Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1894-11-17
Modern Successors of the Aichem
lists, Who Turn Wood and
Iron Into Gold.
BELL AND WESTINGHOUSE PAT.
ENTS
Men Who Have Entertained Angels
Unawares, and Have Thrown
away Millions.


novelists with plots. Some of these
days an American Conan Doyle
will come along and utilize the ma
terial and make his fortune"
l looked out from the big office
building where | sat and followed
the wave of my friends hand
across the street. He pointed to
the Interior Department.
My friend, one of the best known
patent attorneys in Washington,
walked across the room and picked
up one of those little cylinder
banks, made to hold IS worth of
10-cent pieces, which were all the
rage few years ago. Holding the
toy in his hand he said:
"When you come to write the
history and romance of the Patent
Office, you can make a chapter of
what l am going to tell you. You
remember the craze for these banks
few years ago, and how it turned
everybody to saving dimes until at
last there was an actual scarcity of
that coin created. Well, the history
of this patent is worth while hear
ing.
Zone day a man came into my
New York Office with an idea which
he wanted to patent and about
which he wanted to consult me. |
told him the fees and expenses
would amount to $135.
ale said, 4 haven't $135 in the
world, and l never expect to have
that much money at one time
81 looked at the man and | look
ed at the model, and said to him:
4 have never yet taken an interest
in patent, but will pay all the
expenses in connection with this
patent if you will give me a quar-
ter interest in it,
'Why?' he asked.
" Because you have a fortune
there | told him.
However, the man said he would
see about it. A few days later he
came with his brother-in-law, who
advanced the money. l procured
his patent for him.
"Now, to go back and tell you
how this man conceived the idea
for bank. He was in the employ
of tee Pennsylvania Railroad Com
pany at Jersey City, receiving
salary of $14 week. He was an
ignorant, uncultivated man, but
with a knack for mechanics. He
was in the habit of spending his
Sundays with his sister, and one
day, when he called, he found his
nephew, child about three years
old, sitting ON the floor, shaking a
toy bank, and trying to get the
money out His sister explained
that whenever the boy dropped a
cent into the bank he, like most
children, was wild to get all the
money out to count and she went
on to say to her brother: why
can't you invent bank which will
show how much money there is in
it?' and the brother said he thought
it could be done.
THAT gave him the idea. After
he got his patent he had a few
banks made, and on Saturday
nights used to put them in basket,
carry them around to the toy
stores in the neighborhood and dis
pose of them. He found only one
drawback-he could not make
them fast enough to supply the de-
mand. After he had been doing
business in this way for a few
weeks, he came in to see me. He
told me what he was doing, and
then went on to say: DO you think
you could find some one who would
lend me $4,000? There is factory
in Newark which | can buy for
that amount, and which is just the
thing | want for making my banks.
If | can get hold of that factory |
am sure | can sell all the banks |
can make
Il told him l thought l could
get the money, and for him to come
and see me in few days. A few
days later he came in, and said /
need not bother about the money,
as he expected to have it the fol-
lowing week. l asked him where
he was going to get it from.
"You will think that | am en-