8 



that the principle, namely, cutting grain by means of a toothed in- 

 strument, receiving the rotary motion from a crank, with the iron teeth 

 projecting above the edge of the cutter, for the purpose of preventing 

 the grain from partaking of its motion, is a part of the principle of 

 my machine and was invented by me, and operated on wheat and oats 

 in July, 1831. This can be attested to the entire satisfaction of the pub- 

 lic and Mr. Hussey, as it was witnessed by many persons. Conse- 

 quently, I would warn all persons against the use of the aforesaid prin- 

 ciple, as I regard and treat the use of it, in any way, as an infringe- 

 ment of my rights. . . . The revolving reel, as I conceive, con- 

 stitutes a very important, in fact, indispensable, part of my machine. 

 " Very respectfully yours, etc., 



" CYRUS H. McCORMICK.'' 



As Mr. McCormick stated in this letter, the fact of his having suc- 

 cessfully operated his reaper in July of 1831 can be proven " to the en- 

 tire satisfaction of the public." The fact that he did so operate it in 

 1831 was not disputed for years, and Hussey admitted its use in 1831 in 

 a brief filed by him in 1848 before the Board of Commissioners for the 

 Extersion of Patents. Referring to McCormick' s testimony (at the 

 taking of which he was present) to prove the use of his machine in 1831, 

 Hussey wrote: 



" There are but two points satisfactorily proved which are not in 

 the records of the Patent Office, to wit: the date of the first trial of 

 the machine, and the abandonment by C. H. McCormick of the double 

 finger/' 



At this date there is* but one living witness of the working of the 

 reaper in 1831, and he, in 1848, testified under oath to its successful 

 operation in 1831. There are in existence numerous affidavits (as yet 

 unpublished) of persons who saw the reaper at work in 1831. There is, 

 also, on file in the Patent Office at Washington, D. C., the sworn tes- 

 timony of seven witnesses, taken in the spring of 1848, some of whom 

 v/ere cross-questioned by Hussey, to the fact that Cyrus H. McCor- 

 mick's reaper did successful work in the harvest of 1831. Fifty years 

 ago, when dozens of witnesses were living, no one disputed the fact 

 that McCormick's reaper successfully worked in wheat and oats in 

 the harvest of 1831, and no one who knows the facts disputes it now. 



The Committee on Patents of the United States .Senate reported 

 March 30, 1852, when there were bills pending before the Committee 

 for the extension of both Hussey's and McCormick's first patents, as 

 follows : 



