Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-11-30
GIGANTIC STRUGGLE.
A Coming Battle for Monopoly of Al
Means of Electrical Communica-
tion-Jay Gould's Rival.
VIII Bell Telephone Swallow Western
Union OF the Process be
Reversed.
THE FUTURE OF THE TELKPHoNE.

| phony which WAS issued to Bell in March
1876, will expire by limitation, and the
the srt OF transmitting speech by cleo
tricity will be open to every one. II be
fore 1898 the government proves tbs
Bells patent was issued by fraud or mis-
take it will be rescinded, and then tn
art OF telephony will be open to the publ
| at once.
The important question to the public
VINO naturally desire to have the right to
use 80 great a convenience as the tele.
phone free from exoroltant tribute T.
any patent, resolves itself into this in.
quiry: Ii the art were free 70 be used BY
Gil ut the expiration OF the resembling Of
Bel's patent, how could 1t be svailed Of
In word, If the srs were open to the
public, are there instruments which
could be made and used outside Of exist
ing pasen!s2 Bell himself does not claim
to hsve any inventions or patents for any
tns'ruDent now in use In Telephony
Blake has patent fof q handy device,
but 1t is rot essential 10 telephony. q
number Of inventors-English, French,
German snd Americin-have patents for
convenient devices in telephony, but
no one has Is Ye. any basic patent In the
United States for an instrument essential
to telephony. There are inventors whose
Claims sre now pending in the patent
office Tor the basic principle of the use Of
carbon IN telephone, but no ore has SIS
yet secured this basic patent; II shy one
ever does get it, broadly, be will have
control, rs much rs Bell has, Of the use of
any and al instruments, and his patent
Will hSVe seventeen years to run from the
date OF its issuance; and /. any one gets
control OF this carbon principle before the
expiration Of Bells patent, then ne can
smut up every telephone instrument now
in use in the United Sta es. For while
Bell would conlral the art or process,
which 1t will be rendered be patented in
1876 before he ever made Q telephone,
the only instrument would belong to an.
other patentee.
Naturally. under the circumstances, il
has been the policy of the Bell Company
10 secure control Of any and all claims for
Inventions which would cover the carbon
principle. AS far back ss 1879 the Bell
Company contracted with the Western
Union Telegraph Company, the owners OF
EIdson's claims to carbon telephone, to
siva the latter one fifth OF all the royal
ties which the former should earn, in ex-
change for the right to prosecute an.
use, il obtained, Edison's claim to the in
vention of the carbon telephone !nstru-
ment known to this day. I'm
der these Giro 1mstsaces, the i'm
poItsnt question to the public IL, who
Will secure from the patent Office the
patent for caroGn telephone? Draw
bauga and Edison are the applicants for
it, and both have been in the psteDt office
asking fer 1t since 1880, but the contest
hiss been held CT by agreement between
the parties pending the suit on Bell and
OrsRbsugh's claim to the art, which was
decided in favor OF the former
oy close vote Of the supreme court.
There can be no doubt So to the wisdom
1f this course on the part Of the litIgants,
'or whichever won they did not want the
carbon patent running cut its term Of
lie uselessiy, while the patent for the Irt
;3Vered the field Of telephony.
Now the contest In the patent office on
'he priority OF Invention Of the CARBON
telephone Is approaching, and the ques.
ion is, can DraWbaugh prove that he hsd
! carbon telephone in 1878? Justices
Bradley, Harlan and Field thought he had
one OF these carbon instruments In use
a 1870. and said so In their dissertirg
opinion, and the msjority Of the court
'sid that they were not convinced beyond |
doubt thst he had telept one before |
876. The Bell counsel conceded that |
OrsWbauga made his instruments, and |
made them In the order in which |
le clSimed, but he did not
,egin work until 1876. II this
3 80 then Drawbaugh made a
'arbon telephone in 1876, and as Edison
Ices not Claim to have made q carbon
e!ephone before 1873, il is possible thg.
} ;sNbsugh may receive patent for the
sroon telephone for which no is now
making contest in The patent flee. Ii
ne office does not grant it to Lin be will
ppesl to the supreme court, and while
his msy not pe reached for several years
ct, delay Is not fatal, as he could not
RELY use it before 1898, when the Ball
atent for the art expires; but ut that
ate 1t would put Drawbsugh In Bells
monopoly and the exclusive control OF
II telephones, the same as Bell has hsd
ince 1876.
But there is wheel within wheel
Vile Ellison and Drswb,ugh are con-
sstlng for the broad patent on the carbon
3lephone, en- which turns the exclusive
ontroi of the field OF telephony from
893 for q term Of seventeen years, fhefe1
contest going on between tina Bell H
ompsny and the Western Union CoDpk
:, the owner of Edison's claim. The
,rner pays 81 1000, 900 . yesr TO the las
n Under its contract OF 1879, by1:
hich che great telegraph monopoly ii
laced the Edison inventions in trust
| the hands Of the great telephone
onopoly. The troubles brewing be-
Veen these TWO great mcncpolies Of j,
ectric communication turns on this
>ntrSct Of 1879, By which each agreed to ,
sep out + competitor with the other, and I
is WAS lived up TO for yesrs, blu.
gently, by the connecting Of local I
e open construction OF grest Z
ter.s:ase long distance telephone
,rV!ce, which is proving great sue
'ss, the telephone and the telegraph ser
GO Lave come into dicect competition, q
ID 1t is estimated by those familiar with ,
e business that the telephone service :
HsAta@ reduce the telegraph ilcome
'Bsssast 81 900. 600 snnutil7, go that /,
icer existing circumstances the tele-
sph compsby's roFslIy from iha Bell '
mpeng, under the 1879 contract, is 6
lou. nnilifsd, xnd the former company ,
Gcu1,iDs the expedieIcy CT continuing
spd pelmitt ng rs business 70 DE ao- I
Hbsd. There are 50 many breaches on 7
e p:rt OF the telephone company that 1t I.
uld be easily rescinded.
Blu. this Is not the ONLY line CT crisy. :
&c Of mr. G5uld's corporation. II
ling, sId there is suit now pending
this issue in the United States court
Bostor, calling for en accounting,
aging hat thu Bal Company has not
ted honestly IS iss Trustee. The theory
the telegraph company is that the con.
.Ss OF 1879 makes the Bell Compsn5 q
1stee for 1t, to hcli the title to the EN-