| Show AMERICAN PATENT SYSTEM 11s 111 1111 Ses not Oltast rho lIn A ream pi Ihel The oeml centennial of tin own pub Icatlon which the Scientific American commemorates Is I practically n celebration Ion also of tho first fifty year of the American patent Item loa nn exchange ex-change The system had Indeed existed from the early daa of the republic lut In those early das few patent wero granted nnd It was not until 181G hat the American nation began to ba I noted for Its Inventive powers As the Scientific American point out liP to the end of thus year 1812 only 387 latent had been Issued by the latent lat-ent ofllee of the United State When ho jcar 1891 closed the number wits C31C19 a wonderful tribute to the Inv ventho genius of Ito American people because out of this great number com paratlvel few were Issued to foreign ell Tho largeness ot the number to I n tribute to the farsighted llbcrallt of the patent statutes originally ttllb Ished b > our forefather In tho day when the Individual counted for far more than In the present day of fierce competition and wealthy combination of capitalists Eten In those day It was recojnlied that the Individual Inventor entor required the fostering protection of the law and It was known that tics total possible policy for the country was to grant him this protection for the enrichment of other and for tbo good of the country at largo Hut though few patents were grnntei In the early das there II I no doubt It I was the privation of those day In I sparsely nettled regions that fostered and developed tho Inventive faculty which has become the birthright of the American people A farmer separated separ-ated man miles perhaps from the I blacksmith shop with absolutely nn I machine utiop within reach with I carpenters car-penters nnd other tradesmen few sad far between learned to do everything lilmself flout It wad unquestionable In I th < wo early days the farmer of Amcr ca displayed a high order ot construe tlvo and mechanical skill and n quick adaptation to circumstance that have now Imprinted themselves upon the entire en-tire American people Today the farmer farm-er lane complicated machinery lo take care of nml ho does It successful small repairs ho executes himself and In him la I found the true material that lim ntors are undo of |
