"SEC. 3. That if such demonstration shall, in the opinion of the said scientists, prove the practicability of said discovery or invention, and that it can substantially effect the purpose set out in section 1 of this resolution, and that any invention or discovery similar to the claim of Garabed T. K. Giragossian will not have come into actual and general public use and demonstrated in a substantial manner to be feasible and practical prior to the demonstration of the 'Garabed,' as it is prescribed and authorized in the resolution, and provided also that the Garabed' is not electricity, the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian shall be recognized by the United States Government as the original discoverer, inventor, and legal owner of the invention or discovery and of any improvements pertaining thereto that may be made by the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian. The certificate of said commission of scientists to the effect that said doscovery or invention is practicable, as aforesaid, shall constitute the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian the legal owner of and entitle him to all the rights and benefits of said discovery or invention for a period of seventeen years. The right is reserved to the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian, his heirs and assigns, to take out patents for his aforesaid discovery, invention, or for any improvement or device pertaining thereto."

The resolution which it is proposed to amend is as follows:

[H. J. Res. 174, Sixty-fifth Congress]

JOINT RESOLUTION For the purpose of promoting efficiency, for the utilization of the resources and industries of the United States, for lessening the expenses of the war, and restoring the loss caused by the war by providing for the employment of a discovery or invention called the "Garabed," claiming to make possible the utilization of free energy Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of Interior is hereby authorized to accept, as trustee for the United States Government, from Garabed T. K. Giragossian an assignment of the right to utilize for the Government's own use his discovery or invention to be known as the "Garabed." Said assignment to and utilization of said discovery or invention by the United States Government shall be free of charge or expense.

SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to perform any and all acts, and to make such rules and regulations, and enter into such contracts as may be necessary to carry this resolution into effect: Provided, however, That the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian shall demonstrate the practicability of his discovery or invention, and that it can substantially effect the purposes set out in section one of this resolution, to a commission of five eminent scientists who shall be appointed by the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian and be approved by the Secretary of the Interior. The United States Government shall be under no expense in connection with the demonstration of the "Garabed." SEC. 3. That if such demonstration shall in the opinion of the said scientists prove the practicability of said discovery or invention, and that it can substantially effect the purposes set out in section one of this resolution, and that he is the first and original discoverer or inventor thereof, the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian shall be recognized by the United States Government as the original discoverer, inventor, and legal owner of the invention or discovery and of any improvements pertaining thereto that may be made by the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian. The certificate of said commission of scientists, to the effect that said discovery or invention is practicable, as aforesaid, and that he is the original discoverer or inventor thereof, shall constitute the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian the legal owner of and entitle him to all the rights and benefits of said discovery or invention for a period of 17 years. The right is reserved to the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian, his heirs and assignes, to take out patents for his aforesaid discovery, invention, or for any improvement device pertaining thereto.

SEC. 4. That the United States Government shall not issue to anyone else any patent involving or relating to the distinctive principle of the "Garabed " free energy generator regardless of its form or shape, or for any device, improvement, process, equipment, or apparatus based upon the distinctive principle of the said discovery or invention, or for any improvement or change developed in the use of the said "Garabed," and shall prevent the construction, importation, use, or exploitation thereof, in whole or in part, in the United States, and shall protect the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian, his heirs and assigns, in the rights and interests in the "Garabed" in the above respect for a period of 17 years in the United States and in foreign countries where such

protection is afforded by treaty obligation, international law, or diplomatic representation.

SEC. 5. That any essential improvement or contrivance by any person or persons other than Garabed T. K. Giragossian relating to the "Garabed," or its principle, which shall prove valuable and essential thereto in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior during the period of the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian's special protection shall be brought by the United States Government for its own use in conjunction with its use of the said "Garabed," with adequate compensation to the inventor or contriver thereof. If, however, the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian wishes to utilize any such invention or contrivance so acquired by the United States Government, he or his assigns, and no other person or corporation, shall be entitled thereto upon the payment of a fair, just, and reasonable royalty therefor. In consideration of this right the United States Government shall have, without expense, the right to use for its own purpose any new improvement or device made by the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian.

SEC. 6. That after the successful demonstration of the "Garabed," if the United States Government wishes to purchase the right and title for the exclusive use and ownership of said discovery or invention, the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian will comply with the request of the United States Government: Provided, That he shall be remunerated to the extent commensurate with the value of his discovery or invention, which shall be appraised by a committee of even number, one-half of the membership of which shall be selected by the Secretary of the Interior and one-half selected by the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian, and the finding of said committee shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior and of the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian. If the United States Congress in session at the time of the demonstration, or at the latest during the following session, does not decide to avail itself of this privilege, the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian's legal rights and powers shall continue unimpaired as prescribed and set forth in this resolution.

SEC. 7. That any sale, or attempted sale, by the said Garabed T. K. Giragossian, or by his representatives or assigns, of any interest in or any title to said discovery or invention, or any part thereof, prior to the approval of the same by said commission of scientists, shall be illegal, invalid, and void.

SEC. 8. That the United States Government will have the right to exercise the aforesaid right to utilize said discovery or invention for its own use simultaneously with the beginning of the public and general use of the said "Garabed system.

Approved, February 8, 1918.

STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT CROSSER, A REPRESETATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF OHIO

Mr. CROSSER. Mr. Chairman, in the Sixty-fifth Congress, I think it was, I was a member of the committee and I think it was at the request of Congressman Church, of California, gave some time to listening to a statement from him and from Mr. Giragossian. Mr. Church was very much impressed with Mr. Giragossian's sincerity and intelligence, and wanted to know if I would not look into the matter, which I did. My natural inquiry of Mr. Giragossian, after I had gone into the matter, was why he did not make application to the Patent Office for such protection as he thought necessary. His answer was that it was conceded that he had any such proposition as he claimed, manifestly, he was entitled to the utmost protection that the Government could give him, and that every effort would be made to dispute his rights to any emoluments or benefits that might come from it, considering its magnitude, he felt that the very application to the Patent Office would not be such protection as would warrant him in making his disclosure. I finally found out what his viewpoint was, and I had some sympathy with him, because if we will read history, especially the history of science, we will find that

there is really practically nothing that is new or original, and if you want to get into a battle with the scientists, they will prove to you that you have not discovered or invented anything, in the last analysis.

So that, in view of the fact that, as he says, it is a simple opportunity when finally presented, and would probably be open to all of the objections that have been made to things of a sweeping character like that in the past, I finally consented to give such support to the proposition as I could intelligently give it.

We have the matter previously reported from the Patent Committee; the House Rules Committee gave us a special ruling, and we had it considered immediately. Of course, I can understand the attitude of those who first come in contact with the proposition. It seems like a rather arbitrary attitude to assume, and though I am a little bit inclined, unless we are somewhat philosophic, to be rather resentful and irritated at the request.

The resolution is not in just the fashion I would have liked to have had it, but like all men who have powers of penetration and concentration Mr. Giragossian had his notions about the language which ought to go into the resolution. I do not think it was sufficient myself. I do not think it was good enough English, if I maybe pardoned for making some reference to it, but having absolute confidence in the sincerity of the man-and I take a great deal of stock in the impression you get from a person's individuality-having thorough confidence in his absolute sincerity and after talking with him on subjects which are a little different, such as the psychology of chemistry, and things I happened to be familiar with, I was convinced that he was not a man of mean heart, and hence I reluctantly yielded to his ideas on the wording of the resolution. He would have been satisfied with it as it left the committee, as I recollect it. I am just a little hazy on that now, but certain gentlemen on the floor, who were not as familiar with it as the members of the committee, insisted that they thought as you gentlemen know that they should put arbitrary language into the resolution, which, of course, when it passed I could not insist on keeping out-I tried to argue on the proposition, but they got the language in, and, of course, he did not have to accept it if he did not want to. He refused to make an absolute disclosure of his device or contrivance, whatever you want to call it, until he could get assurance from the committee that was appointed to sit in judgment on the proposition, that they would certify him to be the original inventor or discoverer, whatever word might appropriately fit the situation. This, they refused to do, naturally, and I would, too, because they said they were not sitting as a commission of historical students, research students, but all they were required to do was to pass upon the practical and scientific manner of what he had, and if they did that they felt that was all that they were required to do.

So that came to an impassé, and that was the termination of all the effort that we had made here in the House and in the Senate. Senator Kenyon and Senator James, of Kentucky, particularly, made a great deal of effort to get it through the Senate, but as I say on our side they insisted on putting some language in, and because of that difficulty it never did get over. When they came back here,

he tells me he has had his resolution reintroduced, and wanted to know if I had changed my attitude on the thing. I said, "Not in the slightest," and that the least thing any intelligent government could do would be to give him an opportunity-and, by the way, I think the British Government at the time this was up, I understand there were certain officials of the British Government who were perfectly willing to accept his terms and give him such protection as he wanted for his disclosure.

I feel this way, that if there is even a possibility of me coming into possession of knowledge that is going to be of incalculable benefit to the human race, any feeling that I might be ridiculed for considering such a thing as possible pales into insignificance. The real man, the fellow who shows real intelligence and courage, in my opinion, is the man who, convinced of the sincerity of the proponents of a proposition, is willing to have the cards all laid on the table and see what it is. As I say, we should have probably gotten through with the resolution that was passed. I think I am a better lawyer than Mr. Giragossian, but he did not have the same confidence, and since he claims to have what is the greatest thing that was ever conceived of, if it is true, I do not much blame him for being very picayunish and particular about the conditions upon which he would make a disclosure.

We have had different men of prominence from Boston where he has lived a great part of his life to communicate with us. Representative Olney, a nephew of Attorney General Olney, came to me about it, and he was very enthusiastic. Representative Paige, of Boston, came to see me.

Yet the possibilities are unusual. It is only by men who have been willing to look at things in final possible results that the world has gone forward. Lord Kelvin, whom I regard as the greatest scientist of his day in Great Britain, said there was absolutely no doubt that sooner or later some man was going to come along and penetrate the problem of mystery and loosen the cosmic forces in such a way that the so-called expenditure of human effort or the consumption of materials of any kind in order to produce energy would be an unnecessary thing. And now, when men like Kelvin, who I think has got the ear of the scientific world as much as any other man in history, says such a thing as that, I think I am warranted in indulging in a pipe dream myself, if you want to call it that.

But we can go on. Here was Langley, the poor old fellow, haunted Congress for a long time for an opportunity to demonstrate his idea. He wanted money; this man wants nothing. We wanted $50,000 to make a demonstration that he had actually discovered something. They turned him down. Then there was the man with the wireless telegraphy, and they said he was crazy. This was about 30 years ago. They said that fellow was crazy. The idea of thinking you can communicate without tangible means-that is, materially tangible. They said, "You are crazy, get away. I don't want to be bothered with you." Yet an Italian came along and gave to the world through his name what our own man had really discovered. I can cite any number of things just like that. It may be this man has nothing. I do not say I know a thing about it. I have

investigated his connections to a very considerable extent. I know that somebody sometime is going to do what he claims to have done. Whether he has done it or not, I do not know, but it certainly is a very little thing to give him the oportunity that he asks to demonstrate on the conditions he names, especially since the Government, if he has what he claims he has, gets it free of charge. If he were asking for $5 I would not speak one word in his behalf, but since he comes here and simply asks for protection in case he has what he says he has, it does not seem like a very reasonable thing, unless we find that the man is insane, which we do not believe, to give him that opportunity.

I do not know that there is anything more I can add. Some of the best men in both the Senate and the House last time gave him their full support. Judge Saunders--I do not know whether you gentlemen remember him or not

Mr. LANHAM. Yes; I was in Congress with him.

Mr. CROSSER. Judge Saunders was one of the fine men of the House. He and I worked together very sincerely, and he wanted to see the man get an opportunity.

Mr. LANHAM. As I understand, Mr. Crosser, this resolution here is merely to amend the existing law and to provide that in case he has something which will work out in practical operation, he should be declared the discoverer or original inventor?

Mr. CROSSER. Yes. I am glad you mentioned that.
Mr. LANHAM. That is the real purpose of this?

Mr. CROSSER. Yes. The resolution is already on the statute books. What he wants is to amend it. Here is the thing that has been worrying him from the beginning. This act as it stood on the books required the commission to find that he was the original discoverer or inventor. He does not seek to raise the question of originality. As soon as you bring a thing like this in, every Tom, Dick, and Harry comes in any says he has the same thing. It ought not to make much difference to the people of the United States or the American Government whether you call him the originator or whether he has discovered nothing new, if he has made practicable anything like what he claims he has.

Mr. REID. Do you want to set aside all of our patent laws? If he was not the original inventor, he would not be entitled to a patent. Mr. CROSSER. This is not a patent. If it was

Mr. REID (interposing). It is an extraordinary patent, then, is it? Mr. CROSSER. Oh, no. Pardon me. I am trying to be very fair. Mr. REID. Do you intimate that my questions are anything else but fair?

Mr. CROSSER. Let me state what I have in mind. All the interest I have in this thing is the interest of being truthful, if it is true. Mr. REID. The same as I have.

Mr. CROSSER. If it is not, there is no harm done. Here is the situation of the thing that he has discovered, we will say, a principle or the application or the means of acquiring the principle-I do not know whether either one happens to brand you that will make unlimited energy immediately available without the expenditure of human effort or the destruction of material in getting it. I could continue quite a long argument as to whether or not that was or was not an invention or a discovery.