AN OLD SUIT DECIDED AGAINST NEW YORK CITY.
Twenty-three years ago a suit was begun against New York city in behalf of James Knibbs, an old fireman, who had invented a device for automatically relieving the back pressure in hose carried to a high elevation. What has become of Knibbs nobody knows. Who his heirs are nobody knows. Even the patent that he secured is not certified with his name. All that is certainly known is that his patent was adopted by the fire officials of the city without any notice to the inventor, and he brought suit. Knibbs, however, had no money. He transferred the right to manufacture and sell his contrivance to Christopher C. Campbell, who has just had a judgment for $818,074 42 recorded in his favor.
The device patented by Knibbs consists of a number of concave elasticsteel disks, strung upon a stem and inclosed in a metallic watertight compartment. When the back pressure on a hose carried to great heights in burning buildings reaches a given degree, these disks are expanded by the pressure until they fit closely to the bore of the chamber—thus shutting off further supply. Previous to the adoption of the Knibbs device, the back pressure frequently burst hose and ruined engines.
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