The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-12-11
MR.. MILLER'S REPORT
Business of the Supreme Court
Reviewed.
THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT.
Difficulty of Enforcement-Cas Of the Itata-
Evils Of the Fee System-Amendment of
the Judiciary Act Recommended

the business of the United States supreme
court and devotes chapter to the circuit
court OF appeals which, he says, has been
organized In each circnit and is ready for
business, although an additional circuit
judge in each circuit has not been appointed.
Mention is made of the heavy increase in
the
BUSINESS OF THE COURT OF CLAIMS
and recommendation is made that the
working force of the court be largely in
creased. He says it is also necessary that
some provision be made for the representa-
ton Of the interests of the government be-
fore the board of appraisers in customs
cases appealed from the collector 10 the
board of appraisers.
He invites attention to the special report
on the subject of Indian depreciation claims
and showed the Importance of change in
the condition OF that business. The claims
aggregate 10000.
On the suject of
UNITED STATES PRISONS
the attorney general says: "In pursuance
OF the recommendations in the annual re-
port OF this department, bill was passed
by the last Congress, authorizing the con-
structicn of three United States prisons,
W NC lOCdtSu, Ou6 nOTtu anu another SOQIn
OF the 39th degree Of north latitude and
east of the Rockies, and third west of
the Rockies, but by evident inadvertence
1alled to make any appropriation for the
purchase OF sites and the erection Of such
buildings. / recommend that the appro-
priations evidently contemplated by that
act be made, so this work may go forward,
After speaking of the we'll known diff
culties in the enforcement of the Chinese
- ha we. ie l,,.i ,5+l,-
THESE LAWS SHALL BE MADE EFFECTIVE
they should be so changed that they can
not be misunderstood. To arrest and try
such persons and as result simply send
them back across the British line is shown
to be an idle expenditure, to me- of labor
and money by the fact that, as might well
oe expected, the same persons have to be
arrested and tried over and over again.
Moreover II is quite uncertain whether the
order requiring Chinese prisoners sent
back into the British domiuions could be
made effective. This subject demands
prompt consideration
From information, official and unofficial.
IN regard TO the administration of the laws
OF Alaska, the encouragement is i'm
pressed that such administration is not
satisfactory, and that it can only be made
satisfactory by new legislation. The
attorney general called attention to the
evils OF the Zee SYSTEM and advises
the substitution of stipulated salaries in all
cases.
He reviews the legal proceeding in the
CASE OF THE GILLIAN STEAMER 1TATA,
and sums up as follows: "Upon the trial
of this Indictment it was held by the dis
trlct court these proceedings were not in
violation OF the neutrality laws of the
United States. First, because the enter
prise was a legitimate commercial trans
action, and second, because the Congress
slenal party of Chilli, not having at the time
received recognition from the government
of the United States either as a government
de Jure or as a beligerent the acts done
by the representatives of and in the in
terest o. that party in the way of hostili-
ties &C alnst the Gillian government were
not IN violation of the statute of the United
States. In short, that it is only in the in
terest OF government recognized as such
&c lure or as a beligerent that the neut-
rallty statute of the United States can be
violated. Without discussing the PROPOSE
ton that such transaction is legitimate
commerce, venture the suggestion that in
case OF serious injury to the commercial or
olher interests OF nation, with which
we are al peace by ships fitted out in our
haroors, the plea of such non-recognition
would be very insufficient answer. II
the construction given to these statutes by
the trial court shall be sustained on appeal
the statute should think be amended
de reports five suits commenced under
the act of August Z, 1883, requiring all
TELEGRAPH LINES SUBSIDIZED BY THE COW
EMINENT
by and through their own respective cor-
porate officers and employees to maintain
and operate for railroad, governmental
NO oaY,1n oil md ,l1 :
telegraph lines, and requiring the attorney
general by proper proceedings to prevent
any unlawful interference with the rights
and equities of the United States in relation
to such telegraph lines. On this subject
the attorney general says: "In the suits
OF the United States against the Central
Pacific railroad company and Western
Union telegraph; against the Southern
Pacific railroad and Western Union TeIe-
graph company, both pending in the north
ern district of California upon de-
murrers and motions to dismiss for want of
jurisdiction, it being claimed on behalf
OF the Western Union Telegraph com
pany and other corporations necessary
parties defendant having charters from
other states than California, that thew can
not be sued In the United States circuit
court or in any district court other than
that from which they derive their respec-
tive charters. In other words, thew are
not inhabitants of any district in the state
by which they were created.
TOUCHING THE QUESTION OF JURISDICTION
raised by those corporations, that they are
not residents of California, the result of
such contention is that corporation like
the Western Union Telegraph COMPANY. a
New York corporation which is doing
business in every state and district in the
union, which has the right TO sue in tha
federal courts of the various districts and
II sued IN state court they may move
such suits for litigation into the federal
courts, cannot be sued in federal courts in
any state outside of New York. it is not
believed such is the law, at least where
the government is plaintiff Certainly
1t was not the intention of Congress- in
the enacting judiciary law of 1888 to
thus make corporations a privileged
class. L recommend that section
OF the act OF August Is, 1888, (25 stat. D.
434) be amended by inserting O proviso
after the word inhabitant in the follow
ing sentence namely And no civil snit
shall be brought before either of said
courts against any person by any original
process Or proceeding in any other dis
trict than that wherein he is an inhabit-
ant provided, any foreign corporation
may be sued In any district where it NAV
be found, process to be served as in like
cases In the state where said suit or action
is brought
such amendment would restore the law
to what it was for a century prior to the
act OF March 3, 1887, and would impose on
these corporations a liability to be- sued
TO the right they enioy to
sue as plaintiffs and to remove suits in
which they are defendants"