The evening times., 1897-08-31
JOHN WEDDERBURA's SIDE
His Counsel Presents His Case
Before the Commissioner.
MISTAKES NOT MISCONDUCT
Drawn as To the Re-
spOnsihility on "a Patent Attorney
Respecting the Errors of His EIn-
pIoyes Some Significant Qae 4 ioI;s
Asked by Mr.. Bufterworth.

The wedderburn case was reepened at
10 O'Clock this morning. The presecu-
tion having closed its argument yesterday
afternoon, Attorney Ford, of counsel for
defense, made the opening argument today.
one of the noticeable features of the
oase, he said, was the thoroughness WITH
which every scrap of evidence against
John wedderbmn had been Collected
He told of how certain patent attorneys
had sen. out circulars asking for evidence
against the accused. BE referred sar-
cas.icaIly 6o Attorney Small, who styled
himself counsel for the reputable patent
LAWYERS" One patent attorney, who
advertised ina about 5000 or the smaller
papers OF the United States. and paid for
tins advertising by a weekly Washington
letter had also requested that evidence
against Wedderburn should be sent In.
The patent lawyers OF Washington, he
said. had banded themselves together for
the express purpose OF driving John Wed
derburn out OF the business
No other firm had its business subjected
TO such o searching investigation a. that
of wedier'mrn & Co. II was natural, he
said, that some mistakes should have been
discovered.
ThcPatant Commissioner should no trender
a decision on what was privately known
60 him, but simply on the testimony pre-
Eentcdin siueform. He maintained that the
Commissioner could not disbar patent
agent, except for gross misconduct, and he
Further maintained that one of the essen
fials to gross misconduct was willfuinesS,
and that negligence in no way should be
taken as gross misconduct. The Commits
sioner could not disbar for carelessneSs or
negligence, hut the misconduct must be
wnlful This had not been proved by the
evidence The misconduct must also DE
fraudulent and corrupt.
When ttorney Ford was reasoning along
these lines, Commissioner Butterworth said:
You need not discuss that, as l am aware
that is the law
The mistakes were made not 10y John
wedherhuru, hut by his employees. Counsel
knew. he said. that in civil cases the eIE-
ployer was responsible for the acts OF his
empioyc. but this was not a civil case, but
a quasi-criminai proceeding.
Commissioner Butter worth here said:
Suppose l ESTABLISH surgical institute
surgeons and unbounded facilities have
then a night TO employ butchers"
Attorney Ford replied to Attorney Doc
little, who yesterday said that WeSlderburn
was ignorant and incompetent, by the
statement that not one bit of evidence had
been introduced To- show his Incompetence
'.But." said Mr.. Ford, admitting that
he was ignorant of the law, you, as Core
missioner OF Patents, have no right To
diSbar him. You ma Y not like his methods
bat YOU havea right to 1isbar him only when
wHlful fraud has been proved"
In the matter OF prize giving, Attorney
Ford said that prizes were the order OF
the day Magazines and newspapers gave
them and many other business enterprises.
patent itself was in the nature of a
prize. Tie defended the advertisement OF
John Wedderburn. and said that some OF
the arguments against these advertise
uIents Were absurd and seemed hased on
the assumption that everything John
wedderburn did was wrong. In dealing
with the eighteen hundred dollar prize
Offer Of John wedderburn, Attorney Ford
conr.-ntied that il did not convey the im-
prpssion that there was a single 81 500
prize, bat that il a person should get this
impression IT would he banished by the
ramphlet which was sent 10 persons who
wrote for this prize offer' This pam
phle, shos-ed that 81 500 was TO be given
away prizes al the rate OF 81 so month
for one year.