New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1888-04-04
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington, d. c., March 80. 1888

Mr.. Villas, late Postmaster General,
was appointed tosthe place vacated by
Mr.. Lamar when the latter took his
seat on the Supreme bench. The new
Secretary found the business of the
Patent Office in a deplorably slip-shod
condition. The work was very much
behind; the workmen, examiners oi
inventions were demoralized from hab-
its of idleness and lack of supervisory
the Office was, in fact, without a head
in far too.literal sense.
The first Commissioner of Patents
appointed by Mr.. Cleveland was q
criminal lawyer. Conscious of his ig.
norance of patent law and practice, he
was naturally dependent upon his sub
ordinates whose action he affirmed with
automatic certainty, thus depriving ap-
plicants for patents Of the benefit Of
appeal, and resolving the Patent Office
into twenty-nine Star Chamber Courts
where as many examiners gossiped,
joked, read papers and rejected appli.
cations for patents with nonchalance
bred of knowledge that the Commission
er of Patents, che nominal head, was
only the tail of their hydra.
This Commissioner of Patents was
finally made judge of the Washington
Criminal Court, an1s all Patentdom re-
joiced. Surely the President would
now appoint real Commissioner OF
Patents and not a mere figure head.
1t was an excellent opportunity to
apply the civil service legend. There
were at least dozen men in the Pat
ent Office of first rate ability and ripe
experience; they were acquainted with
the Office from actual service in every
branch. But no political end could be
attained by such appointments. They
were all republicans.
Mr.. Cleveland appointed an ex-mem-
ber of Congress from Iowa, who has
signalized his brief engagement by a
series Of contradictory rulings and de-
cisions, which have quite thrown the
complicated practice of the Patent Of
flee out of gear and made thousands of
applicants for patents weep, pray, and
swear.
It is not every one who knows the
extent of the Patent system of the
United States. In recent speech a
member of Congress remarked that we
were born on patent beds, rocked in
patent cradles and laid to rest in patent
coffins, and that in the journey from
the cradle to the grave we seldom
touched anything that was not patented
or made by patent process.
More patents are granted by the
United States in week than are grant
ed in either France or Germany in six
months, and more patents are yearly
taken out in this country than all the
rest of the world. The money exacted
by the Patent Office from inventors,
$3', on every patent granted, has Great.
ed a,surplus fund that amounts to mil
lions of dollars. But, Notwithstanding
this enormous tax on inventive genius,
it is impossible, owing to the misman.
agement of the Patent Office, to have
prompt and fair examination of their
applications for patent.
1t is notorious that the Examiner re-
fuses to allow patents, rejecting appli.
cations on the 1imsiest pretexts, keep.
ing all the while list of the names
and addresses of applicants, then open
ing office as patent attorneys, they
write to the wronged inventors, offer
ing to secure patents on the very appli
cations they have dishonesty rejected
Several bills to abate this swindle
have been introduced in Congress max.
ing ex-Patent Office Examiners intellig.
ible as attorneys until two years have
elapsed from the date of their resigna.
ton, but the examiners have, in every
instance, been able to prevent the bill.
becoming a law.
There are numbers of Examiners
acting as patent agents now who have
set up on no other capital than the
names and addresses of inventors whose
applications they rejected as examiner!
in order that they might secure retain
ers in the same applications as attor
neys.
The new Secretary, Mr.. Villas, ha'
issued very stringent order forbiddine
gossip, letter writing, newspaper read
ing etc., by employees of the Patent Of
flee during office hours, and there is a
present an outward show of work. Blu
al the examiners sit behind closed
doors and mammoth desks. The out
y 4 E