[D0204AAL], Letter from Herman Ernest Dick to Thomas Alva Edison, July 17th, 1902
https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/D0204AAL
Transcription
[illegible] Mich My Dear Edison: July 17 '02 I enclose letter from Rafn which I have not received and delivered. I have also written Stewart saying that if he was free when the foreign letters patents were [illegible] illegible] try & use him if we could make a satisfactory [illegible] [illegible]. Regarding Austria [illegible] that I could give him no answer now and could not say how I would handle that country. This letter I return herewith. R W. [illegible] letter is most interesting. Personally he is a most interesting gentleman & did do some good work for which I have always given him credit. He has a formatting of chemistry & electricity which has [illegible] him a great deal of money & his [illegible] have not profited by this knowledge. Many times he has tried to draw me out [illegible] the battery at [Americas?], [illegible] [illegible] he has given [Mr?] [illegible] & always [illegible] I know nothing of its workings or of the patent matters. [illegible] he asked [me?] to cable you asking that be be placed in charge of your patent matters [illegible] I [reflected?]. He has the reputation of being a most brilliant patent [illegible] & has [illegible] many larger [illegible] [illegible] in the past but of late he has been interested largely in compromises. He is Chairman of the British Automobile Club [and?] the [Auto?] Club. He does not understand the principles on which your battery works and his practice of the way your patents should be shown was most understanding. He is a shrewd [illegible] fellow who is most anxious to make a stroke to better his impaired [illegible] [illegible] which should not really [protect?] against him. This is the only man in England who has had a clear understanding & conception of [Dunderland?] & he is [illegible] [illegible] he says that he [illegible] [illegible] in the [illegible]. Normally I like him & under firm [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] on account of his great experience be a good man in the battery business has not in the way he proposes. As he does not understand your battery I feeling that he really is honest in thinking he is among your favorite writing you that he controller the Jungner patents. As I have always refused to talk battery with him on the ground that I know nothing of them or their workings [illegible] it would be best for you to reply to his letter. I heard in London that he [sank?] $190,000 trying to improve the present lead battery. He was once very [fine?] electrical turnouts in London and is Chairman of a Company which makes electric vehicles. This by the way has been recently reorganized by him after sinking about £100,000 I don't understand why he should [illegible] that the [illegible] Co should exploit the prized battery patents. He [land?] [you?] any that this matter [illegible overstruck handwriting] was in my hands when we were all [illegible] and your [illegible]. He has [used?] me let him [in?] [in?] some way when I begin the [illegible] abroad. His [illegible] of the Construction Company stock is so small that it would hardly [illegible] in a division of the [Aprils?]. I don't [illegible] their is hardly a [illegible] in England [illegible] [illegible] to do work of this character than [illegible] the Construction Company. I don't understand what he means when he says that he told me he constructed [illegible] patents. He did not tell me this and then only [illegible] I had of his interest in Jungner was what Stewart told you and I at the Laboratory at the time with Wallace & Lawrence were in America You will probably also remember that matters Mr Lawrence & Wallace mentioned Jungner patents when they were there although Stewart who was there at the [illegible] time said that they had an [illegible] in [illegible]. He says in his letter that he has the option on it may be that Lawrence did not go in with him. Mr Lawrence has not mentioned Jungner patents to me. I imagine you will write him in the [illegible] that your intend to stand "pat" this time [in?] your invention I notice by the patent [illegible] Dyer sent me (I asked him to send you a copy) that in service of the countries taxes are due early next year. [Marking?] due in France early next year ([illegible]). I [illegible] in Italy & Spain. They can fix that up when I come down this [illegible]. If [no?] company we can [assemble?] a few batteries in each of these countries in take such other action us your [illegible] [illegible]. Yours sincerely H E Dick <file> [TAE Marginalia?]