Journal OF THE Patent Office Society Published monthly by the Patent Office Society Office of Publication 3319 Stuyvesant Place N. W., Washington, D. C. Subscription $2.50 a year Single copy 25 cents Max W. Tucker, Editor-in-Chiet. A. H. Winkelstein, Case editor M. O. Price, Periodical abstracter. Wm. 1. Wyman E. R. Cole G. P. Tucker R. E. Adams M. L. Whitney, Business Manager (Room 182, U. 3319 Stuyvesant Place, Washington, D. C. N. E. Eccleston, Circulation. W. B. Johnson Entered as second class matter, September 17, 1918, at the post office at Washington, D. C., under the act of March 3, 1879. Publication of signed articles in this journal is not to be understood as an adoption by the Patent Office Society of the views expressed therein. The editors are glad to have pertinent articles submitted. VOL. IX OCTOBER, 1926. No. 2. COMMENT. It has been brought to our attention that the poet Milton was possessed along with his universally acknowledged literary genius of certain of the basic instincts of a patent attorney. This somewhat surprising discovery was made in a publication, a quotation from which is given below and no one intimately connected with the Patent Office and patent matters in general will deny that the substance of it has a ring of familiarity. The publication is one entitled, "Personal Narrative of the Origin and Progress of the Caoutchouc or India Rubber Manufacture in England," by Thomas Hancock and which appeared in 1857. "After a discovery is once made, it is generally said to be easy of attainment; anybody might have done it, the thing was so simple. According to Milton, an idea of this kind occurred to some as far back as the council in Pandaemonium: 'The invention all admired; and each how he To be the inventor missed, so easy it seemed, Once found, which yet unfound most would have thought Impossible!'" ROBERT E. ADAMS New Principal Examiner of Division 9. Robert E. Adams was born in Kansas, where he received his Common School and High School education. He attended college in Greenville, Illinois, and graduated from Greenville College receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1903, and Master of Arts in 1904. Following this he was Professor of Chemistry at Meridian College, Miss., several years, and was later Professor of Modern Languages at Kingswood College in Kentucky. Mr. Adams was with the Civil Service Commission from Aug. 1911 to Aug. 1914 examining in Chemistry and various other technical subjects, and received his appointment as Fourth Assistant Examiner in the Patent Office Aug. 10, 1914. He served five years in Div. 17 examining Printing Machinery, two and one-half years. as Assistant Chief Clerk, four and one-half years as Associate Examiner in Div. 11 examining Shoe Building Machinery, and was made Principal Examiner Aug. 16, 1926. He has been prominent and active in the Patent Office Society having been Secretary three years, Vice President four years, on the Editorial Board six years, and a member of the Executive Committee seven years in succession. Mr. Adams has received the degree of Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws and Master of Patent Law from the National University, and is a member of the D. C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeals bar. He is active in Civic work, being head of one of the Citizens' Associations of the District of Columbia. WILLIS B. MAGRUDER Chief of the Assignment Division. Willis B. Magruder was born in the city of Washington, D. C., where he attended the public schools, passing through all the grades prior to the establishment of High Schools. On September 21, 1926, Mr. Magruder rounded out fifty years of service in the Patent Office, having been appointed September 21, 1876. He entered as a messenger in the Application Division where he served until 1883, when he was assigned as a clerk to the Assignment Division, where he has remained until the present time except for a period of a few years when he was an Assistant to the Chief Clerk, and acted as Chief Clerk for a short time. Returning to the Assignment Division in August, 1893, upon the death of the Assistant Chief and the appointment of a new Chief to that Division, he has been practically in charge of the work since that time. He was appointed Chief of the Assignment Division March 17, 1906, and has conducted the work of that Division with ability and distinction for more than twenty years, being thus the senior Chief among the Clerical Divisions. Mr. Magruder has written several brochures on the subject of Assignment Records and Practice, and has delivered lectures on the subject before two law Col leges in the City of Washington, and the Examining Corps of the Patent Office. An article on Assignment Practice under the Rules of Practice by Mr. Magruder appeared in the October issue of the Patent Office Society Journal in 1920, and he served for three years as a member of the Executive Committee of the Society. By reason of his ability, unfailing courtesy and dignified bearing, Mr. Magruder has long held a place of distinction as an officer of the Patent Office, and holds an unusual record of service of which he may justly be proud. THE PATENT OFFICE AT THE SESQUI The Patent Office is not unrepresented among the numerous exhibits and displays of the Government at the Sesqui-Centennial at Philadelphia. These Government exhibits have been looked on with great favor by visitors and the Patent Office has come in for its share of commendation. Located in the Transportation Building, the Patent exhibit comprises panels on which are mounted copies of interesting and historical patents, statistics showing patents granted in the United States and the relationship of the numbers of such patents to patents granted in foreign countries, and there are cases of historical and unusual models of inventions presented in times passed when the model was a requirement. Among the enlarged views of famous patent drawings shown are those of the first sewing machine, granted to Howe in 1864; of Thomas Edison's first phonograph, patented in 1878; of George Westinghouse's air brake, patented nine years earlier, and of Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone, which was, as is interesting to note, demonstrated at the Centennial. Among the more recent inventions, shown side by side with the telegraph patented by S. F. B. Morse in 1840, are Orville and Wil bur Wright's first airplane, patented in 1906, and the Mergenthaler linotype patent, which in 1890 revolutionized the printing business. The earliest patent on display is one granted in 1646 by the British Crown to Joseph Jenkes. It is for a coining machine, known at the time as, "Jenkes' Monopoly" and used by King George's Government to strike off the first coins minted in the American Colonies. It is a common and expected inquiry on the part of visitors to the Patent Office at Washington to see the models that have been presented by inventors, and it is therefore not surprising that the cases of models at the Sesqui attract a great deal of attention. The list of models on exhibition is too long to record here but the following are given as being representative. Disappearing Gun Mount patented by Eads in 1871. Magneto Electric Machine patented by Edison in 1879. Apparatus for Gathering Potato Bugs patented by one Denison in 1878. Power Loom patented by Crompton in 1869. In order to conduct the Patent Office exhibit properly and intelligently a member of the examining corps is detailed to Philadelphia for the purpose. His activities involve the answering of large numbers of questions put to him by interested visitors and it might be mentioned that his hours of duty are by no means as unoppressive in number as the Government working day in Washington has been called by some. The report of one such examiner who has returned from a tour at the Sesqui exhibit is interesting and part of it is quoted below as giving an accurate observation of what the average American thinks of the patent system. "The models are by far the most interesting part of the exhibit from the visitor's point of view. Some come along and would pass through the exhibit paying little or no attention to the six cases of models but upon my calling their attention to a particularly interesting model, they as a rule show quite a little interest and are willing |