The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-03-20

n60tacut, NOW JsEsoy INV ..a
south did not have as many in the ngRfe.
oats AZ Nav York. Connections took out
last wear enc patent to every 7OO popuia-
tion; Mississippi one to 2a.b74. y wiil 90
readily understood that this dlspatlty ~
due 10 local conditions. TIL people VINO
operate and invent machinery are not snoss
who raise corn and cotton.
Formerly il was required that every APP
plication for Z patent must DO accom-
panied BY . sample II the article WAS small,
or a miniature model, complete IN az ~
The fts in ths patent office IN ~! oe.
stroysd 124, 600 Of these models, and TINS re-
uuirsmsnt was soon after discontinued.
The considerations that moved TINS cnanss
were tho cost to inventors tne fArtu
accumulation Of models, involving the
have been substitutsd, models being only
furnished whom called for BY the bureau.
There remain about $50, 100 old models
which are kept in glass cases ana serve ~ :
sort Of museum for the entertainment OF
pilgrims. OF all the applications for pat
snts about hfty-.fvs per oent are gran.eo.
The number Of patents issued TO those
who have attempted the solution OF some
mechanical problem is almost bsyona De-
lief. Probably the largest number Tor any
one thing hays been granted Tor devices 10
mitigate the horrors of the family wash
ing day" More than 3,5N paten.s n NJ
been granted for washing machines. MOI
one in fifty of them has ever come INTO
general use and fewer still have proved 70
be of real practical value. ~ requires
about as much ''elbow grease" ana oauses
as much backachs to operate one OF snem
as it does to rub the clothes Oh = ""on-
board in the good old way. 5000
Up to 1873 more than 200 patents naa
been issued for .'velocipedes," as they were
than o.lled. Since that time thrice as many
more have bscn granted upon this class u
vehislss. The first bike" patented con-
sisted simply of two wheels, tandem, con
nsoted BY a bar which tho rider bsstrode.
He uushed himself along by putting his
feet upor the ground. There was no pedal
to give motion to the wheels.
As to money in pateats, it ls hard 10 tell
whether a patent is going to be profitable or
not. Some Of the greatest Inventions nave
been sneered at in the patent once, ana
acme of the smallest ideas bring N me !
gest returns. A common needle threader
gave its inventor $4,000 q year for many
years, \ q millionaire Travelled
around ths world not long ago who
cot his fortune out Ct = patent
she's button. The inventor Of the roiler
skate made over a million dollars ous q
the idea, and the rubber tip which you u.s.
a tho snd Of your lead pencil brought IN
G2O, 900 TO the Englishman who conceived
il. The children OF tho United States are
ready to pay large mounts to the lucky
man who il able to think up 9 new toy 1or
them, and there is 4 departments q patens
toys in the patent office. = ne a onn
annum for 8 long time, and q little oail
with a rubber attached to it brought q n
other man $4,000 per annum Tor years.
A io1nted wooden SNAKE paid ~ inventor
more than $4,000. and another wooden
figure brought in . half million.
Nearly everything you see N use nss
been at one time or another patented,
and SONS Of the most insigniticant things
have been worth fortunes. It is said That
| the inventor of the photographic pen made
a million dollars out Of 1t. ELECTRICAL lp-
ventions have brought in millions TO many.
Telephone Bell is rich beyond the dreams
OF avarics. Edison is worth his millions
and all other connections of the great cleo
trical inventors ride in their own CARRIAGES,
You ask az to the inventions OF women.
There are hundreds of them in tho patent
Office, and women claim that Ell whitney
got his idsa from = woman for the cotton
gin. The making OF pillow lace was IN
has given out patents to female IN.
vcntors for . submarine telescope, sheet
iron shovels. wedding machines. loco,
motive and railroad car appliances. ana
for everything possible 81 eonnec-
ton with women. Many Of the fine I'M
prOvementa on tle baWluR udcn4Ao n"'o
been made by women. The prlnclpie OF
the ice cream freezer was = woman's idea,
and l could cite you fifty good Inventions
for en- which come from woman.
Ono California woman has made over S5O,ooo
out of a patent baby carriage, and there are
quite a number of women who have become
wealthy through their patents.
On the whole, however, the past proper
ton Of patents are useless. We have thou
sands Of ideas offered at the patent Office
every year which are of the craziest possi-
Bile character. There are numbers of ap-
plications for patents or perpetual motion.
We get rid of these by asking the applicant
to give us q working model of his
invention. This, 30 far, no one has
been ablo TO give US. and the probability
is that no one will ever do it. One OF the
oldest curiosities is a cannon pillow for use
of a pioneer whom attacked by Indians.
The cannon is at the end of the plow and
is really for use at all times. Another
funny thing is q sheet-lron cat, which Is
painted with phosphorus, shines like fire.
and scares all the other cats off the root.
There are hundreds OF queer patent
gravestones and patent collins, and there
are lots of patents to prevent grave rob-
berries. There are canes which you can use
as spjttoons. umbrellas which you can turn
into chairs, and chicken hobblers, which
will walk a rooster right off the field if he
attsmpts to scratch tue crops when he has
them on. There are, in short, as many i'm
practicable inventions propottlonately
among those of the patent office as you will
find impracticable men in our practical
everyday life. DAVID WEcHsLER.
Copyright