The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-01-16
BELLS TITLE ON TRIAL.
A QUESTION THAT INVOLVES MILL
IONS OF MONEY.
Who Invented the Teiephone?-The Mat
ter To Be Tried in Court on Its Merits
Suits Against Bell.

WASHINGTON CITY, Jan. l6-The long
expected decision OF Secretary Lamar on
the telephone case was made public Thurs
day, and promises suit in which interests
of immense size are involved-in fact the
ownership OF the benefits accruing to the in
ventor of the system of telephone commu-
nication Mr. Lamar reviews the case SO
far as it has been presented to him, and con
ciudes that the United States should enter
suit against Bell to annul his patents. The
secretary says: The grounds of invalidity
alleged against the Bell telephone patent
may be substantially summarized thus:
Il. The patent was procured by the fraud
of the patentee through the collusion or mis-
take of the officers of the patent office and
in violation of the rights of the cayeator,
named Elisha Gray.
"1Le invention patented was not patent
able, because already public
These allegations describe the occasions
IN which the government, upon my view,
ought to actively Interfere for the cancella
ton of a patent He accordingly recon-
mends that suit be brought III such place as
shall be most convenient for all parties.
The claim of the Globe Telephone com
pany, which is tie principal conte tant III
the Application to have the Bell telephone
patents annulled, is based on the invention
@. Antonio Meucci of Staten island. Meuccl
fled a caveat in the patent Office for
patent Dee -, 1871 He began to expert
meut on the Transmission of sounds by cleo
tricity in 1919 He made drawings Of his
telephone in 1857, and published the results
of his Investigations in 1883. He was ex-
oil IN tho
necessities of life, and was not able 10 speak
English His claims were regarded as pre-
posterous until 1870
| After he had filed his eaveat Meucci sub
mitted his plans and drawing to friend III
| Now York who was an electrician and con-
nected with telegraph company, This
gentleman promised to furnish means for
making experiments with his invention. On
various excuses Meucci was put off, and the
money was not forthcoming, and the scheme
received no encouragement Meucci tired
of waiting for his friend to take some ac-
| ton and at the end of two years demanded
| that his dfawing be returned. 1t was
claimed that the papers were lost. The
Globe company claim that these drawings
must have fallen into the hadds OF Alexan
10" Graham Bell, and from them h OBJ
tanned the idea that he developed into his
! telephone pat tent
| Bell fled cayeat for an apparatus for
producing musical tones by the action Of
wave currents of electricity. II obtained a
patent for an improved instrument in elec-
trical telegraphy and telephony June 80,
| 1871. The Globe company claim that the
latter patent is Bells first practical inStru-
ment, though he bases his claim on the
other patent. The first patent WAS granted
twenty -one days after the application was
| filed The contestants claim that undue in
fluencs with persons in authority secured
the hasty issuance of letters patent The
Globe company claim to have abundant
evidence to prove the priority of Meuccis
invention.
! Legal proceedings were begun by citizens
of Memphis. Tenn, who asked leave by pc
tition to the department of justice to bring
a suit in the federal courts in the name of
the United States to cancel the patent Of
the Bell Telephone company, on the grounds
that it was obtained by fraud and that it
was unlawfuily granted This application
was referred to the interior department, and
in turn was submitted to the commissioner
of patents The application was deemed
Of such consequence that Secretary Lamar
and two assistant patent commissioners as
an advisory board sat with the commissioner
OF patents to hear the eYidencs The de-
cision Of the board to allow the Globe com
pany to maintain an action to test the
legality of the Bell patent in the courts in.
dicates that the contestant has made a
strong showing against the validity of the
Bell patent