The American. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1857, 1857-08-19
Inventors and the Patent Office. !.

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Recent events at Washington occasioning the
resignation of JUDGE CHARLES MASON, late Conn
missioner of Patents by whose withdrawal from
the public service the government has lost a most
efficient, trustworthy, indemtigabe and accom-
plshed officer; and the numerous class of inven.
tors a firm and steadfast TREND and Jealous sup
porter OF their interests, possessed Of high APP
probation of their genius, and anxious to promote
reformation in the Department in which they are
all so deeply concerned, have led US into a train
of reflections upon Inventors and the Patent Office,
which we deem appropriate to be made known to
! our readers. We cannot now give vent to all cur
thoughts upon these subjects, but must for the
present, content ourself with expressing those that
press at the moment strongest upon US.
/ Inventors, in our opinion, do not stand in the
elevated position in the public mind to which
their genius and their works entitle, them. We
consider EN-, even when il1terate, to be entitled
to rank intellects, with novelsts and poets and
| in usefulness and practical benefits to man
| kind, lar ahead Of these. The novelist and the
poet NAV instruct but their truest province is to
please, y lille the inventor not only pleases and
instu cts, but alleviates the labor, promotes the
comforts and luxuries, enhances the possessions
and z reases the epjoyments of man. The anci-
ents ralled the poets by the appelation of Crea-
tors, but if such term should be applicable to
ny tcing human, how much more applicable is
it to he inventor for he makes mere machine
pc l,rm the offices as of a thinking being he
$ ,rn to have endowed it with instinct, to have
a. y ated it with mind.
! iqvention has almost become a sort ofprofession
sur country, and hventors, as class the most
ful and deserving of our citizens, but too often
e worst remunerated and the most imposed
on. Their genius pervades every walk, calling,
.ience and art in life. Without il, man would
ave remained in savage state, but little if at all
Letter than the beasts OF the forest. There is no
"ousehod, no farm, no shop, no any-place in
civilized life, that owes not its existence or its i'm
provement, TO the genius OF some Inventor. In all
climes, in all countries of the world, the Inventor
is not only not duly appreciated, but he is liable
to plunder and plage, toneglect and persecution,
and reviling and obloquy
| James Rumsey, the first navigator by steam on
this continent, languished in poverty, and was
called Crazy jim" He left this, his native
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England, where he died, and was honored with a
tomb among her illustrious dead, in Westminster
Abbey. His contemporary, Jonathan Fitch, Jared
no better here among his countrymen; and at
this day, shough we boast our refinement and our
| progress, !" Inventors, TO whom, Of alf men, we
are most indebted we are least willing 10 pay our
homage, express gratitude or even grant
adequate protection in the enjoyment Of the works
Of their own genius.
The ingenuity of the Inventor lessons the labor
of the plough TO the farmer; it sows the seed for
him. broadcast or in drills; il harrows il into the
earth; il reaps the ripened grain; it takes "the
harvest home; !" It winnows from il the chaf; its
mills make the flour, and its ovens bake the
bread. All these things may he seen in the many
models Of the inventors Of ploughs Of drills, Of
harrows, of cutivators, of scythes and cradles Of
harvesters, Of FANS of mills, and of ovens, that
crowd the cases in the great SNOWFALL Of Ameri
can ingenuity, in the Patent Office
Though the Inventor has done all these thinga,
and more, for the agrculturist, he is still made TO
furnish even further aid. The sweat Of his brow,
the vigor of his mind, the pains Of its pregnancy,
the very parturition Of his brain, are even taxed,
that he may send forth, annually, an illustrated
volume of agriculture, at a cost Of from 800, 900
to 100000. While the labors of the farmer are
decreased by the ingenuity Of the Inventor, and
the quantity of his produce enhanced and his
knowledge enlarged, the farmer himself contri-
butes, directly, nothing towards the benefits so
lavishy bestowed. Why should the Inventor
alone be taxed, both in mind and in money, to
promote the interests Of the agriculturist9 Yet
such is the present state of things. From the
Patent fund.- contributed solely by the genius Of
Inventors, the agriculturist is indebted for the
annual costly volume that promotes his interest
and facilitates his industry This should not be-
The fee or tax ON patents should be reduced, and
the farmers as class, or the public at large
should be made TO pay for the agricultural infor-
nation that is now so widely and at such great
cost disseminated at the expense Of the inventors
alone. We could speak Of other kindred impo
stons but for want of present space.
The Inventor has to pay largely in time, in labor,
and in money for the poor privilege of being al
lowed to try to preserve bis'own, which privilege
is about all that the grant Of patent allows him.
II he is pirated upon in any way, he has is true,
his action for damages but this he has to bring at
heavy cost Of time and money, and then, in nine
cases out of ten after vexatious trials and procras-
tinstons he will most likely find that he has but
. L al ~ obi