The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-08
BATTLES IN THE COURTS
BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY WILL
MAKE WORK FOR LAWYERS.
Threatens to Bring Suits Against the
Quarter of a Million Users of
Independent Telephones.

| NEW YORK, June 7.-Whether a citizen
of the United States may maintain, operate
| or use any telephone without first having
made arrangements with the American Bell
| Telephone Company is the new phase of an
| old question that the telephone monopoly
! is about to bring before the courts a quar-
! ter of million users of independent tele-
| phones are concerned in its solution.
| possible defendants in as many lawsuits.
| The tiercest of all the telephone wars Will
| be precpitated by these suits. They will be
| brought against subscribers, and not
against the Independent companies operat-
| ing in opposition to the American Bell
| Company. That such suits have been con-
templated is known TO many of the inde-
| pendent companies. and since they threaten
| the existence of every one of them an
| traordinary defensive movement has been
| begun. Conventions are being held, funds
| subscribed and plans laid to defeat the
monopoly wherever these suits are brought
before the courts.
The fling OF papers in these suits is de-
ferred on account of the two suits for in
| fringement of the Berliner patents now
pending against the National Telephone
| Company and the Century Telephone Com
pany, both of Boston. E. p. Fish, counsel
| for the American Bell Telephone Company,
| said Saturday that these suits would be
pressed, so that a decision might be had
at the earliest possible date
| The independent companies. however, ex-
| pect that the proposed suits against indi-
vidual subscribers who use other than the
| Bell telephones will be commenced soon
| without regard TO any other litigation over
! the Berliner patents. Neither Mr. Fish
! nor any officer of the American Bell Com
pany will talk about the proposed litiga-
! ton more than to say that since the SUI
! preme Court has upheld the Berliner pat
| ents the American Bell Company will pros
! ecute all infringements of them.
In the meantime independent telephone
| companies are laying out a plan for the
defeat of the Bell company in the courts,
| and will protect their subscribers in every
| suit brought. At a convention of the indie
| pendent telephone companies of the United
! States held at Chicago May Y, an eXecu-
! tive committee drawn from oIlcers OF the
| independent exchanges at chicago, he!ths-
| burg and Cairo, Ill.,; East Saginaw ana
! Ishpeming, Mich. Oskaloosa and Boone,
| Ia: La crosse and Madison, Wis; Mary
| vile, Cameron and st. Louis, Mo-; Ashland
! greensboro and Louisville, Ky; hunting
ton and an Charleston, " Va: L Sd Manfs
! minister, Md; Elizabeth, n. j.: Cobeskill.
| n. ", and about twenty-five other towns
! national association. The announced pur-
| pose of the national association is to pro-
tect the subscribers or the lndepeindenit ; TEL
| ephone companies in the impending huga.
| tion Fffty-tive Independent exchanges or
| western Pennsylvania, eastern ONO ana
| West Virginia met at Pittsburg June 3 TO
| consider plans made necessary by the Ber-
| liner litigation. They voted to engage law
| yers and discharge all expenses of the COM
Another convention was held on the same
! date at Fort Wayne by the lndepenoeane
| Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ar
! kansas. Iowa Minnesota, South Carolila'
| Wisconsin and Texas. Judge Robert ,.
| Taylor, of counsel for the government in
| the Berliner litigation, addressed TINS meet
| ing, and 1t is said that he will be one or
| the lawyers engaged 10 defend the lnue-
| pendent subscribers in the coming fight. At
| all of these conventions action was taken
| which is construed to foreshadoW the m
| corporation of a general telephone COM
pany to compete with the American Bell
| Company. The most important OF the de-
velopments in the anti-Be movements IS
in Boston, where the headquarters OF the
new company is likely to be. Acting for
large number of the independent exchanges
| Messrs Whitman d Couch issued on May
| 25 a circular letter calling for a meeting
! to be held soon in Boston to organize
against the Bell monopoly, Concerning THIS
| call MIR. Whitman SAID: The Boston meet
! ing is expected to outline plans for pro-
| lection against the Bell Company if 1t pro-
| pie, and to provide long-distance connection
| between the independent exchanges. Inc
| combination, will include both the ex-
| terested in them II II should turn out
that the American Bell Telephone Company
| does not sue as expected, the new cOmbl-
| nation in my opinion, is likely to force the
| fight on it's own account. The great fight
! will be over the Beriner patent.
Regarding the proposed suits OF the Amer
| lean Bell Telephone Company against IN
dependent telephone subscribers the Elec-
! trical Engineer, issued yesterday, quotes an
| official of the local Bell Company at Pitts
! burg as saying: Our company has lost
heavily by competition with these concerns
| infringing on patents for which We have
| been paying a royalty
suits will be entered against every one
! infringing the patents, but the plan Will DO
! extended to take in also the users of in
| fringing Instruments Time enough has not
! vet elapsed since the Berliner decision to
| prepare a concert Of action, but it has been
decided to make a general movement
| against the makers, lessees and users of
! good law. The subscriber is directly
! sponSibe for aiding and abetting the in
fringement, and should be held legally re-
The threat of the independent companies
! to bring countersuits against the American
! Bell Telephone Company to refix the status
of the Berliner patents is founded, it is
| said on the late decision of the United
States Supreme Court in the Bates re-
| frigerating case. This decision upheld the
! provision of Section 1887 Of the Revised
| Statutes, that every patent granted for
| inventor, which has been previously
| patented in a foreign country, shall be SO
limited as to expire, at the same time with
| the foreign patent. 1t is claimed that the
| principal English Berlner patent expired
| Jan. s, 1894. This patent covers "a method
! of producing in a circuit electrical undua-
| lions similar in form to sound waves by
| causing the sound waves TO vary the pres
| sure between electrodes in constant contact
| and diminish the resistance of the circuit"
| Under the Bates refrigerating decision the
| patent expired In this country Jan. s. 1884
| If the new telephone combination can es-
| tabish this contention in regard to claims
| Nos l, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10. il and IL of the Berliner
| patent, the Bell monopoly will be vitlated
| at one blow.