New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-03-20
IN FAVOR OF BELLS PATENT
END OF LONG AND COSTLY LITIGATION

IN
ruprr JrDGys FAVOR pRAwBAUGH's CLAIMs-A
BLACK EYE FOR PAN-ELECrEIC "REFoRM.
[BY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRiBUSEl
WASHINGTON, March l9.-An hour after the gu,
creme Court assembled to-day. after the usu''i
winter vacation, every seat allotted to mehoeie VI
the bnr epd visitors WAS occupied ana s'an''As
room was at a premium. The officers were coi''
PEELED to close aud lock the main door agilus'
fhrong Of latccomers eager to hear the decision ns
A. ,o,oohono cose So much interest i'll a
,a,nnt ~ ,hc conrt has not been known for
,nanv wears Among the early arrivals were
Auo,stus II Garland and Casey Young, OF the
pan-Elec, rio Telephone Company; j. j. Storrow,
~ Ros,on. counsel for the Bell Telephone Gem.
uany: Joseph H. Mcdonald one of the Counsel
Tor TIE saint company IN the fai-Eiectrtc M9a
heads the prosecution in the same suit; George
& (;orham OF the Drawbaugh Company: ana inc
father and uncle OF Alexander Graham beli
the inventor.
As soon as the court had been formally opened
Associate Justice BlatchfOrd began the reading
of the Judgment in the celebrated eases which
have occupied 80 much of the public attention
during the past ten years The titles OF the
eases and the main issues were set out IN To-Day )
JrinrSr The pan-Elcctric Company did not
appear n party. its attorneys never having az
pcaod a ease 10 the Surrrme tribunal hut the
men concerned in il felt lively interest in the pro
ceedngs to-day. They realized that II the judgment
I'm the pending suits should bc III favor of the
Rrll Company. they would he left without peg to
bang q hone No so-called "C'0v"rnInenf snt
could avail them If the court should decide TIA,
the Issue Of the bell PARENTS not Nltlatcd
hy fraud ard that the broad claim Of Bel Is
valid end mus, cb ma intaincd by the conrf- me
Ian-Elccfrc people have been for nearly tnr"e
years declaring that the only way 10 snow, 'i','
the Bell ratcnt WIS obtained by fraud ana cot
fusion was by means Of silt begun ana NAM
taincd nv the Government and that for such
q purpose the Department OF justice was the
Government
That ,N yew ,cs IT the a4fe S"is by
acts and words first. of MtornHv-General Dnr.
Land and Solicit or General Goede: second ,N
NJ. Cleveland and Secrctary Lamar; I Ind;ciarv
Committee Of the NIIXth CnnrIesS fourth. Nv
the Democratic majority of the Pan-tlrc i IN
Secretary Lamar. in his anxiety II nromnte lhr
ranse of Par Electric reform" and help the Ad-
,nnstra. ion and especially one of his COLLEAGUES
in the Cabinet. ont of q had scrs're wrote an
elaborate opinion in favor Of " Government
prosecution 10 break down the Eel wltnh'' ,f on
thc ground that il was obtained hC fraud. IFS
advice was taken: s,ecial counsel woS cmnloyed
and for more than two wears the Bel C|ni"''N
has been resisting the attacks Of the Dnrtrtmeh'
Of Justice. backed by the resources Oh tHt ->"-
tional Treasury.
All these facts and many othcrs even less crc,
table TO the investigators OF r." fan-tde.lrir
,,rosecuions must have been reracd to the MINDS
If Associate Justice lamar and Attorney General
Garland today they s'r with bowed hcad>-
one the Sunrcme Court Bench and the enncr
of the EXccutive-and listened 10 the clear ter>e
and scrc~n sentences PC they fell from the lIs oi
Justice Rlatchford declaring that The patents Is
sucd 10 Alexander Graham Bell are clean anH m
tainted with fraud: cr even suspci'l " lta"'.
From This nat Of tfn decision no member al
Tho cour; dj.sentnd II was the unan mous Vt'-
dict in cffrct that thcre WIS not fhc sngh'cs'
evidence 10 east the least reflection llnon me IN
tegrity Of Bell his attorneys. mat ncclsi"h
leaves fine Pan. Electric Government suit hang
ing by n s;nrlo thread the appeal from thr dc-
cisjon of tho United States Circuit Court an NaS-
eocbusptts that the Attc-nnviicncral or me ~
nartmnnt of Justice Is NOT the Government.
and therefore cannot institut" and MAINTAIN
suit "a annu natcnt for an invention WlInnnt
authority granted wy M act az Congress. ffrt
i rrrplv a question 81 law The decision OF
which whatever il might he. would not infect
tl,e Roll ratrnts which have been to dar dcrle'@d
valid hv the highest judicial authority Sach u
lame and imnotrnt conclusion ms fh't ifsN ms
pan-Elcctric Government suit which has al
ready cost the National Treasury nor lnah
81 90 900 md probably has cost the deiehuah'
as large q sum.
From tho decision in the suit n determine |
,vbcthcr Bell or Draw bauch was thc frs' inventor
~ tho speal;irr tecphone three ~ The Ass"cls1e
JUSTICES Bradley. Harlan ard tI'h. ols.ent |
Srither Justice GRAY nor Justice Lamar sot IN
the cases and the Judgment Of the rrirt Tow INC !
defendant stands on the opinions NJ Cffct jrS'i""
Waite and Associate Jn<tircs Miller. Matthews
and Batchford. The DIawhaugh people seemed
cdIv were greatly disappointed and they sharnN
criticised the decision and warmly PRAISED ,fle
dissenting view exrrcsscd IL WIS reportcd Ihtt
Mcssrs Garland and Young expressed themselves
with n good deal Of emphasis To the chect IhaI,
they were scrrv they saw Telephone; ana
that the former declared that he wen d hike 10
have the word telephone" Oblteraied from 'he |
English language