The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1915-09-28
TheIAaTd Road 0!
Government Inventor

If, tnen, the history of invention
offers any criterion Secretary Daniels
plan for mobiizing our leading inven-
tors and scientists for the upbuild-
ing of the navys material must at
once strike everyone as commendable
The tales of mute inglorious invent
ors who for lack of appreciation fill
paupers graves are no doubt exag-
gerated. But they are surely numer-
Gus enough to justify any reasonable
method of removing the obstacles
thrown in the mechanical genius path
by narrow minded conservatism AS 1t
is, the introduction of a new machine
with marvellous possibilities is as
much a test of optimism and persis-
tence as of mechanical ingenuity.
We have been told that the navy
only to conclude that they had a mer-
It after they had been adopted by for
eign governments. That is not lit
orally true. The fault rests with
Congress rather than with the ma
Wy. Under the present system no
adequate sum is appropriated for the
systematic examination of new devic-
es. A few inventors have been fin
anced by the navy department; but
the best that can usually be done
is to ask the inventor to submit
full sized model at his own expense
for test. If the invention Is new
type of gun for superdreadnoughts the
inventor must spend perhaps $4,000
and hald the weapon at his own FISK
and expense to the governments prov
ing grounds. A few rounds are fired;
the gun turns out to be badly con-
structed, although the fundamental
principle is correct, a report is sub
mitted to the Secretary of the navy
that the piece failed. The possibility
Of raising capital for further expert
menting is woefully slim in the face
of that adverse official judgment.
If this same system were followed
by business men we would have no
telephone, no incandescent lamp, no
linotype machine, no printing press
no automatic shoe making machinery.
Every invention is the product of an
evolution. Success in mechanics Is
founded on instructive failures. Edl'
son shaved month after month before
he produced the first operative mean
descent lamp-an exhausted bulb in
which a thread of charred cotton
glowed feebly for few hours. Bells
first telephone could hardly trans
nit speech, and when the first con-
versation with the instrument was
held between New York and Boston
the man at the transmitter had to
yell greetings and songs beneath
blanket so as not to disturb the in
mates of the boardinghouse in which
ne happened to be living. One mil
lion dollars in money and decade
in time were spent before the pulling
over machine, now part Of every shoe
factory equipment, was brought to
commercial perfection. 1t costs
great German chemical manufacture
ing firm nearly two million dollars to
devise that wonderful process of max
ing synthetic indigo, which has com
pletely destroyed the natural indigo
industry OF India. No great inven-
tion. whether It be a poem or a dy'
namo. ever leaped from the brain,
perfect in every detail. And yet the
whole system of testing Inventions
for both the army and the navy pre-
supposes inality Prom The Inven'
tors Board and the Navy, by Waldo
mar Kaempfrert, in the American Re
view OF Reviews for September.