Birmingham state herald., 1895-11-12
AN IMPORTANT DECISION The Supreme Court Settles a
 Homestead Case APPEALED FROM ALABAMA Caesar Celso Moreno Will Spend Ninety Days
 in Jail
 FOR LABELLING AMBASSADOR FAVA The Bell Telephone Company Gets an Ad- verse Decision, but Edison Fares Much
 Better in His Fight Against the Sawyer-Mann System.
APPEALED FROM ALABAMA
FOR LABELLING AMBASSADOR FAvA

WaShlngton, NOV ll.-Odesai SeiSo Moreno, who was convicted some days ago of a criminel libel on Baron Fava, the Italian ambassador, was sentenced to ninety days in the district jail this after noon in the district criminal court.
 The United States court for the South ern district of Alabama found James D. Shiver guilty of the charge of cutting and selling 200 trees from homestead entry he had made just before cutting the timber The court instructed the jury that Shiver had the right to cut the tim Der for making improvements or for ex- change for lumber to make improve ments, but not for sale. The case was appealed to the court of appeals and that court asked the supreme court of the United States to answer these questions:
 1. Whether lands duly and properly en- tered for homestead are from the time of entry until final disposition by the land department no longer lands of the United States within the meaning Of section 246l, revised statutes?
 2. Can a citizen who has made a home stead entry upon public lands be held criminally liable for cutting andremoVing after such entry, standing trees and tim Der on the land?
 After discussing the scope and effect of the land laws the supreme court Of the United States answered the questions in an opinion read by Justice Brown, the first in the negative and the second in the affirmative.
 The application of counsel for an ad- yancement of the appeal of Elverton K. Chapman, the recalcitrant sugar trust witness before the senate Investigating committee, was denied by the supreme court of the United States today. Chap nan applied to the District of Columbia court of appeals for a writ of prohibition to prevent the criminal court from pro ceeding to try him upon the indictment found against him for refusing to testify before the committee regarding the stock transactions of senators. The wrlt was denied and Chapman appealed the case to the supreme court of the United States.
 In view of the near approach of the day fixed for trial in the criminal court the supreme court was asked to advance the appeal for hearing. There is nothing now apparently to prevent the trial from pro- ceeding on the f5th of December. as fixed by Judge Cole Saturday.
 In the opinion rendered by Chief Justice Fuller of the supreme court or the Uhlteu States today he decided that the court has Jurisdiction over the case Of the Tinted States vs the Bell Telephone com- pany to cancel the Berlner patent, which the court of appeals for the First circuit decided against the government. The telephone company moved to dismiss the appeal for the reason that under the court of appeals act the supreme court of the United States had no Jurisdiction because the case was one arising un- der the patent laws of the United States" and judgments of courts of appeals in such cases were made finals The United States opposed this on the ground that the act gave the right of appeal to the United States in cases where it was party. The result of the decision is that 1t must come before the court for finai decision.
 The supreme court of the United States today in an opinion read by Justice Brown, sustained the Edison incandes- cent light patents against the claim of the Consolidated Electric Light company, using the Sawyer-Mann system, Of which 1t was claimed that the Edison system was an infringement. The court said that the claims made for the Sawyer Mann patent were too broad to sustain patent. The case came from the United States court for the Western district of Pennsylvania, which gave judgment in favor of the Edison company. the judg- ment being affirmed.