I claim as my own invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent—
1. A balance-valve provided with a pressure-plate acted upon by steam-pressure and having a downward and lateral movement through means of steep inclines, as shown, as and for the purpose set forth.
2. A balance-valve provided with a pressure-plate reposing upon steep inclines, as shown, and suitable means for limiting its movement upon the inclines, the said plate being held down by steam-pressure, as and for the purpose set forth.
John F. Allen.
Witnesses:
De Witt Bogardus,
J. W. Durbrow.
Mr. Morgan’s advice was received by the meeting with a feeling of relief from a long suspense; it was at once accepted unanimously, and the temporary organization was made permanent. The directors immediately convened. Before proceeding to the transaction of business one of the directors said to me: “Mr. Porter, you have now been in the Southwark Foundry for six months, and I understand that not a single engine has been sent out from that place in all that time; will you tell us why this is so?” I had then an opportunity of witnessing a nobility of soul such as few persons meet with in the whole course of their lives. Mr. Merrick rose and said: “I will save Mr. Porter the trouble of answering that question. Mr. Porter has not sent a single engine out of these works because he has not had a single tool with which he could make an engine. I thought I knew all about those tools when, last March, I assured you and Mr. Porter he would find everything he could possibly desire, when the fact was I knew nothing about them. I have been through those tools carefully with Mr. Goodfellow and have seen for myself that not one of them could produce work fit to be put in these engines. While I am about it I wish to make another confession: I said then, and you all agreed with me, that it could not be expected that the manufacture of these engines could employ all the resources of that great establishment, and so we left the door open for the return to it of the class of work which had formerly occupied it; but from what I have myself seen in the six months I have been there I am able to say to you that if the works had possessed the resources which I really believed they did possess, these would have been insufficient to meet the demand for these engines which has come to us from all parts of the country and for many different kinds of business. Mr. Porter knew what he wanted and the demand that might reasonably be expected; I had no conception of the one or the other. It is a great pity that we did not then give him the means he asked for, and I hope this will be done now.”
Mr. Henry Lewis spoke up and said: “What did Mr. Porter ask for? I have no recollection of his asking us for anything at all.” None of the directors could remember anything about it; the letter which I had addressed to the chairman had even disappeared. Luckily, however, I had made a copy of it, and I produced the letter-book, in which it was the first letter copied, and read them this copy. I should say here that I have inquired at the works for this letter-book, but have been told by Mr. Brooks, the president, that all correspondence more than twenty years old having no legal value had been destroyed. When I had finished, Mr. Lewis exclaimed: “Did you write that letter?” “I did, sir,” I replied. “Well,” he said, “I suppose I must have heard it, but I have not the faintest recollection of it.” All said the same thing except Mr. Merrick, as it had brought out his reply.
This illustrates the indifference of the directors at that time to anything that came from me. An earnest disposition was now manifested to make all the amends possible; the $100,000 which I had asked for was immediately appropriated. In view of the utter barrenness of the works I was asked if it had not better be made $200,000, but this I did not favor. I told them I would rather proceed more slowly, especially as many of the old tools might be made serviceable when we should have perfect tools with which to refit them. So at last I had triumphed at every point, but at what a cost, O, what a cost!
With a number of other engineers I attended, by invitation, a meeting held at the office of the American Machinist, February 16, 1880, which determined upon the organization of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and soon after I had the honor of being invited to read a paper at the first regular meeting of this society, held in the auditorium of the Stevens Institute at Hoboken, N. J., on the 7th of April following. The date of this meeting, it will be observed, fell during the time when the Philadelphia expert was racking his brains to concoct for me an application for a patent reissue which he felt sure could not be allowed.