The morning times., 1896-04-27

The Senate of the United States, and
Mr. Quay especially, have narrowly es-
capped Il bitter controversy with the Com
missioner of Patents.
Ii has grown TO be an almost inyariable
custom tEat requests made by either branch
of Congress upon any of the executive
departments for Information or documents
meets with prompt response, aud Ehence
any variation from this rule creates sotne
thing like a sensation.
On March 16 iasJ Air. Quay introduced
in the Senate resolution, which was
adopted, as follows:
THAT the Secretary OF the Interior be,
and he hereby is, directed to transmit to
the Senate the report submitted TO the
Commissioners OF Patents IN the tests
and field work of the American cotton
picker, exhibited at the Cotton states
and International Exposition lately held
| at Atlanta, Ga. a" The resolution was
| mandatory. the customary polite phrase,
''if not Incompatible with the public serv-
icc," being omitted.
MIR. SEYMOUR REFUSED.
The Commissioner OF Patents refused
| to furnish the informal tion. Secretary
| Smith was absent. enga ged in joint debate
! on the financial question with eX-Speaker
ID.
| make an excuse of that fact for nearly
two weeks. Then convenient spei Of
sickness afforded him still further op-
portunity for delay
In the meantime number OF Senators
called upon Mr.. Seymour and tried To con-
vince him that he should comply with the
request, and Mr. Quay. growing weary of
the seeming contempt with which the
commissioner regarded his resolution, was
the Senate AMI begin Il bitter fightlooliing
toward uphoIding the authority of Con-
gIesS over the governmental departIr entS.
This controversy was finally avertei by
Mr.. Seymour weakening at the last Il oment
and sending to the Senate the required
information. transiI itting the papers in
the ca Sc late Saturday evening.
Mr.. Quay's proposed action is not with
oIJ good precedent. In the Forty-ninth
Congress the Senate asked the Attorney
General for the papers in the famous Dustin
case, but he refused TO comply. The II after
OF compelling obedience To the authority
of the Senate was Eotly debated in that
body fo- three weeks and it was then shown
that early i'll the 4G's Garret Davis, in a
speech made in the House, upheld the right
OF either branch Of Congress u demand such
information.
NOT MATTER OF RECORD.
Commissioner Seymour based his re-
fusal- to furnish the report requested by
Mr.. Quay on the ground that report made
by one subordinate official To another did
not constitute a matter OF record.
This refusal brings out the remarkable
fact that for the first time in the history
OF the Patent Office an empIoye OF thai t
bureau was directed to follow the work
inGS OF patent after il had left the office.
1t is a matter of record that up TO this
time there haYc been 245 patents issued
for cotton pickers, all OF them having in
! actual operation proven failures, and the
officials had arrived at the conviction and
openly declared their opinions to the effect
that a successful cotton picker was an i'm
possibility. Hence when this latest patent
! was put on exhibition at Atlanta some of
the Patent office people were anxious to
learn OF its operations in the field.
Ii became known that an official report
had been made, but when CommisS ioner
Seymour was asked to make it public he
refused to do so. 1t was then as a last
resort that Senator Quay introduced his
resolution, which Mr.. Seymour sought 10
disregard.
AS an excuse for not forwarding the re-
port to the Senate Mr.. Seymour, in Ills
| letter OF transmittal to the Secretary OF
| the Interior says:
HIS EXPLANATION
An assistant examiner in the Patent
! Office, in personal note to a representa-
! tive OF the Patent Office, then in charge
/ of the exhibit of this office al tie Atlanta
/ Exposition, asked him TO examine that ma
1 chine. The request was made as between
/ friends. Informally and unofficially my
4 attention was called To the views thus eX
! pressed by the representative of this of
| flee after his return from Atlanta ! de
! Clined to furnish il because such alleged re
! port could not be adopted as an official re
| port unless il had teen ordered by the Com
! missioner of Patents. Still, tie report can
! not be considered personal. so / forward it
/ but with the conclusion hat itiSRot official. y
The report of the gentleman in charge o
! the Patent office exhibit shows that the
| machine is a successful and practical
cotton picker.
Southern Senators say that If the new in
vention proves TO be at all what the Patent
/ Office claims for il the result viii be q com
/ plete revolutiUniZing of labor in the South
/ THIS is the reason they were so much inter
| ested in tie matter and so ready to stand by
| Senator Quay ia his expected fight will
! the Commissioner of Patents.