The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1922-06-22

during the war which have proved
In q way that "the Impossible IN
possible" have changed the attitude
Of the officials OF the United states
government toward men who come to
Washington In an endeavor to interest
ofiicialdom in things which they have
Invented aud propose to put int
operation.
Once on q time things were din
crent. A man who perfected an In
vention, an engine "f war which 10
now In use by nearly every government
ON the face of the earth. which ~
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 II 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 lunatic and q
criminal by the department officials
to whom ne 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
require should have been taken to the
underllng.
"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 10 MT
upon some official. also regarded as Q
lunatic by his colleagues, who Is WILL
ing to give consideration to that whicn
another lunatic has produced.
Willing to Hear Them Now.
These words, as has been said, were
spoken by 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 1t 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 q hearing. Such
amazing things have happened In the
inventive field recently that nothing
IL regarded any longer as Impossible
by the men whose duty 1t Is to look
into merits Of preferred inventions. On
the continent Of Europe things were
different before the war. There the
inventor was not treated as II he
we're 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 were
offered and to examine them quickly.
1t was not always like this on tho
other side OF the water. Every In
| yentor who came to Washington In
pre-war days aaA after the puDiicn-
ton of Charles Dickens Little Dor
tt" probably had In his mind INC
experience Of one Of the chsrecterl"fn
that book. Charles Dickens helped
British inventors to get quick hear
ings from their government omciais-
How Il Used to es In England.
II 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
| team 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
yention Involving a very curious So
cret process) of great importance to
his country and his fellow creatures.
would not say how much money 1t
cost him, or how many years OF his life
he had been about It, but he brought
II to perfection a dozen years ago.
"He addressed himself to the gov
| eminent. The moment he addresses
himself to the government he becomes
| q public offender! He ceases to be an
innocent citizen and becomes a culprft.
He Is treated from that instant as .
man who has done some Internal &C
tion. He Is a man to be shirked. put
OF, 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 man with no rights
10 his own time or In his property; q
mere outlaw whom 1t Is justi6able to
get rid Of anyhow; man to be worn
out by any possible means"
80 II 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
q few other things have made even
suspicious officials of government sit
up to look and listen. no, ..
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