Evening Star Newspaper, March 16, 1930, Page 109

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. Inventions by Women; Rapidly Increasing Every Year, According to United States Patent Records, Disprove Contention That the Fair Sex Is Not Mechanically Creative. DO YOU KNOW— That a woman invented the flare used by Coast Guard and shipe at sea in distress? That a woman first patented the idea of the ice-cream freezer? That, while a man gets the credit, a woman had a hand in the invention of the cot- ton gin? That the typewritter for the blind is due to the ingenuity of woman? That woman, invading man’s domain, “doped out” for him the shirt with attachable collar? BY RENE BACHE. HO says that, where invention is concerned, women are not cre- ative? The 15,000th patent issued to women by the United States Patent Office has just been granted to Rose Shulman of Brooklyn for an ice bag that can be adjusted and comfortably fastened upon a sick person’s head. When it is considered that during the first 98 years of the United States patent system (1790 to 1888) only 2,455 patents were granted to women, the growth of feminine invention seems remarkable. : It hds been alleged that women’s inventions are restricted almost wholly to household con- trivances, articles of apparel and the like. But that is not true. Official figures show that these comprise only 22 per cent of their patents, Four in every five of them have to do with the industrial arts, transportation and other things of general usefulness. Women have been accused of not possessing the mechanical faculty. It is a notion mani- festly.disproved by records of their inventions in many lines. Not a few of these are con- cerned with railroads, including devices for enhancing the comfort of travelers, improve- ments for roadbeds and rails, traffic signals and block systems. Their ideas have contributed substantially to the betterment of street railway services. They have patented a number of improvements for . woman's brain devised this pocket seicinz machine, which can be operated wi'h o0 hand. bicyclcs and motor cycles. Even automobiles of various types owe to women their perfected development, embodying, as they do, quite a range of women’s inventions relating to con- struc ion; parts, tires and accessories. v - S0 many women drive cars that, ‘having gained intimate acquaintance with the - nism of motor vehicles, they have been in numerous -instances to think out new con- «~trivances “for ‘them. - DURING the last few years womeh “have taken a keen interest in aerial navigatiom and have contributed valuable ideas that are in use today by makers of airplanes and bal- Joons. Glancing over the descriptions of their inventions in this line in the Patent Office files, as well as in matters relating to motor vehi- cles, one is surprised by the high degree of technical knowledge therein revealed. Recently there has been transferred from the Patent Office to the National Museum, in ‘Washington, a collection of models of women’s invention. Not one of them bears a date later than 1880, for since the inventors have not been required to submit models with their ap- plications for patents. Drawings are accepted instead. ‘The most interesting of these models is that of the first ice cream freezer, which was patented by a Philadelphia woman, Nancy M. Johnson, in 1843. Hers was what is called a “foundation patent.” The familiar household freezer of today is the same machine only slightly modified. Previously no better way of making ice cream was known than by stirring the “mix” with a ladle, a very laborious process. ‘The cotton-growing industry of the South owed in large degree its wonderful develop- ment to Eli Whitney's cotton gin. But there is some reason for believing that the idea be- hind this epoch-making invention was not entirely his, but was originated by a woman, Mrs. Catherine Green, widow of Gen. Nathaniel Greene of Revolutionary fame, who refused to take the credit for it. During the 19 years after the enactment of the patent law in 1790, not a single one of the 1,075 patents issued was granted to a woman. It is altogether probable that many of those patents represented ideas actually originated by ' women, but their fathers, husbands or brothers took the credit. The very first patent granted to an American was issued in.Colonial days by the British gov- ernment to a Pennsylvania planter, Thomas Masters, for a “new invention” for cleaning and a:tn”. Indian corn, “found out by Sybille, his e. Under the United States patent law, the first successful application by a woman was recorded in 1809, when Mary Kies took out a patent for a method of weaving straw with silk or thread. During the next quarter of a century there were fewer than a score of patents issued to women. But in the year before the patent system was inaugurated—i. e, in 1789—Miss Betsy Metcalf of Dedham, Mass., had made what was really a spectacular invention. She hit upon the idea of bleaching and braiding the coarse, rank meadow grass which grew in that vicinity and making it into bonnets.. Of her manufac- ture were the first straw bonnets and hats for Summer wear. IN 1824 Miss Lucy Johnson wove seven pairs of seamless pillowcases and received a prize for her work at a fair held at. Pawtucket, R. I, - They were the first seamless bags ever made, and her method of weaving, adapted for the power loom, 8 in common use today. The C. MARCH . 16, 193). seven original pairs of pillowcases are owned today by the Rhode Islang Historical Society. Troy, N. Y., the “collar city,” may be said to owe its most important industry to Hannah Montagu, who invented the attachable shirt collar. Whenever her husband's collar became soiled, his shirt, though clean, had to go into the wash. So why not make the collars separate and button them on? She tried out the idea, which worked most satisfactorily. Woman friends of hers came to léarn. A man friend started to make linen collars by hand and opened a little shop for their sale. It was the beginning of an enor- mous business. IN the same city, in the early 60s, machinery was first used for making horseshoes. The machine was patented by a man, but it was the invention of a woman. It turned out horse- shoes at a rate of one every three seconds, which was deemed little short of miraculous. The modern paper bag, with a bottom like that of a satchel, is also the invention of a woman, Miss M. E. Knight. It is only one of many contrivances that contribute to human comfort and are regarded today as indispen- sable which owe their invention to women's ingenuity. What more commonplace than the paste- board trays, divided into square compartments, in which billions of eggs are safely shipped each year? It was a farmer's daughter who first thought of that simple device. Exasper- dted by frequent breaking of the eggs she packed for shipment, she put her wits to work on the problem and made the first egg trays with her own hands. The typewriter is & man’s invention, or, one should say, rather, of many men. But the typewriter for the blind was invented by a woman. Even the telephone owes something to a woman, who, stopping at a hotel in New York, heard a man using the instrument in the niext room. She could heard every word he said. Why not a “muffier” to subdue the voice of a person talking into thé transmitter? She thought it out, worked' it out, made a crude model and got a patent on it. One of the most valuable of women’s inven- tions is the Coston flare light, buring like red fire, which is used for signaling by our Coast Guard and by mariners all' over the world. It ;:: ":vented and patented by Mrs. Martha J. Tl-m machine that makes “eomb foundation” for beehives was patented by Frances A. Dunham. It saves the bees half the labor of comb construction by turning out wax sheets which, suspended in thie hive, serve as bases to build combs upon. Futhermore, the sheets are stamped with patterns of cells of “worker” size, so that, built up by the insects, they pro- e Who Says Women Are Not Resourcet al? o duce, in the brood comb, honey-gatherers only; with no drones. An ‘“overseaming” machine, invented by Helen A. Blanchard, proved of utmost value to makers of ready-made clothing and knitted fabrics. It afforded a basis for many other patents representing contrivances which have brought about the present wonderful develop- ment of these branches of industry, with & great saving in the price of garments for both sexes. Many years ago the wife of an Army officer stationed at a Western post dreamed of a lock fashioned in a way she had never seen. She got up in the night and, with a cake of soap and a papercutter, carved out a model of the dream lock. The next day she took it % & _ The first ice-cream freczer was ine vented by Nancy M. Johnson of Phila. delphia. skilled mechanic, who reproduc-i it in metal, It was such a superior lock tat her patent on it was purchased by & big concern, which paid her a haridsome royalty. The first kitchen cabinet was designed by & woman. She wrote: “I was living in one room, ., taking my meals out. Many times I wished to get my own breakfasts and suppers, to save time and reduce expenses. What I seemed to need was a plece of furniture that would give the service of a kitchem, but which would be not unpleasing to the eye. I worked out the problem and the result was the kitchen cabi= net.” At the present time only 1 patent in every 5Q is granted to & woman, but it is well worth . noting that in the last 15 years the rate of : Continued on Twenty-second Page 2 .