Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-29
MAY Be CANCELLED
Probable Action Regarding the
Heany Patent.
CAUSE OF RECENT SCANDAL
No Indication That Others in Patent
Office Are Implicated.
INQUIRY ABOUT COMPLETED
Additional Indictments Against
Barton, Heany and Everding
Probable.
INQUIRY ABOUT COMPLETED

The patent Office scandal. brought to
light by the indictment of Assistant Pat
ent Examiner Ned w. Barton. Henry f.
Everding and John A. Heavy, will not. 1t
is stated. involve any other official or
clerk of that office. The investigation is
understood to have been complete and
TO indication has appeared that any other
person in the department is in anywise
implicated in the alleged destruction of
public records.
The Attorney General will probably be
asked by Secretary Garfield to institute
in the name of the United States an ap-
plication to cancel the patent issued to
Heany. The inquiry by the department
as to the place where such a suit will be
instituted may have given rise to the
rumor that officials of the Department of
Justice had been sent to two large eastern
cities to run down clues obtained at the
patent Office. The local district attorney s
office is not advised as to the intention OF
Attorney General Bonaparte in the matter
of seeking canoe citation of the patent is
sued to Heany. Such proceeding might
be instituted in the District Supreme
Court. it is said. or application might be
made in the United States district court
in the district of Pennsylvania. in which
is situated York. the home of the pat
entee, Heany.
Statement by Assistant Attorney
Assistant United States Attorney Adj
kins, who is in charge of the investigation
before the grand jury into the patent Office
scandal, when asked to the likelihood
of other officials in that department being
affected by the Barton alleged irragulari-
ties said: 81 have not seen any evidence
| yx-bi in he oh
any other official of the patent office or
the Interior Department IL connection
with this case.
1.-The grand jury has practically COM
pleted its investigation, although other in
dictments may be returned growing out
of the evidence which they have already
heard. A few additional witnesses may
be heard by the grand jury early next
week"
1t is rumored that among the witnesses
examined by the grand jury this week
was a paper expert who testified that
some of the paper in the specifications
connected with the Heany applicat ion for
date which the specifications purpOrt to
bear. This was taken to Substantiate the
departments theory that certain pages of
the specifications had been destroyed and
others containing portions of subsequent
inventors applications substituted.
John a. Heany. the inventor, who was
arrested Wednesday with Henry E. Ever
ding. a lawyer. and Ned w. Burton, a
patent office examiner, indicted on a
charge of conspiracy to destroy govern
ment records. is widely known in Phia-
delphia as an eccentric although bril-
liant inventor. according to a statement
in the Philadelphia Ledger.
He is graduate of the Central High
Schoci of that city and for year was a
laboratory assistant in the department
of mathematics. He was awarded the E!.
lott Cresson medal by the Franklin In
sttute in 1907 for Il fireproof insulating
! for electric wires. and at the last eX-
hibition and entertainment of the Frank
lin Institute when that institution gather
ed it's friends to stir them to help il in
its plans For a new home on the park
way he had on exhibition several Of the
Heany-Tungsten lamps, in connection
with the patent for which, it is said he
IS now charged with conspiracy. Heany
also secured the Scott award from the
Franklin ] stitute in 1907 for his arc
lamp.
A new arc light patented by him Is pc
ing used extensively in PHILADELPHIA An
officer of the General Electric Company
in Philadelphia. is quoted as having said
that while they have suspected for months
that Eeany was tampering with the roc
ords in Washington, their own experts
have examined the insulating which is be-
ing manufactured by Heany's company ir
York, and have reported it to be an ex-
ceedingly good thing. Its virtue is said
to lie in the fact that it is fireproof
Company's Position.