The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-08-16


its dozen or so more of inventions,
all guarded at every point by the
protecting patent. Thus it is but
ten years ago that the first telephone
patent was issued. Since that time
there have been more than one
thousand American patents and half
as many foreign patents granted for
Improvements relating to tele-
phones.
There are upward of 100000
registered American patents, rang
ing in importance from Morse's tele-
graph system to the newest clamp
for fastening trouser buttons. Each
year the work of the Patent Office
has become so increased, the multi
tude of researches to be made so
great, and the time consumed so
wasteful of mans allotted span that
the inventor, no matter how novel
or meritorious his invention may be,
is often compelled to lose years of
opportunity to turn his discovery to
account before he can get his pa
tent.
The Herald representative, who
the other day, conversed with gen.
tleman thoroughly familiar with the
Patent Office and its workings, was
informed that sooner or later. Con-
gress must reorganize the Office OH
new basiss. AT present the ma
chinery is too cumbersome, the eX-
aminers too dilatory and often too
opionated and the field of research
too broad to be covered by present
methods. There is complaint, too,
of the present administration of the
office, and rumors are current which,
if even halfway reliable, should
invite the attention of reform
administration. But it is not the
object of this article to go into that
branch of the subject.
One cause of complaint among
inventors is that too much time is
wasted on inventions" so-called,
of the most absurd character, and
too much patents of this kind are
issued. 1t is really remarkable how
many patents issue on trifling and
worthless things. The West is the
most prolific of this class of inven-
ton. 1t was only year or so ago
that man down in Central Illinois
conceived the idea of keeping the
moth-fly out of bee-hives by an auto
matte process. These flies are a
pest to bee-keepers in that they
operate wholly at night, and to find
some way of keeping them out of
the hives at night the Central Hi
nosan bent the whole weight of his
mighty intellect. AT last he struck
it. He rugged up series of little
doors on the hives, and these he
attached by means of levers to a
framework in his chicken-house.
He then attached his chicken-roost
to this framework. When the chick
ems went to roost their weight oper-
ated the levers and closed the doors
of the beehives. When at daylight
they jumped from their perches the
levers flew up and the bee doors
flew open. This nonsensical contri-
vance actually went through the
ramifications of the department, and
the brilliant inventor got his pa
tent.
| Another genius in Ohio determ-
ined that there was one Office that
should not be usurped by any Other
Ohio man. He resolved to hold 6
bond on the clerk of the weather
in any locality. Particularly did hi
mean to produce rain when it was
wanted, as, for instance, it is wanted
now. The device consisted of tele
scoping tower, which was TO run W
to Il great height-if necessary to
penetrate the clouds. When the
thing had got up so that the moon
looked like a circus hoop, and Sat
urn, with his rings, like Chicago
Council lighted by electricity, the
man at the base of the tower was 10
! light fire. OF course, this was 3
a gigantic chimney, and the idea
was to have the heated air penetrate
and disrupt the cloud strata and SO
precipitate the downfall. This man,
through the average stupidity and
lazily conducted and perfunctory
methods OF the Patent Office, came
near getting patent. 1t was one
of the much-abused women there,
who, reading the specification with
little clearer human instinct, gave
a laugh, took it to her chief, ant
asked if this was new golden
stair" The chief scowled; she
pointed out the thing more clearly
and then the chief patted her under
the chin and said she was wist
and good girl, and should be re
warded. The examinations on tn,
patent golden stair ladder and rair
developed had already cost the
Government the time of seven clerks
and two examiners for period o.
seven weeks. The man did not ge
his spatent, but if the lady hat
not looked at the subject from it,
humorous standpoint, and not beer
rewarded with chuck under tn,
chin, this piece of nonsense nigh
have adopted the Patent Office re
ports so dear to the bucolic heart
Some time ago man had been
| l.,nn,o,;un huiIIar and ...hn Lnay