HOW TRADE SECRETS ARE DISCOVERED.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12424, 13 February 1901, Page 6

HOW TRADE SECRETS ARE DISCOVERED.

To guard a trade secret (remarks a contemporary), is a matter of greater difficulty than ■one might imagine, .but this is nob altogether surprising when tha tricks resorted to •by rival tradesmen to make it public pro-; perty are taken into consideration. ' Dishonest 'workmen are sometimes the cause of their master's downfall, but strategy succeds twice where bribery does once. Some years ago a.,large firm of American printers discovered how to print on tin. by a far cheaper method than that hitherto employed. The result was a terrible fall in the •price of tin boxes, and many other makers, unable to reduce their prices accordingly, were ruined. Filled with revenge,, they tried to bribe the inventor's workmen to dis- ' close the secret, but, although they offered them a thousand dollars apiece to change masters', loyalty triumphed, 'and the secret remained intact. The spying system was then resorted to,*-bu't failed likewise, for.no stranger was allowed inside the. building, however urgent his business. But one day three men arrived at the factory in the. guise of policemen, and said that one of the workman had been found to be connected with a powerful gang of thieves, and was 'smuggling stolen goods into the .building, which must, therefore, be searched. 'The owners expostulated, but the men displayed their warrant, so no more could be said. An entrance was effected, and while searching forthti.-stolen articles the representatives of the "bvivj'.scized the opportunity of taking a jrumbsi'.'Oi snap-shots with their cameras. 'Aftey exploring the building for some time in vain they'took their leave with profuse apologies for the- mistake, arid notlong afterwards two other firms were able to use. the printing secret. Then the inventors found how they had been duped. The policemen wero spies, and their warrant forged, but the perpetrators of this dastardly trick wero never discovered. Tho,secret of colouring margarine was re--1 vc.aurd in a. very curious manner. .The inventors, two bveiirer,:. erected a building cn''circled Ivy a- yard, k. that r.o spying could h* ■■done by'their rivals, and all the margarine sent out by them passed through their hands alone to be effectively coloured. One day, the weather being hot, they opened all the "windows, and. relied upon the watchman outside to keep intruders at a. distance. But they had reckoned without science, for a rival merchant watched tho ivhole process from a neighbouring tree with the aid of a telescope, and subsequently TUKNED HIS KNOWLEDGE TO HIS OWN ACCOUNT. The art of making cast steel was once >' . v?cret known only to a man. named #sjf -nan and. his workmen, who plied ,s■§s'• trade at a factory near Attercliffe. stormy night a. traveller in rags knocked at the "door and asked for shelter from tho snow, but was refused admittance. He pleaded hard, and was at length allowed to come in and sleep on the floor. But he had no intention of going to sleep, although ho pretended to do so, and while the workmen continued to make cast steel he watched them with partly-closed eyes. A few weeks later the great secret was public property, for the benighted traveller was no other than a well-known engineer.

Citric acid was discovered by a chemist, and for many years was solely made by him at his shop in "Fleet Street. This being before the days of the Patents Act, he had no protection for his discovery except strict secrecy. He kept his'doors and. windows locked, but an ingenious sweep-crept down tte chimney one night, and .having made full investigations, returned by the way he had come. He soon-afterwards changed his " profession," and 'eventually became the largest manufacturer .of citric acid in the country. '-'••'":-:' A Manchester dyer some'time ago dis-

covered a great improvement in ibis art, and, when ho had spent a great deal of money in experimenting, built a large factory and employed »• heavy staff of workmen. For some time it seemed as if he were on the wot towards making 'an enormous fortune, fc.r ;.t!he dye lie produced was.for superior to'any other, and cloth coloured at'his factory was largely sought after by merchants. But his manager got married, and a rival, knowing that the newly-made wife would probably have great, influence with her husband, offered her £SOOO down if she would discover and betray the secret. The ..Delilah, carried away by the offer of such a substantial sum, dragged the secret from 'her spouse and sold it, only to ruin the man who had made the discovery. But there are other trade secrets equally valuable, namely, '■ those relating to dress and, furniture patterns,' and' they are just as liable tio be stolen. Some Parisian milliners were robbed last spring of designs that would have meant a very successful season to them. Skilled artists were EMPLOYED 'AT ENORMOUS SALARIES ,to get out the patterns, and, when com-pleted,-a, clerk was instructed to take them to the bank for safe keeping until the time arrived for their use. On the way he met a friend, and they adjourned to a publichouse for refreshment. The clerk imbibed more than was good for Mm,. and soon volunteered the information that 'ho had! designs in his pocket, which the other asked to sec. Hip request, being complied with, he made notes of all the important poinfs without his friend's knowledge, and ultimately, while-the designs were lying,at-the bank, a rival merchant filled his window with costume;; made -from them.' .-'Designs.for-furniture," lace, and jewllcry have to be very carefully guarded, for many firms employ spies specially to visit' their rivals' establishments and, examine the novelties to be., found therein, which they can then copy and sell- at a lower figure. But all precautions are 'very frequently useless, as a large furniture manufacturer:found to-his cost recently. He had designed an cabinet, and, being afraid of. placing it, on view in the window, hid it in the shop, losing no small -amount of custom thereby. Nevertheless,, the cabinets sold well, until a few weeks later he found to his disgust that other dealers were selling the same thing at a- much lower price. ■ An explanation was soon forthcoming..- His ; rivah' spies had entered his shop incognito from time to time to make inquiries.--about- goods,-' and-while he was'get'ting ont/'the>■'.article in •which' -they appeared -.to'.bei'interested "tli-ey-'-were quietly sketchirig-a port'ibp-of't'hecabinet. 'ln this' manner t-'ive" corn-plet« design wa-s taken down on '"paper, "each : -man-drawing'-» certain piece until the,pat-tern,'wais'-'complete:'- ■ But.tHere-a're'twb important,trad© secrets that .have defied'human ingenuity to discover i'or'upvvards of ''a' couple of,'centuries, despite the fact that a- number of men are engaged in the work. ■ One is connected with the manufacture of real eau-de-Cologne,' the firm of Johami Farina being the owners of the secret. Only' two men know how Salviati's Venetian glass is made, and when one dies another is trusted with, the priceless information, and so the mystery goes unsolved.