The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-01-02
WAR WAS GREAT
STIMULANT TO
The INVENTOR
remarkable Work Of Bureau o!
Patents.
WHERE RED TAPE IS NEEDED

S9SS0 0uAssnSso NSSSeoasy ~ SSA
patsnts-HIoh Explosives Play I'M
portant Part In Ideas Developed by
War-Many Freaks Offered.
Any government bureau that has
done what 1t was established to do
more than a million times has accom-
pllshed a vast amount Of work. Prac-
ticaIly the entire machinery Of that
bureau has revolved each single time.
At the close Of business November II,
1915. the United States patent Office
had registered 1.284.956 patents, and
any one who has ever gone through
the complicated channels of getting
D thing patented will realize what
Il means to have recorded a million
and q quarter Of them. On an average,
shout 500 patents are issued weekly.
Rel tape attains a very luxurious
growth In patent Office business, but
necessarily. When more than 100000
machines and chemical compounds and
whatnots have been recognized as be-
Ing different from one another, some
are must be taken that the machines
and compounds that arrive daily are
not Implications in some important
loature Of those already on hand.
And ARE In q government bureau IN
1voidably requires the use of a lot Of
red tape. There Is a book issued by
the commissioner of patents contain
lng nj hundred and sixteen pages of
printed rules, draftsmen's symbols.
nd 1egtl forms, all a part Of the pro-
cedure to be followed.
War Stimulates inventors.
Naturally the war has been a great
stimulant to the efforts of inventors
and many man-killing devices have
BEEN conceived or reached a high
staee Of development within the last
lew years.
This has been q war In which high
etploolvea played a leading part. and
Il \ along that line that many Ameri-
ca inventors turned their minds. For
inreance, many applications have been
recelved Tor the issuance Of patents IN
h1hd erenades. all OF which are sim
~ based upon q pound or so of some
powerful explosive in a metal contain
e. The important part Of a grenade.
The part OF which q patent is asked, Is
IT. timing mechanism. by which 1t can
b vt to explode at a certain time af-
IT, Il II thrown. Then there are men
wA9 have sent In drawings Of rifle
etQnAde4. practically the same al the
l0u6 variety. save that they are fired
ffol1 = ride: and ssminenwerfer" or
ttepch mortars-small. squat cannon
Which throw Z tremendous and very
destructive charge OF high explosive
evot ! short distance. Germany sur
t@G0ered $4,000 Of these minenwerfer
q ~ allied forces by the terms OF the
e1Inlet1ce. which indicates that the al
~ have Z pretty high opinion Of their
d1(khlness.
These are old ideas. II required a
NJ Ike this one to furnish an incen-
I've Tor developing them to q high de-
~ Of effectiveness. The same Is true
he depth bomb. another wartime
f&v0kfte Of the inventors, which put
~ Tear Of the Lord into German u
b6&ts. Dropped from the rear Of a
tQ1pedo boat destroyer. primed to ex-
r16te at q certain depth, 1t was the
to41t effective weapon the allies had
~ combating the submarines. Pat
G4xn had been taken ont ON depth
1<<1bo years before this war broke out,
~ not until the submarine menace
1&<<1me grave was the lash can" as 1t
= 'lovlngiy called. really taken up, de-
WHIPPED and given a chance to show
WIT it could do.
An Were Failures.
Then there have been patents grant
~ tor aerial torpedoes. Sad to say,
none OF them has turned out to be
practical. but there is no doubt that a
~successful aerial torpedo will be n
reality before very long. The patent
examiners do not doubt II. They have
seen % many inventions perfected
which at frst sight looked impossible.
fllnks sthey hesitate to laugh at any
Je1k" idea. Another aerial problem
n which men have tried to find the
1o(utiOn II q device which would al
~ m aeroplane to remain station
~ n the air. The advantage Of such
achievement In connection with
nbing expeditions al easily be i'm.
lined.
Naturally, since the war began.
~ - been 4 steady stream Of freak
! Into the old gray building ut
<tenth ana g streets In washington.