The Opelousas courier., 1901-07-20
PROFITABLE PATENTS.
About One Invention In twenty-five Pa

About One Invention in Twenty-Five Fayi
for Expense. OF P%atenting n.
An article by the, late e. v. Sma1ley
in the Century, tells how patents are
taken out at Washington. what they
cost, and what some Of them yield tt
the inventors,
The progressive development of in
ventiye gsEeds in this country. as IN
d~icateSSy the number of patents Is
sued each year, has been by success
sive waves rather than by a regular
ana continuous advance. Taking the
first year of each decsnnial period, we
find th&t in 1900 the number OF pat
ents granted was Al; in 1910. 22S; In
1890, 1856; in 1880. 554: In 1910. ATS;
in 1850, 995; In 1860. 1888. The great
increase in inventions during the de
cennial period 1S5o-60 is a remarkable
feature in patent oflce history. This
period was one of rapid national de
velopment, and was characterized by
the great extension Of steam-transpor'
tation, the general Introduction of the
telegraph, and the perfection Of the
sewing-machine, the reaper, the
mower, and many other valuable de-
vices. During the civil war the pro-
duction of patents fell off, but no soon
er had the volunteer troops returned
to their homes than a wonderful fer
tility Of invention was displayed.
Ideas that had been developing in the
minds of the soldiers during their life
in the camps were put into models by
the thousand and sent to Washington.
In 1865 the number of patents granted
was 6616, and in 1867 it had run up to
1926. It remained for a time at
about that annual figure. being. in
1870, 13.947; but in 1875. the year OF
the Centennial exhibition, which
powerfully stimulated inventive gen.
ius, it reached the highest number yet
attained, 1926. Then there was a
steady recession. and by 1880 the pat
ent crop had fallen back to 13,947.
Since 1883 the number Of patents an
nually issued has exceeded 10000.
During the calendar year 1899 there
were issued 25,527 patents.
One of the old examiners in the
patent Office estimates that about one
invention in Is repays the cost of TAX
ing out a patent. Yet inventors as a
class are sangine men. and no knoWl-
edge of the enormous percentage Of
chances against them will deter them
from multiplying ingenious devices.
Every one expects a fortune from his
particular piece of mechanism. Every
one has heard not only Of the enor-
nous sums realized from the great in
ventions of the last h~alf-century. but
also of the large returns yielded by
things apparently tri1ing which have
struck the public fancy or met the
public need. The toy called the re-
turnball, a small ball attached to an
elastic string, is said to have produced
a profit of $4,000 a year; the rubber
tip on lead-pencils has yielded a COM
petence to the inventor; more than
81, 200, 900 has been earned by the
gimlet-pointed screw the inventor of
which was so poor that he trudged on
foot from Philadelphia to Washington
to get his patent; the roller-skate has
yielded 1000, 900 after the patentee
spent $125,000 in England fighting in
Engagements; the dancing Jim Crow is
set down for $4,000, and the copper
tip for children's shoes at 5 1000, 900:
the spring window-roller pays $780,
900 a year, the needle-threader &c.,
600 a year; from the drive-well $S,000,-
600 have been realized; tie stylograph-
ic pen is credited with 100000 a
year; and the egg-beater, the rubber
stamp, and the marking-pan for shad-
ing different colors. with large sums.
These are only a few examples among
hundreds that might be cited. No
wonder inventors are hopeful when
they reflect that comfort for life and
fortune for their children may come
from a single fortunate idea.