Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-08-21
Depression Stimulates Machine Age
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

the necessities of the occasion to invent
methods of Fastening results.
1t may be considered that an enor-
nous inventive momentum was gener-
ated through the years by this neces-
sity for fresh inventions. 1t is GER
tainly true that every new basic inven-
ton cries for host Of others. The in
vention Of the automobile. for example,
was followed by an innumerable food
of subordinate inventions. The pneu-
matte tire, new springs, new lubricating
systems, and a great number Of other
important mechanical contrivances were
called for. The number of automobile
accessories which have been invented,
whether necessary or not, are like the
leaves of the forest.
During this lull in active employment
workers and dreamers alike have had
time to think out still more gadgets and,
since the depression has been on, the
issuance Of patents has been speeded up
to rate of necrly 1000 week. In the
last fiscal yeaI, just ended, the record
number Of 52,572 patents were granted.
New Machine Cycle Forecast.
1t must be borne in mind that this is
the number Of inventions which passed
the jealous scrutiny of the experts OF
the United States Patent Once. 1t is
but the cream of the ideas which
avalanched upon the Government in
this period. There is long, hard road
stretching between the conception Of
an idea and the receipt of letters pat
ent. The idea must be new. novel and
useful. Daily, hourly, applications for
| patents are rejected because the idea
had been thought of first by some one
else or because it did not pass the
qualifications of being novel and useful
within the meaning of the patent law.
The 52,572 inventions actually patented
represented things which no one else
! had thought of before, things which
passed all the rigorous tests and were
regarded by both the mechanical and
the legal experts Of the Patent Office
| as something new under the sun. For
| every patent issued, several ideas which
! had been brought forward with equal
enthusiasm were found wanting and
rejected.
| American patent laws are at the same
time more thorough and more liberal
than those of most other countries.
Not only are the lists of American pat
| ents searched to determine whether an
application covers something wholly
new; those of foreign countries are
searched as well. The result Is that
when a patent issues the holder knows
| that ne has absolute priority ana pro-
lection. This encourages manufacturers
| to invest capital in machinery and
other expenses necessary to manufac-
turing and placing a patented article
on the market
What the result Of this huge new
! grist of patents will be remains to be
/ seen. II the depression was engendered
by machine age, this added flood OF
fresh mechanical inventions might be
expected to aggravate. conditions. Ex-
| perience, however, is to the contrary.
In all probability new work, new EN-
ployment will be foStered by these new
| inventions. For example, only few
| years ago there was no such thing in
| the world as broadcasting and radio re-
ception. Invention of the radio gave
employment to thousands Of workers
and business to thousands of dealers.
The same is true Of a thousand other
| inventions.
1t is probable that the economic lull
which Matched out so many new in
ventions actually was producing the
material for fresh cycle Of manufac-
turing and business activity greater
than anything we have known IN the
/ past