St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-06-11

SInall outlay on the part Oh the SeHerdi
government will result in a large amount
of instructive work, and 1t is believed
that once road construction Is generally
better understood, and can be accom-
plished with economy, that there will be
q great impetus to the making of such
improvement throughout the country.
The following statement, which the
comptroller of the currency has just
given out, of the national banks in the
state of New Hampshire Is Of interest.
This shows their condition on May IA
last, when the returns were handed in:
Resources, 22,247, 369.42; liabilities, $22,-
247, 369.42.
The recently published report of the
librarian Of congress shows that there
are some 748,115 books, and in addition to
this there are 245,00O pamphlets. The
increase over 1896 Is 1854. A substantial
Increase in the copyright business has
been made during the year. This is
attributed in part to the extension Of the
international copyright business, espe-
cially in musical productions. There are
now embraced within the privileges Of
the International copyright II foreign
governments. Great Britain and her de-
tendencies, France, Germany, Italy,
Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland,
Denmark, Chill and Mexico. During the
year there were 72,470 new copyrights,
an increase over the number Of the year
before of 1885, The fees for 1896 amount
ed to $54,370, an increase of $25S7 over
12qE Tho To toe hot ha
Of the library to the new building, the
finest in the world, will occur immedi-
ately after the close Of the extra ses-
sion of congress, and that the library will
have to be closed for short time. Print
Ing of new catalogues, carefully ar
ranged, Is urged, and Mr.. Spofford says
that he Is now engaged in preparing list
of books which should be purchased to
fill the deficiencies in the library, and
that he hopes that suitable provision will
be made. The report comments upon the
completion of the new library.
Few persons have any idea Of the vast
ness Of the inventive genius of America
as recorded in the United States patent
office. Not long ago a librarian wrote the
commissioner Of patents that he desired
to obtain a copy Of each patent that had
been issued by the United States govern
ment
An estimate was made of the time it
would take one clerk to take from the
files Of the office single copy of eacr
patent. There are nearly 600, 900 of thes.
patents, and printed copies of each are
kept in bundles with the number Of the
patent marked on the cotton wrapper
for quick reference. There are trained
men, ten of them, whose only work is to
take these printed descriptions from tn.
files to furnish any one who desires to
purchase them. They are quick in han
ding the bundles, yet it is estimated that
It would take one of these experts three
years merely to pull from the racks a
single copy of each patent filed in the
office. AS this class Of labor is paid $500
per annum, the cost to the government
of getting out the patents from the racks
would be $500.
For cents the patent Office will give
any one copy of any patent that has
been issued by the office, and complete
sets of these patents would be supplied
at 1 cent for each patent. That seems
cheap, but complete set would cost
about $4,000, while their binding and
assortment for binding would make the
whole expense of such set of books not
much less than $4,000 When bound
they would make 1000 volumes, each as
big as Websters unabridged dictionary.
Few patent agents aspire to have COM
plete sets of patents, and few of them
no Tor oh To ho1I
plete set If they should get them.
The patent office is operating on an
tiquated lines in number of respects
merely because congress will not allow
the money collected from patentees to
be spent for their benefit, but keeps
locked up in the treasury department
a surplus from this source amounting to
about 100000. In no better way is the
expensiveness caused by this lack Of
facilities better shown than in the sys.
tenn Of storing the printed copies of pat
ents. AS shown above, it would cost
$500 in labor to collect from the files one
copy of each of the 100000 patents. Il
these patents were stored conveniently,
instead of being scattered in every avail
able place from cellar to garnet of the
PebtChI OlllSC Oulloii6y uuQ IL lACy WCIe
kept in properly constructed filing cases,
instead of being wrapped in cotton, one
man could do the work of five at present.
AS it is, 10 men cannot take patents from
the files rapidly enough to supply the
demands of inventors and attorneys who
daily make application to purchase them
Scores Of times commissioners of pat
ents have appealed to congress for a
proper building in which to do it's work,
but every year a surplus of $150,000 is
turned into the treasury, and no atten.
ton paid to urgent appeals. The pat
ent office has never cost the government
a cent, and congress steadily turns a deai
ear to petitions for Improvement of it,
facilities.
The South American commercial
tourists paid their first visit to the ma
tional capital on Tuesday. Unfortunately
the weather conditions were not favora
BILE to sightseeing, as cold, penetrat
ing rain was falling. The party arrived
from Baltimore at S:35 o'clock, and was
received at the Pennsylvania railroad
station by committee of the Washing
ton board of trade. OF the South Ameri-
can ministers, only Ministers Mendonca
Of Brazil and Merou Of Argentina were
there to greet their compatriots. From.
the station the visitors were driven di-
rectly to the magnificent congressional
library. The program for the day also
included visits to the Capitol and the ex-
ecutive mansion, where President Nc
Kinley received the delegates.