The herald., 1896-05-19
SUPREME COURT OPINIONS
Georgia's Sunday Freight Law Declared
to Be Void
Inc etuger Sewing Machine Case-Chinese
Liable to Deportation Have Personal
and Financial Rights

WASHINGTON. May Is. - Justice
Harlan today delivered an opinion in
the supreme court in the case of Heigto
VS.. the state of Georgia, involving the
constitutionality of the law prohibiting
the running of freight cars in Georgia
on Sunday. The opinion held the law
valid.
In this case, Justice Harlan said, the
legislature had right to designate a
day of the week when all labor should
be suspended. and it could not be
claimed that a working day had been
designated The state law was not, he
said. directed at interstate commerce,
but was mostly rule of civil conduct
and 1t must be respected until super
seded by law goftw. .-eepa-a--rys tidy
seded by some national law with which
1t was in conflict. Hence the decision
The chief justice dissented on the
ground that the law conflicts with the
interstate commerce law.
White handed down the opinion Of the
court in the cases of the Singer Sewing
machine trademark. The Judgment of
the court below. the circuit court of the
northern district of Illinois, against
Singer, was reversed. The supreme
court held, however that others using
the name of Singer as trademark
should show the source of manufacture
The case involved a conflict between
the Singer Manufacturing company and
the June Manufacturing company. The
action was begun by the Singer COM
pany to restrain the June company from
making sewing machines and labelling
them with the name of Singer under
the claim that the name which gener-
ally attaches to the machines made by
the Singer Company had become a
trademark, and hence that the use of
the name by another company was in
the nature of an Infringement. Justice
White, In delivering the opinion of the
court; held that the right to use a name
on articles manufactured expired with
the patents on those articles, but said
others In using a name, as in this case
must show the source of manufacture
The case was therefore reversed and the
district court was directed to enter a
decree in accordance with this opinion
Justice Shiras delivered the opinion of
the supreme court in the case of Wong
Wing and three other Chinese VS.. the
United States. reversing the judgment
of the circuit court for the eastern dis
trict of Michigan. The Chinese were
sentenced to imprisonment at hard la
bor in the Detroit. Mich. house of cor
rection on the charge of being unlaW-
fully within the Tilted States
The court said that the United States
can forbid aliens from coming within
the borders and expel them, but when
congress sees fit further to promote
such policy by subjecting the persons
of such aliens to punishment at hard
labor or by confiscating their property.
such legislation must provide for ju-
dicial trial to establish the guilt of the
accused.
An opinion was delivered by Justice
Brown in the case Of J. s. Hilborn VS.
the United States. affirming the decision
Of the court Of claims. The case involved
the right of Hilborn as district attor-
ney for the district of California to an
propriate to his own use the fees col
lected under the Chinese exclusion law.
Hlioorn claimed that he was entitled to
these fees, in addition to his salary but
the court held that he must account To
the government for such collaotions