The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-20
RETL WINS THE BIG SUIT.
rr,p SUPREME COURT SAYS He IN
VENTED THE TELEPHONE.

Musical Tones Drawbaugh's Case
Clouded with Too Many Improbabili-
+ies-Tbe Charges of Fraud Consid-
orad at I,ength-Close Division of the
Court.
WASHINGTON, March 16--In anticipation
of q decision in the famous telephone cases
the United States Supreme Court room was
,rovded to-day when the court assembled
of noon. and large number of people were
trrned awav from the doors. Alexander
Melville Bell and Mr. Storrow, of the coun-
sci for the Bell company, were present, as
were also the Commissioner of Patents, sew
oral patent attorneys and large number of
persons directly or indirectly interested in
teephone stocks.
At 1905 O'Clock Justice Blatchford, Act
ing for Chief Justice Waite, began reading
[tbe opinion. The opinion was prepared by
the Chief Justice, but owing to slight in
dsposition he did not feel able to read
il and therefore requested Justice
Biatchford to read it for him. The
cases covered by the decision of the court
are six in number; one coming from Massa-
cbusetts, one from Pennsylvania, and four
appellants are A. NJ. Dolbear, ct al. the
Molecular Telephone Company, the Clay
commercial Company, the Peoples Tele-
pbone Company, and the Overland Tele-
phone Company.
In the sixth case the Bell company is ap-
pelant against the Molecular company.
SCOPE OF THE FIFTH CLAUSE.
The Chief Justice began his opinion with
8 review of the question raised as to the
scope of the fifth clause of Mr.. Bells patent
Il Of March Z 1S76-that is whether the patent
was for an art or process of transmitting
artculate speech, or merely an apparatus
n by which that object could be attained.
The court is of the opinion upon
this point that articulate speech is one
Zof the vocal or other sounds" referred to
in the fifth claim of the patent Mr.. Bell
dscoverel that speech could be transmitted
by gradually changing the intensity of a
continuous electric current so as to make it
correspond exactly to the changes in in
tensity of the air caused by the sound of
ibe voice. This was his art. He then de-
vsed way in which these changes
Df intensity could be made
and speech actually transmitted
READY FOR USE.
Thus his art was put into condition for
practical use. In doing this both discovery
nd invention in the popular sense of those
terms were involved-discovery in finding
the art and invention in devising the means
bfmaking it useful. For such discoveries and
such inventions the law had given
the discoverer and inventor the right to a
patent What Mr. Bell claims is the art of
creating changes of intensity in continu-
BUS current of electricity exactly CORES
pnding to changes of density in the air
Falsed by the vibrations which accompany
vocal or other sounds, and of using that
Electrical condition thus created for sending
hnd receiving articulate speech telegraphic-
bly
MUST BE SUSTAINED.
For that, among other things, his patent
of 1876 was issued, and as such patent it
must, in the opinion of the court, be sus-
famed. 1t is said that the claim if given
ths broad construction, is virtually a claim
for speech transmission by transmitting it,
pr in other words. for all such doing of a
Thing ss is provable by doing it. 1t is true
bat Mr.. Bell transmits speech by transmit
Ping it, and that long before he did so it
Fas believed by scientists that it could
done by means of electricity
the electrical effect could be produced.
Precisely how that subtle force behaves
Under Mr. Bells treatment, or what form
takes no one can tell. All we know is
hat he found out that by changing the in
enslty OF a continuous current so as to
make it correspond exactly with the
hange in density of the affair caused by
onorous vibrations, vocal and other
bounds could be transmitted aud heard at a
distance This was the thing to be done and
pr. Bell discovered the way of doing it.
he was the first discoverer, and with his
discovery he astonished the scientific world.
Prof. Henry, one of the most eminent
scientists of the present century, spoke of it
S the greatest marvel hitherto achieved
py telegraph. The patent for such a dis
fovery is not to be confined to the mere
means which the discoverer improviseS to
prove the reality of his conception. The
fourt is therefore of the opinion that the
atent must be sustained as a patent for a
process or art
REFS DISCOVERY.
The Chief Justice then considered the
Heged anticipation of MIR. Bells discovery
Ply Philip Refs. Mr. Refs, the Chief Justice
ald, discovered how to reproduce musical
ones but he did no more. He could sing
nrough his apparatus, but he could
lou talk, and from the beginning
the end he has conceded
MS NO ore of the many writer's whose
lapers are found in the record claim more
nan this for Mr.. Refs or his discoveries.
ataough his first paper was published in
ool, and Mr.. Bell did not appear as a
worker IN the same field of scientific re-
earch until nearly fifteen years afterward
advance had been made by use
What he had contrived, or Of
rs method toward the great end to be ac-
ilPlshed After reviewing the history of
iI' ". kels invention the Chief Justice said :
~ needless to quote further from the
!uence on this branch of the case. 1t is
W contended that Mr.. Refs ever succeeded
actually transmitting speech, but only
uav ms instrument was capable of it if be
nad only known how He did not know
How ana all his experiments in that direc-
ION were failures.
BELL THE DEVELOPER.
~ was left for Mr.. Bell to discover that
o failures were not due TO bad work
o'sllp in Mr.. Res Instruments, but to
principle which was adopted as the
asS ,'n, OF what had to be done. Mr.. Bell
,nuC u,yu mat what he called the intermittent
nieAt could not be made under
10 circumstances to reproduce
.Stelcdte " forms Of air vibrations caused
:, Te .p human voice in articulate speech,
NJ lug SudV the true way was TO operate on an
bipo iT,oAen current by increasing and dimin-
hrs lCS Intensity This he called the
Y,aavo3ry, or undulatory, current, not be-
Ie 'ne current was supposed TO actually
tn,o.. mat form but because it
Used with sufficient accuracy
nes OF the current which was subjected
f,alual changes of intensity exactly