The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1863-05-01
From the Iud annapolis Journal
The Conn an iSsiORer Of Patents.
WASHINGTON. April FL. 1863.

v
T, EDroR JOURNAL: The recently published
missioner of Patents, against the charges o
| mismanasement. want Of integrity, and in
competency. preferred by an officious gen
tleman Of the Agricultural Bureau named
Belts. and reported upon by the prejudiced
Chairman OF a Committee OF Congress, de
serves notice. Belts was an old empioye
Of the Patent Office, and rea aimed by Mr.
H., till, like q snake warmed in his bosom,
the vile thing, on offence. squirms and
strikes its death poison into its benefac tor.
Prejudice began the work, its consummation
was an unmitigatej slander on man whose
career here and at home has marked him as
a man of unbending integrity.
When the aspersions against Mr.. 81. were
FRS made. like man conscious of bis own
rec,i,ude he demanded committee to in
vestigate his official conduct 1t was ap
pointed; and after several weeks sitting. and
just before the report was made. q member
thereof stated to the Hon. }. p. c. Shanks,
on inquiry. substantially as follows, who
then addressed the fact in note to q friend
Il have conversed with one of the commit
tee. He assures me that no finding against
Nr. II. can be made. He said 10 me that
he wished to God he could feel that every
Department was as honestly administered as
his. He said the report shows that some
abuses exist in he Department. but noae of
them grsc up under his administration" -
Such was the statement of one of the CON-
mitiec on the eve Of the publication of the
report. From other sources l have heard
the same thing.
Mr.. H., in his review of the report, takes
up with care each spec fication. and proceeds
20 annihila,e each charge or Implication in
. mild and candid tone
That he may be vinlica.ed before the
people OF his Safe, | will state few OF tie
charges and the answers given to them.
LIST 1t was said that he tad in five months
from April 1861. used up surplus fund of
$50. 900, along with the ordinary income OF
the office.
Instead of this sum, Mr.. H. shows but
so. 900 was on hand at the above date.
On The lst OF January. 1861. $50 600
vas the balance. and before Mr.. II. entered
upon duty. his predecessor had expended
Of this in three months. Si9. 900; SO enor
mcusly had the business fallen of. This
process Of decrease in the income of the Of
fce did not abs,e, bat gain worse daily as
the appalling civil strife went on; owing to
this fact, the daily income of the Office would
not pay lis expenses, ami like his predeces-
sor, NJ. Holt. he was compelled to resort to
the surplus fund to meet the large demand
for salaries and other expenses. which could
not be reduced by decreasing the force. no
more than you could withdraw from a vas;
copper mine. the hands employed TO sink its
shafts and build its galleries, simply for tire
temporary loss or leanness of the ores The
fund OF tie Office is the properly Of invent
ors; it is their right to have efficient seien.
tifc men always in readiness to examine in
vensions when presented; and thus whatever
may be the receipts, eertsin general expen-
ses must be kept up. even though it exhaust
surplus funds and require Appropriations
But Mr.. II shows re Iuction Of expenses
amounting to $50 QUO over other years, for
the wear 1851, IN spite of the adverse cir
cumstances which surrounded him. The
use Of the surplus fund above named is ne
matter of censure. as it is provided for just
such an emergency.
TIE .ecocd charge was based upon q
large and improper expenditure Of money
for unnecessary printing. and for which ben
.6; vas neither received BY the public or the
o1sce. In answering this. Mr.. a. refers to