Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-06-23

during the war which have proved
in 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
oftic1aldom in things which they have
invented and propose to put into
operation
Once on time things were diff
erent. A man who perfected an 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 nearly gave vic
tory in the war to Germany, once told
of his troubles to secure a 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 will
find merit, that he must prepare him
self at the outset to be treated in
turn like an inbecile, a lunat1c and
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 to the
chief that which courtesy and custom
underling.
1.-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 a
llunatic by his colleagues, who is will
ing to give consideration to that which
another lunatic has produced"
wiling TO near InSEH Now
These words, as has been said, were
spoken by a man whose efforts helped
largely to change the nature of sea
warfare. He was trying to give to
the American government that which
would serve it in time Of need. He
won out, but others in the olden days
did not win out.
Today, however, a man who has an
invention can get 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 proffered inventions. On
the continent of Europe things were
different before the war. There the
inventor was not treated as if he
were fresh from an asylum for the
feeble minded, but was turned over at
once to an official whose duty
it was to examine such things as We're
offered and to examine them quickly.
1t was not always like this on the
other side of the water. Every in
ventor who came to Washington in
pre-war days and after the publica-
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 1t Used to Be in England.
It was Daniel Doyce, one of Mr..
Meagle's friends in the story of Little
Dorrit, who had an experience with
officialdom much like that Of the Amer
lean inventor which has been recorded
above. Of Doyce Mr.. Meagle said:
"This Doyce is smith and engineer.
A dozen years ago he perfected an in
vention 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.
"He 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 instant as
man who has done some internal &C
ton He is a man to be shirked, put
off, brow-beaten, sneered at, handed
over by this highly connected young or
old gentleman to that highly connect
ed young or old gentleman, and lodged
back again; he is q man with no rights
in his own time or in his property; a
mere outlaw whom it is justifiable to
get rid of anyhow; man to be worn
out by any possible means"
SO it was once in England and so it
was once in this country. They re-
formed on the other side of the water
before they reformed on this side o
it. The flying machine, the radio and
few other things have made even
suspicious officials of government sit
up to look and listen.