The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-05-09
THE GREAT URANKPEN
Miniature Mechanical Devices in the
Patent Office.

Men Who Have Made Fortunes from Pa
tents.
Although nine tenths of the people of
the whole country are directly or indi-
rectly interested in the manufacture or
use of patented inventions. writes Louis
Babcock in the Washington Star, only
those who have given the subject atten-
ton have any comprehension of the great
interests involved. or of the vast number
who are laboring in the field of invention
CT in some manner allied to the indus
try. Applications come to the United
States patent office from every city and
every little hamlet in the land. During
the fiscal year ending June 80, 1895. the
number of applications filed, including
caveats, reissues, etc., was ALICIA, OF
which %, 55o were granted. This aggre-
gate, and that of the year next preceding.
shows slight falling off from the aver
age for several years previous, especially
in tbs number of patents issued, which
is due to the hard times. Not many
years ago nearly ali the inventive genius
of the country was located in New Eng
land and the Eastern States, but during
the last two or three decades the West
has developed this share of mechanical
Ingenuity, though Connecticut the land
OF wooden nutmegs, still leads with the
largest number Of patents in proportion
to population, with Massachusetts, Sec
ond, the District of Columb ia third, New
Jersey fourth, Montana fifth, Rhode Is
land and New York sixth, and seventh.
Colorado eighth and Ohio. Minnesota and
Illinois well up in the list
The government departments have all
been called beehives, but the patent office
is more than any other aptly described
by the term 1t is busy, bustling place,
with its nearly $50 MISREPRESENTATION,
craftsmen, clerks, copyists. eto.-oroWd-
ID into fifty-six rooms. And with all
The rest, it is the only bureau or depart
ment that is self sustaining. In the
year 1890, the banner year in the history
of the office, the total receipts were
81. $40. 372. 66, while the expenses were
1,09a, 1917, giving net profit of 24l, 074.-
90. In 1892 the net earnings vera $175,-
6a2. 50. and for the fiscal year ending
Juno 30 last the profits were $l57, 800. 80,
notwith standing the depressed condition
of business generally. The total amount
Of net earnings to the credit of the Office
in the treasury of the United States is
S4,565, 757.73. The question has been
raised whether the government should
go on accommodating this fund, which
has been characterized as so much blood
money squeezed from the inventors of
the country. If the fees are now larger
than necessary to cover the cost Of adj
Judging and acting upon all applications
say the DIRECTORS, why not reduce them9
IN THE MODEL ROOM.
Patent Office research has many inter
ezting features. The model room, that
great storehouse of miniature mechani-
Gal devices, has its curious and its hui
morous side. "The curiosities Of Iitera-
ture'' are not more entertaining than the
curiosities of the patent office. Within
its archives are models of almost every
implement of human use, from the
Hotchkiss machine gun to the toy pistol,
from a steam engine to common wood
screw, from the great windmill to a bot
tlo stopper, from a steamship to a rat
trap. from thrashing machine to an ice
cream freezer, from a cradle to O tomb
stone, and from brick machine or
folding bed to fish hook and a toy
hoop. There are jumping jacks, dosing
bottles and life-saving boats, cooking
stoves, printing presses and gate openers,
horse shoes, railroad frogs and sausage
machines, corn planters corn shelters
and corn extractors, fans, corset stays
and glove fasteners without end.
PATENTS FOR THE SAME THING.
The mum Der of patents that have been
issued for variations Or improvements of
the same thing is astonishing. Cover
ing go small thing as wood screw.
there are over 100 different patents; in
the class of lanterns nearly 1000 patents
and for wash boilers something like $780,
For tobacco pipes and mouth, pieces 475
patents have been issued, and for bottle
shoppers upward of Co., These are among
the simplest devices; but coming to the
more important classes, there have bes
up to the last year 6,04S patents granted
for sewing machines and their various at
tachments; for firearms, not including
heavy ordinance, torpedo or machine
guns, 4, 356 patents; for car couplings,
6,7S0. and for weaving and knitting ma
chimes, 5,312. For agricultural imple-
1nents including planters, harvesters.
thrashers, and the whole range of ma
chimes and appliances the total number
of patents is 36, 575, of which 10, 1919 relate |
to plows alone. In the class Of electric |
lighting 8, 346 patents have been issued |
previous to the current fiscal year, and |
in that of carriages and wagons the tota |
number is 10000. These are fair Illus
trations. In the line OF toys there is an |
almost endless array, including nearly |
200 toy savings banks, some OF which |
arc exceedingly ingenious and unique,