Wis cons in State Agricultural Society. 
193 
enactment by which those great monopolists will be foiled in their 
attempt further to burden the people in this direction. 
It is right that brain labor should be adequately rewarded; but 
when McCormick, a great many years ago made his plea before the 
Patent-Office for an extension of time, he admitted in that plea that 
he had made many hundreds of thousands of dollars in all, whereas 
he says that his machines had been the means of introducing and 
enlarging the capacity of farmers to extend their acreage, and had 
resulted in increased production of crops to such an extent that he 
had not been remunerated. Such sophistry. 
Secretary Field. I would call for an elaboration of the matters 
set forth in President Bascom’s address last evening. 
Mr. Anderson - . This patent law is something that our farmers 
should take hold of. There was over sixty applications last year 
for renewals on farm-implements alone. A very heavy tax on 
farmers. But talking will do nothing, if we can have an attorney at 
Washington to oppose the unjust extension of the patent rights 
that we are interested in, we might do something. This question of 
machinery is a very important question. I can cut wheat per acre 
with hand labor perhaps just as cheap as you can with a reaper^ 
but I can onl} r cut a little of it. 
I remember when I was a young man I could cut an acre of 
grain for a dollar and a half, and could make money at that. And 
you could get plenty of men to cut wheat with a cradle for fifty 
cents an acre at that time; but after all I am in favor of machinery. 
I have now the first reaper I ever bought in Wisconsin, some 
fourteen years ago, and it is in good working order; and when Mr. 
Robbins spoke about his Advance machine, I thought he meant an 
advance in prices from &125 to $250, or something like that. 
President Bascom. I think the arithmetic of the farmer must be 
a little different from that of the mechanic, or from the arithmetic 
of the merchant. I intimated last night that I never had farmed 
it, but I did own a farm for eight years, and farmed it by tenants, 
and I learned a great many things not to do about the farm. And 
there is a good deal that won’t pay on the farm, if you count all 
your money at first cost. Working a farm through a tenant, I 
could do nothing only as I paid him ordinary day wages, and then 
I could not get back any returns. I don’t think that is fair farm 
arithmetic to count your horses at the money which it would cost 
13 A 
