Patents.—­Americans have been rightly named the great inventors of the world.  Not a little of our marvelous industrial progress has been due to this inventive ability.  The government has contributed to the same end, through the enactment of laws protecting those inventors who secure patents.  A person desiring a patent must declare upon oath, in his petition addressed to the Commissioner of Patents, that he believes himself to be the first inventor of the article for which he solicits a patent.  The sum of fifteen dollars is charged for filing the application, and twenty dollars for issuing the patent.  A patent is granted for seventeen years, but may be extended for seven years more.  During this period, the patentee has the exclusive right to manufacture, sell, or transfer his invention.[32]

[Footnote 32:  In the year 1910, 37,421 patents were granted by our government.]

IV.  MILITARY POWERS IN CONGRESS.

Section 8, Clauses 11, 12, 13, 14. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water.

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years.

To provide and maintain a navy.

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces._

The Army.—­Americans are always impressed by the military spirit so prevalent in European nations.  Compared with the standing army of Germany, which has some 700,000 men, and with that of Russia, containing 1,000,000 men, or with that of most European nations, our army is insignificant in size.  According to a law of 1901, the army of the United States cannot contain more than 100,000 men.[33]

[Footnote 33:  The minimum number of men was fixed at 57,000.  In 1908, the number of officers and men in the army was 72,628.]

Fortunately, there has always existed in the United States the desire to keep the standing army from becoming unduly large.  The Constitution itself indicates that appropriations for the army shall not be for a longer time than two years.  At the end of this period, the people may check the growth of the army through the election of representatives opposed thereto.

Officers and Classification of the Army.—­The President is, ex officio, commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States.  The office of general was created, by Congress, March 3, 1799, but was not filled.  It was revived in 1866 for General Grant, General Sherman succeeding to the title in 1869.  The same rank was bestowed on General Sheridan in 1888.  The lieutenant-general is next in rank to the general.  The army is distributed geographically as follows:  Division of the Philippines and the Departments of California, of the Colorado, of the Columbia, of Dakota, of the East, of the Lakes, of the Missouri, and of Texas.  The division