Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-09-06
THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY.


were showcred upon him that he cheer-
fully donated the latter product of his
brain to his country.
The patent Office library contains the
histories of successful inventors, and
these books are handled and thumbed
by the cranlzs who SEQ in these stories
the reflection of the anticipated frui-
ton of the hopes of their daily lives.
But the number of these monomaniacs
about the patent Office and library is
appreciably diminishing every year.
The attorneys through whom they
make their applications try to shut
them off, No other inventors value
their ideas so highly as they do. Com
monty they are afraid to reveal their
plans lest they be stolen. The per
petua1-motion lunatic is always around
the great building at Ninth an Z
streets If the words perpetual mo-
tom are mentioned in his papers his
money is sent back to him and his ap-
peal is firmly declined. To get around
this difficulty he usually calls his ma
chino a motor" The final resort for
getting rid of him is to demand work
ing model as condition necessary be-
fore his claim can be further consid-
cred. That sileHces him every time
But while the working model cannot
be produced, the wheels continue to
revolve in the 1unatic's head, and he
remains Of the same perpetual motion
opinion still; but he ceases to annoy
| the examiners and other officials.
Did You know that the man who in
| vented the gusset for reinforcing pocl1-
cts became very rich by that discovery?
He was a Chinaman named Cheang
| Guam Wo, and was doing laundry work
| in San Francisco when the idea was
| evolved.
The greatest fortune known to have
| been accumulated by an inventor in
| this country was made by Cyrus Nc
| Cormiclz, inventor of the machine
| harvester. He was worth over $780,
| OO0, 900 when he died. That sum has
never been approximated by the Bell
| telephone, the Westinghouse air brake,
| nor by all of the wonders of the
wizard who has given 1.-The phono-
| graph and the electric marvels of the
century.
IF you have any intention of be-
coming an inventor" said the patent
Office examiner, ''you should invent
toys for children. They invariably
pr1ng a harvest, great or moderate, to
|
| then referred to the return ball, out OF
which half million dollars were
drawn; also the pigs in clover, the
planchette. the fifteen, fourteen, six
teen puzzle, and numerous inventions
of similar character, as the best
money-making patents granted of late
years. There are hundreds of improve
ments patented for photographing,
| stereotvn;pr and for electric aDD1i-
ances. It is stated that the Bell
Telephone company has bought up
| every improvement which has ever
been patented for the telephone; and
all of these improvements are kept
under guard, in order to prevent the
| public from using them. That is tc
say that, if the patented improvements
| upon telephony were in popular use,
the service would be greatly Inn
! proved, but it would cost considerable
money to equip the telephone service
of the country, and the people must
get along with what they have; al
least for the time being. It is easier
to pay $1,000 to s., 600 to a poor In
ventor for his invention, than it would
be to spend thousands of dollars IN
manufacturing an Improvement which
the people can get along without
Nevertheless, it does seem as though
humanitarian instincts would prompt
the telephone people to make it easier
for us to say ''hello,'' without painful
diaphracrnatic contortions of inhalar
ton and expansion SMITH D. fRf.
between Two Fires.
ST can't afford to marry her and keel
a conf.