FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 225 



The result of this subdivision has been to give the power of determining 

 what is and what is not patentable to various men ; consequently no fixed stan- 

 dard of importance of the invention could be maintained, as the ideas of the 

 examiners must of necessity differ. 



Again, tliis subdivision into classes is accompanied with anotlier evil : the 

 examiner, for instance, in the class of mowing machines has no idea of what 

 lias been ])atented in the class of railroad switches, or in the class of buggies. 

 As II result of this ignorance he may allow a patent for a meclianical device 

 applied to a railroad switch, for which a patent has already been granted as 

 used on a buggy thill and which for that reason is not a patentable article. 

 Considering the immense amount of business performed at the patent ottice, it 

 is extremelv doubtful if this can wholly be remedied, 



PATENT LAWYERS. 



This evil is intensified by the action of the patent lawyers. Their pay usu- 

 ally depends upon their getting a patent; they work on the principle no patent 

 no pay. In order to procure the j^atent they bring into play every influence, 

 dishonest or honest, that they can bring to bear upon the examiners. If the 

 patent is rejected in one class they try for a patent on the same mechanical 

 device in another class, and with another examiner; if rejected in that class 

 they try another class until finally the desired patent is granted by an examiner 

 who happens to have no such a device in his class. As showing what is promised 

 we append part of au advertisement of a prominent patent firm : . 



Patents obtained for mechanical inventions, compounds and trade-marks, in United 

 States, Canada and Europe. Caveats, assignments, Interferences and all cases arising 

 under the patent laws, promptly attended to. Inventors who desire to have their 

 applications granted with the least possible delays should place their business in our 

 hands, as we guarantee satisfaction or no pay. "We malie preliminary examinations 

 free of charge, and our reports as to patentability of inventions submitted to us can 

 be relied upon. For inventions which other attorneys have failed to obtain patents 

 we invariablj' get allowed without much trouble. All correspondence strictly confi- 

 dential. We refer to the Second National Bank, "Washington; Hon. Ellis Spear, ex- 

 Commissioner of Patents; Hon. Sam. Randall, Speaker of the House of Rhpresenta- 

 tives; Hon. J. T. Power, chief of warrant division, treasury department; the several 

 officers of the U. S. patent office; the royal Swedish, Norwegian and Danish Lega- 

 tions at Washington; and to members of Congress from every State. Address , 



"Washington D. C. . 



"O" 



If there is any meaning to this statement, and the references attached would 

 make it seem of some weight, we must infer that dishonest influences control 

 our patent office. 



Mr. J. II. Raymond, a noted patent lawyer in Chicago, says 'this — (p. Ill, 

 Patent Arguments) : 



" I slionld like to notice, because I think the time has come when it should be no- 

 ticed, and noticed very severely, the issue of patents out of the patent ofiice for the 

 most insignificant tilings in the world; and not only for the most insignificant tilings 

 in the world, but the most insignificant tilings in ihe world are sometimes patented 

 two or three times. "Within tlie last six months I applied to tlie patent office for a 

 patent on a peculiar device, and reference was given to a patent for the same device 

 in an attachment of tliills to a wagon, construcied in exactly the same manner, with- 

 out any qualification, and producing exactly the same results. I prepaied a brief 

 and sent it to the examiner. I was then referred to tlie u>^e of the same tiling in the 

 same way in a sulky for a race course. I prepared a brief, sent it to an examiner in 

 another class, and received a patent.'' 



29 



