The Press., 1897-08-12
Washington Letter.
Washington, Aug. 9, 1897.

was brought on one of last weeks steam CTS, or because of Secretary Sherman having officially notified Japan that the United States would not guarantee the carrying out of the arbitration between Japan and Hawaii.
 Some of the facts brought out in tho hearings now going on before the patent office, in which John Wedderburn X Co.,, are being allowed an opportunity to show cause why they should not be disbarred from practice before that office for fraudu- lent practices, should greatly interest the inventors of the country. For instance, patent office officials have testified that of the more than 3,700 applications for pat ents filed within two years in that office by Wedderb burn & Co.,, more than 1900 have been absolutely unpatentable, for lack of novelty and the patentable points, | in large number of the remainder have been of such an insignificant nature as not to justify the inventor in paying the cost of obtaining a patent; and that the firm has solicited and in many cases so- cured additional fees for applying for foreign patents for these unpatentable devices, as we'll as sought and obtained money for advertising the same for sale, either knowingly or through ignorance of what any efficient patent attorney should have known.
 If MT. Preston, director of the U. s. mint, is trustworthy prophet the decline in the price of silver is likely to continue until about onefourth of the present price has been chopped off, Speaking of the matter, Mir Preston said: "I see no future for silver whatever. 56 cents an ounce is the current quotation. It is my honest opinion that within six months silver will fall to 40 cents an ounce. There is no demand for 1t anywhere China is not buying any, Japan is out of the business, and there seems to beno demand for it in any country to any extent, even to use as subsidiary coinage" Other men of pro- minence who have studied the silver question long and earnestly declined to put themselves on record as positively as Mfr. Preston does, but nearly every one questioned whose opinion is entitled to weight expressed grave doubts about the future of silver.
 The interior department Is now wrest- ling with new problem, which, while it does not involve any great important question is more or less interesting, be- cause in it are tangled up the official fortunes of two inviduals who have been nominated, and confirmed by the senate, for the same office, and who are both on their way, by different routes, to the scene of their future official labors; but the official labor of one of them will be short lived, as his resignation will be demanded
 as soon as the official papers can catch uE
 with him. The story is not so compli
 cated as might be supposed. As soon as the Sunday civil appropriation bill which authorized the appointment of additional U. $. commissioners for Alaska, became la law, Senator Wilson of Washington
 succeeded in getting W. J. Jones, of his state, nominated for commissioner at St
 Michael, and his nomination was prompt ly confirmed. Then MT. Jones wrote tc Senator Wilson saying that he didn't want the place and would resign and the sen ator notified the secretary of the interior In order to save time MT. l.. B. Shepard
 was nominated and confirmed, and start. ed for St. Michael, the Klondike gold ex citement having added much importance to the position. When the interior de
 partment heard from MT. Jones, instead
 of getting his resignation, 1t got his bond properly approved, and the notification that he had taken the oath of office ant started for St. Michael. Both men can not hold the same office, and the depart ment has decided that MT. Jones has go to live up to his letter to Senator Wilson . and resign and it is supposed that he vii do so as soon as he gets the communica
 tion sent him, but suppose he shouldn't : There might be no end of trouble in Al : aska before he could be removed.
 . Hon. Benj. Butterworth, commissions of patents, has issued an order requiring all patent attorneys to beregistered in thu U. s. patent office, and stating the require 5 ments for registration. It is considered 3 to be one of the most important order
 ever issued by a commissioner of patents
 and to be long step towards the reform ation of some of the abuses of paten l practice. .--..-