The Yakima Inventor Who Struck It Rich
A local inventor's patent for a hay baler nets him a windfall of $16,000 after Portland investors realize the machine's true potential.
Sometime ago Tom Staton patented a hay baler and shortly afterward sold a five-sixth interest to Portland capitalists for $10,000, retaining a one-sixth interest which was nonassessable. Last week the attorney for the Portland purchasers was in the city and tried to buy the remaining interest, offering $2,000. Mr. Staton declined to sell, on the advice of friends, and was then invited to Portland to confer with his partners. It now transpires that one of the balers, under the patent, has been manufactured in Portland and its work so far exceeded expectations that when Mr. Staton reached Portland he was offered $16,000 for his remaining one-sixth interest, which offer he has accepted. The transfer of the property will detain Mr. Staton in Portland until the middle of next week.
“It now transpires that one of the balers, under the patent, has been manufactured in Portland and its work so far exceeded expectations.”
This story highlights the perennial tension between early-stage innovation and capital. Much like the tech-startup culture seen in the Pacific Northwest today, a local resident turned a rural agricultural problem into a massive payout by leveraging intellectual property.
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