Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-01-01

'An6 PlOPoE Eecoro OF the patents
issued.
This system was already ir use to q
certain extent, but after the fire it be-
came general, and now every patent
issued has been photo-lithographed and
copies are kept on hand for distribution.
This has grown into an immense bust
ness, as nearly $4,000 patents are
granted every year. These photo
autographs are uniformly xii inches
in size, and, besides the drawings. q
full description of the invention is
given, making a small pamphlet From
these little books a good idea of the
patent may be obtained, and they are of
wonderful assistance to people unable to
come to the city to examine the various
patents already granted upon devices
in which they are interested.
How the application is made, how it
Is examined, passed upon and finally
granted or rejected, as the case may be,
and the reasons, require some details in
the telling. just at this time there Is a
great deal of complaint from inventors
and attorneys that the bureau is slow in
its work; but it is understood that Com
missioner Mitchell has given some at
tention to the matter, and proposes to
do all In his power to rectify it..
The application for the issue Of letters
| patent come in to the commissioner
by the score every day, by mail, by ex
press and through attorneys. First of
all the little bundle upon which so much
thought has been given, so much mid
night oil consumed, passes into the
hands Of the financial clerk. whose duty
1t is TO collect and account for the en-
trance fee of SIS, which must in all
cases accompany the application. Then
he sends the drawing and specifications
to the application clerk, who makes a
record Of the name of the applicant his
residence, the title of the invention,
name of attorney, day of receipt and the
name of the examiner to whom Ii Is re-
ferred for action. Before the papers are
forwarded to the examiner the drawings
| 60 to the draughtSman's division for in
spection as to the mechanical execution,
for drawing must be clear before it is
accepted. If upon examination 1t Is dis
covered that the drawing is defective
the inventor is notified. On the other
hand, if found all right, it travels back
| w viz oRPAANSbAOA IOOL0S WAcE0 IL Is
| given = serial number and forwarded to
the examiner, in whose division it be-
longs.
There are 80 subjects Of invention
divided into 50 classes, and assigned for
examination to the 80 examining divis-
Ions of the Office.
After examination, If the device is
found patentable, the examiner forwards
the papers to the issue division with his
signature attached. After all minor
mistakes have been corrected the papers
then go to the drafting division, where
they are put on the Ale and returned to
the issue division. The patent is then
allowed and the inventor notified Of its
allowance and issue upon the receipt Of
$40, the final fee. II the inventor
decides to take the patent out at
once he SO notifies tho Office and the
| specifications go down to the Govern
ment printing Office, where they are put
in type and printed. The drawings go
to the photographer, and after compile
ton the printed specifications and draw
ing are bound together, and may be had
for 10 cents copy. Next the patent is
made out and signed by the Secretary of
the Interior and Commissioner Mitchell
| Tho voyage of an application to the
harbor o! issuance Is a long and tedious
one, sometimes requiring years.
The model room is large hall or
series of corridors filled with neat glass
cases, in which are placed over 100, 900
models, including the most important
and the most unimportant kind. Like
the library, 1T is also rendezvous for
inventors who come to town.
MANY a man has been cured by a
! look into this hail." said an employee.
HE has reached the city with what he
considers great and original idea, and
drops in here only to discover that he
has been forestalled by some earlier apd
luckier inventor. Then, after he has
looked around awhile he comes to the
conclusion that every thing worth
while has been invented and goes away
completely cured OF tho inventive fever"
The part played by woman as an in
ventor is not inconsiderable, and she is
responsible for many things that add
much to the comfort of life.
From the year the office was estab-
lished up to the present time 3, 500 pat
ents have been granted to females. The
| first woman patentes was Mary Kees
4 who obtained letters patent on q ma
chine for weaving q mixture of silk and
| thread. She was followed in 1873 by a
Mary Brush with q corset Of an i'm
proved kind. Miss Montgomery owns
the patent to war ship, and woman
in Iowa has made an improvement in
| IN for ~ a q 20 ANN ~ nd u6
The novelist, Blanche Willis Howard,
has patented bath shoe and q music
rack, and Miss Helen Blanchard gets
good income from the royalty she re-
ceives on a sewing machine attachment.
Miss Phelps, lady from England, Is
represented by . lunoh-box which has Q
1inc-lined compartment for Ice, A mus
tachs cup is rather q peculiar invention
for . woman, but . patent for Such haa
been taken out by a woman, and there
is also An apparatus for killing moslui-
/ toes patented by a woman. Miss Maria
Beasley made a small fortune cut of .
machine for the uanpfactprs Of barrels,
and DR.. Mary Walker. Of this Sity, has
several patents for educational furni=
ture.
In the draughtsman's room the visitor
will come upon busy scene. At long
table, stretching the entire length Of the
room, SIT half hundred diligent attor-
neys busiiy examining patents which
have come under the same head With
those inventions whose novelty they arc
endeavoring to establish. That is what
is called the preliminary examination,
and all careful attorneys make this
search before applying for patent. In
this room may be obtained copies Of
every patent that Has been issued, and
by comparing the device sought to 4s
patented with them its patentahle nov