William Strong

“ Sections are added only when required by the depth of the water, and when the tube has sunk in consequence of the masonry laid in it nearly to a level of the water surface, though, if desired, they may be continued to the top of the pier. There is nothing that would justify our holding that the claim demands a tube composed of more than one section. ”

“ The building consists in laying the masonry of the pier within the dam, causing it to descend by its own gravity towards the bottom until it reaches the foundation. This descent is the setting. The floating coffer is, therefore, an instrument not only for building, but for setting piers. ”

“ The structure, when thus fitted to the piles and let down to the surface of the water, floats, by reason of its buoyancy. The upper ends of the piles are now framed together with ties, so as to stand firm. The preparatory steps for building and setting the pier having thus been consummated, and additional sections provided, so as to be brought into use as required, the stonemason commences to lay the solid pier within the floating coffer-dam, using for the purpose common stone, or other material deemed suitable. ”

“ Its formation is described to be, constructing a strong timber or other suitable character of platform, and bolting to its upper side one section of a hollow rectangular, or other desirable form of box or tube, which is used to incase or strengthen the pier, the tube being composed of boiler-plate metal or other suitable material. This platform and section of the tube are then caulked and pitched, or cemented, so as to be water-tight at bottom and on all sides, except at top, and strengthened, laterally and longitudinally, by means of strong rods. ”

“ No principle is better settled than that a party is not estopped by his silence unless it has misled another to his hurt. [10] There was no evidence of any such misleading stated in the prayer or found in the case. The patent was granted September 23, 1862. It nowhere appears that before that day the defendants had expended one dollar in building their piers. Moreover, the point does not negative knowledge by Parker of the plaintiff's invention before the conversation of which it speaks took place ”

“ It however is obvious that a floating water-tight coffer-dam, operating on the principle described, might be made of wood, or other material than boiler-plate metal, and when the pier is finished, the floating coffer-dam may be removed from around it, leaving the pier wholly uncovered from base to top. ”

“ Then either drive down between and near about the long piles other short piles or firmly imbed rock or other substantial material into the earth or river bed, and, if desirable, slip down over the piles one or more broad and heavy stones or timbers, and imbed the same firmly into the soil, so that they rest down upon the foundation, and form a flat surface. ”

“ It tended to show that prior to 1861, Parker, a civil engineer since 1838, and who, as already stated, had built the bridge, in the laying of whose piers the alleged infringement consisted, had conceived the plan on which the piers in this bridge were laid, going to different places to look at large bridges, and making many experiments and investigations; all with a view to building the piers for this particular bridge. That in the spring of 1861, when work on the bridge had been begun, and estimates for iron in the piers had been received, Crossman informed Mr. ”

“ Oliver, 2 Smith's Leading Cases, 417 and notes.↑ See Vance v. Campbell, 1 Black, 427.↑ See it, supra, at top of p. 55.↑ Rubber Company v. Goodyear, 9 Wallace, 788.↑ Hill v. Epley, 7 Casey, 334.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105) . ”