St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-02-09
THE TELEPHONE PATENTS,


ment and the Bell Telephone company, and
what monied interest, if any, the attorney
general OF the United States holds I'm rival
telephone company. The Republic an papers
are abusing Mr.. GARLAND at a terrible rate,
aud we want TO know what it is all about
knowing that the GLOBE never permits its
prejudices TO blind its judgment or dull its
sense OF truthfulness. ask for a candid
statement of the case. FAIR PLAY
Saltwater, Feb.T.
The allegations against the Bell Tele-
phone company are that BELL procured his
title by fraud, and that his device was not
patentable because it had already been in
vented and made by others. On the other
hand the Bell company claims that the allie
cations set UP by the complainants have
already been passed upon adversely BY the
Federal courts, and that there is no ground
for the assertion Of fraud. This is fair
statement of the issue between the rival
companies.
Now as to the relations the government
occupies toward the controversy. The
matter was bought 10 the attention Of the
secretary of the interior. and at the conclu-
sion of an exhaustive hearing. in which all
parties to the controversy were represented
by able lawyers, Secretary LANAI advised
the department of justice that the govern
ment in behalf of the people. ought to pro-
coed in the courts against the owners of the
Bell telephone patent. The secretary rules
that patent for an invention is like pat
ent for a quarter section of land, a title,
and if this title has in either case been pro-
cured by fraud It can be vacated at the suit
of the government. In his report to the
| department of justice the secretary of the
interior says 1.-THE allegations and the evil
dence touching the circumstances attending
the issue of the patent are Of such nature
and have such support as to render it i'm
proper to ignore or dismiss them" and ac-
cordingly advises a judicial investigation.
There have been three so-called test suits
in which parties really or apparently OPP
posed the Bell company, but they smacked
very much of collision as in each ease the
complainant started of with the admission
that BELL was ''the original inventor of
any mode of transmitting speech" Owing
to these admissions decisions were obtained
from the courts establishing the validity of
the BELL patent. But it will be observed
that in no instance has the charge of fraud
been raised and consequently no court has
passed upon that question. Nor has the
question of priority of invention been
thoroughly considered.
The main allegation upon which the gov
eminent will rely in its proceedings to an
null the BELL patent will be that the patent
was procured by fraud. Briefly told, the
story is that Prof GRAY filed his caveat
and Mr.. BELL his application upon the same
day. The GRAY caveat covered the prin-
cipIe of the telephone while the BELL APP
plication covered only an improvement in
harmonic multiple telegraphy. The con-
tents of GRAY's caveat were wrOngfully
disclosed to BELL, or his attorneys, by Elk
aminer WILBUR, and by means Of the in
formation thus wrongfully and Illegally OBJ
tanned, BELL was enabled TO amend his
application so that it included GRAY's dis
covery and covered the broad art of trans
hitting spoken words by electricity. Such
are the disclosures made by the evidence
produced before the examination of the
matter in the interior department.
Now as to Attorney General GARLAND
and his connection with the case. The
Pan Electric Telephone company was or
ganized as q competitor to the Bell company,
and according to the statement of DIR.
RODGERS, the promoter of the scheme.
Mr.. GARLAND, who was then a senator
from Arkansas. was attorney for the rival
company and one of the bedrock stock
holders. DIR. RODGERS states that he never
expected national legislation in behalf OF
his scheme and that the senators who tool
| In; ha
standing that if the matter ever came vi
before the senate they would decline to
vote for it. RODGERS states that his OBJ
ject in letting statesmen in on the
} ground floor of the enterprise was simply tC
give force and character to it Just as hac
been done in the organization Of
great many railroad and other en- ter
prises in which such men as BLAINE, WIN.
DOM, GRANT and Others had been admitted
} for the same reasons. We assume tha
l there was no original intention of setting
4 up job on the government in the intereS
: Of band of spectators, but that it was
2 legitimate business enterprise. Ii turns
e out, however. that the proceedings which
5 the government is asked TO take against thI
' Bell Telephone company will rebound Il
1 the benefit of the Pan Electric company
e Under these circumstances there ought (,
: be no sort of dispute as to which position TN
D law officer of the government should TAX
D in the matter. AS has already been indi
: Gated by the GLOBE there is but one alter
, native for Mr.. GARLAND. He must un
S load his Pan Electric stock or resig
f his Office of attorney general. 1t will no
t do to say that he can refrain from activ
It participation in the litigation and can tur
It over the prosecution of the suit to his sub
: ordinates in the department of justice. II
:, is the head of the department and it make
S no difference what he does or what he re
+ Trains from doing. the fact still remains tina
n he is morally and legally responsible for tn
h management of his department. 1t is
e case where hair-splitting technicalities ar
e not admitted.
h If the GLOBE was called upon to rende
z judgment in the matter its decision woul
It be that the Bell telephone patent should b
/ repealed. and that Attorney General GAB
il LAND should tender his resignation befOr
It proceedings are commenced by the govern
IS ment to annul the patent
"a
BROOKLYN sets her neighbors across tn
:, river an excellent example in the matter O
monuments. While New York is still appeal
IL ing for outside aid for the GRANT memoir il
fund Brooklyn has gwen an order for a gran
r structure commemorative the wars of III