# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 259

This is a list of cases reported in volume 259 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1922.

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 259 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 259 were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:
| Justice | Office | Home State | Succeeded | Date confirmed by the Senate (Vote) | Tenure on Supreme Court |
| William Howard Taft | Chief Justice | Connecticut | Edward Douglass White | June 30, 1921 (Acclamation) | July 11, 1921 – February 3, 1930 (Retired) |
| Joseph McKenna | Associate Justice | California | Stephen Johnson Field | January 21, 1898 (Acclamation) | January 26, 1898 – January 5, 1925 (Retired) |
| Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Horace Gray | December 4, 1902 (Acclamation) | December 8, 1902 – January 12, 1932 (Retired) |
| William R. Day | Associate Justice | Ohio | George Shiras Jr. | February 23, 1903 (Acclamation) | March 2, 1903 – November 13, 1922 (Retired) |
| Willis Van Devanter | Associate Justice | Wyoming | Edward Douglass White (as Associate Justice) | December 15, 1910 (Acclamation) | January 3, 1911 – June 2, 1937 (Retired) |
| Mahlon Pitney | Associate Justice | New Jersey | John Marshall Harlan | March 13, 1912 (50–26) | March 18, 1912 – December 31, 1922 (Resigned) |
| James Clark McReynolds | Associate Justice | Tennessee | Horace Harmon Lurton | August 29, 1914 (44–6) | October 12, 1914 – January 31, 1941 (Retired) |
| Louis Brandeis | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Joseph Rucker Lamar | June 1, 1916 (47–22) | June 5, 1916 – February 13, 1939 (Retired) |
| John Hessin Clarke | Associate Justice | Ohio | Charles Evans Hughes | July 24, 1916 (Acclamation) | October 9, 1916 – September 18, 1922 (Retired) |

## Notable cases in 259 U.S.
### Child Labor Tax Case

In Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co., 259 U.S. 20 (1922), the Supreme Court ruled that the 1919 Child Labor Tax Law was unconstitutional as an improper attempt by Congress to penalize employers using child labor. The Court concluded that the "tax" imposed by the statute was not a tax, but a penalty in disguise.

### Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs

Federal Baseball Club v. National League, 259 U.S. 200 (1922), is an antitrust decision in which the Supreme Court ruled the Sherman Antitrust Act did not apply to Major League Baseball because baseball was not deemed to be interstate commerce. This decision is the main reason why MLB has not faced any competitor leagues since 1922 and MLB, to date, remains the only professional sports league in the United States with such an antitrust exemption.

### Ng Fung Ho v. White

In Ng Fung Ho v. White, 259 U.S. 276 (1922), the Supreme Court held that habeas corpus petitioners are entitled to a de novo judicial hearing to adjudicate claims that they are citizens of the United States.

## 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.
The Judiciary Act of 1891 created the United States Courts of Appeals and reassigned the jurisdiction of most routine appeals from the district and circuit courts to these appellate courts. The Act created nine new courts that were originally known as the "United States Circuit Courts of Appeals." The new courts had jurisdiction over most appeals of lower court decisions. The Supreme Court could review either legal issues that a court of appeals certified or decisions of court of appeals by writ of certiorari. On January 1, 1912, the effective date of the Judicial Code of 1911, the old Circuit Courts were abolished, with their remaining trial court jurisdiction transferred to the U.S. District Courts.
Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions.
* "# Cir." = United States Court of Appeals
** e.g., "3d Cir." = United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
* "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.,"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 259 U.S.

| Case Name | Page and year | Opinion of the Court | Concurring opinion(s) | Dissenting opinion(s) | Lower Court | Disposition |
| British Columbia Mills Tug and Barge Company v. Myrolie | 1 (1922) | Taft | none | none | 9th Cir. | affirmed |
| Atherton Mills v. Johnston | 13 (1922) | Taft | none | none | W.D.N.C. | reversed |
| Bailey, Collector of Internal Revenue v. George | 16 (1922) | Taft | none | none | W.D.N.C. | reversed |
| Child Labor Tax Case | 20 (1922) | Taft | none | none | W.D.N.C. | affirmed |
| Hill v. Wallace | 44 (1922) | Taft | Brandeis | none | N.D. Ill. | reversed |
| American Smelting and Refining Company v. United States | 75 (1922) | Holmes | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| Grogan v. Hiram Walker and Sons, Ltd. | 80 (1922) | Holmes | none | McKenna | E.D. Mich. | multiple |
| South Covington and Cincinnati Street Railway Company v. City of Newport | 97 (1922) | McReynolds | none | none | E.D. Ky. | reversed |
| Newton v. New York and Queens Gas Company | 101 (1922) | McReynolds | none | none | S.D.N.Y. | reversed |
| Union Tool Company v. Wilson | 107 (1922) | Brandeis | none | none | 9th Cir. | affirmed |
| Heald v. District of Columbia | 114 (1922) | Brandeis | none | none | D.C. Cir. | affirmed |
| Pierce Oil Corporation v. Phoenix Refining Company | 125 (1922) | Clarke | none | none | Okla. | affirmed |
| Ewert v. Bluejacket | 129 (1922) | Clarke | none | none | 8th Cir. | multiple |
| Kendall v. Ewert | 139 (1922) | Clarke | none | none | 8th Cir. | reversed |
| Rainier Brewing Company v. Great Northern Pacific Steamship Company | 150 (1922) | Clarke | none | none | 9th Cir. | affirmed |
| Continental Insurance Company v. United States | 156 (1922) | Taft | none | none | E.D. Pa. | affirmed |
| California Industrial Accident Commission v. Davis | 182 (1922) | McKenna | none | none | Cal. Ct. App. | reversed |
| Morrisdale Coal Company v. United States | 188 (1922) | Holmes | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| Pine Hill Coal Company, Inc. v. United States | 191 (1922) | Holmes | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Company v. Fall | 197 (1922) | Holmes | none | none | D.C. Cir. | reversed |
| Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs | 200 (1922) | Holmes | none | none | D.C. Cir. | affirmed |
| Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York v. Liebing | 209 (1922) | Holmes | none | none | Mo. | affirmed |
| United States v. Southern Pacific Company | 214 (1922) | Day | none | McKenna | D. Utah | reversed |
| Miles v. Safe Deposit and Trust Company | 247 (1922) | Pitney | none | none | D. Md. | affirmed |
| Carlisle Packing Company v. Sandanger | 255 (1922) | McReynolds | none | none | Wash. | affirmed |
| Olin v. Kitzmiller | 260 (1922) | McReynolds | none | none | 9th Cir. | affirmed |
| State Industrial Commission of New York v. Nordenholt Corporation | 263 (1922) | McReynolds | none | none | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | reversed |
| Ng Fung Ho v. White | 276 (1922) | Brandeis | none | none | 9th Cir. | multiple |
| Great Northern Railroad Company v. Merchants Elevator Company | 285 (1922) | Brandeis | none | none | Minn. | affirmed |
| Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland v. United States | 296 (1922) | Brandeis | none | none | Ct. Cl. | remanded |
| Fidelity Title and Trust Company v. United States | 304 (1922) | Brandeis | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| Collins v. Loisel | 309 (1922) | Brandeis | none | none | E.D. La. | affirmed |
| City of Houston v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company | 318 (1922) | Clarke | none | none | S.D. Tex. | affirmed |
| United States ex rel. French v. Weeks, Secretary of War | 326 (1922) | Clarke | none | none | D.C. Cir. | affirmed |
| United States ex rel. Creary v. Weeks, Secretary of War | 336 (1922) | Clarke | none | none | D.C. Cir. | affirmed |
| United Mine Workers of America v. Coronado Coal Company | 344 (1922) | Taft | none | none | 8th Cir. | reversed |
| Ex parte Harley-Davidson Motor Company | 414 (1922) | Day | none | none | 3d Cir. | mandamus granted |
| Wyoming v. Colorado | 419 (1922) | VanDevanter | none | none | original | riparian rights set |
| Weiland v. Pioneer Irrigation Company | 498 (1922) | Clarke | none | none | 8th Cir. | affirmed |
| Ward and Gow v. Krinsky | 503 (1922) | Pitney | none | McReynolds | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | affirmed |
| Prudential Insurance Company of America v. Cheek | 530 (1922)\ | Pitney | none | none | Mo. Ct. App. | affirmed |
| Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company v. Perry | 548 (1922) | Pitney | none | none | Okla. | affirmed |
| Lipke v. Lederer | 557 (1922) | McReynolds | none | Brandeis | E.D. Pa. | reversed |
| Georgia v. South Carolina | 572 (1922) | per curiam | none | none | original | boundary set |