The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-10

do with cranizs and crank applications than
those Of any other branch OF the Patent
Office. all such matters as perpetual mo-
ton. etc. being referred 10 them for action.
The chief examiner OF this department
stated few days ago that after all the
ridicue and efforts on the part OF press
ana SCHOOLS 10 snow that perpetual motion
was thing out Of the question there were
az that moment one hundred unread, un-
answered and pending applications for
patents on perpetual motion machines lying
on his table
He stated further that as a rule the per
sons seeking patents on perpetual motion
are not mechanics or residents OF manu-
featuring districts, but farmers ignorant
OF the first principles OF mechanics. who
write 10 the examiner trying 70 impress
upon him the necessity for the utmost
secrecy and the enormous value and i'm
pOrtance Of the machine in question The
first patent applied for on perpetual mo-
ton machine was in England In 1892, since
which time the number has increased in
stead Of falling of. Some Of the cases are
very pathetic. For instance, several years
ago a big Frenchman, a mechanic living
in Massachusetts, applied for patent on
a perpetual motion machine, and as usual
the Patent Office insisted on practical
demonstration OF his invention.
At considerable expense he had the ap-
paratus transported 70 this city ana set
up in the model room of the Patent once.
IL was an immense blUnderbuss Of an az
fair, and. according to the maker, not quite
completed and ready TO run. The chief ex-
few words showed the Frenchman why IL
would not run. The poor fellow al once
saw the examiner was right and was so
overwhelmed with disappointment that he
broke down and cried like a child This
man had actually been starving himself
and HIS family in order 10 get the means
10 waste on a foolish and WORKOUT theory.
One Of the curious things about these
cranks is their remarkable confidence in
their ability 10 perform things utterly i'm
possible up 10 the very moment of the test.
One came to the examiner recently
which he claimed that he had ridden over
a large portion of New York without mo-
tive power. The examiner wanted TO see
the wonderful bike before granting a pat
ent, and with the utmost assurance the
inventor promised faithfully 10 be at the
Patent Office TO meet him on a certain date.
1t happened to be a holiday, but the eX-
aminer waited patiently all day for the in
ventor of freak bicycles, who failed 70
show up. His promise was doubtless made
in good faith, and no doubt he intended 10
be on hand but when he found on trial that
his pet theory would not work he subsidized
Another favortte invention is that OF re
ligious or Scripture playing cards" by
means Of which certain good old people
imagine they can wean the maynard young
man from poker and seven-up. The office
is so flooded with such applications, all
of them embodying the same general idea.
that most of those now filed are turned
down. Several fortunes have been made
by inventions on cards and dice. The de-
vice for spinning dice, recently invented, is
proving a bonanza for the inventor, while
Mr.. l. y. Richardson, OF Maiden, Mass.
who invented what are known as "squeez-
ers'' on playing cards, by means of which
ing it, has realized independent fortune
from this simple cOntriVanCe.