Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1897-05-05
Olty swlndlsrs and rAslr Rural Prey.

FROM AN OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTOR.
 There are thousands of people who live in the city by robbing peo- pie in the country. With the ap- l proval of the editor l propose to 1 to explain some of these robbing schemes and, perhaps help some readers to make money by saving it. ] One reason why city swindiers ars so thrifty is because those who have been duped by them are ashamed to expose their own simplicity in be- ing taken ;n" and also because the exposure involves trouble and ex- pense.
 The head of a notorious patent concern in Washington has been heard to remark that sucker" is born every minute and that he looks upon the inventor as his particular prey. There are on an average about 425 patents granted each week and the name and address of every pos4ntee is published in the Patent Office Gazette. This gives the patent sharks in Washington, New York, Philadelphia. Chicago, c. .sund other cities and wes- tern towns access to the ear of the inventor. They send him circulars so cunningly prepared that he thinks they have been written ex- pressly to him and they confirm his opinion that he has a fortune in his patent. Their proposition is to sell tbe patent onk commission, usually 10 per cent. but the inventor must advance from S2 to so for advertis- pg. IT the inventor is green and aItllble he will send them money,
 nch be would better burn, bu. if
 is senAl ltte. he will burn their
 llaFs. IHese people never sell lts, pew even fTy to sell them i het beE they strike" you for
 so, the p9ik the money will
 % their po. 'Ss. Some of
 may pfvss t. try to sell
 patents n that if you
 suit sgot en they may
 you by stN su advertise
 but do lv 5 deceived by
 pretence tHat they wish to
 or eoHInissBtsss
 .theF sehenu ls @ urge the
 teFIean patentee ke get Earopean atents, and there is one western irm that pre4ends to bear one-half the expense of $ia for procuring German design patent or Gsbrsuch- smuster provided they can have the privilege of selling the foreign patent, claiming Co have uneqaaled facilities for selling, The sngges- ton of sale is only bait, What they call half expense or $20 is four times as much as the Gebrauch- smuster costs and nine times in ten it is not worth cent, for they will never sell it; or think about it after they get they get the $20,
 The number of patents granted in the United States alone numbered on April 18th, 5S0,s37. All that were granted l7 years ago have expired and become public property. Not even the eataeombs of aneisnt cit ies afford more suggestive lesson to the moralist than the archives of the United States patent office, for 1 here are buried the widest hopes l and struggles of Q most progressive 1 people.
 Not half as many patents have been granted by any ether country. | What does this mean but that many l useless and worthless patents have | been granted. It means also that Amencan inventive genius SO called | has been over stimulated and lursd l by offers of prizes, medals, riches, and by fictitious tales about the | value of patents. Very few patents i and still fewer inventions bring the owner wealth. They more ire quently ruin than enrich.
 Our government is very Temiss that it does not lay it's powerful | hand on these sehemefs and stand | between rapScious swindlers and | the ignorant citizen.
 Inventors and owners of patents who have been swindIed by patent | sharks of any kind send their com plaints direct to the postmaster gen eral at Washington, He will have the case investigated, sad, if 1t can be proved, che swindler win be put on the fraud list, To shout "stop | thief" is a dUt3 tha9 every man owes .fo his cONAlry and ttl his kind