The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-10-26
How Other Valuable Inventions May Be As
sailed in Similar Manner and Their
Owners Defrauded of Their Rights.
G. w. ChildS's Statement as to Grants At
titude in 1876 Denounced as False.
Auditor Chenoweth and His Congressional
Aspirations Protests Against Non-Resi-
dent Office Holders in the Territories.


THE TELEPHONE SUITS.
Far-Keaching Effect of the Suit Against the
Bell Patents.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
WASHINGTON. Oct 25.-To-day the Journal
correspondent met an old patent attorney who
has been practicing here for quarter of GEN.
tury and had a talk about Attorney. general
Garland's connection with the Pan-electric tele-
phone patent. which is attracting so much atten-
tion throughout the country just now
''The bottom facts have never been reached III
this matter. said the old attorney, "and doubt
whether they ever will be, for the reason thas
the parties implicated are so high in their stand
ing before the country. To me the scheme of the
Pan-electric company is the deepest and most
far-reaching that has ever been attempted in
patent affairs, and had it succeeded it would
not only have made millions for the originators
but tens of millions for their imitators.n
''You astonish me" calculated; show in the
world were these vast results to be obtained9v
EASY enough" was the prompt reply. s'Take
this Bell telephone case, for instance, just as il
has been placed before the public. The patent
had been granted to Bell years ago in the regu-
lar course of business at the Patent Office and
with that invention basis joint stock COM
pany had been formed Innocent men had in
vested millions in it and were guiltless of any
wrong, if there is any assurance that a patent
wrong has been committed. Some nan sets up
claim of priority of invention; new company
is formed, and supple clerk of the Patent Of
fee is found who is willing to swear that there
had been trick in the Patent Office by which
Bells cayeat was wrongly given precedence of
the Pan-electrc caveat thus making the
Bell telephone king pin in the business A
new Attorney general comes in, and an applica-
ton is made to him to use the powers Of his de-
partment in ousting the Bell company Then it
turns out that the Attorney general is the owner
of one million dollars worth of stock of the new
company given to him by one of the head mer
of it, Thereupon Mr.. Garland very virtuously
announces that as he is an owner of stock of the
company asking for his official Intervention, he
cannot, in honor act in the matter. He skips
off to Arkansas, where the telegraph cannot
reach him, leaving the Solicitor general as acting
Attorney general to grant the required permit.
Then the storm bursts, and there is rushing
about of officials in the Department of Justice
and the permit is Cancelled in a hurry. Now,
don't you see how far this chain can reach?
There are other Inventions other companies
that may be assailed in the same way, other
supple ex-cerks may be found, other millions of
stocks may be put where they will do the most
good, and thus the stock of men who have IN
vested hundreds of millions might be destroyed,
through perjury and sugar coated bribery. In
word, there were millions in the game, and there
may be yet. If the Bell attack had succeeded.
the Lord only knows what the result would have
been. You can see that the longer you look at
it the wider the vista grows"
good many expressions of this character are
heard here at this time, and the hints are SO
broad at the influences which brought about the
action of the Department of Justice, in bringing
this attack on the Bell Telephone Company that
the Attorney general is said to be in somewhat of
predicament. Even though the President and
the Cabinet stand by Mr.. Garland in this affair,
and he is permitted to continue in Office, it will
not be as comfortable for him as it might other
wise have been.