Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1896-05-09
THE PATENT OFFICE.


Tho Only Department Of tho Governments
that 10 seif-supportIng--Asp Splendid HAL
anco to Its Credit = Interesting Data
Cuiled From the Report OF Commits
sioncr Seymour for the Calendar Year
1895, Jast Sent to Congress.
WASHINGTON, May 5.-Commissioner
of Patents John s. Seymour has trans
mitted to congress are port of the oper-
ations of the patent Office for the cal
endar year 1905. During the year there
were 39,l45 applications for patents
and 21, 996 patents granted. The num-
ber of patents which expired was 12,-
s45. The receipts of the Office were
81, PAS, ,24o; the expenditures were 81 ,os4,.
400.
In every year since 1851 there has
been q surplus over all expenditures,
the total balance In the treasury to the
credit Of the patent Office being s4,5e0,-
| SCI. s4
~ ltlas.patenan,i 1a,e4p wess 10
citizens Of the United States and 2, GAG
to citizens of foreign countries.
In proportion to population more
| patents were issued to the citizens Of
Connecticut than to those of any other
state, and next in order, In proportion
to population, come the District of
Columtia. Massachusetts,, Rhode
Island, New Jersey, New York,
Montana and Colorado. The states
to whose citizens fewest patents were
granted In proportion to the number
of inhabitants are Mississippi, South
Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama,
Georgia and Arkansas.
AS to foreign countries, GA patents
were granted to residents of England,
a larger number than to residents of
any other foreign country; to those
Germany, $50; Of the Dominion of
Canada, aO2; of France, 202; Of Scot
land, 80; of Austria-Hungary, 46; Of
Switzerland, AZ; of Sweden. 80; of Rus
sia, 30; of Victoria, 81; of Mexico. II;
of New South Wales, II; of Belgium,
16; of the Netherlands, 10; of DEN
mark, IL; of Italy, IL; of Norway, IL;
OF Ireland, 10; of South Australia, 10;
of New Zealand, Q; of Hawaii, s; of In
dia, 5; of Cuba, 4; of the South African
Republic, 4; of the Argentine Republic,
8; of Spain, 3; of Venezuela, 3; of AL
gcria. 2; of Brazil, 2; of Chill, 2, and
one each to citizens respectively of
Bermuda, British Guiana, Cape Colony,
Ecuador, Finland, Greece, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Peru, Porto Rico, San SAL
vador, Tasmania and Turkey.
The commissioner recommended the
enactment into law of the bill pre-
pared by the patent committee of the
American Bar association, which has
already been introduced in the house,
limiting the time in which an applica-
tion may be made in this country, by
either foreign inventor or any other,
to two years after the matter has been
patented or described in any printed
publication in this or any for
eign country, and reducing the
period within which applications
shall be completed and prepared for
examination from two years to six
months.
|. During the. past rs years the Office
has granted To each OF 2b inventors
more than 100 patents. Thomas A.
Edison heads the list with I'll; Elihu
Thompson coming next, with 394;
Francis II. Richards, with 343; Edward
NCbbOus WIN Sf13 OudIlCo DCIlOnCT,
with 24s; Charles J. Vandepool, with
244; Randolph NJ. Hunter, with 22s and
George Mesting ghouse, with 2l7.
During the past year there has been
exceptional inventive activity in bal
ing cotton in closely-compacted cylin-
drical bales instead of in rectangular
bales; in pneumatic straw packers,
blowing the straw on the stack and
packing 1t at the same time, thus dis
and in the treatment of wool fat, until
recently regarded as a waste product
There has been exceptional activity
in excavators, possibly due to
the beginning of several large
enterprises, especially the Chicago
canal, There has been actively in the
extraction of aluminium by electrolytic
action and to some extent in the ex-
traction of gold by the use of potassium
cyanide. The class of pneumatic drills
for cutting stone has shown activity.
The greatest activity has been dis
played in detail inventions and acces-
sories to bicy lies and in machines and
processes for making the parts Pneu-
matte tires have attracted the in
ventor, because of thier now almost
universal use On sulkies as well as
bicycles. For some unknown cause
there has latterly been great activity
in sole-leveling machines, used IN the
manufacture of shoes. There has re-
Gently been great activity in inven-
tions in telephones due, as is supposed,
to tho expiration of pioneer patents,
and not little in electric locks, a new
art. Alternating current motors and
other machines employing the alter
mating current, have latterly been the
subject matter Of increased inventive
thought.
Car tenders and car couplers and
burglar-proof express cars have shown
exceptional activity Automatic mu-
steal Instruments have attracted at
tention. Games and toys. pearl butt
tons, wire glass for skylights, can
labelling machine, central draft lamps
and curling irons have shown
great sactivity. Matchmaking ma
chimes, calculating machines and vot-
ing machines have shown special activ-
ity. Linotyping machines and type
setting machines have latterly shown
extraordinary activity. In the artif-
cial carbonation of beer there has been
notable development based upon the
recent discovery that beer can be arti-
ficially carbonated and second FER
mentntion dispensed with.