Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1922-06-23

during the war which have proved
In a way that the impossible is
possible" have changed the attitude
of the officials of the United States
government toward men who come to
Washington in an endeavor to interest
otticialdom In things which they have
invented and propose to put into
operation.
once CA time things were diff
erent a man who perfected ~. in
vention, an engine of war which Is
now in use by nearly every government
on the face of the earth. which by
its subSea operations neasl~ gave vic
tory in the war to Germany, once told
of his troubles to secure 4 hearing
when he wanted the officials of the
United States to give him ear. He
said:
Let every man know If he has an
invention in which he believes and
in which he trusts the government win
find merit, that he must prepare him
self at the outset 10 be treated in
tgm like an inbecile, a lunatic and a
criminal by the department officials
to whom he tries To present his ideas"
After speaking of two stages Of the
Inventors progress with the officials
of another time, this great inventor
who had his troubles continued:
Occasionally influence, which the
real inventor hates to bring to bear,
enables him to get an audience with
the highest official in the department
He has reached the criminal stage by
this time for he has taken 10 the
chic; that which courtesy and custom
require should have been taken to the
underliug,
"The three stages of suspicion are
gone through again by the persistent
inventor - imbecile, lunatic. and
criminal-and occasionally his persist
ence wins out, for in passing through
the degrees he may happen to hit
upon some official, also regarded as IA
lunatic by his colleagues, who is will
ing to give consideration to that which
another lunatiC has Produced
Wiling to Hear Them Now.
These words, as has been said, wero
spoken by man whose efforts helped
largely to change the nature Of sea
warfare. He was trying to give to
the American government t,!at which
would serve it in time OF need. He
won out, but others in the olden days
did not win out.
Today, however, man who has an
invention can get a hearing. Such
amazing things have happened in the
inventive field recently that nothing
is regarded any longer as impossible
by the men whose duty it is to look
into merits of prolfered Inventions. On
the continent of Europe things were
different before the war There the
inventor was not treated as IL he
were fresh from an asylum for the
feeble minded, but was turned over at
/ once to an official whose duty
/ 1t was to examine such things as were
offered and TO examine them quickly.
1t was not always like this on the
other side of the water. Every In
ventor who came 70 Washington in
pre-war days and after the publlca-
/ ton of Charles Dickens Little Dor
ritz probably had In his mind the
experience of one Of the characters in
that book Charles Dickens helped
British inventors TO get quick hear
ings from their government officials.
How It Used to Be in England.
1t was Daniel Doyce, one Of Mr..
Meagle's friends In the story of Little
Dorrit, who had an experience with
ohlcialdom much like that of the Amer
lean inventor which has been recorded
above. OF Doyce Mr.. Meagle said:
"This Doyce is a smith and engineer.
4 dozen years ago he perfected an in
ventiou Involving "a very curious Sc
cret process) Of great Importance to
his country and his fellow creatures.
| would not say how much money it
cost him, or how many years Of his life
he had been about it, but he brought
it to perfection a dozen years ago.
Gle addressed himself to the gov
eminent The moment he addresses
himself to the government he becomes
a public offender, He ceases to be an
innocent citizen and becomes a culprit.
He IS treated from that instnnt as a
man who has done some Internal &C
ton. He Is man TO be shirked, put
off broW-beaten, sneered at, handed
over by this highly connected young or
old gentleman 70 that highly connect
ed young or old gentleman, and lodged
back again; he is man with no rights
in his own time or in his property; a
mere outlaw whom it Is justifable TO
get rid Of anyhow; man to be worn
out by any possible means
So it was once In England and so II
was once in this country. They re-
formed on The other side Of the water
before they reformed on this side o
1t. The flying machine, the radio and
few other things have made even