ined almost wholly in a
haphazard sort of way from persons not employed in the Patent Office,
and who must, in the great majority of cases, rely on their memory to
some extent for the facts they give. Under such circumstances as these
it is easy to see the large amount of labor involved in getting up such
statistics as may be relied upon as being true.

There have been two systematic efforts made by the Patent Office itself
to get this information, one of them being in operation at the present
time. The effort is made through a circular letter addressed to the
thousands of patent attorneys throughout the country, who come in
contact often with inventors as their clients, to popular and
influential newspapers, to conspicuous citizens of both races, and to
the owners of large manufacturing industries where skilled mechanics of
both races are employed, all of whom are asked to report what they
happen to know on the subject under inquiry.

The answers to this inquiry cover a wide range of guesswork, many mere
rumors and a large number of definite facts. These are all put through
the test of comparison with the official records of the Patent Office,
and this sifting process has evolved such facts as form the basis of the
showing presented here.

There is just one other source of information which, though its yield of
facts is small, yet makes up in reliability what it lacks in
numerousness; and that is where the inventor himself comes to the Patent
Office to look after his invention. This does not often happen, but it
rarely leaves anything to the imagination when it does happen.

Sometimes it has been difficult to get this information by
correspondence even from colored inventors themselves. Many of them
refuse to acknowledge that their inventions are in any way identified
with the colored race, on the ground, presumably, that the publication
of that fact might adversely affect the commercial value of their
invention; and in view of the prevailing sentiment in many sections of
our country, it cannot be denied that much reason lies at the bottom of
such conclusion.

Notwithstanding the difficulties above mentioned as standing in the way
of getting at the whole truth, something over 1,200 instances have been
gathered as representing patents granted to colored inventors, but so
far only about 800 of these have been verified as definitely belonging
to that class.

These 800 patents tell a wonderful story of the progress