Evening star., 1898-10-21
Pleas for Injunction and Mandamus
Refused by Judge Cox.
SECRETARY CAGES ACTION SUSTAINED
Decision in the Suit of Wightmar
and Wharton.
MIR. VANDERLIP'S COMMENT

Judge Cox, in Equity Court No. 1, today
announced his opinion in the war bond
issue case. The court sustains the course
of Secretary Gage, and declines to issue
the mandamus and the injunction against
him. prayed
1t will be remembered that September 30
last George B. Wightman filed a bill in
equity against Lyman ]. Gage, as Secretary
of the Treasury. alleging that in the neigh
borhood of 600 subscribers to the war
bonds had assigned their subscriptions to
WlShtman, and executed powers of attor-
ney in connection herewith and that he
had authorized the Produce Exchange and
Trust Company of New York to act as his
agent in forwarding the subscriptions and
receiving the bonds.
Although the Secretary of the Treasury
had made an allotment to all these sub
scrDers. Mr.. Wightman stated he later an
nounced that the allotment was Cancelled
and refused to deliver the bonds. There
fore, he asked of the court an injunction
restraining the Secretary from delivering
the bonds to any one but the subscribers
referred to.
On the law side of the court. the same
day, William II. Wharton, one of the sub
scribers mentioned in Mr.. Wightman's bill,
filed a petition for a mandamus to compel
the Secretary to deliver to him the bonds
subscribed for by him. One case practical
ly embraced the other, SO they were merged
into one nearing that occurred recently in
Equity Court No. l before Judge Cox.
EX-Secretary of the Treasury John G..
| Carlisle appeared for Wightman & Whlr-
ton. while the interests of Secretary Gage
We're looked after by Mr.. Henry E. DAVIS,
United States attorney for the District of
Columbia.
Secretary Cages Answer.
The answer of Secretary Gage was brief
ly that the receipt from one source of So
iy1 oil gar lar
an aggregate excited suspicion Many of
the notices of allotment. which had been
sent to the indivi iuals mentioned by mail,
We're returned to the Treasury Department
not found" An investigation followed,
and the department was convinced that
good faith, and therefore declined to issue
the bonds
Mr.. Vanderlip's Comment.
In the course of an interview with F. A.
Vanderlip, assistant secretary of the treas
| ury, concerning the decision of Judge Cox
in the petition for mandamus of William H.
Wharton. and the petition for an injunc-
ton of George B. Wightman against L. j.
Gage, Secretary of the Treasury, Mr.. Van
dCrlip said:
The decision of Judge Cox in favor of
the Secretary of the Treasury in both
cases did not surprise me in the least.
have had every confidence that they were
in the right in declining to issue the bonds
to these people. satisfied as they were that
the subscriptions were not made bona fide
in the interest of the subscribers and fully
expected to be able, as they have done, to
maintain their acts before the courts in
carceling the subscriptions and not issu-
Ing bonds on such fraudulent applications.
Il understand that Judge Cox held that
the Secretary of the Treasury had not eX-
hausted the discretion vested in him under
the act of Congress authorizing the war
bonds by simply issuing notices of allot-
Tent. and such discretion was not eX-
hausted. or could not be exhausted, until
the last act of issuing the bonds had been
done. and at any time prior thereto he
| might recall such allotment notices and
bring the cases into review by himself any
time prior to the actual issue of the bonds
1T would seem to me that this would In
dicate that the allotment notices, being
sent out by the department. have no sig
nificance until the bonds have been actually
issued therefor; or # such allotment no
tices mean anything whatever, they would
be construed in the nature of a contract
between the government and the subscriber
to perform certain acts which a court of
law equity would take no cognizance of
whatever.
This decision prevents the accumulation
of large blocks of bonds in the hands of
to small subscribers the benefit of about
$500, 900 worth of bonds affected by this de-
cision. This amount having been Cancelled
will be allotted to the next subscribers in
order as rapidly as they can be gotten out
by the QeDartmCnt'