The Ypsilanti daily press., 1945-08-14
Observations
Robot Letter
Selector Would
be Useful
By HELEN EssARY

senator homer ferguson M OF
Michigan. has an idea for an idle
inventor: It's a machine that will
20 through a pile of letters and
pick out the ones that should be
answered.
The machine should have a dis
cerning mind, a sharp Judgment, a
bell that rings, a hand that dis
cards and a large wastepaper bas-
ket attachment.
The senator has mentioned his
hopes to several other members OF
Congress and TO other public OFF,
cials whose daily mail mo lnts high
and discouragingly. II would be
the greatest invention Of the age.
say one and all.
Think OF the cash and the publi-
city and the gliders and automo-
biles and new ice boxes the inven-
tion will win you. young fellow, in
the postwar world!
Speaking of inventions. you sell
dom hear a syllable about the pat
ent-office. Last year its number
OF patents dropped to $4,000. Be
cause OF the war.
Not too long ago the patent Of
flee was one OF the most talked-of
departments OF the government.
Old guide books gave many full
chapters to THE bureau so vast
and imposing in all its proportions.
The patent office has been nim-
Bile, too. II jumped from the guar
dian ship OF the Treasury Depart
ment to the Interior. and last TO
the Department OF Commerce.
When the patent office was
young its receipts were in excess
OF its expenditures. Imagine. Just
imagine. Once the building in
which the patent office was quarter
ed was regarded as the most com
pletely magnificent collection of
stones and mortar in Washington.
Its show cases held relics OF the
early days OF the republic. Most
Of these relics are now scattered
and anxious1y-guarded al the Ii
brary OF Congress, the State De-
partment and the Smithsonian In
stitution. Likewise at Mt. Vernon.
sss
Now that Mr.. Truman is back
from signing treaties, or papres at
Potsdam, he should have a look
at the early treaties of the United
States with foreign powers. The
patent office once housed many OF
these documents. King George w
of England signed the treaty OF
peace in ls14-ending the war OF
1917. "Bonaparte." in a nervous
hand, sealed the 1908 treaty with
France.
Several French monarchs wrote
their names on parchment. making
alliances with the struggling young
America. King Louis XVI agreed.
in delicate penmanship. 10 giving
the aid by France to the rebelling
colonies.
The original draft OF the Declar-
alton OF Independence used to be
in the patent office. SO were many
George Washington relics. includ-
ing his personal Revolutionary
War camp eQuipage, tents and flag
poles. And the bed curtains work
ed for him by the faithful Martha.
Models of all possible patents
were <ormerly required by the pat
ent office. Then il was really fun
to go to see the patent office ex-
hibit. Almost everything the in
ventive American mind could think
up, from harbor- r-cleaners to hooks
and-eyes. were there in miniature.
Abraham Lincoln was an inven-
tor. The patent office was proud
Of his model OF framework OF the
hull Of western steamboat with
false bottom beneath the keel. and
bellows and air bags" The ambi-
tion OF this contraption, Model
for Sinking and Raising Boats by
Bellows Below-A. Lincoln, May 80.
1s4s." was TO help boats over the
sand bsis of western rivers. The
contraption did not work
The patent office itself hardly
knows what has become Of its old
treasures. For example. the hat
worn by President Lincoln. the
night Of his assassination; the
coat worn by Andrew Jackson dur.
ing the Battle OF New Orleans. and
the razor OF dear old Captain Cook.
The razor, 1t is said, was recov-
cred from the natives of the island
where ne was murdered after he
had done all the numbering he
could manage.
IL had never occurred to me that
pirates used razors. Maybe they
were trying TO live up to the GIL
bert and Sullivan pattern.