Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1890-05-17

Next April the Patent ONCE will be-
one hundred years old. IL is an inter
esting place to every American, foi
within It's walls is represented a century
OF wonderful progress.
The honor OF founding the Patent Of
Ace belonged to Thomas jefferson. VIII,
was the protector OF the patent system
OF the country, and to the day OF his
death took a personal interest in it,
workings. lie was an inventor himself,
although he never applied for patent
The visitor TO Monticello Is shown an
easy chair which Jefferson made him.
self, and door fastening. the pFincipl,
Of which is used to this day. For sew
eral years after the act establishing III,
department went into effect jefferson
alone had the power 81 granting pat
ent. as he was Secretary OF State. and
that was one OF bis many prerogatives.
The President and Acknowledgement
were also Obliged TO aiiix their sig.
natures 10 the document to make II OF
any use. After Jefferson became Presi-
dent he did not have 80 much time al
his disposal, and his successor did not
interest himself in the matter, So the
duties OF the office were assigned to a
single clerk.
In those early DAYS this clerk was not
kept very busy. The first year there
were but three patents granted out OF
five applications ., 80 the clerk. DIR
Thornton, had plenty of time for diver
sion. He had a desk in the old Stat.
Department and many day when the
doctor had nothing tn do he used 10 get
out his fishing tackle and take turn
with the black bass and perch in IN.
upper Potomac, for he was a disciple OF
izsak Walton. A queer character the
good old doctor must have been. and Tor
over quarter Of century he ruled the
inventors OF the country with almost
autocratic power. His superior officers
had the most implicit confidence in him
and would sign every paper which he
submitted without question. 80 ht
granted patents 10 whom he pleased
and kept back those that did not please
him. From some he took fees and from
others not, and when he died his ac
counts we're found 10 he in an extreme
liz unsatisfactory condition, but no one
blamed the good doctor or suspected
him of wrong-doing. for he died a. poor
as he had lived. lie had lacked prac.
teal business knowledge, like many
another man Of science that was all.
lie loved his patents like children. and
an old clerk in the office likes 10
tell a good story of lsi2- when the
war with Great Britain was going ON
and the English had captured and wcr,
In possession Of the city. They had set
the Capitol on tire as woll as the Whit,
House and the cannon we're turning on
the Patent Office and other buildings
The guns we're just In front OF the build
ing, so the story rIns, and firing was
about 10 commences when the doctor
rushed out in a frenzy, shouting: Are
you Englishmen or only Goths and van
dals? This Is the Patent oriee. de-
pository Of the ingenuity Of the Ameri.
can nation. in which the whole civilized
world is Interested Would you destro,
IL? II So fire away and let the charge
pass through my botA.
Whether or not the single eccentric
clerk OF the Patent Office really did US,
such language is not known, but tho Of
iice was not destroyed,
When the office was removed from the
State Department itoecupied a building
on the site of the general po st-otiice Tor
some years This was just before the
1919 incident Even at that time the
office was of small pretensions and up 10
1873 but i.siA patents had been issued. u
great majority OF which were for agri-
cultural implements. In these DAYS
more are issued every month than were
issued during the tirst forty years of the
Republic.
A memorable year in the history of
the Office Mas that of 1884, from which
year the re,.i organization of the bureau
dates. Before that time IL was in EN-
bryo and there was little system. IL
was In this year that the first commits
sioner was appointed. and though the
bureau remained under the supervision
of the State Department IL was more in
dependent In those days drawings
were seldom used at present they are
used almost entirely-and models were
required with every application for a
patent This was the case for many
years afterward. but when inventor,
began 10 increase II was found that this
plan was impracticable. and SO the sys-
TEN Of working drawings now in u.s..
was adopted. although models in some
instances where "A better knowledge OF
the workings Of the device is necessary
arr required.
The fire Of 1850 was a most disastrous
one for the Patent Office. A big appro-
priation had Just been made by Congress.
10 be used in enlarging the work OF til,
bureau when the fire destroyed over
1000 models a. we'll a. many valuable
papers. Among these latter was vol
ume Of original drawings by Robert
Fulton, illustrating his great invention
when was then revnlutioDizing COM
merce. Many OF the models destroyed
we're replaced In after years and now oc-
enpy place in the magnificent model
hall Ok the present bailding, which was
commenced just previous 20 the break
ing out of the war. Since then mum
Der Of wings have been added, forming
a hollow square, in the eenter OF which
i court which forms "a refreshing
picture to the weary workers in the
building
There wns another ira in 1871 which