Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-25
PATENT FRAUD TRIAL
Charges Against Heany, Ever
dino and Barton Combined.
OPPOSITION By DEFENSE
Object to Motion as Calculated to
Prejudice Jury.
NO CRIMINALITY IS ALLEGED
Attorneys for Inventor and Associ-
ates Declare Rival Manufacture
ers Are Prosecuting Them.
OPPOSITION By DEFENSE
NO CRIMINAL1TY IS ALLEGED

John 4. Heany. an inventor of York,
Pa: Henry E. Everding. patent solicit
tor of Philadelphia. and Ned W. Barton
former assistant examiner Of the patent
office. were placed on trial today in Grim
inal Court No. /, before Justice Gould
The three men are to answer four in
dictments, charging conspiracy to de-
fraud the United States. forgery and the
destruction of public records. in con-
nection with two applications for pat
ents for incandescent electric globes and
for tungsten" filaments
The case is known as the patent Office
fraud and created quite a sensation last
spring. when the indictments were re-
turned.
Justice Gould granted the motion of
the government to consolidate the in
dictmentS for trial
The defendants opposed the motion on
the plea that it would prejudice
understood that four indictments were
pending against them They claimed
that they would not have the same fair
trial as if they were tried on one indict-
ment and the jury remained in igno-
rance OF other pending charges.
Adjournment Till Friday.
Question having arisen as to the num-
Der of peremptOry challenges to be al
lowed the defendants an adjournment was
taken until Friday morning, when the
examination of jurors will be commenced.
The prosecution grows out of an al
legged attempt by Barton to bolster up
claims for patents filed by Heany in
December. 1904. and January, 1905
through Everding as his solicitor
1t is alleged by the government that
Heany. who was assistant examiner of
the division of the Patent Office through
which passed all applications for patents
for electrical appliances, selected the de-
sirable features contained In the specifi-
cations Of subsequent applicants and in
application. by substituting for portions
of the public record in the Heany case
the desired added features,
BY this means, it is charged. a patent
was Issued to Heany for a tungsten
filament. which was to take the place Of
the carbon flament now used in electric
incandescent globes.
Tungsten is a metal. BY it's use. with
less expense Of current or power. will be
given better light than is secured from
carbon f1lament 1t has been recog-
nized for several years by electrical eX-
perts that the electric lamp of the future
must have q metal f1lament. Experiments
along this line have been pushed with
Vigor.
II is claimed that by the alleged con-
spiracy and substitution OF the records
Heany has been placed in a position
where he may apply for numerous pat
ents covering the discoveries of value
said to have been made by other inventors
in connection with tungsten" tilaments.
These patents. if secured. will revolution
ize the electric lighting industry of this
country and the world.
Persecution, Is Defense.
Counsel for the defendants declare that
the indictments are. in fact. persecu-
ton OF Heany by other electrical invent
ors and manufacturers, and claim that an
attempt Is being made to make use of the
criminal courts to settle the question of
the invention OF tungsten a matter
which they declare should be left to the
civil tribunals.
The government is represented by Unit
ed States Attorney Baker. Jesse c. Adj
kins. special assistant to the Attorney
General. and Frank c. Skinner, principal
examiner of the patent Office. Attorneys
Douglas, Baker & Sheriff.. a. f. l..
Leckie and Cuttings & Chamberlin of the
local bar and Henry w. Hayden of New
York. appeared for the defendants.