The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1936-12-11
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INVENTING

The Age of Invention has just cele-
brated its first birthday, and the ro-
nance chemistry and mechanics Is
only beginning. Two million United
States patents have been issued dur
| ing the past 100 years-two-third
of them since 1900 and each month
shows an increase. The Patent Oh
fee is now six months behind, but
time doesn't seem to deter the thous-
ands of amateur experimenters who
spend hours of spare time tinkering
over some wild dream that as often
as not changes your style of living.
ALI of the early inventors were
products of the home workshop
young men applying spare time and
creative ability to perfecting some
labor saving device. Twelve out
standing men are Whitney Cotton
gin); Howe Sewing machine);
Morse (telegraph); Bell (tele-
phone); Mccormick (reaper); Edi-
son eight and talking machine);
Goodyear (rubber vulcanizing; West
inghouse (air brake;) Hall (alumi-
NUM-; Selden (gas engine; Marconi
(radio). Your grandparents can bet
ter explain the changes wrought by
the products of the minds and hands
of these men. They have seen more
changes that couldn't be made" in
their lifetime than any people of any
civilization ever witnessed.
The real inventor of the reaper
seems to have been Alexander Camp
DELL pastor of the Buckingham Pres
oyterian Church at Berlin. McCor-
mick married his daughter, patented
and put the reaper bearing his name
on the market. Early land patents
were merely claims or deeds recog-
nized by the King.
Inventing is not a new art-mus1-
cal instruments invented by David
are mentioned in the Bible and prac-
tically all New inventions" are only
improvements on old methods. In
ventions are simply ideas perfected
and protected when patented.
For sometime there has been a
movement afoot to abolish the right
of the government to give exclusive
individual license to the owner of an
idea-there are those who believe
that all patents and improvements
should be public property. So few
basic inventions are made that the
Patent Office seldom issues a patent
that is new and not an improvement.
Patent applications must be support
ed by claims and specifications and
the necessary fees-a one drawing
patent costs about SIPS. The secret
of success for the inventor lies in his
ability to get his invention manu-
featured and distributed quickly
even then there is the almost certain
lnfrigment and litigation.
The old idea that inventors were
half cracked cranks living in seclu-
sion, tinkering on some crazy idea,
and carrying secrets in suitcases per-
haps was a fairly true picture as ex-
perimenting calls for concentration
and about the only way an inventor
can protect his brain child is to keep
it hidden and hope that some other
experimenter hasn't already applied
for a patent on the same idea.
The spiral ring gear used in all
automobiles was invented in home
workshop near Denton by Victor
Emerson. and ]. Ramsey Speer Of
Trappe invented Adamite, a super
hard steel used in rolling mills.
There is plenty of room tor new in
ventions and romance of new ideas
in plants. chemistry and mechanics
will be the marvel of the Hobby Age
of 1860.
Making a working model Of your
idea is a good hobby
Books: St. Nicholas Book Of Sci
ence-Darrow; Magician of Science
Hammond; Popular History Of
American Inventions - Kempffert;
Modern Aladdins-Rush.