Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-03-25

pftnSipfs or cprlseatton b covered ~
patents already tssnsd or that the do
vice u trivial IL Is true. however.
that smong tsse pztes,s that have been
meet protitabls ere many upea small
aud seemingly insignificant articles In
everyday use. 1hs invention Of some
little thing that everybody buys aad
keeps On buying is as good 70 is owner
as soid miao-far better than MOST Of
them May simple mechanical toys
that catch the eyes Of the children and
help u Ill sheir stockings At Christna As
have made men rich
The number of patents issued to those
who have attempted the solution Of
soms mechanical problem is almost be-
yond belief. Probably the largest num-
Der for any one thing he's been granted
nDr devices to mitigate the horrors OF
tho family washing day" More than
thirty 6vs hundred patents have been
granted for washing machines Not
one in fifty OF them has ever come into
general use and fewer still have proved
TO be Of real practical value. II re-
qrircs about rs much elbow grease"
and causes as much baskache to op-
crate one OF them rs 1t does to rub
clothes ON washboard in the good old
way. Wrecks OF these machines In all
stages Of decrepitude may be seen in
back yarSis aId woodsheds AL over the
country, particularly in the rural dis
trtcts IL men have not succeeded in
tightening the labor Of the wife and
A.. - -
that they have not tried. Scores Of
other things might be mentioned On
which h various forms there are
patents b- tho hundreds II thou
sand fail the nnxt man THINKS that he
has solved the question No machine
or appliance isAo perfect that somebody
does not think ho can improve it.
Up to 1873 more than two hundred
patents had been issued for ''veloci
pedes," as they were then called Since
that time thrice as many more have
been granted upon this class OF vchi-
cleS Tie first 'bilse" patented con.
sisted simply Of two wheels, tandem,
connected by u bar which the rider be.
strobe. He pushed himself along by
putting his feet upon tho ground There
was no pedal 70 give motion to the
wheols-
As TO money in patents, II Is hard TO
tell whether q patent u going TO be
profitable or not Some Of the greatest
inventions have been snecred at in the
patent olicc, and some Of the smallest
ideas bring In the biggest returns A
common needle threader gave les In.
ventor $4,000 year fer many years,
and . millionaire travelled around the
world not long ago who got HIS fortune
out OF q patent sl,Oc button. The in
ventos Of the roner-slgate made over o
million dollars out of the idca, and
the rubber tip which yeu use
at the end OF your lead pencil
brought In Reo,eao to tho English
man who conccived it. The chill
drca Of the United States are
ready 20 pny large amoonts to the
lucky man who IL able to think up a
new toy for them. and there Is q de-
partnnout Of patent toys In the patent
oaics. The dancing Jim Crow paid It's
inventor sss,eoo per annuin for long
time, and little ball with q rubber at
tach>d TO j. brought another man 60
GEO per annum for years. A jeinted
wooden snake paid It's inventor
more than SIS. 200. and another wooden
figure brought in . half million Nearly
everything you see in use has been at
enc time or another patented. and some
81 tAe meet insignih cant things have
been worth forsunoa. II Is snid that
the inventor Of the stylo&raphio pen
mado million dollars out of il Eloc-
tsieal Inventions havc brought In mil-
lions TO many. Telephone Bell is rich
beyond the dreams of avarice. Edison
Is worth his millions, and all other con-
MOTIONS of the great electrical inven-
tors ride ia their own carriages
The patent os.ice Is a good school for
the study Of hanan nature and human
character. la 1t you find represented
every description Of the human mind.
and ip It's models and in It's drawings
ara stored mp the mental lives of hum
dreds Of thousands Of souls. Every
patent granted represents dozen
which havs been rejeotad. and the half
niiiios. In round numbers, inventions
recorded In tho pasens Office represent
thousands Of stories stranger than tho
widest visions Of fiction. Could they
speak. they would tell stories full OF
psthos. They would give dreams
wilder than the stories Of the Arabian
Nights and you would hnd the facts
connected with them more pathetic
than the saddest incidents Of the novels
Of Diekcas or OF the erinss and inius-
sscs rscerd>d In tho werks Of Charles
Rssde The patents represent q few
million "a and tens Of thousands OF
paupers. They represent SONS happi.
ness and much misery. Over some Of
shem men have worried Themselves into
The Insane ssylums of tho country. and
ever others they have studied and
worked until hope deferred has made
their heart sics. and they have died
without sscing the success which after
ward came cot Of their great ideas.
There is 20 stranger place In the United
States thaa the patent efice a. Wash
hngtsn, aaa the great povehsts might
ssrs find plet fer many = story.
Dawn WscusgEa