THE COPYING OF AMERICAN flACHINES. 



BY JOSEPH HORNER. 



[Joseph Horner, the British economist, is a well known manufacturer and writer on 

 manufacturing ; he has contributed many articles to periodicals and is in demand as 

 a lecturer on the economics of industry. Several of his articles have appeared in 

 Cassier's Magazine, among them the following. 1 



When a really good thing is put on the market, some 

 people imitate it; others try to go a point better. Some, 

 wedded to ancient ways, do not, or will not, see much in 

 it, until they find themselves and their interests hard hit 

 by the innovation. These represent the various attitudes 

 of British manufacturers towards American machinery. 



It is well, in the interest of a nation's industries, and of 

 the highest national and industrial life, that the burden of 

 the human drudge shall be lessened to the last limits. At 

 the present time, from that point of view, America occu- 

 pies the foremost position. Ten years ago little of the auto- 

 matic machinery which has been so highly developed in that 

 country was known in Great Britain, outside of the small 

 arms factories. Half a dozen years since it was finding its 

 way into the cycle shops. Now it has found a welcome in 

 many of our leading engineering establishments that were 

 destitute of it five years ago. 



The result is, that British machine tool makers are copy- 

 ing much of this machinery when it is not protected by ex- 

 isting patents. In some instances resemblances are so close 

 that it would be difficult for any one not an expert to detect 

 the difference between the original and the copy. In numer- 

 ous cases, however, British firms have produced modified 

 tj^es, which, while possessing the essential elements em- 

 bodied in the original machines, have details worked out 

 differently. In some instances the copies are real improve- 

 ments on the American originals; but these are excep- 

 tional. 



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