The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-26
PATENT orFIcE METHODS.
Changes Suggested by the Commis-
sioner-Copics of Specifications.


WASHINGTON, April 25.-The recent fire
in the Patent Office has had the effect of
calling. renewed attention to the system
by which Patent Office reports are stored
and sold. Patent Commissioners Seymour
has repeatedly endeavored to obtain con-
gressional authority to change these meth
DDS. but SO far without success. At pres
ent whenever a patent is issued a descrip-
ton must be printed and bound with the
drawing OF the device. 1t is
impossible to tell at the time
how great a demand there will be for copies
of the pamphlet, and the regular rule is
to print one hundred copies of each. Some
OF these are distributed to State and gov
eminent libraries. to a few other places,
and the great majority area stored to await
Copies a5issas are called for. While in others the
whole edition is rapidly exhausted and a
p pasen 1n viii iii lie al almost ps p nnnoticed 1G for a dozen
years, and then there will be a tremendous
demand for il. For instance, in the case
of the Berliner telephone patent, the original
one hundred copies lasted for years, and
then over two thousand more were asked
500. 900 and 600.0 900 patents have been issued,
and there are estimated to be fifty million
copies of the specifications for these stored
in the Patent Onice, many of which will
never be called for. Some of these copies
" we're re d~ lmaT9 ysies n n tn, the a reesnt FIRE nr;nte GIVING ing
actual cost of producing these reports is
about FIVE cents a copy Allowing for the
the 10 cents for which they are sold is con-
sidered a fair price where single copies only
are disposed OF. But many inventors and
many manufacturers wish to order COPIES
by classes. For instance, a car-building
car c~ouplers. and the cost Of these, at 10
cents a copy. would be very great. In one
class-that of carriages and wagons-there
are as many as 10000 patents, while stoves
and furnace follow close behind. with over
eighteen thousand. In a great many classes
each. would cost $500. Commissioner Sew
mour is very anxious to obtain authority
stu charging 10 cents for single numbers.
This would vastly increase the sales and
put the useless papers hidden AVA in
the vaults into circulation. 1t would prob
ably involve the printing OF larger editions,
thus edusing the cost per number very
the q cents asked. The space now occupied
bv the papers. could be then given up to
other uses. for which 1t is sorely needed.
Florida Orange Trees Saved by Frost.
WASHINGTON. April 25.-First Assistant
Secretary Sims, of the Interior Department,
has returned to the city from Florida.
where he owns an orange grove. He says
that the first cold snap of the past winter,
which came In December, destroyed $500. 600
boxes of unpacked fruit. In spite of the
great damage done, this storm was a bless
ing In disguise as it checked the growth of
the trees End kept them from being in bios
som when the second cold snap came. Hun
H HTsed q bs aTea + e i,ef eee that tor wo she h 9iryf been co,6
wave. "As 1t was" said Mr.: Sims. most of
the trees were killed to the bud. That is to
say. the hardy wild stock roots. on which
the sweet oranges is ordinarily budded or
grated, SURVIVED. but the CRAFTS were
house in Florida had been burned the loss
you'll have been lesg than resulted from the
desstr = en- of grange orsnge trees srs n The people are
hdence In the future.