The San Francisco call., 1903-12-21
Inzcnt0rs' Profits.
BY MALCOLM MCDOWELL.
IAuthor Of Shop Talk the Wonders of the
Crafts

IAuthor Of Shop Talk on the Wonders of the
Craf;s''I
Copyright. 1903. by Joseph B. Bowles)
Every so often the newspapers record
the death of some inventor of a great
Iabor-saving device. and the types read
that he who made fortunes tor others
himself died poor There is nc doubt
that many originators of great things
derive no benefit from their inventions.
A prominent attorney who makes
speciality of patent law explained the
apparent ingratitude and selfishness OF
men who made money out of the poor
inventor" in this wise:
1T unquestionably is true that in
many instances the inventor gets moth
ing and the maker of the finished pro-
duct Of what may be called the raw
invention gets everything. But it must
be remembered that the original idea
often is crude, impracticable and stand
ing alone is of no tangible value. This
idea may be set forth in a drawing
which depicts something which cannot
be made, or If made cannot be used.
The idea is the germ, the life principie
Of something. which il developed along
practical lines and associated with tried
methods and mechanisms Will produce
something useful. something wanted by
so many people that its monopoly
brings large revenues. The inventor
may have secured a patent; the Gov
ernment gave him a protected monop-
oily; gave him the privilege Of controll-
ing the making Of something which he
couldn't make The practical man, the
adapter. happens along, discovers the
possibilities for practical utility in the
patented but impractical idea, and in
vents the ways and methods and de-
vices to turn out a practical finished
product in quantities sufficient to meet
the demand and at a cost low enough
10 market it at profit
1T does not follow that the practical
man has more money than the inventor,
but it frequently happens that he risks
more money and uses more brain ma
terial and works harder attempting to
put the idea on practical footing than
the inventor does. He makes for
tune. the inventor dies poor and every
one exclaims, The poor inventor was
robbed
This is no exaggerated exhibit.
know of many such cases. Hundreds
and hundreds of inventions which have
proved to be of great value-some OF
them listed among the revolutionary
the epoch h-making inventions-would
have gone no further than the pictured
idea or the patent office had it not been
for courageous, audacious, hard work
ing. strong -willed, practical men, who
stood TO lose everything they possessed
when they started out to make the
crude idea a finished product.
"A man came into my office one
day with a little device used to-day in
almost every machine shop. He had
whitfield it out of wood evenings.
mechanical engineer working on g
small salary for a large manufacture
ing concern happened to be in the Of
fee. He saw the wooden model, and
offered the man $3.50 for the sole right
TO make il. The offer was accepted
The engineer planned and built com
pIicated machine, which was but g
combination of well-known mechan-
isms and mechanical principles, tC
make the tool Before he had turned
out the first article he had mortgageC
his little home and gone heavily in
debt. 1t took him several months II
reach the productive point, but he
never wavered. Then he went out tC
make a market for the tool and to-day
he is wealthy Now which of those two
men deserved the fortune?"
Not every inventor, however, fails Il
realize large profits. The number OF
successful inventors can never be fixed
/ for it is only when lawsuits bring out
/ the facts or the probate courts sched-
ule the estates that anything like def
1 mite information as to the incomes oI
successful inventors is disclosed. BuI
! it is interesting to learn that some o.
the largest incomes were received by
/ inventors of small things. Thus the
man who conceived the idea of stick
ing a rubber eraser on the end of z
i lead pencil made, il is said, tens OF
/ thousands of dollars a year from hi:
! invention. The roller skate and the re
turn ball made their inventors mil
/ lionaires. The inventor of an improved
steel pen in England built up a huge
/ fortune and was knighted. The shoe
lace brought millions to the man who
introduced it. and a young woman who
/ lived IN South Africa derived prince
/ ly income out of the invention of 6
curling iron.
One Of the stock illustrations used by
! people who believe in the little drops
of water, little grains of sand" idea re.
! lates to the invention of metal plates
/ extensively used some years ago tc
/ protect the heels and soles of boot:
and shoes from wear. This invention
/ found its way into court. and the evi.
dence showed that the inventor hac
made more than a million dollars 9
! year, and one year had sold nearly
| 80, 600 900 of the little plates.