Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-11-24
PRIZES ON PATENTS
How 20 Ges fwesT ave Handrcd
Dollars for Nsshins.
fortune. and the Lossrs Have
Patents that may Bring
them IN Sta More

Would you Ike 20 make twenty i've
hundred dollarss IL you would. read
carefully what follows and you may Sc
Way 10 do IT,
The Press Claims Company doscies
much attention 20 paients Ii has hand
led thousands OF applications for Ia
yentions but IL would like 10 handle
thousands more. There 10 plenty u In
ventive talent at large in this country.
nee1ing nothing but encouragement 10
produce practical results The en-
couTageme :. the Press claims Company
proposes b give.
Not So Hard N Ii seems.
A patent strikes most people as an APP
pslling formidable thing. The idea IL
that an inventor must be a natural
genius. like Edison or Bell; that he
must devote years 10 delyiDg in compiled
ted mechanical problems and that he
must spend fortune on delicate expert
ments before be can get new device 10
a patentable degree Of perfection. This
delusion the company desires 90 dispel
IL desires 10 get into the head Of the
public clear comprehension 81 the fact
that IL IL not the great. complex. and
expensive inventions that bring the best
returns TO their authors but the little.
simple. and cheap ones-the things that
seem so sbsurdly trivial that the aver
age citizen would feel somew bat ashamed
OF bringing them 10 the attention OF the
Patent Office.
Edison Gays that the profits he has re-
ceieyed from the patests on all his mar
velous inventions have not been sui
| hcient 10 pay the cost OF his expert
ments. But the man who conceived the
idea OF fastening bit OF rubber cord toa
child's ball 20 that it would come back
TO the hand when thrown. made a for
tune out OF his scheme. The modern
sewing machine is a miracle OF ingenuity
the product Of the toll Of hundreds OF
busy brains through a hundred and fifty
years, but the whole brilliant result rests
upon the simple device OF putting the
needle at the point instead OF at the
other end.
The Little Things the Most yaiu-
able.
Comparatively few people regard them
selves as inventors. but almost every body
has been struck. at one time or another,
with ideas that seemed calculated 10 re-
duce some OF the little frictions Of life.
Usually such ideas are dismissed with
out further thought
"Why don't the railroad company
make its car windows 80 that they can
be slid up and down without breaking
the passengers backs?" exclaims the
traveller. IF i were running the road
/ would make them in such a way
Ttue t.as d. ~
sausepan thinking OFF, grumbles the
cook. He never had TO work over a
stove, or he would have known how il
ought to have been fixed"
Hang such collar button :" growls
the man who is late for breakfast. IF
| / were in the business I'D make buttons
that wouldn't slip out. or break of. or
gouge out the back Of my neck"
And then the various sufferers forget
about their grievances and begin TO
think OF something else II they would
sit down at the next convenient oppor-
tunity, put their ideas about car win
dows, saucepans, and collar buttons into
practical shape, and then apply for pat
ents, they might find themselves as in
dependently wealthy as the man " no in
vented the iron umbrella ring. or the
one who patented the fifteen puzzle.
A Tempting Oner.
To induce people to keep track OF
|. their bright ideas and see what there is
| in them. the Press Claims Company has
resolved to offer prize.
To the person who submits 10 il the
simplest and most promising invention,
/ from a commercial point OF view, the
company will give twenty FIVE hundred
dollars in cash. in addition TO refunding
the fees for securing the patent.
IL will also advertise the invention free
OF charge.
This offer is subject 10 the following
conditions:
Every competitor must obtain patent
for his invention through the company.
He must first apply for a preliminary
search, the cost OF which will be live dol
| lars Should this search show his in
vention 10 be unpatentable, he can with
draw without further expense. Other
wise he will be expected 10 compleate
his application and take out patent In
the regular way. The total expense. in
| Guiding Government aud Bureau fees.
will be seventy dollars. For this.
whether he secures the prize or not. the
/ inventor will have a patent that ought
/ 10 be valuable property Ia him. The
prize will be awarded by jury consist
/ ing OF three reputable attorneys %
Washington. Intending competitors
should till out the following hlAnk. and
forward it with their application:
| " - 1893
Il submit the within described inyen-
ton in competition for the Twenty five
\ hundred Dollar Prize offered by the
/ Press Claims Company.
No Blanks I'm This Competition
This is a competition of rather an IN
usual nature IL is common TO offer
/ prizes for the best story. or picture. or
! architectural plan. all the competitors
| risking the loss ~ their labor and the
successful one merely ceiling his for the
amount % the prize. But the Press
! Claims Compsuys offer is something
entirely different Each person is asked
merely to help himself. and the one who
/ helps himself 10 the hest advantage is 90
be rewarded for doing H. The prize is
only a stimulus 20 do something that
would be we'll worth doing without a.
7 The architect whose plan Tor q club
I house on a certain corner - not accept
/ Ell has spent his labor on something u