The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-04-04
THE PATENT OFFICE.
It's History for the Past Century
Briefly Told.
Getting Patent-Uncle Sans Keen Exam
nation of Inventors Claims-Women
Who Have Invented Corsets, Mus
tache Cups and Even Iron Clads.


tache Cups and Even Iron Clads.
Next April the Patent Office will be
one hundred years old. 1t is an inter-
esting place to every American, for
within its walls is represented a century
of wonderful progress.
The honor of founding the Patent Of
fee belonged to Thomas jefferson, who
was the protector of the patent system
of the country, and to the day of his
death took personal interest in its
workings He 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 principle
of which is used to this day. For sew
eral years after the act establishing the
department went into effect Jefferson
alone had the power of granting pat
ent as he was Secretary of State, and
that was one of his many prerogatives.
The President and Acknowledgement
were also obliged to affix their sig
any use After Jefferson became Presi-
dent he did not have so much time at
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
H,,t
five application s, so the clerk, Dr.
Thornton, had plenty of time for diver
sion. He had desk in the old State
Department and many day when the
doctor had nothing to do he used to get
out his fishing tackle and take turn
with the black bass and perch in the
upper Potomac, for he was a disciple of
good old doctor must have been, and for
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. SO he
granted patents to 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 &C
counts were found to be in an extreme
ly unsatisfactory condition, but no one
blamed the good doctor or suspected
him of wrongdOing, for he died as poor
as he had lived. He had lacked prac-
teal business knowledge, like many
another man of science-that was all
He loved his patents like children, and
an old clerk in the office likes tC
tell a good story of 1912, when the
war with Great Britain was going on
and the English had captured and were
in possession of the city. They had set
the Capitol on fire as we'll as the White
House and the cannon were turning on
the Patent Office and other buildings
The guns were just in front of the build
ing, so the story runs. and firing was
about to commence when the doctor
rushed out in. a frenzy, shouting: ''Art
you Englishmen or only Goths and van
dals? This is the Patent Office. de-
pository of the ingenuity of the Ameri
can nation, in which the whole civilized
world is interested. Would you destroy
it? If so, fire away and let the charge
pass through my bodH."
Whether or not the single eccentric
clerk of the Patent Office really did use
such language is not known, but the Of
flee was not destroyed.
When the office was removed from the
State Department it occupied building
on the site of the general po st-office fol
some years. This was just before the
1912 incident. Even at that time the
Office was of small pretensions and up t.
1898 but 1,Sl9 patents had been issued
great majority of which were for agri
cultural implements. In these day.
more are issued every month than were
issued during the first forty years of tn,
Republic.
A memorable year in the history o
the office was that of 1886, from which
year the real organization of the bureau
dates. Before that time it was in EN-
bryo and there was little system.
was in this year that the first commits
sioner was appointed, and though tn,
bureau remained under the supervision
of the State Department it was more in
dependent. In those days drawing
were seldom used-at present they ar,
used almost entirely-and models were
required with every application for
patent. This was the case for many
years afterward, but when inventor
began to increase it was found that thi
plan was impracticable, and so the sys
tenn of working drawings now in us.
was adopted. although models in some
instances where better knowledge o
the workings of the device is necessar,
are required.
The fire of 1886 was a most disastrous
one for the Patent Office A big appro
priation had just been made by Congress
to be used in charging the work of tn,
bureau, when the fire DESTROYED owe
1000 models as well as many valuabl,
papers. Among these latter was vol
ume of original drawings by Rober
Fulton, illustrating his great invention
which was then revolutionizing com
merce. Many of the models destroyed
were replaced in after years and now oc
cupy place in the magnificent model
hall of the present building, which was
commenced just previous to the break
ing out of the war. Since then, a num-
Der of wings have been added, forming
hollow square, in the center of which
is a court, which forms 4. refreshing
picture to the weary workers in the