Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-20
UNITED SERVICE CLUB.
A Handsome New Club House 70 He Erestst
ct Once.

II
The United Service Club held its annual
meeting for the election Of officers last night
Officers for the ensuing year were elected az
follows: President Gen. schoAeld, U.S.A.; vice
president, Col. Hosmer, U.Sv.; treasurer, Pay
master Carmody, U.S.N.; secretary, Lieut..
Denny, USING; directors for three years,
Gen. Breckinridgc, U.s-A.; Chief Engineer
Fletcher, U.S.N.; Mr.. o. G. Green, Order of
Cincinnati The board Of managers were su-
thorized to commence the erection Of a new
club house on the site secured some time ago
at the intersection of Connecticut avenue and
street The plans, which have been prepared
/ by Mr.. Harvey L. Page, call for one Of the
handsomest buildings for the purpose to be
found anywhere. 1t is to be an English base
| ment house with four stories. The pariors and
library are to be on the second floor, and on
| the third will be the chambers for members
and visitors and on the fourth the kitchen and
quarters for employees. Connecting with
| the third floor will be the billiard and card
rooms and lavatory. Ground will probably be
broken in a month, and il is thought the build
ing will be completed within year.
More Room Needed for the Patent Once.
To the Editor of The Evening Star:
The question Of the utter inadequacy Of the
patent Office building for the purposes which it
| is condemned to serve is being agitated from
time to time and an editorial in The STAR of the
18th is the last have seen on the subject. Will
you permit me space as an interested party to
I add my protest against the shameful and mig
| Gardly, not to say dishonest way in which the
! bureau of the government known AS the patent
| Office is being administered and treated by the
powers that be? You suggest, Mr.. Editor. n
model of patent Office building which shall
conveniently accommodate four or five times
as many clerks and models as it has room for.
A. Ill Ii
| the most complicated invention patented dur
ing a century of patents is as nothing compared
with the diabolical ingenuity with which the
space in the patent Office has been
stretched, year after year, to hold that which
| it was never intended to hold, to say moth
| ing of the skill with which the contents Of the
building. clerks and models included, has been
! squeezed and compressed, aye, SO successfully
that, even as III street car, there Is ever room
for more" 1t would be amusing, if il were
| less shameful and discreditable, to note some
of the shifts which have been made. The hand
| some model halls, when reconstructed after
/ the fire OF 1876, had galleries or shelves put
| along the walls to hold cases Of models. Soon
| the clerical force began to invade the model
/ halls and the Cases. originally placed decent
distances apart, were bundled together so
| closely that the doors might barely be opened.
! Gradually rooms were constructed in several
| Of the model halls for the occupancy of more
clerks and examiner5. and the halls were
documents, copies Of patents, and what not
| giving the halls general appearance Of back
! alleys filed with junk shops. And in the lower
| regions of the building the work has been going
| on bravely as well. The ever-increasing needs
/ of the various bureaus crowded together in the
building have been such that not only are the
rooms made to hold four or five times the
number of clerks and officials for which they
were intended but the rooms have been lined,
| crowded. choked with furniture, file cases,
Il ,..&1
| them hardly tit for human occupancy.
But while the officials of the atent Office have
my warmest sympathy, let me cite an instance
OF GROWING. One room in the patent Office
has been set apart for the convenience
of attorneys practicing before the Office
and is known to the world as
! the attorneys room Unsophisticated in
ventors and others from affair, who are some
times introduced to this apartment, frequently
express an opinion thereof which is not COM
plimentary. Fancy n room-a ''pen would be
more appropriate about 20x20. heated to
suffocation. In this room may at any time be
found from twenty to forty attorneys and their
clerks at work amending cases." doing work
quite rs arduous and important as that of the
examiners. For their accommodation a few
long tables are provided as well as limited
number of very rickety stools. Tor which latter
a lively scramble is generally taking place. In
this place. the atmosphere Of which is nothing
less than horrible. men actually spend days
these attorneys annually pay over to the Office
tens of thousands of dollars; they are men who
have Largely contributed 70 make the patent
system of the country what il Is, but they
appear to have no rights to be respected.
1t NAV be urged that the Office IL not bound to
provide any accommodations whatever for at
torneys; 1t has grown to be u custom by cour-
tesy, however. but the courtesy" proffered at
the present time is little less than indecent.
Mr.. Commissioner Mitchell and others, as am
aware, would gladly remedy some Of these
evils. but, in the absence Of legislation, are
powerless to do so. In the meanwhile the ex-
isting state of affairs iswell, disgusting. 1t il
a CRYING shame that noble building like the
patent Office shall be disfigured and ruined by
this system of overcrowding. 1t would be a
discredit and a dishonor to any government
under any circumstances. but II is q tenfold
the institution that is made to suffer
most-the patent bureau-is a paving
institution, having large surplus to its credit
and annually yielding a large revenue. 1t is a
dishonest policy which withholds from the in
ventors Of the country-by neglecting to pro-
vide proper accommodations and o sufficient
examining and clerical force--the service for
which they pay and to which they are entitled.
Let me say in conclusion that l honestly be-
lieve that If the force Of the patent office were
less competent. well trained and efficient there
would very soon be such chaotic state Of
affairs as to raise cutlery from the inventors
OF the country and others Interested in patents
which would force Congress to take some
cognizance Of the matter. W. b.
Combinations by the Senate.
The Senate has confirmed the following nomi-