# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 125

This is a list of cases reported in volume 125 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1888.

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 125 U.S.

The Supreme Court is established by Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which says: "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court . . .". The size of the Court is not specified; the Constitution leaves it to Congress to set the number of justices. Under the Judiciary Act of 1789 Congress originally fixed the number of justices at six (one chief justice and five associate justices). Since 1789 Congress has varied the size of the Court from six to seven, nine, ten, and back to nine justices (always including one chief justice).
When the cases in volume 125 U.S. were decided the Court comprised the following nine members (Chief Justice Waite died in March 1888, and some of his opinions in the cases below were issued posthumously):
| Justice | Office | Home State | Succeeded | Date confirmed by the Senate (Vote) | Tenure on Supreme Court |
| Morrison Waite | Chief Justice | Ohio | Salmon P. Chase | January 21, 1874 (63–0) | March 4, 1874 – March 23, 1888 (Died) |
| Samuel Freeman Miller | Associate Justice | Iowa | Peter Vivian Daniel | July 16, 1862 (Acclamation) | July 21, 1862 – October 13, 1890 (Died) |
| Stephen Johnson Field | Associate Justice | California | newly created seat | March 10, 1863 (Acclamation) | May 10, 1863 – December 1, 1897 (Retired) |
| Joseph P. Bradley | Associate Justice | New Jersey | newly created seat | March 21, 1870 (46–9) | March 23, 1870 – January 22, 1892 (Died) |
| John Marshall Harlan | Associate Justice | Kentucky | David Davis | November 29, 1877 (Acclamation) | December 10, 1877 – October 14, 1911 (Died) |
| Stanley Matthews | Associate Justice | Ohio | Noah Haynes Swayne | May 12, 1881 (24–23) | May 17, 1881 – March 22, 1889 (Died) |
| Horace Gray | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Nathan Clifford | December 20, 1881 (51–5) | January 9, 1882 – September 15, 1902 (Died) |
| Samuel Blatchford | Associate Justice | New York | Ward Hunt | March 22, 1882 (Acclamation) | April 3, 1882 – July 7, 1893 (Died) |
| Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar | Associate Justice | Mississippi | William Burnham Woods | January 16, 1888 (32–28) | January 18, 1888 – January 23, 1893 (Died) |

## Citation style

Under the Judiciary Act of 1789 the federal court structure at the time comprised District Courts, which had general trial jurisdiction; Circuit Courts, which had mixed trial and appellate (from the US District Courts) jurisdiction; and the United States Supreme Court, which had appellate jurisdiction over the federal District and Circuit courts—and for certain issues over state courts. The Supreme Court also had limited original jurisdiction (i.e., in which cases could be filed directly with the Supreme Court without first having been heard by a lower federal or state court). There were one or more federal District Courts and/or Circuit Courts in each state, territory, or other geographical region.
Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions.
* "C.C.D." = United States Circuit Court for the District of . . .
** e.g.,"C.C.D.N.J." = United States Circuit Court for the District of New Jersey
* "D." = United States District Court for the District of . . .
** e.g.,"D. Mass." = United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
* "E." = Eastern; "M." = Middle; "N." = Northern; "S." = Southern; "W." = Western
** e.g.,"C.C.S.D.N.Y." = United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York
** e.g.,"M.D. Ala." = United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
* "Ct. Cl." = United States Court of Claims
* The abbreviation of a state's name alone indicates the highest appellate court in that state's judiciary at the time.
** e.g.,"Pa." = Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
** e.g.,"Me." = Supreme Judicial Court of Maine

## List of cases in volume 125 U.S.

| Case Name | Page and year | Opinion of the Court | Concurring opinion(s) | Dissenting opinion(s) | Lower court | Disposition |
| Willamette Iron Bridge Company v. Hatch | 1 (1888) | Bradley | none | none | C.C.D. Or. | reversed |
| New Orleans Waterworks Company v. Louisiana Sugar Refining Company | 18 (1888) | Gray | none | none | La. | dismissed |
| Kreiger v. Shelby Railroad Company | 39 (1888) | Gray | none | none | Ky. | dismissed |
| Dale Tile Manufacturing Company v. Hyatt | 46 (1888) | Gray | none | none | N.Y. | affirmed |
| Felix v. Scharnweber | 54 (1888) | Gray | none | none | Ill. | dismissed |
| National Bank Redemption v. City of Boston | 60 (1888) | Matthews | none | none | C.C.D. Mass. | affirmed |
| Arthur's Executors v. Butterfield | 70 (1888) | Field | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | affirmed |
| Cunningham v. Norton | 77 (1888) | Bradley | none | none | C.C.N.D. Tex. | reversed |
| Davison v. Davis | 90 (1888) | Bradley | none | none | C.C.D. Ky. | affirmed |
| Weir v. Morden | 98 (1888) | Matthews | none | none | C.C.N.D. Ill. | affirmed |
| Tompkins v. Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad | 109 (1888) | Waite | none | none | C.C.E.D. Ark. | affirmed |
| Hartranft v. Langfeld | 128 (1888) | Matthews | none | none | C.C.E.D. Pa. | affirmed |
| Tilghman v. Proctor and Gamble | 136 (1888) | Gray | none | none | C.C.S.D. Ohio | reversed |
| City of Chicago v. Taylor | 161 (1888) | Harlan | none | none | C.C.N.D. Ill. | affirmed |
| Cissel v. Dutch | 171 (1888) | Blatchford | none | none | Sup. Ct. D.C. | reversed |
| Potts v. United States | 173 (1888) | Waite | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| United States v. Burchard | 176 (1888) | Waite | none | none | Ct. Cl. | reversed |
| Pembina Consolidated Silver Mining and Milling Company v. Pennsylvania | 181 (1888) | Field | none | none | Pa. | affirmed |
| Maynard v. Hill | 190 (1888) | Field | none | none | Sup. Ct. Terr. Wash. | affirmed |
| Hoskin v. Fisher | 217 (1888) | Blatchford | none | none | C.C.N.D. Cal. | reversed |
| Friedenstein v. United States | 224 (1888) | Blatchford | none | Field | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | affirmed |
| Origet v. United States | 240 (1888) | Blatchford | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | affirmed |
| Southern Development Company v. Silva | 247 (1888) | Lamar | none | none | C.C.N.D. Cal. | affirmed |
| Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Company v. Missouri River Packet Company | 260 (1888) | Lamar | none | none | Mo. | affirmed |
| United States v. San Jacinto Tin Company | 273 (1888) | Miller | Field | none | C.C.D. Cal. | affirmed |
| Clement v. Packer | 309 (1888) | Lamar | none | none | C.C.W.D. Pa. | reversed |
| Hartranft v. Sheppard | 337 (1888) | Waite | none | none | C.C.E.D. Pa. | affirmed |
| Missouri ex rel. Walker v. Walker | 339 (1888) | Waite | none | none | Mo. | affirmed |
| Spencer v. Merchant | 345 (1888) | Gray | none | Matthews | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | affirmed |
| Sage v. Memphis and Little Rock Railroad Company | 361 (1888) | Harlan | none | none | C.C.E.D. Ark. | reversed |
| Wall v. Bissell | 382 (1888) | Gray | none | none | C.C.D. Ind. | affirmed |
| Williams v. Conger | 397 (1888) | Bradley | none | none | C.C.N.D. Tex. | affirmed |
| Washington Ice Company v. Webster | 426 (1888) | Blatchford | none | none | C.C.D. Me. | affirmed |
| Yale Lock Manufacturing Company v. James | 447 (1888) | Blatchford | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | affirmed |
| Bowman Brothers v. Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company | 465 (1888) | Matthews | Field | Harlan | C.C.N.D. Ill. | reversed |
| Hartranft v. Oliver | 525 (1888) | Field | none | none | C.C.E.D. Pa. | affirmed |
| Western Union Telephone Company v. Attorney General of Massachusetts | 530 (1888) | Miller | none | none | C.C.D. Mass. | reversed |
| Bucher v. Cheshire Railroad Company | 555 (1888) | Miller | none | Harlan | C.C.D. Mass. | affirmed |
| Bowerman Brothers v. Rogers | 585 (1888) | Miller | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | affirmed |
| Union Trust Company v. Morrison | 591 (1888) | Bradley | none | none | C.C.S.D. Ill. | affirmed |
| Dewolf v. Hays | 614 (1888) | Gray | none | none | C.C.D. Cal. | reversed |
| Doolan v. Carr | 618 (1888) | Miller | none | Waite | C.C.D. Cal. | reversed |
| Johnson v. Christian | 642 (1888) | Blatchford | none | none | C.C.E.D. Ark. | reconsideration granted |
| United States v. Baker | 646 (1888) | Blatchford | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| Nutt v. United States | 650 (1888) | Matthews | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| United States v. Strong | 656 (1888) | Matthews | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| St. Louis, Alton, and Terre Haute Railroad Company v. Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway Company | 658 (1888) | Matthews | none | none | C.C.D. Ind. | affirmed |
| Dow v. Beidelman | 680 (1888) | Gray | none | none | Ark. | multiple |
| Bonahan v. Nebraska | 692 (1888) | Waite | none | none | Neb. | case off docket |
| Addington v. Burke | 693 (1888) | Waite | none | none | C.C.N.D. Tex. | dismissed |
| City of Shreveport v. Holmes | 694 (1888) | Waite | none | none | C.C.W.D. La. | rehearing denied |
| East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad Company v. Southern Telegraph Company | 695 (1888) | Miller | none | none | C.C.M.D. Ala. | dismissed |
| In re Royall | 696 (1888) | Waite | none | none | Va. | mandate denied |
| Lyon v. Perin and Gaff Manufacturing Company | 698 (1888) | Lamar | none | none | C.C.D. Ind. | affirmed |