St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-16
The Supreme Court Files Its Decision
in the Saltwater Log
Scaling Case.
Returns Allsin as to the'0utft and Oon-
dition ~of the State Ma
tional Guards.
The Boards ofEducation and OF FuO-
lie Works Transact Routine
Business.
oliver Gibbs, Jr., Tells HOW Solne
Prizes Were Awarded. 1.-The
Medical College.
THE EXCHANGE WINS.
The Supreme Court Says HI M"
Name Its own Scaier.

The Supreme Court Says HI May
Name Its Own Scaier.
In the case of The State, eX REL Hospes'
against The Lumbermen's Board OF Ex-
change of Saltwater, decision was 'yester-
day rendered by the supreme court Judges
in favor of the respondent. Inc case, IL
will be remembered, was argued before the
court June 1, on a writ of quo warranGo'
The case is well known to the pubic, the
suit having been brought over the appoint
ment by the exchange of Mckuslck to scale
logs at saltwater when O kick was maze
bv Surveyor General Hospes. The opinion
was rendered by Judge Gillian. FOLLOW
ing is the text:
THE OPINION.
The act under which the respondent be-
came incorporated (chapter 13S, laws 1881
contain this provision: ''Said corporation
shall have power to appoint one OF more
persons, as they may seem fit, to examine
weights, scales and measures, to weigh,
gauge or inspect flour, produce, provisions,
LIQUOR lumber or any other article OF pro
duce or traffic commonly dealt IN by the
members of such corporation, and the certlfi-
cate of such person or inspector as TO the
quality, quantity, grade or condition OF
any such article, brand or mark
upon it, or upon any package containing
such article, OF upon any car OF
other vehicle of transportation thereof,
shall be evidence between the buyer and
seller of the quantity, grade, quality OF
condition of the same, or any part OF tne
same, and shall be binding upon the mem
bers of said corporation, or others interested
and requiring or asserting to the use OF
nifr1f llln
gauges. scales or inspectors. Nothing
herein contained, however, shall compel
the EMPLOYMENT by any one of any such
appointee, nor shall any person not a mem
Der of such corporation be held to have as
sented to the provisions of this section or to
the rules and bylaws of any such corpora
ton. or the employment of any person or
inspector named in this section, unless such
assent shall have been in writing and sub
scribed by the party or person or the agent
of such party or person to be affected
thereby.
The question raised in this proceeding
amounts to this: Can the person or inspec-
tor appointed by any such; corporation
measure or scale (as it is technically termed)
logs afloat in the waters of the state and
furnish certificates Tor scale blllS) upon
such measurements? 1t is hard to see how
that can be doubted. He is authorized to
give certificates Of quantity and that by
implication
GIVES HIM AUTHORITY
to measure where measurement is neces-
sary to ascertain the quantity. Certainly
logs afiOat may come within the description
of ''any other articles of produce or traffic
commonly dealt in by the members of such
= corporation" An argument to exclude
logs aiOat from the operation of the act is
made that it is in conflict with the policy of
the law in this state as expressed in the
chapter of general statutes Tegulat-
ing the ownership and handling of
and traffic III logs, and providing
the appOintm ent of surveyors general to
scale logs and making their scale bills evil
dence. Butwhatever may be done by the
person or Inspector appointed by the cor
poratfon. it can in no way interfere with
the duties or rights of the surveyor general.
His certificate does not stand on the footing
as the scale bill of the surveyor-general.
The latter is official and is prima facie evil
dence against everybody conserving or nom
consenting, while the former is Of no legal
effect except by virtue of assent on the part
of the person to be bound by it, assent
which i'll the case of members of the cor
p0IatlOn IS given by their becoming Sucll,
and in case of others is given by writing.
Without reference to this act any persons
interested in logs might agree to have them
measured or scaledby any person whom they
choose There is nothing to prevent them
binding themselves to abide by such meas
urement or scale, or agreeing upon what as
between them should be the evidence of the
same. Though the clauses we have quoted
are out of the act, any two members of the
corporation might so agree. In respect to
this the only two things in the clause
quoted are the power given the corporation
to select for its members the person to make
measurements for them, the provision as to
what shall be evidence OF such measure
ment and what as to persons not members
shall be evidence of their assent to be
bound by it, These provisions are not in
conflict with the letter OF spirit of anything
in the chapter of the general statutes re-
ferred to- The respondent is therefore en-
titled to judgment dismissing the informa-
ton.