The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1885-11-15
THE TELEPHONE CONTEST.
Prolonged HEARING al the Interior Department Al
na~ s-A e.


The important arguments before Secretary Lamar,
with whom are sitting both his assistant secretaries
and the Commissioner OF Patents, and who will re-
port to the Attorney General whether the Govern
ment onght to enter suit TO vacate the immensely
valuable bell telephone patents, brought out the
usua array Oh egai talent ana crowd OF interested
After ne daily shower O, fresh atldav!'s and
counter,affldaylts MIR. Humphreys opened for the
Globe Telephone Company, and after a recess was
followed by Mr.. Beckwith on the came side, who
spoke mainly In support Of the claims OF Antonio
eminent had been petitoned In vain TO inquire into
Menccia's claim. Meuccla was a graduate OF the
University Of Florence and spent six years there in
and did not mention the word telephone. lie had
no conception Of Its use as a speech.iransmlter un
as far hack as isia Meuccs used q speaking teie,
graph to transmit the human voice, and In 1859 he
invented perfect telephone.
the petitioners. lie laid down the following propo-
slflons: That the Government has The power and
own judicial Tribunals having jnrsdcto I'm in such
matters TO recall and declare void patent that 1t
had the power inherently and independently of any
proper ofcers Of the Government by citizens that
patent has been fraudulently issued, that power
should be exercised; that the evidence Of the record
warrant the Government that power; that there
are abundant .precedents in the history of the
patent is invalid, for the reason one hat hat
Is too broad In Its terms and violative OF the prn
cpe OF law that underlies the whole patent system,
by giving the patentee the control, not OF process
but OF an element OF naure-a current OF electricity.
1t was void for want Of utility. 1t had never yet
spoken into human ear single word. II was
vodable because In its progress through the Patent
once there were such Irregularities, such disre-
gard for the law, as to ivest It OF the sancty that
otherwise attached to the issue of patent Mr..
Young cited at length the barbed-wlre case and
others as precedents, where the Government had
gone into court to test patents In the face OF numer
GUS judicial decisions UNFOLDING those patents
MIR. CAN'T then presented long list OF authorities
relied upon by the petitioners to support their mo-
ton.
Mr.. Storrow, for the patentee, Bell then began his
reply TO the opening arguments. He expsunded at
ength the matter OF law to which the Secretary had
directed the attention of counsel-the definition OF
an invention that anticipates the inventions Of third
persons.
Mr.. Storrow gave n sketch of the Pan Electric
Company. II originated among few gentlemen in
Congress In 1888 he said, when the Bell patent was
seven years old. They acquired certain patents of
one Rogers, amounting to no more than a few tri-
vial changes In form OF the then existing insiru-
ments. To sell stock they saw the necessity OF
guaranteeing protection from litigation, and they
organized n number of branch companies In
the Pitsburg case, said Mr. Storrow, the Pan Elec.
trio had deserted it's offspring, the Western Penn
sylvanla Company, and the defense had been
abandoned.
After recess for supper the hearing was re.
sumed at O'Clock, and Mr.. Etorrow continued
speaking until about 10 p. NJ, when a recess was
taken until Monday morning.