manent improvement in quality and character of the work can be perceived to be possible.

A panic in the business world would temporarily alleviate the situation in the Office, but it is hoped that other eventualities more pleasant to contemplate and more permanent in nature may arise to provide the desired remedy.

The Detroit News Articles on the Patent Office.

Mr. Cyril A. Player of the staff of the Detroit News, has written a series of notable articles on the Patent Office which appeared in that paper during April. He made a personal investigation of the situation, coming to Washington for that purpose; searched every available record and interviewed authorities both here and in Detroit who could give him any information on the subject.

Considering the ramifications of his inquiry, the vast amount of material handled, and the rapidity with which the review was whipped into shape, it was a most remarkably informative and comprehensive piece of work. It uncovered, as no previous attempt succeeded in disclosing, the critical condition in which public neglect has left this institution. No detail has been lacking in its presentation, and illustrations of the nature of the work in the Patent Office, its unique relation to industry, and its identity with the most prized of our national characteristics are told with telling effect. The need for immediate relief is strikingly exhibited and the whole presentation bears every evidence of study and sincerity.

The articles have been quoted extensively from one end of the country to the other, and comprise by far the best presentation of the critical condition of the Office and the need for immediate remedial action that we have seen. Every friend of the Patent Office should be grateful to the Detroit News and its brilliant correspondent for the fine effort exerted in its behalf and for the undoubtedly favorable results that must come therefrom.

A Manual of Instruction.

"The young recruit is 'aughty-'e draf's from Gawd knows where," and the statement might apply with equal

He

truth to the newly appointed assistant examiner. comes from the college, the machine shop, the office, the school room. He has his own ideas of what constitutes invention. The word "inventor" suggests to him such names as Fulton, Eli Whitney, Bell, Edison, Marconi. Then he comes into the Patent Office and finds among the recent art a patent for a toy which he and other boys whittled out and played with twenty years ago, and he forthwith begins to wonder whether the patent may not have issued through inadvertance, accident or mistake.

The progress of the young examiner in acquiring knowledge on patent matters depends partly upon his own adaptibility but also upon the men with whom his lot is cast and especially upon the kindly guidance of the primary examiner under whom he serves. The good of the office demands that he shall rapidly gain skill in office procedure and shall acquire a general point of view on patent matters which shall approach the normal view of the office. But we have in the Patent Office 46 distinct divisions each presided over by a primary examiner whose duty it is to direct the work of his assistants. These men have different methods of directing the work of their respective divisions. Some supervise very closely and insist on directing every action, while others leave the preliminary actions largely to their assistants. All are governed by the Rules of Practice, but the Rules do not reach to all details and allow much to the individual examiner. The finer points of the Rules are only acquired with time and close study. The young examiner must depend for many things on the personal instruction of his chief and his associates.

Furthermore, most people do not get a matter fixed in their minds and settled on the first telling. Hence the young examiner must question and discuss before he can get a point fixed in its proper relation to other matters. The writer in his own experience as a raw recruit found that many things had to be explained to him again and again and much time was lost in repetition.

It seems that anything that will aid the examiner in adjusting himself to his surroundings and adjusting his mind to think rightly on patent matters will increase the efficiency of the office. To this end a properly prepared manual would be of inestimable benefit. Such a manual

should contain well worded explanations of the things which the young examiner should know-the steps in filing and recording the complete application from the time it is received in the mail until it is laid upon his desk; the meaning of the different marks and stamps which are placed upon the file and drawing; just what he must do in examining an application and what errors to watch for, etc.

With such a manual before him, containing directions and explanations to which he may turn for ready reference, the young examiner should make more rapid progress than he can hope to make when he has to depend on the personal explanations given by an overworked chief. It is further felt that with such a manual placed in the hands of the examiners as soon as they enter the office all will be instructed alike and there will be a much greater tendency toward uniformity in the methods and practice throughout the office.

It seems equally certain that such a manual would prove of great value in an attorney's office for the instruction of assistants whose first duty is to become thoroughly acquainted with the details of the course an application takes in its passage through the Patent Office.

In 1912 some thousands of dollars were spent in investigating the Patent Office. The Commission reported at length its findings together with many excellent recommendations.

In this same report on page 39 we find-"It is believed that a manual of instructions ought to be prepared, and amended and revised from time to time. Such a manual would be useful not only in fixing the responsibility upon the examining force for following the instructions of the Commissioner, but would be useful in the education of the examiner upon his first entrance to the office." If this was true in 1912 when there were 43 examining divisions it is even more true today with an increased personnel and a greatly increased volume of work and with a force which is being daily depleted by the resignation of experienced examiners and the substitution in their places of raw recruits.

The Patent Office can not with its present equipment do many things which need to be done, but the Patent Office can escape some blame if it does what it can from

⚫ within to increase its own efficiency and the effectiveness of the patent system. No one should be blamed for what he does not know and has never had opportunity to learn, but Squeers of Dotheboys Hall has laid down a maxim which may well serve as a rule for all ages,

"When a man knows it he goes and does it."

It is desired to announce that in view of the need for a manual of instruction as above set forth such a manual has been compiled by Examiner E. S. Glascock and former Assistant Examiner H. B. Wilcox; it is the purpose of the Editorial Board to print the same in the Journal as soon as possible.

A MONTHLY APPLICATION CURVE.

(Applications for Mechanical Patents)

AARON L. APPLEBAUM, Assistant Examiner.

It ought to be an interesting study to inventors, manufacturers and patent attorneys, particularly the latter, to observe the monthly "application curve" with its relation to business, both before and after the World War. Commencing with January 1913 and continuing up to date, it has been found that the low water mark was reached in September, 1918, when but 3900 applications, in round numbers, were filed. Accordingly, on the scale, 4000 has been taken as the minimum and 8000 as the maximum number of applications for any one month.

It will be observed that during the five years preceding our entry in the war, the total number of applications filed in the Patent Office during the successive years, did not vary to any marked appreciable extent. The maximum number of cases filed during the year appears to be in the month of March, while the month of September generally shows the least number.

As was expected, there was a marked decrease in the number of applications filed during the war period, 1918 being the poorest year in every respect, the maximum being reached again in March when 5800 applications were filed and then decreasing to 3900 for the month of September.