Evening star., 1936-11-23

man who first brought potatoes to
England.
This. said DR.. Howe, became the
foundation of the patent law Of the
world Monopolies were very unpop-
ular in the United States after the
great deal of confusion which finally
was clarified by the present system.
Partially because of the encourage
ment afforded by its patent system,
the United States had taken the lead
ing part in the material progress of
the past century, and, declared DIR.
Dexter Kimball of Cornell University,
has the major part of the benefits. He
said: THE United States, with about
per cent of the worlds population,
owns half the worlds communication
facilities, nearly half the worlds rail-
ways, has one automobile for every
five persons, whereas the four other
leading nations have one for every SO
persons: has one telephone to every
seven persons, as compared to one for
each IS in the other leading four ma
tions, and one radio for every six per-
sons, as against one for every II in
the same lands.
cat the same time the industrial
system has become so complex and
delicate that it is easily thrown out
of balance and the depressions, which
are very old phenomenon, become
increasingly violent and prolonged. 1t
is during such periods that the cry
against chronological unemployment
ana scientific progress is raised, ignor-
ing the Self-evident fact that we have
reached the economic level we now
occupy only through the use of these
inventions and equally ignoring the
fact that even in the depths of this
! depression we were, as a people, m
mensely better off than the average
workers during the best of times be-
fore the industrial revolution"
Must Make Haste Slowly.
But" Prof Kimball warned, I'VE
must make haste more slowly for .
invention and its results alway.
act quickly. Social and politica
changes move more slowly. The
laws of supply and demand operated
quickly under the older and simpler
methods. The complexity of modern
methods tends to make these laws
act more sluggishly."
The patent system has been a great
democratizing force, said Thomas
Ewing, former commissioner Of
patents. and on the whole have in
creased employment.
The system, he said. also gives the
small business man a means Of COM
peting with the big corporations.
THE future of invention will dwarf
its past" declared DR.. Robert E. Will
son, vice president of the Pan-Amer-
lean Petroleum and Transport Co.
While notable advances probably can
be expected in all fields, DR.. Wilson
said, the greatest inventive progress
is likely to come in medicine and agri-
culture in which the future may look
upon the present relatively as part of
the dark ages.
A bar to progress. he said, is in the
very mass production which makes the
utilization of invention possible It re-
quires Standardization of methods and
machinery. This in turn tends to dis
courage radical changes in design
which will require new set-ups.
Drama Is Presented.
The afternoon was taken up with
a dramatic presentation Of the pos
sibilities of the immediate future, the
Research Parade" arranged by Wat
son Davis. After preliminary scene
depicting the sadly mistaken Mr.. Ellis
worth making his prophecy a spot
light was turned on DR.. Albert w.
Hull of the General Electric Co., who
demonstrated device by which the
transmission Of electricity can be
greatly increased. This Is already
practical in the laboratory. It con-
sists of special tubes which make It
possible to change alternating current
to direct current when it enters q
transmission line and back again into
alternating current at the other end
of the line. Thus only direct current
need be transmitted over power lines.
AS the electric load is increased or
decreased the voltage rises or falls
while the current itself remains con.