New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-08-09


open to question.
The success attained in repairing other At
lantic cables gives reason to hope that the
Direct one will nc put in order when the Fara-
day returns in about fortnight hence. 1t is
satisfactory to find that the scheme is not aban-
dOned, az it is desirable to have teleSraphc
communication with Europe assured AZ far AS
possible against all Interruptions
An outbreak of the cholera is reported from
Damascus, Syria, and is said to include sew
eral neighbOging towns. This is rather an I'M
usual starting point for that disease. which
generally originates much further to the East
If it's progress westward IS not more rapid
than in previous years, it is not likely, on ac-
count of the lateness OF the season. to reach
European capitals before cold weather.
The great popular Outburst in England at
the proposed abandonment of the sailors
cause in Parliament is described in the letter
of our London correspondent, and shows that
the people were intensely in earnest and in
hearty sympathy with Mr.. PlimsOll. The sue
cess which he attained in making strong
Ministry yield to his demand is encouraging
As the mischief done by recent storms is
more carefully estimated, its early proportions
diminish. The total loss of crops by inunda-
tons in the Wabash Valley is now estimated
as within value of $2,O00,0OO. In nearly
all the gram producing States the prospect OF
heavy crops has not been materially affected,
and the reports from the Southern States as
to the yield of cotton, are, upon the whole,
equally encouraging.
Our usual reports of Sundays sermons ore
varied by the absence of the regular pastors
of our city churches and the substitution, in
their pulpits, of distinguished strangers. A
letter from Twin Mountain House, n H., also
furnishes sermon delivered there by Mr..
Beecher, who is evidently unwilling to spend
his Summer vacation in idleness, and attracts
large audience from the neighborhOOd within
a radius of ten or twelve miles.
About as queer lot of people as have ever
assembled to hear public speaking seem to
have been drawn together at the " First Con-
"vention of the New Era" described III our
correspondence from Nineland, n. j. These
enthusiasts propose to maugurate reform OF
the world by abOlishing the customs OF society,
and especially are they bitter against the insti-
tuition of marriage. A great anxiety for neto-
riety or martyrdom is a prominent feature OF
their addresses.
Already the testimony taken 10y tho Indian
Investigation Commissioners confirms some OF
the worst charges of fraud at the Agencies
Major Long declares that the -four was so bad
that bread could not be made of it, but every
effort was made to force it past his inspection.
When he refused to pass it it was sent to the
Agencies without his brand. That which he
had actually inspected was found at Sidney for
sale to residents there. There is additional
evidence of the outrageous frauds in the
weight and delivery of beef cattle AS yet
the Commissioners have only prchcd the sur
face of this kind of testimony when they cut
deeper it will low freely.
In lettor printed on our seventh page
correspondent describes some of the
forms in which the stream of precious
metals pouring for many years through San
Francisco has enriched that city and its envi-
rOns Tasteful and costly villas on the borders
of the bay and clustering here and there in
smaller towns, line all the distance from San
Bruno to San Jose. The mansions and pleas
ure grounds of the weather. residents vie in
expenditure if not i'm taste with those in the
neighbOrhoOd of our Eastern cities. CalifOr-
mia is not complaining of hard times; on the
contrary, it appears that the State il more
prosperous than ever, both mines and crops
producing amply And yet her citizens rarely
enjoy the blessing of the greenback and are
ground under the heel Of hard-meney circu-
latiOn!
A decision in the United States Supreme
Court closes long litigation concerning q
patent on indarubber heads for lead pencils
The Judgment of the Court is adverse to the
validity of the patent. Some useful notions rs
to what is and what is not patentable may be
CLEANED from this decision. a favorite form
of claim among patentees for years past has
been that of "a new manufacture" The in
defniteness of such claim made its passage
with the Office comparatively easy, but it Left
open almost the whole question as to the points
of novelty. In short, it gave the inventor a
patent that was very little better than none.
In the present case the "new manufacture
was the sole claim: there was nothing specific
as To form or combination. Hence though the
idea was COED and the device was useful, the
patent was worthless. Inventors would do
well to note instances of this form of claim,
and to be careful in mtrllsting their interests
to attorneys who draw many such patents.
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SENATOR MORTON IN OHIO