter at rest, however, Mr. Haines has filed in this Oftice a disclaimer, in the following words : '' While on this point of my patent, and to set forever at rest, the matter of broad construction of my first claim, and which will effectually answer the greater part of counsel's argument, of tho 00 5th inst., I will say, that, notwithstanding all that may have been said and done heretofore in favor of the first claim in my in- vention, extending to and covering hinged tongues, with levers, attached to liarvesting or mowing machines when the teams were harnessed in front of the machine, and drew said machines after them, I now disclaim attaching any such meaning hereafter to my said first claim ; but do declare that, the said first claim in my patent now sought to be extended is only valid when applied to harvesters or mowers that are driven in advance of the teams that propel them." The claim is for a combination of certain specified parts sub- stantially in the manner described ; and as these parts have not been found so combined prior to the invention of Haines, his claim must be admitted. It is worthy of note in this connection, that under the extended patent of Jonathan Kead, originally granted in 1842, a reissue was granted August 17, 1856, in six divisions, in one of which, marked D, a claim was allowed in language nearly identical with that of Haines. I have examined carefully the original papers and patent of Read, and find no such combination as that claimed under this division of his reissue. The frame is not "balanced,'' nor nearly so, and there is no '' lever connected with one and projecting towards a driver's seat or stand on the other." The lever is connected with the frame, and projects towards the driver's stand on the frame. If similar language can describe dissimilar machines, then this is a case in point, for the diflerence between the two machines is too palpable to need further analysis. The striking diflerence of arrangement apparent from an in- spection of the drawings and models of these two machines may to some extent account for the fact that no interference was de- clared between Haines and Read. As regards the question of usefulness to the public the report of sales establishes its merits in this particular, 1,328 machines having been sold since the commencement of the patent, a testi- monial not unimportant as to the utility of the invention is can- didly oftered by the parties opposing the extension in the follow- ing terms : ' ^ It is likewise admitted that Haines' machine can only be used ■)6 proiitably by large farmers, which comprises but a small portion of the agricultural community." The parties undoubtedly have had the best of opportunities for judging of the utility of the invention, and it is no disparagement to show that it is not successful for purposes to which it is not adapted. If it can be used profitably by large farmers, it is adapted to a public necessity, and is so far useful. In regard to the questions of remuneration and ascertained value of the invention, there is sufficient evidence that Haines has not been remunerated commensurately with the value of the in- vention to the public. In the extensive grain-growing districts of the Northwest, and upon the Pacific coast, where Haines' Harvester has been intro- duced, it has been regarded as a much cheaper and more econom- ical machine for harvesting grain than most others. It is conceded^ we believe, that such machines as his will cut more grain in a given time than ordinary machines ; that it does away entirely with all binding, shocking and frequent handling incident to the use of a common reaper. It thus saves much time — a valuable item in the harvest season — and saves expense in threshing, as so small an amount of straw is generally cut with the heads. Mr. Haines estimates the invention worth to the public one million of dollars per year, which is undoubtedly extravagant ; but I am forced to admit that it is of great value, and hence have come to the conclusion that, even admitting the amount charged by the remonstrants as the sum he has received, I am of opinion he has not received such compensation as the law contemplates that the inventor of a valuable improvement should receive. The statement of Haines, which was duly filed, under oath, shows a balance in favor of the patent of only |18,000, which is evidently too small^ as he has charged losses and other items to the patent which should not have been thus presented in tlie account. The estimates made by the opposing parties, from the evidence and various data, make the amount to be credited to the patent more than ten times greater than that made by Haines. This great discrepancy arises from the different estimates put upon the cost of building, and the average selling price of the 57 machines ; and the opponents of the extension, in my opinion, have not appreciated, by even an approximate consideration, the time, trouble and expense of introducing a new machine, and one so different from most others used for the same purpose, into public favor and use. Mr. Haines has presented and conducted his application, until recently, without the aid of experienced attornies ; and while I am free to admit that he has not strictly complied with the letter of the rules of the Office in the taking of testimony, I conceive that he has honestly come within the spirit of the requirements of the law and the rules of the Office in presenting the facts of his case. There is not the slightest evidence of intention of fraud on the part of the applicant, and it will scarcely be contended that the rights of a meritorious inventor, who has largely benefited the Country, should be deprived of the rights secured to him by law simply because he happens not to be an expert in technicalities of the rules of practice. It has been the judicious and equitable practice of the Office to look over the want of conformity to the strict rules of the Office where inventors have themselves conducted their applications, and in no instance have I found a case more deserving of this lib- erality than the present one. I have been the more liberal in granting extensions of patents in consideration of the decided action of Congress upon this subject, as shown in the law of 1861, which extends all patents granted since the enactment of that law three years beyond the time therefore allowed. In reference to the broad construction which it is claimed has been assumed by Haines upon his first claim, it will be seen, in another part of his opinion, that he disclaims for the future any such construction, and he has now formally filed in this Office a full disclaimer of such construction ; has paid the necessary fees, and thus limits his claims to the invention specifically described and to a harvest machine. It is therefore hereby ordered, that said patent be extended for the term of seven years from and after the third day of April, 1863. D. P. HOLLOWAY. LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 002 758 634 n