The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1907-01-10
FORTUNE 81 ccIpENr.
Inventions Which Have Made the
Largest Returns to Investors.

Largest Returns to Investors.
1t pays to think-eyen about trifies
Not long ago 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 gel
of at certain street, the name OF
which he knew, but the locality OF
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 II he bad arrived yet.
More or less angrily, the youth said:
Its a wonder somebody wouldn't
think Of something that would tell a
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 1t
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
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 wells
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
ar" happened to strike the public fan
cy, 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 it at the right time.
]. w. McGill in 1867 invented the
little metal paper fastener, without
which no office is now considered COM
Dlete, and though but a trif1e it made
wealth for its inventor. Such a little
hing as the rubber tip on a pencil |
brought 100000 to its inventor, Hy- |
nan L. Lipman, and that small piece I
Of metal which you wear on the heel I
Of your shoe to protect it had made up
to 1887 over S1,O00,00O 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
nan who invented the metal fastenings
,er buttons must have been bachelor,
'or it did away with sewing, but it
made him a millionaire.
The barbed wire fence, about which
many have said unkind things as they
lisentangled themselves, was worth
,ver S1,500,000 in royalties to the orig
nator. A countryman, whose loss from
ggs being broken on their way to mar
iet was a serious thing, evolved the
dea of packing them in seperate COM
,artments, and this simple device is
low used altogether, and that country
nan is not obliged to toll for his daily
read
Criminals have played an important ,
'art in some of the worlds greatest
INVENTIONS, and some have made small :
ortunes out of their discoveries.
'harles Filler, who devised the new
ockstitch sewing machine, was serving
is fourth term for burglary when his
lea was perfected. When he was re- /
,ased his idea was backed by some '
capitalists and he was given salary :.
$1,000 year to superintend the ),
of the machines, in addi- :
on to royalty. At the same time he :
I'D his English rights for $4,000 cash 3
nd $4,000 worth of stock of the En- !,
ish company.-C Chicago Inter Ocean. 4