National Republican., 1877-09-28
COMMENTS OF THE PRESS,

Under the head Of "Fire.Proof finder
Boxes" the New York Erpre" says:
The costly cdince, instead oi being hrc.pIroof,
VA .pSnan r ,nSsfo"a 10 x when y %my nt wnnIen an I
ashes and Rns,
That such a disaftcr could overinkc a building
supposed N bo "frc proof" wW not TO have been
| cSpocted.-tOu'ter Syracnsc, ~ T.
Facctious nd.inanufacturcr Of western
New York paper: Patent Office TO Blazcs"
II will not he surprising II the anticipation that
an immense amount Of litigation will grow out Of
the disaster, ultimately, should he realized There
are various cDnjecturcs concerning the origin ~
| the nrc, but no one attributes II To inccndlnry
| malice Tms', Troy. N. T.
II is chrcrfu to read froia the report clscwherc
printed that the building Of tbc Treasury Depart.
| incnt IL In about the samc combrstihlc condition
| as was the Patent once building,-'Onrdn, Hart
The Patent once IRE promises 10 greatly delay
business. That will not be the least Of the trouble
II will cause. The FIRE was n disgrace tn the conn
try. aud every care should he taken that another
| like II does not occur Commercial Ne'c lori.
There Is a coms"nton. though poor one In the
than II H. aud that the best mart Of the building ard
the most valuable nf the models remain unlnjuroi.
| --IsrId, C'fridHd o.
| lfthc rumnrs which are floating about the CnpI.
tai IN regard n the origin Of the Interior Depart.
ment llrr, with the attendant suspicious cirrnnl.
stances, nrc fcrrrtch Ia the bntnm II Is more than
probable That some rich Developments may bc ilf-
| Cluscd. Tint there have hcrn during the
past few wears frauds IN RlmO.t every Department
| Of the Government service II generally conceded
n"t, anh no Department hhs hrcn looked upon
with Vrratcr su'plcI"n thnn ihnt Of the General
| Land Onrc. Secretary Schurz has hccn hlnyng
| himself nssidunusly m uncHrth these frauds, anh
| In relation Ia the timber th'cving operations has
shown determination whit II VIII make the guilty
| quake. The desperate have Attempted tn burn pub
| lie records before mud have sometimes succeeded
and why may they not have tried II again?-7tis
| graph, IUsbnrg, ~.
| The destruction bv tho Washington Rro IL not
only public misfortune. but will prove very ar
| ous to private interests There " n large amount
| Of conflicting claims which depended upon the
archives In the Department IT, as II said. the
| papers IN the Pension Once arc burned, II viii
| prove severe loss. both To the Government and
| the bcneiirnrlcs Existing pens ion certificates
proo6 on file In pension aud bounty eases are tho
basis of all past issues. aud their loss will badly
| cinbnrrass nll concerned rs respects the future
| The Inconvenience and loss incident IN the do
| stricton of drawings and models for patents e..
| pccihlly " the ccincaiions were with them, can
| hardly he estimated. Hardly any important ones
tlon arises which docs not involve a necessity Of
| consulting studying Rnd coinpnrlng everything In
| the Patent once which will throw light on the IN.
Vulnerable nice points which arise IN the admins.
traiion Of the patent laws These archives embrace
not only the results Of patient nnh long continued
study IN arriving ht results of American invention
| gathered from foreign lands, and frequently an
| almost ineShnu. .tiblG amount Of cnrr.rnndcnrc.
Ia every pnlnt 0f View therefore, this conagration
IN one of the most serious that has ever occurred
II reaches not only titles hut every family and In
illNIdunl IN the land In ~ far ~ the right to
patented artlcl" II concerned. rigid eSaminn.
tlOn Into the cause Of the FIRE II II said. IN to he
made hut this VIII not rcnhr lOssps than
investigations afier u fearful railway accident will
restore life, The country will he slow ~ believe II
Mhs the result Of spontaneous combustion; aud the
matter must he pr0bcd 10 the b0tpm aud the
guilt, II any exist. bc made to rest where II be-
lOurs. IlDfsyu TfIK