Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1891-08-08
PROTECTION FOR CRANN&
NO MORE PERPETUAL MOTION
PATENTS.

why the Government stopped Tolsin@
the Fees of Certain Persons II y"
Longer Allows Cranks TO Waste Their
Money.
The United States Patent Office is
liberal institution and will grant paten'
for almost any thing or idea that can be-
conceived of, if the applicant can sho"
originality of invention: but it viii no
longer grant patents on claims or speClu-
cations for perpetual motion machines.
The Patent Office until recently has
issued yearly grist of patents for p"r-
petual motion machines 1t has finally
come to the conclusion that there is some
thing more in this than taking the money
of cranks-in fact, that Creduious per
sons were being Systematically robbed by
alleged inventors of perpetual motion,
who got out their patents only to deceive
innocent persons. Until three years ago
it was customary to take first fees (sl5)
from the perpetual motion cranks as well
as from all other would be inventors.
Then in course of time a letter was sent
to the perpetual motion applicant telling
him that his claim was based upon an IL
rational principle and that he must fur
nish working model. OF course that
was the end of the application The
model never came, and the fee remained
in the treasury.
About three years ago Principal EX-
aminer William l.. Auginbaugh went to
the Commissioner and suggested that as
rejection of the perpetual motion claim
was inevitable, it would be fairer to re-
fuse the first fees of the claimants and
to send them circular Immediately upon
the filing of their applications telling
them that no consideration would be
given their papers until working model
was filed. This course has been pursued
ever since. But repeatedly has the dis
covercr of perpetual motion been indig-
nant at the rejection of his rendered fee.
One way that has been adopted by the
cranks to get around the rule intended
for their benefit is to drop the claim Of
perpetual motion and tin the drawings
for "motor." notwithstanding the
policy of the Patent Office to Save tim"
and money for people, at least two or
three claims of this character are put i'll
every month.
Not long ago a Kansas man claimed to
have set up the perpetual motion ma
chine, and to have it in operation ut his
home He wrote to the Patent Office to
know if the affidavit of Senator Plumb
would be accepted iIsteadof the working
model as the basis for a patent. The OK
amner felt obliged to refuse.
Sometimes the perpetual motion in
ventor appears with a pocletful Of bear
ings and connections which he asks j,s
examiner to accept as evidence that he
has solved the problem; but the cEamj-
ner insists that he must see the perpetual
motion before he grants the patent.
Last summer a New York lawyer
named Todd came all the way to Wash-
ington with parts of a machine and had
quite a controversy with the Office be-
cause the patent. was refused. He in
sisted that he had seen the machine 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 ma
chine. He was not seen again until the
patent centennial celebration, when he
reminded the examiner of the case, and
told how he had been fooled. At tho
time of making application the lawyer
really believed that his client had really
discovered the long sought principle.
But when he got back to New York and
told that the patent had been refused tbs
client confessed. The perpetual motion
was no motion at all. Power was con-
cealed in the cider press. Itran the press
and the press made the perpetual motion
machine go, too. The inventor had b ul
charging 10 cents admission to see perpet-
ual motion. He had fooled the public
and his lawyer, and he hoped to slip
through claim.-[St. Louis Globe-Dem-
ocrat.