The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-09-25

Pockets OF Poor Men--Even Toy
or Puzzle viii Fetch a Competence
Anybody can become rich If he will
follow the advice given by the WASH
ington correspondent of the Philadel-
phia Times, who asks Would you like
to give up work and pursue a life OF
leisure on a steady income? Well, then.
all you have to do is to invent bottle
that cannot be refilled, or a pipe that
will not foul, or a cheap envelope that
cannot be opened without detection,
or a practical car fender, or an auto
matte music leaf turner, or a contri-
vance to aid cyclers in learning to ride,
or a small machine for opening oysters.
or a typewriter for $25 that does good
work or a magnetic key or a cure for
seasickness. People with money are
ready at any time to pay large sums
for any of these inventions, once proved
satisfactory. They are looking out
with equal anxiety for a knife sharp
ener that anybody can use, fish hook
that will catch nibblers, a self-locking
hat pin, a cheap and convenient letter
file and a powdered sugar shaker
that will flow freely.
There is a big fortune waiting for
anybody who will invent cheap sub
stitute for carpet Millions will reward
the lucky man who finds an available
equivalent for leather. The best sub
stitute for leather thus for thought Of
is made of paper pulp and leather
scraps Who will contrive the bicycle
that may be operated by both hands
and feet? 1t is sure to come and big
money is offered for It. No good ma
chine exists for putting q mourning
border on stationery, and a means is
demanded for securing window panes
without putty. The postoffice depart
ment is anxious to obtain q coin oper-
ated device that will register letters
and deliver numbered receipts auto
matcally. A longed-for Improvement
in typewriters is a modification that
will deaden the noise they make Add
TO these wants" an envelope for mail
ing small articles or samples, q spe-
cific for mosquitoes, flying machine
that really flies and an intoxicant that
has no Nemss. Thus it will be seen
that all the ideas have not yet been
thoubht of, and that there is plenty
of room yet for the expansion Of Yam
kee inventive talent.
LITTLE THINGS PAY.
1t is noticeable that most of the big
fortunes earned through patents have
been gained by small things, such as
would not be considered important by
the casual observer. A country lass
was made independent for life by the
simple idea which is represented by the
pasteboard compartment tray for pack
ing eggs. She had to put up a great
many eggs for market, and the loss by
breakage was a serious matter. So
she hit upon the notion of providing n
separate compartment for each egg,
and, inasmuch as pasteboard was
cheap and the trays could easily be
ret'Ened with the boxes that contained
them, the problem was solved. 1t is
fact that people in rural parts invent
few things. 1t was a Maine farmer,
however, who patented copper tips for
shoes and it is reckoned that they were
worth about half a million dollars to
him. He had several boys, who kicked
out the toes of their shoes, and he
found that copper tips made them last
three times as long. Hence the idea.
One of the most successful inventors
of small things was Crandall. He pat
ented several puzzles that made money,
but Pigs in Glover" was his great hit
in this line. At one time he was en-
gagged in the business of making GRO
quet sets, the lawn game being then at
the height of its popularity. He de-
vised a method of constructing the
boxes, so that the parts were held to-
Gether by groove and tongue fasten-
ings instead of nails. One night he
took home some of the waste pieces to
'hls little girl, who was sick. She found
such delight in playing with them and
putting them together that her father
conceived the idea of making similar
blocks for the amusement of children.
Such was the evolution of the we'll
known Crandall building blocks.
Another very profitable toy was the
invention of badridden boy. This
was the Dancing Jim Crow" which
for long time was the rage. 1t is
said to have yielded $4,000 in the first
year it came out. By a simple bit of
mechanism a darkey was made to
dance on q box. The celebrated
Fifteen Puzzle" was never patented:
several inventors claimed to have ori-
ginated It, and fortunes were gained
by the sale of 1t. Most famous of all
patented toys was the return ball"
1t was sold for a cent, with rubber
string and brass finger-ring: yet the
profit ran W to an enormous sum-
The chameleon top and walking al
ligator brought fortunes to the paten-
tees. The roller skate was another
very profitable invention, though it
did not begin to make money until the
patent had nearly run out, when the
craze came.
SO SIMPLE!
Hundreds of thousands of dollars
have been made by Dennison out of his
shipping tags. The idea consists simp-
ly in little ring of card board that
reinforces the tying hole and prevents
the string from tearing out. A lot of
money has been earnad by the little
brass clip-fastening, patented q few
years ago, by which sheets of paper
are held together, Yet it is an exact
copy of a contrivance in bronze that
was used by the Romans more than
twenty centuries ago. In fact, there
are not few modern Inventions which