Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-12-05
FORTUNE BY ACCIDENT.
Inventions Which Have Made the
Largest Returns to Investors.

It pays to thlnk-even about trifes.
Not long ago a young man who was
visiting in a strange city had that ex-
perience known to so many when rid
ing on street cars. He wanted to get
off at a certain street, the name of
which he knew, but the locality Of
which he was in ignorance. The car
was crowded. He had told the conduc-
tor the name Of the street, but, as Is
not unusually the case, the conductor
forgot.
your streets two blocks back" said
the conductor suavely when the young
man asked him if he had arrived yet.
More or less angrily, the youth said:
It's a wonder somebody wouldn't
think Of something that would tell q
passenger when he got to his street"
well, why don't you invent some
thing?" asked the conductor.
The young man got to thinking and
to working. The other day he refused
100000 for a street car device that
could be utilized to show the names OF
the streets automatically. He thinks it
is worth more. The man or woman
who conceives an idea that is patent
able almost invariably has visions of
immense wealth, but how the dream IS
realized may be found by consulting
the patent office authorities, the men
who handle thousands of these chill
dren of the brain" that never bring to
their inventors even the amount of
money necessary for getting them pat
ented. But, on the other hand, there
are a great many patents that have
made their originators immensely
wealthy, and famous as well.
One would naturally suppose that the
greatest returns would be from the
large affairs, such as the electric rail
road, the telephone and the telegraph,
but such is not the case, for the small
household inventions, mechanical toys
and puzzles have given quicker returns
and greater profits for the money ex-
pended than any Of the large affairs.
The man who invented pigs in Glow
er" happened to strike the public fan
CIV, and millions Of people all over the
country were chasing the little marbles
into the middle pen. That man made
millions on his simple puzzle because
be launched 1t at the right time.
J. w. McGill in 1867 invented the
little metal paper fastener, without
which no Office is now considered COM
plete, and though but a trife it made
wealth for its inventor. Such little
thing as the rubber tip on a pencil
brought 100000 to its inventor, Hy-
man L. Lipman, and that small piece
of metal which you wear on the heel
of your shoe to protect it had made up
to 1887 over 100000 for its protector.
A man named Garfield first hit upon
the notion of making armpit shields
seamless with a sheet of cloth covered
with rubber, and it brought him an in
come of many thousands a year. The
man who invented the metal fastenings
for buttons must have been a bachelor,
for it did away with sewing, but 1t
made him a millionaire.
The barbed wire fence, about which
many have said unkind things as they
disentangled themselves, was worth
over $1,500,O00 in royalties to the orig
inator. A countryman, whose loss from
eggs being broken on their way to mar
ket was a serious thing, evolved the
idea of packing them in seperate com.
partments, and this simple device Is
now used altogether, and that country
man is not obliged to toll for his daily
bread
Criminals have played an important
part in some of the worlds greatest
inventions, and some have made small
fortunes out of their discoveries.
Charles Filler, who devised the new
lockstitch sewing machine, was serving
his fourth term for burglary when his
idea was perfected. When he was re-
leased his idea was backed by some
capitalists and he was given salary
of $4,000 a year to superintend the
construction of the machines, in addi-
ton to a royalty. At the same time he
sold his English rights for $4,000 cash
and $4,000 worth of stock Of the En-