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Joe reminded Tom of the promise to advance all monies due. Tom agreed, the funds

were sent and about four weeks later, Ham was delighted to receive a package

containing a document with blue ribbons and red seals. The steel engraved document

was:

A photo lithograph of the drawing and a printed copy of the specification were

included. Joe asked Ham if he had any plans for selling the patent or manufacturing his

invention. Obviously, Ham had never gone that far and he asked Joe for suggestions.

Joe suggested consulting Tom McAllister who already had an investment in the affair

and could be looking for ways to get his money back. Ham wrote to Tom who was now

in Boston and after several weeks he got letters from Tom that were not very

encouraging. He claimed there were many patents on the market and manufacturers

did not foresee a good demand for Ham's invention.

A short time later, Ham's father had an accident at the mill and was laid up. The family

would now have to depend on Ham for support and he would have to give up thoughts

of college. Ham went to see the mill superintendent claiming the accident should not

have happened if proper precautions had been in place. As a result, he secured for