The Washington herald., 1917-01-14
Interesting Chats
From Hotel Lobbies

What is source OF aggravatlon to
Americans and source of humor to
Europeans is our ridiculous system of
patent laws; they no more protect than
though they did not exist" yesterday
said E. NJ. Greegs. a scientific writer
whose articles have appeared In both
American and English publications He
is stopping at the Shoreham.
The best example of the inadequacy
OF our laws" he continued, lis the treat
ment accorded Ward-Leonard, inventor OF
the device for controlling heavy electric
motors and mining machinery. He finally
found the little country of Switzerland
willing and able to give him the protec-
ton needed. after being humiliated here.
In other ways the government is slow
to recognize the need of encouraging and
protecting inventions on which the coun-
try may have to rely in time of war.
Consider for instance, the Hammond
wireless torpedo. The government has
fddled and fooled about buying this long
enough for the invention to be out of
date. Owing to the fact that this in
vention could be used only by a govern
ment, II has not been discarded No
other country on earth would have wait
ed so long to acquire such an impor-
tant weapon. II Hammond had been an
Englishman, his government would have
no other country would have been any
wiser, but It has been nearly thirty
months since the invention. and the
United States government does not yet
own the device
There have been numerous other in
ventions that have been purchased by
foreign governments because for some
fool reason our government did not get it,
The Lewis machine gun is a shining ex-
q mr. nF .g,,{,,
the War Department. Aside from weap-
ons. there have been countless other de-
vices that the factories of this country
could be turning out IL the government
afforded proper protection"
"One of the reasons why President
Wilson won in the West was the bone
head mistakes on the part of cam
paign managers OF the Republican can
dtdate." declared John A. Metzger, of
Calt Lake City Utah. who is stopping
at the New willard. Il believe the
Republicans were too sure of them
selves. They did not think that the
States of Wyoming. Utah. and Idaho
were going to vote for any one but
their man. know for a. certainty
that the Republicans could have car
ried these three States II they had
taken into consideration the weight
and power OF the Mormon vote.
Instead of going after this vote.
they ignored the head of the Mormon
Church. The result in California could
have been easily avsrted. If Hughes
had never visited the State he could
have carried it, and the same is true
of several other States. The Republi-
can managers did not seem to take
into consideration the temper of the
voters
NO, I am not a Democrat" said Mr..
Metzger. Il am a Republican, and l
am sport enough to give credit where
1t is due. Vance Mccormick is the man
who elected Wilson, and he had an
able assistant in Charles z. Hughes
really think that Hughes made
great. many votes for Wilson, and
Roosevelt many more.
The farming communities of the
West are tickled at the fact that they
really elected a man over the head Of
Wall street But there is not one
chance in a billion of another Demo-
crat in the White House for many
years to come. The problems to be
faced during the next four years are
not going to be properly solved by the
present group of Democrats"