Journal

OF THE

Patent Office Society.

Published monthly by the Patent Office Society Office of Publication 3928 New Hampshire Ave., Washington, D. C. Subscription $2.50 a year Single copy 25 cents

EDITORIAL BOARD.

W. I. Wyman, Chairman.

G. P. Tucker, Editor-in-Chief.

E. R. Cole.

E. S. Glascock.

W. J. Wesseler.

F. W. Dahn.

F. L. Adams.

M. L. Whitney, Business Manager, (Room 57, U. S. Patent Office.) 3928 New Hampshire Ave., Washington, D. C.

N. E. Eccleston, Circulation.

Entered as second class matter. September 17, 1918, at the post office at Washington, D C., under, the act of March 3, 1879. Copyright, 1920, by the Patent Office Society.

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. II.

JUNE, 1920.

No. 10.

EDITORIAL.

Office Conditions.

During the month of May no reduction occurred in the exceptionally heavy receipts offered every department of the Office. By straining every endeavor to the utmost, the work was kept current in a few of the clerical divisions and was maintained in status quo in most of the others. A gratifying gain in manuscript work was effected, amounting to over two months in dates. A recession in condition must inevitably occur, however, in

the summer months, now approaching, due to leave taking, unless an unexpected reaction in receipts takes place. The public having demands upon the Office must be prepared to face that situation the coming months.

The condition in the examining divisions is discouraging. The business before them is too heavy for the inadequate personnel, and the number of cases awaiting action continues to mount and the oldest date continues to recede.'

The following communication was recently sent by the Office in reply to a request for information as to the immediate future of the clerical work of the Office. Inasmuch as interest in this subject is general the letter is published in full and is self-explanatory:

"June 22, 1920.

"Responding to your letter of June 16th, and explaining further the condition of the clerical work of the Office, your attention is first called to the tremendous growth of the demands upon our force. Unless that feature is kept in mind, you and those others vitally interested in the functions of the Patent Office can not appreciate and properly estimate the conditions present or realize the expectations in the immediate future.

"In the Assignment Division, the words recorded in 1918 were less than twelve million; in 1919, less than thirteen million; while at the rate deeds have come in since Jan. 1st, the year 1920 will see eighteen million words recorded.

"In the Manuscript Division, the words copied amounted to twenty-four million in 1918, thirty-four million in 1919, and will go to sixty million this year if the present rate of the last five months continues.

"In the Copy-Sales Division, there were sold in 1919 about 1,900,000 copies of patents, in 1918, many less, while in 1920, as indicated so far, the sales will reach 2,700,000 copies.

"In applications received the present fiscal year, those for mechanical patents will reach over 81,000 and for trade-mark registrations will amount to 14,500, as against 62,755 and 8,561, respectively, for the previous fiscal year ending June 30, 1919; making gains respectively of 28% and 70% and reflecting the greatest annual increase of business in the history of the Patent Office.

"In spite of this abnormal and excessive demand upon the clerical corps of this Office, in spite of an increase of force of only 5% (and for a portion merely of the period under discussion), the constant recession of condition due to the circumstances noted was not only finally arrested, but an actual and appreciable gain was made.

"On March 31st, manuscript copies of records were furnished within 150 days; at the present writing, they are furnished within 45 days. In February there were almost 3,000,000 words awaiting to be copied, while on the last day of May the words on hand became reduced below 1,000,000.

"In the Copy-Sales Division, on Aug. 31st, last, there were orders for 130,000 copies of patents on hand awaiting to be furnished, while on May 31st, there were orders for only about 5,000 copies. On October 31st, the oldest orders being filled were 5 months in arrears. To-day orders for copies in stock are filled within 2 or 3 days.

"In the Manuscript Division, it is to be regretted, no gain in dates can be recorded, although the output is considerably in excess of any former period in the history of the Office. The Office has all it can do to hold its own here. The situation as respects the reproduction of copies has already been outlined in the Office letter of June 14th, and it is hoped to see improvement by the middle of summer.

"As regards the general clerical work in the Assignment and Manuscript Divisions, no improvement can be looked for from this date on. Instead of improvement, there is bound to be a recession. The period of leave-taking is about to begin and will continue until the middle of September. On July 1st, the clerical roll becomes reduced by operation of law, and on August 21st, the roll will be still further depleted by the operation of the Retirement Act. The act provides, in effect, that no vacancies occurring through its enforcement can be filled in the Departmental service in the District of Columbia.

"If the work continues to come in as heavily as in recent months, you will have to face the fact of continuous and uninterrupted recession in the condition of the work. It is a physical impossibility with a decreasing force to cope with an increasing amount of work. As it is, with a force by far the most underpaid in the Governmental clerical service, the output per person is the largest in recent years, and probably in the history of the Office.

"Your suggestion about giving the Commissioner larger discretionary powers in the matter of obtaining assistance is, in part, answered by the provision in the Nolan Bill, which provides for extra assistance for typewriting. This bill, of course, is still to be enacted. As to reproduction work, it is questioned whether Congress would give permission to apply receipts to the expenses incident thereto. As a matter of fact, every photostat produced by the Office is charged up to its appropriation for photolithographic work, while the receipts for same, which give the Government a profit, go into the general funds of the Treasury, and not credited to our appropriations.

"This letter is written at length to apprise you and your associates frankly and fully of the situation, so that you may know how things are now, how they arose, what has been done, and what you have to expect. We are glad of the opportunity to spread these facts on the record, both in justification of your right to receive this information and to justify the administration in its efforts to give the public that service they pay for and should obtain."