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Page 76 JOHN DuBois
A heavy ice flood would pick up these logs and carry
them into the streams before the boom was hung, in the spring of the
year. and they passed on down the river. Likewise, occasionally an
enormous flood would come down the river and take all of the logs
out of the boom at Williamsport. These floods would carry the logs
down the river, landing them sometimes on farms and long distances
past the saw mills. For meeting this emergency Mr. DuBois secured
land at Havre de Grace and erected mills at that point for the
manufacturing of his runaway logs. These logs would frequently get
far down the bay and have to be gathered up by boat and brought back
to the mill. This system of taking care of the logs arose after one
of the first heavy floods that carried the logs past the boom, at
which time Mr. DuBois tried to organize the lumbermen for the
gathering up of their logs and saving what they could, but as usual
every one thought he had a different remedy than that of Mr. DuBois
and the result was, Mr. DuBois bought the logs of the other
lumbermen, erected his mills and from that time on played a lone
hand in this lumber business.
It was while Mr. DuBois was operating this mill that he
conceived the invention of erecting bridge piers under water. Prior
to that time the Pennsylvania Railroad had crossed the Susquehanna
River at Havre de Grace on a Ferry. This method of transporting cars
became burdensome and they decided to construct a bridge. Mr. DuBois
got an interwiew with the railroad officials and wanted to build
these piers. However, through the treachery of a friend in whom he
had confided his method for the construction of the piers, (although
offering to take this man along with him in this enterprise), the
railroad became advised of the system intended to be used by Mr.
DuBois. When Mr. DuBois discovered this treachery, he immediately
made an application for a patent, which he succeeded in getting. The
Railroad Company having become familiar with his plans, used them.
Mr. DuBois promptly brought a suit against the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company. The influence of the Pennsylvania Railroad at that time
with the government was much stronger than that of Mr. DuBois, but
the case finally got into the Supreme Court of the United States,
which stood, as it has always, free and clear of petty politics, and
Mr. DuBois became the victor, compelling the railroad company to pay
large sums of money for the use of his invention. This invention was
the most notable of any that Mr. DuBois made during his lifetime.
The system was afterwards used in the construction of the first
bridge between New York City and Brooklyn and is now universally
used wherever it is necessary to put in a pier or an abutment under
water. The patent has long since expired and it is now free to the
use of engineers.
Mr. DuBois was of a naturally inventive turn of mind.
It may be said that he was the father of "mass production". His
mills were so constructed that when a log started in at one end,
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