National Republican., 1878-10-15
The Capital" Company Victorious.

District yesterday and a final decree given,
the opinion being prepared and delivered by
Justice MacArthur. Tho o.igin OF the cause
was petition in bankruptcy filed June I,
ls77, by George Hill. jr, claiming to be a
heavy creditor, to have tho company declared
bankrupt. An answer was put in by the COM
pany, aud then the petitioning creditor oh
tanned leave to amend his original petition by
striking ont the word trader" and inserting
manufacturer in lieu thereof. As amended
the petition charged that the company. on the
2sth day of April, 1877, being manufacturer
omitted to pay certain prJmissory notes, &c.
The company demurTcd, on the ground that It
was not manufacturer in the meaning Of tho
bankrupt act, and therefore not capable Of be-
ing declared bankrupt. and that the petition
OF the sppclent was defective, for the reason
that 1t nowhere alleged that the promissory
notes referred TO In It were the commercial
paper Of the company, made or passed In the
course Of its business as a manufacturer. In
| delivering the OpiIion His Honor says:
The point was raised on the argument that
| the demurrer admitted the company was
manufacturer. But In determining this point
| we may properly look at the act Of incorppra-
tion thus referred to in the petition. The
| certificate of Incorporation describes the object
Of the company In the following words: To
carry on the business Of printing aud pub
| fishing q newspaper called the Capital, aud all
| business connected herewith, aud such other
business as appertains to the printing and pub.
| fishing Of a newspaper The first question
raised upon the demurrer Is whether the com.
pany Is a manufacturer within the meaning Of
the bankrupt act Words IN n statute are to
he taken In their ordinary aud familiar signi.
| fcatiOn. and regard is TO he had TO their gem
eral and popular use. The court will presume
| that they were used to express their meaning
! In common usage. Keeping IN mind this rule
| ofinterpretation, we eau determine the judic'ai
construction to be placed upon the word man.
ufacturer' when It is used in the bankrupt act,
There can be no doubt hut the word manu-.
ftcturcr was used in the statute In tho
limited sense in which II Is commonly under
stood"
After speaking OF the industries to which
the dictionarie, and writers OH political econ
omy limit this term, and the work of artists
| and sculptOrs, he says:
"a newspaper Is not regarded as manufac
lure any more than a painting-an editor as
f1ittlc so us an artist. We have been referred
| to the matter Of Kenyon aud Fenton, decided
by the Supreme Court Of Utah. 1t was a case
where the bankrupt carried on the business oil
printing blank books, cards, bill-hcads in ad.
dillon to which they published daily paper,
and the petition alleged that they published
the newspaper and are manufacturers OF
books, cards, bill-heads,' &C., and the court say,
| though II is not necessary to decide that the
printing and publishing Of daily newspaper
| is manufacturing in the strict sense of the law,
yet my brother judg's have expressed the
opinion that il would be- and | am inclined to
to the same conviction 1t will be oh,ervcd
that the decision Is placed upon the ground Of
the bankrupt being manufacturers of books
bill-heads, &c, and in this respect they were
undoubtedly within the meaning of the act
Having come to this conclusion, the court
further say II Is not necessary to decide that
the publishing Of newspaper is manufacture
| ing within the strict sense Of the law, but cx
press the opinion that it would be- No more
weight can be given to this solitary case than
to any other.
We have already stated the proposition tina,
every branch Of industry which converts any
material or substance into useful commodities
strictly speaking, come under the term manu-
(acturcs, and in that sense n newspaper or q
painting would be included. But we aro o
the opinion that this is not the strict sense o
the statute, which only includes those imdu E
tries which commonly pass under that dcsig
: nation. This is uu important distinction 70
while all euIp'OymCuts rest upon the same fac
} ulty in nun to labor, to combine aud to mOnl'
| the refractory elGmCnts of matter, common
usage anil the convenience of society hiv
given r limited Significance TO the word TIL
rule already advcrted to for the iutcrprutl
5 tion Of statute law limits its import to tn
\ sense In which It is usually received. Now, n
definition Of tie word manufacturer has eve
; Included the publisher of u weekly newspaper
aud the common understanding of mankin
, exclude; 1t. You may say, by analogy, or Iea
! son from the nature OF things that 1t is an
! so you may do the samo thing with nnybod
who labors himself or employs Others Bu
: surely, a bankrupt law is not to be expanded I
cover every employment. 1t was, by eS
E press terms, limited to certain classes who ar
: designated by names well known In the bus
i ness world. The husbandman prepares III
y, soil, the inventor his models, the orator h
u address for which lie receives 500 a night
: the lawyer makes his brief, for which i
- scarcely ever gets enough; the physical
:, fnrmuates his prescription, and so Oh thr0ug
all the divisions of labor and industry. u
. these lLeans man acquires a certain master
c and is furnished with ines.imabe results.
of the newspaper 1t has grown within a eel
tury into the most popular vehicle for IL
- spread Of information. Its rigOr aud ufluenC
: arc felt n every household. Indeed, II ma
= be called the peoples stOrehnuse OF iutUlligenC
Il 1t claims to be an institution, and even o,
Q Statesmen, with great cOuiplacency, have d
n nominated it the fourth estate. II does nt
. come within the popular meaning Of the ter
manufacture, unless, Indeed, when its COnten
are slendcrly endowed with the truth, or whC
l. its articles appear to be made out of who
Z cloth. u gives employment 10 printing prcsSe
= and types, and editors, and yet IN the who
Il history of newspapers, from the close
e the seventeenth century, tLis word of mani
h facturcr has never been applied to thcr
II Nor is the term appropriated to them or /
i them In the whole range of English litcratur
$ No author has ever SO used 1t, and II Is nevC
.. SO applied by any statute or by any authOrit
g except by way Of an opinion in the sOltNI
Il case from Utah. All Of the Judges who hcal
- the case arc of OpiniOH that the alleged birll
% rupt corporation Is not IA manufacturer With
It the meaning of the bankrupt act and not Il,
II missibe to bankrupt proceedings except Il
II Chief Justice. We are unanimous in hOliir
= that tine petition is defective in form, for Il
u reason that il does not allege that the promi
l. sory'notcs therein mentioned were the con
n mcrcial paper Of the alleged bankrupt made
= passed in its alleged business Of Il munufl
c turer. This, however, may be the subject
II amendment, and for that purpose we dusta
K the demurrer, with leave to the petitioner
It amend as he may be advised. We have, hoy
&c ever, decided the question that the corporate
10 Is not liable to be adjudgcd bankrupt;
10 that, after the formal corrections are mad
there will be no necessity for II reheHring of Il
case, and the final judgment Of the court W
u be TO sustain the demurrer and disluiss the J
III titiOn.'
Mr. Davidgc made the amendment and
appeal was prayed aud allowed to the Suprel
,. Court of the United States
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