The San Francisco call., 1899-09-28
LAW SAYS THEY
MUST LABOR If
THEY WANT PAY
Quarantine Officers
NJ eet Defeat.
DR.. O'BRIENS CONTENTION
SIGNING OF A PERMIT WAS
SUFFICIENT WORK.
In Future When Vessels Arrive From
Foreign Ports They Must Be
Boarded or Allowed to
Land Free.
SIGNING OF A PERMIT WAS
SUFFICIENT WORK.

In future when quarantine officers of
the local Board of Health are anxious
to collect fees from incoming vessels nall
ing from foreign ports "for services rem
dered" they will render the services be-
fore presenting their bill. Judge SeaWell
of the Superior Court decided yesterday
that the dignity of the position does not
entitle quarantine officer to demand pay
for nothing and hence the frequenter of
the water front may hereafter see the
honest sweat of labor dampen the brow
Of one or more of these dignitarleS-the
sweat caused by the exertion of sur
mounting the deck of some ocean traV-
eer and then looking wise before giving
official permission to dock and discharge
passengers and cargo.
This decision was reached in the ac-
ton of Health and Quarantine officer a.
2. O'Brien against Welch & Co., owners
of the vessel r. P. Rithet. The Rithet
sailed into port after an uneventful voy-
age from Honolulu. She was boarded by
DR.. Rosenau of the Federal quarantine
service, and that official issued certifi-
cate in regular form, showing the Rithet
to carry clean bill of health. Some time
later, but before the vessel had discharged
either passengers or cargo, DR.: Chalmers,
the local quarantine officer, through the
agency of DR.. o Brien, issued permit
emitting the vessel to dock. For this SER
vice he demanded 81 so under section 1920
of the Political Code, but his bill was re-
pudiated and the vessel discharged not
WithStanding.
DR.. O'Brien forthwith filed suit against
the owners of the vessel to recover his
fee and the action was assigned to Judge
Seawell for trial. Various defenses were
set up by the defendant, it being claimed
that the provision of the code under
which the action to collect the fee was
brought was unconstitutional, for the rea-
son that it intended to impose tonnage
tax within the meaning of section 10, ar
ticle l of the constitution of the United
States, and although Judge Seawell does
not see fit to determine this question, he
holds that the contention of the defend
ants is sound as the payment of the fee
was only commanded when services had
actually been rendered
Leaving the law for a time, the court
finds that DIR. O'Brien rendered no SER
vice save the labor involved in signing
the permit, which was hardly worth the
sum demanded 81 80. As to this point
can only be justified upon the theory of
a compensation for services rendered it
cannot be recovered where there has been
no service. Judgment is hence entered
for dfendants."
AS to the contention that the issuance
of a certificate from the Federal officers
is sufficient in itself the court says is not
worthy of decision in this case. The mere
fact that no service was rendered by the
plaintiff was sufficient to sustain the posi-
ton of the defendant, and other points,
controversy at bar, but which would have
been of great interest to the public at
large were not decided by the court.