The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-04-30
40 PERPETUAL MOTION PATENTS.
Why the Government Stopped Taking the
Fees of the Cranks.
From The Globe -Dem1crat.1

irlOUe- tlt
The Patent Office has recently ceased
to be Il party to the fraud of perpetual
motion. Until three years ago it was
customary to take ''tirst fees" ($l3J
from the perpetual motion cranks as
well as from all other would-be inven-
tors. Then, in course of time, a letter
was sent to the perpetual motion appll-
cant telling him that his claim was
basel upon an Irrational principle, and
that he must furnish q working model.
Of course, that was the end of the ap-
plication. The model never came, and
the fee remained III the Treasury.
About three years ago Principal EX-
aminer William l.. Aughinbaugh went
to the Commissioner and suggested
that, as rejection of the perpetual mo-
ton claim was inevitable, it would be
fairer to refuse the first fees of such
claimants and to serd them a circular
Immediately upon the filing Of their
applications telling them that no con-
sderation would be given their I'apers
until working model was filed. This
course has been pursued ever since. But
repeatedly the discoverer of perpetual
motion has been very indignant at the
rejection of his rendered fee. One way
that has been adopted by the cranks to
Get around the new rule intended for
their benefit is to drop the claim of
perpetual motion and put in the draw
ings for Z "motor." notwithstanding
the policy of the Patent Office to dis
courage the perpetual motion craze and
to save time and money for people, at
least two or three claims Of this charac-
ter are put in every month.
Not long ago a Kansas man claimed
to have set up the perpetual motion
machine, and to have it in operation
at his home. He wrote to the Patent
Office to know if the affidavit of Senator
Plumb would be accepted instead OF
the working model as the basis for
patent. The examiner felt obliged to
refuse. Sometimes the perpetual motion
inventor appears with pocket full of
bearings and connections which he asks
the examiner to accept rs evidence that
he has solved the problem. But the
examiner insists that he must see the
perpetual motion before he grants the
patent.
Last summer a New York lawyer
named Todd came all of the way to
Washington with parts of machine,
and had quite 4 controversy with the
office because the patent was refused.
He insisted that lie had seen the ma
chine in operation, that it was running
day after, day and keeping cider press
going to boot. There was no deviating
from the rule. The lawyer went back
to New York, saying that he would
produce the machine. Hewas not seen
again until the centennial celebration
this week, when he reminded the eN-
aminer of the case and told how he had
been fooled. At the time of making
application the lawyer really believed
that his client had discovered the long
sought principle. But when he got
back to New York and told that the
patent had been refused the client con-
fessed. The perpetual motion was no
motion at all. Power was concealed in
the cider press. 1t ran the press and the
press made the perpetual motion ma
chine go, too. The inventor had been
charging 10 cents admission to see per-
petual motion. He had fooled the pub
lie and his lawyer, and ne hoped to slip
through claim.