The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1893-07-14
IHE PATENT OFFICE


{.
2. y + 81 -
fspeeiai washinsiou Letser.l
There Is wit and wisdom, fun aud
pathoe, everywhere In the model room
o. the patent once Every visit rc.
veals some wonderful thought made
yisiblc, but heretofore unseen The
best models do not adequately expre.s
the tntricaeies Of the rcasoninr which
they are intended TO convey, ana ii.
dom DO they perfectly make manifest
me combinations reached by their au-
thcra The solid thoughts OF solid
men, wrought into valuable machinery
for trade and commerce or terrible en-
igtnery for war, arc not more Interest
ing than the freaks Of ingenuity dis.
played on every hand. The patent
ONCE museum Is place Of interest for
the philosopher as well as the careless
stghtscer The amusement and enter
tainment Of this wonderful place has
long since passed for me: and Il was
with the plodding thcughtfulness Of a
philosopher that went through the
patent oaice with some friends this aft
erncon. While they chatted and chat
tered about the peculiar things before
them, my mind was dwelling upon the
fact that this place was chamber Of
horrors. 3
These devices for flying machines.
for perpetual motion, for aerial nayiga-
ton upon many plans, and for other
schemes impractical for the present, are
interesting, 1t Is true, 50 long rs one
does not look away beyond them and
see, in q dark and dingy room, the In
yentor himself. But, when we remem-
Der that these curious devices cmanated
not from unframed. uneducated brains,
but from strong and ambitions intel
lects, we can faintly imagine the disap-
potntments and sorrows Of the unsuc-
cessful inventors. Some of them lived In
attics, In crowded cities. with little raj
ment, and sometimes without food.
They could see before them nothing but
success and consequent wealth. Their
mirages faded away, alas, and In the
scar and yellow leaf Of life they either
went over the hills to the poorhouse or
Found final rest, after LIES fitful fever.
In the pctter's field, unloved, unnoted,
far from home and the loves Of early
LIE, with unknown marked upon q
pine slab hcadstone.
One poor inventor, however, found am.
pie success in after life; but not from his
invention. Had he depended upon that
one thing, and founded his hopes Of life
solely upon that creation Of his brain,
as so many inventors do, his life would
have been q failure. But, after placing
his model on file, he turned his mind to
the continuance Of his profession and
became q great lawyer. The model is
In o glass case along with other devices
which represent life's failure for many
poor people. 1t is like an accordion,
and was intended to be attached TO the
hulls of river craft to enable their nav
igators TO float them over shoal places,
or release them when stranded. These
accordions were intended to be Inn.
mensc air bags, to be Undated IN case Of
necessity. and used ns bnoys Their in
veutor signed his name abraham I'm
col1l;' md he aftcrvard became presi-
dent d the uuited States. His name
IS household word IN titis land and
VIII always be familiar to the school
children Of America But, as an In
ventor, he Is who'll unknown.
One of the peculiar devices for nayi-
eating the waters Is q boat to be pro-
PEELED by gigantic windmill, but little
smaller than the boat itself II never
probably occurred TO the inventor that
Q calm Of sea would render his wind
mill device delusion and fatal snare.
to the vessel using It, and to the passen-
gers travelling by that method Of pro-
pulsion. Another inventor, however,
believing in the windmill theory, made
an improvement ~ upon It, by provid-
ing q treadmill on deck, to be worked
by horse power to make the windmill
revolve. This invention with It's i'm
provemcnt probably represents the
wasted efforts Of two ambitious lives,
and suggests again the chamber of hor-
rors. It is rivaled by another model
which provided in the hold of vessel
q great engine which is intended to
pump water into the bow Of tho boat,
and pour IL upon water wheel
fixed at tho stern Of the vessel, the OBJ
ject being to force tho boat along by