Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-24
Hearing Today on the Perplexing
Patent Office Gazette.
THE LAW VARIOUSLY CONSTRUED
Likely to Go to the Attorney
General.
PROCESSES TALKED OVER

At the request of Friedwald & Company
of Baltimore, who made a bid for printing
the Patent Office Gazette, Judge Hall, the
assistant attorney general for the Interior
Department, gave hearing today, lasting
from IL o'clock until 2 pm, upon the
question whether, under the law, the conf
missioner of patents had the right to ad-
vertise for bids for printing the Gazette
All the bidders interested, including Hart
man & Cadick of Washington. Andrew B..
Graham of Washington, Rufus H. Darby
the Capital Press Company, were present
or represented. The Norris Peters Com
pany was represented by Judge jeremiah
NJ. Wilson, Friedwald & Company by Roger
w. Gull of Baltimore and the Capital Press
Company by Marshall Cushing. Mr.. Z. W.
Oyster, representing the government print
ing office, made Il careful and able state
ment, telling the history of the legislation
involved, the intention of Congress-, and
claiming that the commissioner of patents
had no authority under the law to put tie
work out at contract. Judge Wilson asked
leave to file a brief giving his views of the
law and the authority. of the commissioner.
Against the Present System.
Mr.. Gull. although arriving late in the
hearing, made most effective presenta-
ton of the case. constituting the law most
skillfully to the effect that it was the in
tention of Congress to consider the Ga
zette rs complete thing, and to have it
printed by contract under the direction of
the commissioner of patents by any rro-
cess OF photo-engraving which required
plates. He made the point that although
the law requires that the commi SSioner
shall act as the joint committee on print
Ing may prescribe, there was at this time
no joint committee on printing, and that
Senator German. in his two letters to the
commissioner. where he signed himself as
chairman of the joint committee on print
ing. was rot acting within his authority.
Mr.. Gull urged that he could not act even
as the Senate committee on printing, being
only a minority, and, furthermore, admit
ting that he had authority to act, no
action had really been taken by him,
as the second letter which was brought out
from the government printing office. was
an inquiry rather than an official direc-
tion.
The Saving Proposed.
1t was held that to let the work by con-
tract would save the government in the
neighborhood Of $4,000. ami that the lowest
bid for doing the work as it is now done
was s10sO00, whereas the appropriation is
only $4,000 All the technical questions
connected with the printing were gone
through with carefully and in detail. 1t
was admitted by Mr.. Oyster and all the
bidders, except the oto-lithographers.
that the present method of printing the
Gazette Is antiquated, cumbersome ard un-
necessarily expensive. Mr.. Oyster said he
had long ago recommended officially that
the work should be done by the government
printing office with the Illustrations pro-
duced by photo-engraving and the letter
press printed from type precisely the
commissioner of patents now proposed to
do by letting the work out to contrac tors.
He maintained, however, that the law must
be construed in the present juncture so as
to keep the work at the government print
ing office Notwithstanding the needless cost
Upon this point there was difference of
opinion, as the law is manifestly in very
bungled and confused condition, which
leaves it open to various constructions.
To Go to the Attorney General.
1t is likely that the whole matter will ul-
timately be referred to the Attorney Gen
eral for hts decision. Another hearing will
be given by Assistant Attorney General
Hall after the return of Secretary Smith
next Tuesday. Should the decision ulti-
mately sustain the commissioner of pat
ents, and he be permitted to have the work
done by contract, by use of the photo-en-
craving process of making cuts, the con-
tract would go to the Capital Press Com
pany. If, however. the decision should be
that it must be done by the photo-litho-
graphing process, and the type-set dunn
mies'' be made hereafter as now, at the
government printing Office the contract
for photo-lithographing would be given to
Andrew B. Graham.