possessed was necessary for such
actions. Howe turned once more to George Fisher, but years of investing
money in Howe's machine without any monetary return had cooled him to
the idea. Fisher, however, agreed to sell his half interest, and in
February 1851 George S. Jackson, Daniel C. Johnson, and William E.
Whiting became joint owners with Howe. These men helped Howe to procure
witnesses in the furtherance of numerous suits, but more money was
needed than they could raise. The following year a Massachusetts man by
the name of George W. Bliss was persuaded to advance the money for the
heavy legal expenses needed to protect the patent. Bliss did this as a
speculation and demanded additional security. Once more Elias'
long-suffering parent came to the rescue and mortgaged his farm to get
the necessary collateral.

Only one of these suits was prosecuted to a hearing, but this one,
relatively unimportant in itself, set the precedent. In it the defense
relied on the earlier invention of Walter Hunt to oppose Howe's claims.
The defendant succeeded in proving that Hunt invented, perfected, and
sold two machines in 1834 and 1835 which contained all the essential
devices in Howe's machine of 1846. But Howe showed that the defendant's
machine (which was a Blodgett and Lerow) contained some features of
Howe's machine which were not in Hunt's. The jury decided the case in
favor of Howe. Howe later fought a vigorous battle with Isaac Singer,
but after much legal controversy the ultimate decision in that case also
was in Howe's favor. The suits and payments to each patent holder for
the right to use his idea were choking the sewing-machine industry. Even
Howe could not manufacture a practical machine without an infringement.
Finally an agreement was reached and a "Combination" was formed by the
major patent holders (see pp. 41-42).

In the meantime, eight years of the first term of Howe's patent had
expired without producing much revenue. This permitted Howe, upon the
death of his partner, George Bliss, to buy Bliss' half interest for a
small sum. He became, then, the sole owner of his patent just as it was
to bring him a fortune. He obtained a seven-year extension for his
patent in 1860 without any difficulty, and in 1867, when he applied for
another extension, he stated that he had received $1,185,000 from it.
Though he endeavored to show that because of the machine's great value
to the public he was entitled to receive at least $