Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-29

inventive faculties either to strictly
feminine matters, nor to science, art,
or the art of war. Among
the patents granted to women are
many devoted to masculine comfort,
among which are to be noted a trouser
tree. a mustaehe guard. machine for
making cigarettes, mans neektie
clasp and holder, a protector for dress
skirts, "a folding bathtub for travellers,
&C
Lest some should think. that because
no woman has as yet made a great
and epoch making invention therefore
she is apt to make ridiculous inven-
tons and obtain those freak patents SO
beloved by the comic Photographer. let
it be said that the number of freaks
patented by woman is small in proper
ton to the total number of patents she
has obtained. Nor is this hard to un-
derstand-the faculty of invention is
not us yet largely developed. therefore
1t does not overgrow itself or run to
seed" Freak inventions, of which men
produce SO many, are a result of an
unbridled. unframed inventive faculty,
which, properly directed or educated.
might result in good. Woman seldom
makes these varieties of inventions.
and strange to say when she does get
into the freak class she is otter dis
eoncertngly close to the practical and
though one laughs at the freak. he
cannot but see that there was real
idea to the fore even If the means and
result are somewhat outre.
There is. for instance, the patent
granted to Mary Ann Woodward. April
"a. 1876, for a rocking chair fan. Mis-
tres Mary's idea is certainly not bad
If one is not of a nervous disposition.
You sit in the chair and rock. The fan
above swings to and fro and keeps the
flies oft your. bald head and at the
same time in1pels a cooling breeze to
keep YOU from getting over-heated.
Whether she stood ready with another
invention for the sudden cure of pneu-
monia or kept an ambulance on hand
for the carrying off of those made sud-
denly insane by the lick flick of the
thing across their Leads, her patent
does not state.
Mrs. Sarah Sewell. an Ohio woman.
invented a device which cannot be call
ed impractical even if at first blush it
Goes not seem destined to produce an
ing her small children at play on q
see-saw, the While she worked hard
revolving the mechanism OF a washing
machine. she conceived the idea of
r,aking the sce-saw do the work, Civ
ing her time to enjoy life. And the.
United states of America set its solemn
seal of approval en- the idea, giving her
a patent for combined ee-saw and
washing machine, the illustration of
which shows the beauty of possessing
at once several children and an in
ventive brain by which they may be
made to wash their own clothes and at
the same time have a good time.
A list of half freakish. half sane in
ventions of women would not be COM
plete without mention of two locomo-
tive patents granted to women. one for
destroying vegetation between the
tracks, thus keeping cows off and con-
serving their precious lives. and the
other a means by which cinders and
smoke may be kept on the ground and
thus out of the passengers eyes. Louisa
r. Simpson, of Lawrence, Mass, took
out the aforementioned patent, which
produces its vegetable destroying eff
feet by discharging waste steam via a
tube straight down between tho
wheels. Miss Augusta NJ Rodgers. of
Brooklyn, n. Y, patented the second
railway engine idea. carrying her Gin
ders and shot through a tube back over
the engine and down to the ground
Doubtless If this device worked the
way 1t was planned to work, and did
not seriously interfere with the draft
of the chimney. it would have the
same effect as that of Miss Simpsons
patent, and not only keep cinders on
the ground but by them destroy the
vegetation.
For some unknown reason the name
OF Sarah r. Mather has often been
published as the author OF a freak in
vention. In 1s43 Miss Mather obtained
Patents No. $685. for a submarine tele-
scope and lamp. Probably it is because
the subject is an unusual one for a
woman that photographers have heaped
gentle ridicule upon the device. As u
matter of fact the idea is entirely
practical. and to prove it Miss Mather
left With the Patent Office full sized
working model, which the writer has
seen and handled, and which shows no
trace of either the freak or the in-
practical.
No story of woman's inventions
would be complete which failed to
mention the feminine" patent taken
out by Minnie Agnes Phelps. of Chica-
go. Ill. This Is recent patent, which
still has II years to run. having been
granted December II. 1906. 1t is re-
markatle rs being the invention OF a
woman, the application of which vas
prosecuted by woman attorney. Miss
Florence King, and the witnesses to
which were both women. Jennie l..
Fiske and Cora A. Schriver. 1t is an
+" all woman patent, and to complete
the sentiment it's subject is one pa--
ticularly of womans domain. The pa
tent is for certain new and useful
improvements in combined toaster
and warming oven'
There are about 10000 applications
for patents filed every year in the Pa
tent Office. OF these two thirds, or
about 10000, go to issue. OF these, no..
900 each year sees an increasing num-
Der issued to women. A feature which
is generally remarked by all who ham
die patents is that comparatively few
inventions claimed by women and filed