Evening star., 1897-05-15
8 8
u d u u u u 3 q

reau chief. 1t indicates the gravftatfon to.
ward despotic rule. Lochran cut off thous-
ards OF pensioners without a hearing Inv
his arbitrary action Bowler's decision ,n
tne treasury department a year ago ex-
cited oerision, but IL kept money for a time
from men who were entitled 10 it. Sey-
rnours rule has forever deprived MANY a
poor inventor of shis rights
inc rule OF Commissioner Seymour in
this case Is paralleled by another of his
rules. Undoubtedly sharp inventors ana
investors took advantage of the two wears
allowed by the statute OF 1861 to keep
,be tbe'r - appnca1iens app for patents pending In
the patent office. with view of lengthen-
ing tneir monopoly. But cases Of this sort
were rev. In the second year of Mr. Sew
mours administration a circuit court Judge
uecided that certain telephone patent
was void for this reason. No patent had
ever been held bad In the United States
on this ground before. The Circuit Court
OF Appeals overruled the decision ana hold
the patent valid. The case is now pending
before the Supreme Court of the United
states Commissioner Seymour inspired by
the decision of the circuit judge. made a
rule that where cases had been pending in
the patent office more than five wears with
the record raising a presumption of in
tentioaa. delays. the examiner might re-
qcire the applicant TO show cause why
the case was not more rapidly prosecuted
and reject the case IL the applicant did not
make satisfactory showing; this whether
tne applicant appeared or not. 1t is not
SiSo6H mas always acted within the
Time required by Mr.. Seymour's own rules
The examiner may think that the case
should have been more rapidly prosecuted
An Arbitrary Judge.
This rule practically makes the examiner
an arbitrary judge, with power to forfeit
the applicants inventive property. without
process. without a jury, without a trial.
and even without hearing. The same ex-
aminer who institutes the forfeiture pro-
ceedings acts as Judge to decide the case
More than this. all the delays in the case
may possibly have been due more to the
unjust or incorrect rulings of the examiner
himself than to any fault upon the part of
the applicant. Often inventors treat the
aminer as their enemy. This feeling on
the part of the inventor sometimes excites
unfriendhness on the part of the exam
liner.
A further illustration of the power of a
bureau chief: The commissioner OF patents
is given power to make rules for the gov-
ernment of the Office. Within the century
a code has grown up which at the
vision in 1892 numbered 229 rules. Many
of these rules are as old as the Office it
self. Ali were well known to the examiners
and to all competent patent attorneys. The
meaning of many clause has been set
tied only by the adjudicating of a series of
cases over a long period. To know them
thoroughly was the labor of years. To
disturb them was to disturb property
rights and to let in a flood of litigation.
But with one stroke of his pen Mr.. Sey-
.nour substituted IS rules of his own draft
ing for the ,o9 which had grown UP dur
ing a hundred years. FMS gas-done against
the protest of the most prominent ratent
attorneys in Washington, including several
ex-commissioners of patents.
Seymour's action is a striking illustra-
ton of the power of a bureau chief. If
the examples set by Lochran, Bowler, Sey-
mour and others were to be followed by
bureau chiefs generally, Congress might as
well retire from business. and leave the
field of legislation to the minor officers
charged with carrying out the laws.
AMOS j. CUMMINGS.