St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-10-11
MIR. HALL ANDP@rENr LAWS.

A disappointed applicant for federal
office. who is editing in this city Ger
man newspaper. alleged to be Demo-
cratic, who migrated TO California after
failing to receive his appointment, and
who returned recently with the avOwed
intention of smashing Mr.. Hall and
Mir. Bald win"and SINE other gentlemen.
has discovered, or affects to have dis
covered, that Hon. o. NJ. Hall, who is on
the committee on patents in the house.
is the servant of the patent .nOnopolies.
For this and for the reason that he did
not receive the appointment for collect
or OF internal revenue. this diSgruntled
editor urges his German readers to vote
against Mr.. Hall and for his opponent.
who. he discovers. has some remote
GerTan connection.
The Germans of the Third congress
sional district will not permit them
selves to be used as the implement of
this disappointed chronic Officeseeker
to vent his spite on Mr. Hall, whose
sole offense was that he preferred his
former colleague, Capt. Harries. The
allegation that Mr.. Hall has any sym
pathy whatever with patent mOnOp0-
lists, or that he would lend himself to
any legislation which would increase
the unjust powers row given them in
the patent laws, Is too apparently false
and absurd to require even a denial.
Mr.. Halls efforts upon that committee
nave been entirely in the line of remov-
ing the opportunities that our patent
law now AFFORDS of depressing and rob-
blng innocent men.
1t has been fayorite device of patent
sharks to allow implements using their
DEVICES to come into general use, and
then, when they had been purchased by
people ignorant of the fact that patent
covered them, they have bounced down
upon the innocent users and eXtOrted
from them by threats of prosecution
such sums for infringement as the fears
and means OF the purchasers might per-
init. The drive we'll cases were promi-
nent illus tratiOns of this operation OF
the patent sharps. Thousands of farm
erS all over the West, who had used the
avIce to obtain water for their house
holds ami stock, were confronted with
the fact that the point driven in the
ground was covered by patent; that
the law made them equally participant
OrS with the manufacturers in infring-
ing the patent. and liable to the pat
entee for da images, and they were Of
fered the alternative either of paying
what he patentee or his attorneys de-
manded, or of being sued for infringe
ment in the federal courts.
This is but one illustration of many
of the injustice Uf the law which makes
the innocent purchaser as liable as the
Infringing manufacturer, and Mr.. Hall
has addressed himself, as a member of
the committee, to the removal OF this
source of wrong. vexatiou and annoy.
ance. House Report 6597 is a bill in
troduced by him, which, among other
things, provides that suit for damage
for infringement may be brought by
the patentee or his assignee, but that
''the provision of this section shall not
apply to any action brought again st the
innocent purchaser of patented article
who shall have purchased the same in
good faith from a regular dealer in the
open market for his own use or who
shall innocently use the same for ayri-
cultural or domestic purposes" This
bill will undoubtedly pass at the coming
short session. and thus the people of
this country will be relieved from what
has been the source of serious annoy
ance and loss. This is sufficient an
swer in itself to the absurd and I'M
founded charge of this disappointed
seeker after place,