9 



"The testimony was thereupon taken, in compliance with the or- 

 der of the Board, and by the proof submitted on the part of said 

 McCormick it appears conclusively that he invented his machine, then 

 practically and publicly tested its operation in the harvest of 1831." 



And that " from' the exhibits referred to your committee, it ap- 

 pears that his (Hussey's) machine was first constructed and operated in 



It was then that Hussey answered, saying that the priority of 

 McCormick should not affect his invention, as " our machines do not 

 conflict/' 



The late Honorable Edmund Burke, Commissioner of Patents in 

 1848, wrote Senators Douglas and Shields, March 4, 1850, recom- 

 mending the extension of both Hussey's and McCormick's patents, 

 saying: 



" The testimony of Mr. McCormick presented to the Board of 

 Extension clearly proved that he invented and put in operation his 

 machine in 1831, two years before the date of Hussey's patent. But 

 my opinion is that justice will be subserved by extending the patents 

 of both parties." 



Neither, however, succeeded in obtaining an extension. 



Mr. Justice Nelson, of the United States Supreme Court, in the 

 suit of McCormick vs. Seymour & Morgan, decided in 1855, among 

 other points, the following: 



" It appears from the evidence in the case, that Hussey and Mc- 

 Cormick turned their attention to the construction of a reaping ma- 

 chine very nearly at the same period McCormick two or three years 

 ^earlier." 



Hussey was a witness for Seymour & Morgan in this case. 



It is submitted that the proof on the point of priority of McCor- 



mick is conclusive. 



II. -WHAT WAS MC CORMICK'S MACHINE OF 1831 AND HUSSEY'S OF 1833 T 



Let us see which one contained the devices that time has demon- 

 strated as being essential to the successful reaping of grain. 



(1) Methods of Draft. The pictures show that both machines 

 were drawn by teams, walking at the side of the grain. McCormick's 

 patent, which was issued June 21, 1834, describes both a pull and a 

 push machine, and the drawing of the patent, which is herewith repro- 



