Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1902-07-17
ABODE OF INVENTORS
A Connecticut Town That Has Mr.
merous Patent Owners.
Several Citisens of New Britain Have
Turned Out New Cont-:vance.
by the DOsen-state Of Fer
tile Genius


patent statistics. These figures show
that an overwhelming percentage of
the inventive genius of America-in-
deed of the worlds to be found with
in the confines of the state of Con-
nectlcut, and, what is more remark
able. that much of that percentage is
restricted to the city limits of New
Britain, says the Chicago Record-Her
aid.
Since the United States patent laws
were enacted LAT inventions have
| been patented by 344 New Brit ainers
Within a ten-year period one patent
was granted each year fer every 3o7
inha bitants Of the town, nearly three
times as many as the general average
for all the rest of the state. WHY is
this so?
The offices of the New Britain patent
lawyers are an interesting spectacle
almost any day of the week. Here one
finds many geniuses, queer and other
wise
There is the woman genius with the
com binatiOn automatic crib and rock
ing chair. 1t is a brilliant idea. aud
ought to sell like hot cakes at three
dollars each. No family can possibly
get along without one of them, and the
woman sees fortune in her grasp
She is but specimen of hundreds of
others.
Heading the long list of successful
New Britain inventors is the name of
JI1S A
patents. Mr.. Trout has made a great
fortune out of his inventions. all ap-
parently insignificant trif1cs. 1t is the
manufacture of these very trifes, how
ever, which constitutes the financial
and commercial strength Of Connec-
ticut. Indeed. Connecticut inventions
have been restricted almost exclusive
ly to mere trit1es.
George E. Adams comes next in the
list with &C patents. 1t is scarcely pos
sible for the modern man or woman
Of any station in life to attempt to
dress without recourse to some one or
other of Mr.. Adams inventions. Sus-
pender buckles. hose supporters, gar
ter fasteners, corset steels. hooks and
eyes. glove clasps. shirt studs, collar
buttons he has invented galore.
Thomas f. Corscaden comes third,
with 81 devices, among them. in all
proba bility, the handles Of the coffin
in which you will be buried. and similar
grewsome though necessary mechan-
isms.
Henry G. Voight. with "A, occupies
the fourth place. Mr.. Voight has de-
voted his Yankee ingenuity entirely to
the protection of life and property
He is man of padlocks and door
knobs and latch keys and window
fasteners.
Fortunately for the state, however,
all the inventive genius of Connecticut
is not confined to New Britain. Hart
ford. New Haven. Ansonia, Waterbury,
Bridgeport and Meriden are likewise
hotbeds for the propagation of Yankee
ingenuity
typical example Of the Connecti-
cut inventor and his ingenious fertil-
ity is found in the case of Chris"
Downey. of Waterbury. Mr. Downey,
who is not yet 40 years old, is the pro-
prietor and manufacturer of 20 pat
ents, all of his own invention He like
wise is a prolific newspaper CORE
spondent. sending out Waterbury news
to string of no less than 20 daily
newspapers. In addition to all this. he
is now engaged upon the writing of
comic song.
1t seems strange that among the al
most innumerable line of inventions
of which Connecticut, and particularly
New Britain boasts there are only a
few isolated cases, of patents being
granted to women. In the list of New
Britain patentees there are only four
women. Sarah Jane Wheeler patent
ed a currycomb in 1861. Elizabeth
MINER took out patent for fruit
jar cover fastener in 1890. Alice NJ
HobsOn patented steam cooker in
1891. and Frances f. Maisonbille a
"meat tenderer" in 1897.
All the other devices contrived by
Connecticut women have proved either
defective or absurd when attempts
were made to patent the rights to their
Why this should be so
raises another question, quite as I'M
as that asked in the begin
ming of this article.
BuncOed the King of Sweden.
The Paris police have arrested
band of 80 thieves. who
for the last ten years have been de-
frauding the Paris public. Their mo-
dus operandi was to forge false pa
pers of Identification. by which means