"I have received many letters from inventors throughout the country who had all sorts of schemes for improving submarine boats, for detecting their presence under water, for destroying them, for protecting battleships against them, etc. In some cases they were accompanied by plans and descriptions, and they are usually old ideas, in many cases already patented. In other instances I have received letters stating that they had ideas which they would submit to me if I would pass upon them or coöperate with them in developing or introducing them to the Navy Department. My practice has always been to refuse to consider any device or invention unless the inventor had made application for a patent, as I did not want to be accused of taking another man's ideas, as he might submit to me ideas similar to my own and which I might have already had either patents pending in the Patent Office for same, or had made similar plans upon which I might expect to take out a patent at some future time. "This feeling of uncertainty may cause inventors to hesitate to send their ideas in, but I think that could be overcome by having certain rules of procedure; that is, any idea submitted must be put into form, sworn to as original by the man who submitted it, which must be attested by witnesses. It could then be sent to examiners--first, to find out if it was an original idea; second, to find out if it was a mechanically operative idea; and, third, to find out if there was any need for such a device. "I think your naming Mr. Edison as the head of such a bureau will go a long ways toward creating confidence in the mind of the inventors, that they would receive proper consideration. Most every one knows of Mr. Edison's perseverance in his early days in getting his inventions upon the market. A great many people know that he himself has not received a fraction of the reward that he is entitled to because of his great inventions. He is, without doubt, the greatest inventor the United States has produced. While I have never met Mr. Edison personally, I have always been a great admirer of him, because he is the man most responsible for raising the title of 'inventor' from that of crank to that of honor. I was such an admirer of him in my youth that I named my son after him. I do not think you could have made a better choice than he to head this bureau.