Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-03-03
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

Louis and Memphis and San Francisco, are
| still in Washington. If it be their purpose, as
alleged in various newspapers, to induce Con.
gress to legislate the direction Of the route they
are TO travel with their mails out of the hands
Of the Post Office Department into their own
or rather into those Of scheming railroad stock
operators who are said to seek to use them and
their contraction their own pscuniary advance
ment-we feel very certain that they are spend
| ing their time here to no purpose. THERE'S no
longer question as to the wisdom OF the action
Of the President and Postmaster General in
| the matter Of the selection Of the route. That
is, as to the fact that they can run it quicker,
at less cost, and with far greater regularity,
| safety, and comfort in all respects than any
other route proposed. Those who advocate the
scheme of taking the direction of this important
mail contract from the supervision and entire
management of the Post Office Department as
| all other United States mail contracts are man
aged by it, as far as we can learn, do not deny
either OF the facts We state above, and hope
| only to compass their end through the influence
OF the favor which they fancy q majority Of
Congress feel for Northern Pacific railroad
| route; the impression being that the successful
| use of the Ell Paso route for this mail may
strengthen it in popular estimation as the
| route for the Pacific railroad. The subject will
doubtless be ilibustered over in Congress; to
no other end, however, than that of delaying
| the compliance of Messrs. Butterfeld d Co
with their original contract. The chances are
| it seems to us, that after being induced by bad
| advisers to dance attendance on Congress until
| the end of the session, they will be compelled
to apply to the Postmaster General to grant
them the favor Of q postponement Of the period
when their service is to commence. Such lie
the almost invariable result of efforts to use
| such engagements with the Government for
| purposes really foreign to those for which they
| were entered into. The end, therefore. will
be that the public interest will suffer from the
movement, to greater or less degree.
They "WHEEL ABOUT, AND TURN ABOUT, AND
JUMP jim Crow. "A week or two ago, the Re-
publican-party and absquatulating Democratic
letter-writers were furious over suspicion that
the Democracy designed postponing the admis-
sion of the Senators and Represen tatives- elect
from the State of Minnesota. In speaking for
their friends in Congress on the hject, nothing
to which they could clay" their pens was too
hard to be said of the Democracy Of the House
and Senate. They were, however, then under
the impression that the Minnesota delegation
were advocates of the views of Senator Douglas
as against those the Democracy upon the Kan
sas question. Now, however, they appear to
have discovered that most ofthose gentlemen are
indisposed to dissolve their connection with the
Democratic party. So, they have suddenly
wheeled about, and are furious under the idea
that the Democracy of Congress do not design
opposing the admission of Minnesota as State
into the Union until after the admission of Kan
sas. If ever gentlemen blew hot and cold upon
question of State, they are these same, in
their contradictory publications upon this Min
nesota question.
Months ago, We stated that the question of
the admission of Minnesota into the Union
would be decided upon its individual merits,
without reference to its bearing on the Kansas
question. The opposition writers to whom we
refer above, it seems, have just come to compre
bend this fact: and as they have also undeceived
themselves with reference to the sentiments Of
the Minnesota Senators and Representative on
the Kansas question at the same time, they are
sooth, they anticipate that the Democracy of
Congress will do What they were lately abusing
them under the impression that they would fail
to do. Viz: admit Minnesota as State into
the Union in advance of the settlement Of the
current Kansas imbroglio.
CHANCE IN THE PATENT LAws-In the
| Senate, yesterday, Mr.. Evans, from the Com
mittee on Patents and Patent Office, reported
| bill amendatory of the patent laws, which
was passed to a second reading This bill au-
thorizes the Commissioner of Patents to estab-
lish rules for taking affdavits and deposition s
| required, and to issue Patent subpenas to wit
nesses in any contested cases pending in the
Patent Office, and to enforce their attendance
no witness shall be deemed guilty of contempt,
however, for refusing to disclose any secret in
| vention made or owned by him.
In order to secure greater uniformity of ac-
ton in the grant and refusal of letters patent,
the bill provides for the appointment of board
Of three examiners-in-chief, whose duty it shall
be to revise and determine upon the validity
| Of decisions made by the examiners, when ad-
verse, or in interference cases and from the
decisions of this board appeals may be taken
| to the Commissioner of Patents in person. upon
| payment of twenty dollars.
The bill fixes the salary Of the Commissioner
| Of Patents at $4,000, the examiners in chief
S2,750 each, and the chief clerk of the Patent
| Office $4,000. The Commissioner of Patents i.
authorized to return to the applicants or make
other disposition of such rejected models as he
shall not think necessary to be preserved. In
lieu of the rates for patents heretofore charged,
the following are proposed: on filing caveat,
ten dollars; on filing each original application
for patent except for a design, twenty dol
lars, and on issuing patent ten dollars in ad-
dition; on application for q patent for q dc.
sign, fifteen dollars; on application for reissue
of patent, thirty dollars; for extension of O
patent, fifty dollars; for filing each disclaimer
ten dollars, and extra charges for recording
| All patented articles ara either tn be slammed