Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-06
SUPREMECOURTCASES
Beef Packers Appeal Comes
Up Next Term.
WILL NOT BE EADVANCED
OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
SET FOR A HEARING.
Question of Internal Revenue on Ac-
count of South Carolina Dispensary
System-Senator Burton's Trial.

Will prove OF more interest Ina0 tnaI OF
the appeal of the beef packers. the so-called
beef trust, from the blanket Injunction
granted by Judge Groscup of the United
States circuit court of Chicago, which
strains the alleged combination of beef
packers from manipulating their prices in
what it Is charged is violation of the
Sherman antitrust law.
Since the beginning of the great meat
strike in Chicago the charge has been fire.
quently made that the beef packers are
consistently violating the order of Judge
Groscup and agents of both the Department
of Justice and the Department of Commerce
and Labor are in the field gathering evil
dence to be used should 1t be found neces-
sary in contempt proceedings before Judge
Groscup and again when the appeal of the
packers comes up before the Supreme
Court.
While 1t has been persistently rumored
that in accordance with orders from the
President this case, which is known as No.
1O3, will be moved up on the calendar Of the
court that 1t can be tried before the
November elections, this condition has not
been found upon investigation to exist and
In the natural course of the court business
it will not be reached until December.
Again, it Is pointed out that as the case
now stands the government has won the
decision and the packers would come be-
fore the Supreme Court on their own voli-
ton, hence the administration would hard
ly be justified in Fastening its considera-
ton, for such action it is claimed, would
be an effort to get a retrial On an injunc-
ton the government had already obtained.
|. For these reasons, and for others that
have been printed from time to time in
The Star, 1t appears certain there will be
no federal interference with the packing
interests at this time. In the meantime,
however, the investigation and gathering
of evidence is going on with a will. Sec
retary Of Agriculture Wilson, who is now
in the west, is conducting a personal in
vestigation of the conditions, and will pre-
sent such facts as he can gather to the
President upon his return to Washington.
South Carolina Dispensary Case.
While the case Of the beef trust attracts
wider attention from the general public
than most of the other cases, there are
others of far-reaching Importance to the
government that will come up for hear
ing at the fall term Of the court. One Of
these is the South Carolina dispensary
case, which has been before the courts for
several years, and which involves large
sources Of revenue to the general govern
ment. Since the establishment of the dis
penSary system in the palmetto state the
revenue officials of the government have
held that the dispensers are actually liquor
dealers and come under the revenue laws
of the United States. by which tax of
500 per annum has been imposed upon the
state commissioner of dispensar1es and 20
per annum upon each of the branch dis
penSarieS
Two or three years ago protest was
made by the state of South Carolina against
the payment of this tax and a suit was en-
tered against the general government for
the recovery of such sums Of money as
have been paid in on this account. The
suit which was filed In the Court of Claims,
was dismissed and an appeal was taken by
the state of South Carolina to the supreme
Court Of the United States. Should the
government lose this case 1t would proba-
bly set a precedent by which large sums of
money for internal revenue would be lost
to the general government. as 1t is realized
that other states could start the dlspen-
sary system and thus do away with paying
the internal revenue 1or cohductihs 1he
liquor business.
Senator Burton's Appeal.
The case of Senator Burton and Benson,
the California real estate man, growing out
of alleged fraudulent practices, are likely
to come up early in term. as it is said to be
the practice of the Department OF Justice
,o disnose of criminal cases as early as pos
sible.
The case of the Western Union Tele-
eraph Company against the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company Is set for a hearing carry
in October This case grows out OF the
trouble between those two companies py
which the telegraph company was made 10
remove its lines from the right of way of
the railroad company.
There are a number Of important Chinese
deportation cases set for hearing during
the term. and the celebrated "whltecap
cases Of Arkansas, which involve the alleged
persecution of negroes In that section OF
tho country by the self-cOnstituted courts,
will come up before the close of the term.
other cases Of Importance are the state
Of Kansas against the state OF Colorado,
which involves the priority or nights 10 the
u,aters of the Arkansas river, and in which
the United States government fntervened at
the time of the original controversy. 1t ap-
nears in this case that the state OF Arkan-
sas claims all the rights to all the waters
of the Arkansas river. and that the state of
Colorado has no right to dam up or other
wise prevent a continuous now or all the
water down the river and has no right to
use the water for irrigation or other pur-
poses The state of Colorado claimed that
II had the right to use such or the water
within the limits of the state as 1t saw mt
and in such manner as II saw MT: ihe
United States in intervening held that
neither side was right, and the Supreme
Court will have to settle the question.
Another case of wide - scope % and ar general general
against the Southern Pacific Railroad Com
pany growing out of claim for injuries re-
ceived in coupling cars. The decision in the
case will have to do with the use of auto
throughout the country. 1t appears that
johnson tried to couple two cars, one hav
ing a Miller hook coupler and the other a
Janney coupler, which is said to be a more
dangerous task than using the old-fash-
ioned link and pin coupler. 1t is held that
the purpose of the car coupler acts was to
have couplers on all cars throughout the
country that would catch automatically
with other cars and thus prevent the neces-
sity for going between the cars to make the
connection In the lower court 1t was de-
xlx-A lxa fao OF hat Lnr,f
automatic coupler on 1t, even though 1t
would not couple automatically with an
other car having an automatic coupler of a
different pattern, was compliance with
the law. The decision Of the Supreme
Court is awaited with great interest by the
railroad companies generally.
There are a number of customs cases and
others of general interest on the calendar
SO the court Will be kept pretty busy during
the whole Of the term.