Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1894-09-06
PRIZES ON PATENTS.
How to Get twenty-five Hun
dred Dollars for Nothing.
The Winner has Il Clear Gilt OF
Small Fortune, and the Losers
l1aye Patents that may
Bring them in still
More.

Would you IKE 10 MAKE twenty 'nVo ~" ~,
dred dollars? Ifyou would, read carciul!y
what follows and you may see way to q" H.
The Press Claims Company devotes much
attention to patents. 1t has handled thous.
ands of applications for Inventions, but II
would like to handle thousands more. mere
ia plenty of inventive talent in this country,
needing nothing but G courage m en-
to produce practical results. That enconr'
agemcnt the Press Claims Company pro-
poses to give.
NOT SO HARD As IT SEEMS,'
A patent strikes most people as an appah'
ingly formidable thing. The ide" Is thA1 az
inventor must be a naiural genius, IKE Edi-
son or Bell that he mus, put years to delving
In complicated mechanical problems and
that he mus, spend fortune on delicate ex'
pcrimenls before he can get new device 70
a patcntable degree OF perfection. This de'
lus,on the company desires to dlspei IL &C.
sircs to get into the head OF the pubic cicar
comprehension of the inct that it is 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 absurdly trivial that inc
citizen would feel somewhat ashamed OF
bringing them to the attention OF the Patent
Office.
Edison saws that the profits he has received
from the patents on oil his marvellous InVeh.
tons have not been sufficient to pay the cost
of his experiments. But the man who con-
ccved the idea of fastening II bit OF rubber
cord to n child's ball, so that it would come
back to his hand when thrown made 1or'
tune out of his scheme. The modern sew
ing machine is miracle OF ingeenulty-the
product of the toll of hnndIcds busy brains
through hundred and fifty years, but the
whole brilliant result rests upon the simple
device of putting the eye Of the needle AZ 'he
point Instead of the other end.
THE LITTLE THINGS THE
MOST VALUABLE.
Comparatively few people regard them
selves as inventors, but almost everybody
has been struck, at one time or ahother'
with ideas that seemed calculated TO reouce
some of the little fric,ions OF lite. Usuai'y
such ideas are dismissed without further
thought
"Why don't the railroad company make
its car windows so that they could De slld up
and down without breaking the passengers
backs" cxclaims The traveller. III were
running the road l would make them IN s'ch
wav:'
"What was the man that made this sauce
pan thinking oi:' grumbles the cook ne
never had to work oyer stove, or he would
have known how i, oughtio have been fixed"
"Hang such n collar button !! gro"ls the
man who is late for breakfast. "lfl were in
the business Ia make buttons that wouldnt
slip on: or break off, or gouge out the back
! of my neck
And then the various sufferers forget about
their grievances and begin to think of some-
thing else. Ifthey would sit down at the
next convenient opportunity, put Their luc's
about car windows, sauCcpanS, ana collar
| buttons into practical shape, and then apply
for patents, they might find themselves rs
| INDEPENDENTLY wealthy as the man who IN
vented the iron umbrella ring, or the one
who patented the fifteen puzzle.
TEMPTING OFFER.
To induce people to keep track of their
bright ideas and see what there is in them,
the Press Claims Company has resolved 10
offer a prize.
TO he person who submits to
ii the simplest and most prom
Using iMveMtiOn.f from u CONNER
ci:sl point oiN lew, the company
will give $500 in cash, In adj
dition to refunding the fees for
securing the patent.
1t will also advertise the In
yentiOn free Ofcllarge.
This offer is subject to the following con-
di,ions:
Every competitor must obtain patent tor
his invention through the company. He
must first apply for preliminary search,
the cost of which will be five dollars. Should
this search show his invention to be nnpat-
entab|e, he can withdraw without further eX.
pense. Otherwise he will he expected to
complete his application and take out pat
ent IN the regular way The total expense
including Government and Bureau fees, will
be seventy dollars. For this, whether he Sc
cures the prize o. not, the inventor will have
n patent that oueht to be n valuable property
to HIM. The prize will be awarded by jury
consisting of three reputable patent a,,orn-
eys of Washington. Intending competitors
SHOULD ill ont the following blank, and for
ward it with their application
| - -, -, 1898.
II submit the within described invention
in competition for the Twenty-Five Hundred
Dollar Prize offered by the Press Claims
Company