New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-12-02
THE BIG TELEPHONE FIGHT
A VICTORY r6R THE BELL COMPANY.
JrpGr WALLACE DECIDES AGAINST tns e. ANA -
DRAwBAtuu.

JUDGE WALLACE DECIDES AGAINST Titg CT Ana 81.
DRAwBAtuu.
An nlmost decisive victory was won vo.,,.
day by The American Hell Telephone coinpany 4, A.
great telephone contest that has bean wagni FOE .o,
years Tho Inventions ~ Professor AlcSnnier o,.,,
He'll were patented Ia 1870 and 1877 and III. eon,,.
that waH formed 10 manufacture telephones under tho,
patents h"camo wealthy corporation There have e.,
several hundred improvements aud alterations in t.
telephone aysi"m patented In the last ais year. hut tho
company that has given The Bell Company the mo,l dim
Guilty In the Peoples Telephone Company which co,
trollod Inventions made by Daniel Drawbangh OF Min
town, Penn. MIR Drawbnngh was known impecnnlo,
inventor who hal his factory full Of various ineenloa
devices, some OF which patented, though IA, o
ponents declare that most Of the Inventions did nor
prove valuable. The Peoples Company began tina
manufacture and sale Of telephones and in 1850 m.
American Bell Company began snit in the United
States courts to restrain the and sale OF the Draw
baugh machines. The testimony, which fills two larga
volumes, of most conflicting kind. Scores OF wiz.
nesses most Of them neighbors Of Drawbaugh testified
that they had peculiar talking machine" in hi,
factory at times between 1866 and s7i part Of th,
machine consisted OF teacuD. The testimony differed
to the distncness with which sounds could be heard
through this machine. The American Company attacked
the integrity OF some OF the witnessed, but
to others simply declared that they
were mistaken in the dates. Exhaustive
crosse xaminaton resOred to- in the endeavor 10
show that the dates at which the witnesses said they
the machine hal placed several years prior 70
the real dates. Efforts also made to show that
machines that ACKNOWLEDGED be real Telephones
and which Drawbaugh claims to have invented at later
dates confused in the minds Of witnesses with i'm.
perfect contrivances which they did Reams tes
mony filed by the compainans with the record os
Drawbaug CHS life and career an inventor Every ma
chine that he claimed to have invented and every patent
that he had secured were Investigated His original de.
vice was rdiculed a string Covers" telephone
vigorous contest made the part OF the Peoples
Company and eminent counsel appeared both sides
The up for final argument in September in this
city before JudgeWaace T. " DcersOn was the leading
counsel orthe American Bell Company and Roscoe Con
ling. who is Of the regular counsel FOR the company.
gave his assistance though he did not take part IN the
final argument j. ] stOrron and Chauncey Smith, ot
Boston. a-o appeared for the compainants. senator
Edmund OF Vermont Judge Lysander Hin, Of Chicago,
for the Peoples Company Arguments assile me ear,
aciio,, s hem awaited win intense interest Tho
Patent ONCE recently rendered decision unfavor
able Drawbau-h. and yesterday Judge Wallace sns.
patent. Eimors Of the naturc Il the decision hiyo
been for three days ard the Bel C"mPWy
stock has risen greatly in value The rights involved in
the suit are valued at millions OK dollars some persons
placing the value AZ 90 100000 The Peoples Company
Will appeal the case 10 the United states Supreme Court
POINTS OF THE DECISION
judge Wallace in his opinion says: "rhe issues
made Nv the peadlngs are practically resolved into tho
n.lc qrcstion-to which the proofs and rginent. OK
counsel are mainly addressed-whether the paientee'
Bell, or Daniel Drawbnugh. OF Midtown.
in Cumberland County. Pennsylvania was the
first inventor OF the electric speaking telephone
The theory " the defendants according TO he opinion
of judge Wallace, is that some OF DraWhaughs instfl'
mcuts were made I'm l-67 and other, az various llncs
befnrr S-t II in proof that thrtythree patents
were granted for improvements In telephones m lo'S,
four I'm 1879. than one hundred IN lS- ana
ninety our I'm the first six months OF 1881 According 20
the theory the dcicndants Therefore - carry a, t'
mary 80 Drawbaugh had not only disianced l'cl n
the race OF invention but also Gray and Edison ana hai
accomplished practically, all that has since Deeh zone
hv n host OF other inventors Inc testimony.
ON both sides Is reviewed mt length, ana tne
lulge concludes. "Succincty stated most taNorihy
ion the defendants the case Is thi': one hundred VIII
nsps mora or less testified that on one or mora occl
.ous which took place from tive to ten years before
thry think they saw this that device used ~ laklng
,t,clfup ignorant Of the principle, ai or ine
mechanical construction of the INSTRUMENTS Bnt neg
heard speech through them perfectly well anI thfongh
ONE set at Instruments 90 "a the other ms case
met on The uii az he compliments hy PROOF that hs
,. rinpns which most OF The witnesses think they saw
| and heard through were ircap1h'e or iehg hrait
| through IN the nanrpr dosc'ihet ~ mem |
and further that the man vho Ni'" ny
| 1t.n, the capacity Of hts n,lipmrnS no,rr
aitori to Use thoii ~ innnet whiyi WoQi urt,..
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