New-York tribune., 1888-04-14
MORE MEN FOR THE PATENT OFFICE.

NEEDED REFORM WHICH MR. BUTTERwoRTH
is PUSHING THROUGH CONGRESS.
WASHINGTON, April / Special. l).-An item in the
Legislative Appropriation bill, which was submitted
to the House by the Appropriations Committee this
morning, provides for the appointment of thirteen
additional examiners for the Patent Office, and
for twelve more $1,000 clerks. The committee
has also so shaped the appropriation for the Land
Office that the law providing for the evicting Of
the Land Office from the Interior Department
Building in December must be enforced This
will In itself accomplish much toward heghtening
the efficiency Of the Patent Office force, which has
been crowded together until the breathing of foul
air and the necessity Of climbing over somebody
every time one moved from his seat seriously IN
ter1ered with the progress of the work
Two Of the new positions thus provided for will
be for principal examiners and thus two new
divisions will be created to aid the present twenty
nine divisions IN disposing OF the ever-increasing
volume OF business pouring in upon the Office
of Patents under President Arthur, introduced the
matter TO the at, ention of the committee and pro-
cured the incorporation of the above proviIons on
the bill. LII he was as successful in convincing
the members Of the House at large that the Patent
Office should be run upon Bipartisan basis for
the benefit Of American inventors, who pay the
bills as he was in driving that point to the mental
consciousness Of his colleagues on the ApprOpria-
tions Committee Saturday, that item OF the bill
will go through untouched. 1t certainly does
seem absurd that any picayune considerations OF
reform" economy should keep Congress from ap
propriating sufficient sums out OF the money which
inventors pay into the Treasury promptly to trans
act the joint business OF the inventors and the
government
All salaries and expenses Of the Patent Office,
together with expenses OF conducting and main
tanning the great building pOpuarly known as
" The Patent Office" but which also contains
the office of the Secretary of the Interior his
Assistant Secretaries and clerks, are paid out OF
the Patent Fund. This fund is replenlshed by
the fees paid by the inventors at various stages
Of Patent Office action upon their applications
Tor patents. Not cent comes out Of the Gov
ernments pockets for the support OF the Patent
Office. On the contrary, the surplus OF the fund
is continually increasing and is now about
So 900, 900. This vast amount Of money, sucked
from the pockets of American inyentors-who are
generally poor as church mce-les idle IN the
Treasury while their business in the Patent Office
is so far in arrears through an inadequate force
and inadequate accommodations that IN some
cases six months pass after an application has
been flied before it is heard from: ana after that
q period Of three months must elapse a1ter eacn
letter written in the case by the inventor before
he gets an answer Consequently, where there hap
rens to be q difference OF opinion between the
examiner and inventor to the scope OF his claims
the case may drag on for years while the new
art IS advancing at the rapid rate or mechanical
development Of the present age, some ouher IN
yentors are coming in with conflicting appllca-
tons and endless confusion results to the loss
of the inventor, the vexation of the examiner ana
the fattenipg of the patent lawyer. one can
imagine the high rate Of speed with which an ar
gument advances, when three months pass between
the statement of each proposition and the answer
thereto. .-,o.;ozo
In the face Of all this, nggardly Appropriations
Cnmmittee every wear cuts down the salary of the
principal examiners in the Patent Office TO s24oo.
While While the law says they shall be s2,5oo, while
ohiefs Of divisions in the Treasury OF the same
rank get the full $4,000 for work which does not
reanire the abilities and special lSnOwledge called
out in the daily decisions in the Patent Office upon
rights involving thousands of dollars ana turning
mon the finest legal and scientific points; and
While the surplus Patent Office fund goes on ac-
cumulating.