The St. Johns herald., 1892-11-10
MISTAKEN INVENTORS.
Practical Knowledge Necessary to
 Complete Success.
Much Mental Labor Often Spent in Vain by Ambitious Persons Who Might Have Been Successful in
 Smaller Ways.

The fact that very large proportion
 of patented inventions are disappoint- ment to their originators because of
 their failure to yield profitable return for time and money expended on them is a subject often discussed by inventors and those who are directly interested in their work. It is probable that in no other field of human effort are there so
 many bitter disappointments, so many crushed hopes and so much of genuine heartache as among inventors. AL though thousands of them annually achieve success and enter on career of prosperity, other thousands find little or no reward; the devices from which they confidently expected afduence have only added to their poverty.
 Many an intelligent man tolls for
 years, says the New York Journal, de nying himself all the luxuries and most of the comforts of life to bring out an invention seemingly full of promise, but destined to utter failure. The reasons for this extended area of disap- pointment are not very numerous nor hard to find. First among them is in- suficiency of practical knowledge on the part of the inventor. For example, a man who knows nothing of the prac- tical work of steam engineering may invent and patent device in that line which will appear to him, and other non-professionals, to be great advance on existing methods for generating or utilizing steam, but which will be con- demned' by the most competent judges. In all kinds of machinery the same cause is prolific source of disappoint- ment.
 The thing invented may be very in- Renious, may have cost vast deal of mental labor and may attest the intel lectual superiority of the inventor; but if it be deficient in practical utility, if its introduction will not be profitable to those for whom it is intended, it goes to the lumber yard of oblivion. Persons who are utterly ignorant of gunnery frequently invent something in that line, but they very rarely attain success The same rule holds good in all the in- dustrial arts, including agriculture, mining, manufactures, ship-building and railroading. Brilliancy of intellect and originality in conception are offset by lack of practical knowledge. Anoth- CT reason why failure is so frequently encountered is lack of capital to per feet, construct and demonstrate. Many inventions of great value are lying dor mant because a good deal of money would be required to show the world what they ere and what advantages they possess.
 . This is especially truO of inventions that menace great interests. When a value, when it proposes to sweep away plants thatrepresent millions of dollars, capital hesitates to develop it, for its introduction means fight to the death between gigantic conflicting interests. In catering to the demands of fashion, elegance and luxury there arc many in- ventions brought out that do not pay, because there is not and cannot be a large demand for them. The best ele- ment of success in a patent is adapta- tion to a universal or general want To do some simple thing that is done by the masses, and to do it cheaper and better than before, is to succeed.
 |. To furnish healthfuI and innocent amusement in new and attractive way, and do it at small cost, is to put money in your purse. Anything that the people will recognize as meeting a want tastefully and cheaply will find purchasers. Some of the most profita- ble patents-paying the best in propor- tion to the time and money expended have been the simplest things, so sim pie that almost everybody, on seeing one of them, wonders why he or she did not think of it long ago .