The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1907-01-31
DOINGS OF THE OLD DOMINION
The Latest Virginia News Told in
Short Order.

The Supreme Court of Appeals at
Richmond handed down several
opinions, among them being the
labor agent" case from the Corpora
tlon Court of Danville, the first case
OF the kind to arise under the re-
Vlsed tax laws. The opinion was
written by Judge Whittle and IL
reversed the judgment of the lower
court, which held that Albert Watts
nad been conducting business as a
labor agent in that city without
Incense. The decision will be Of
special interest to contractors and
other large operators, who frequent
Iy nave to procure help on very
short notice and would consider it
a great hardship IL they were COM
PEELED to pay a license tax in each
instance. The vexed point is set at
rest by the reversal of the judg-
ment OF the lower court, which i'm
posed a heavy fine on the Nave
Hyan-Curtis Company, chartered in
Ohio and licensed to ( 9nduct the
business of general CO Sltractors in
this State. "It appears" says the
opinion, in summing up, that the
single question presented by the
record for our determination is
whether the plaintiff in error was
engaged In the business of q labor
contractor within the meaning of the
statute, It being admitted that he
had no license. We have no diff
Guilty in solving that question in the
negative. Indeed, it would seem
that nothing more could be predicat-
ed from the transaction than that it
constituted a hiring of labor by the
construction company, the principal,
through the medium of it's agent,
ior the lawful transaction of its
business. The case is controlled by
the maxim Qui facit per alum, facit
per Sc (what one does by another,
he does himself), failure to observe
which in such cases would impose
immense restrictions upon corpora
tions and natural persons throughout
the Commonwealth whose business
necessitates the employment of larg-
er numbers of laborers. In our
opinion the statute in question is
plainly not susceptible of the intert
probation placed upon it by the trial
court"
A wreck occurred on the Seaboard
Air Line railway at Boykins, when
fast freight train bound from
Portsmouth to Hamlet, n. c., went
through an open switch and was de-
rallied after colliding with freight
cars standing on the siding. Fire
man Walter Colley, of Portsmouth
was killed. Engineer William II.
Capel, of Portsmouth, was seriously
Injured, and Brakeman Joe Johnson,
eolored, was slightly injured, the en-
gineer being caught under the wreck
age and badly scalded, besides hav-
or<r0o
men were taken to the Kings Daugh-
terS' Hospital at Portsmouth.
1t is persistently rumored that the
Roanoke Railway and Electric Com
pany has purchased the new Roanoke
Water Power Company, which re-
Gently began furnishing electric
power in opposition to the railway
company. Mr.. T. w. Harrell, who
aas charge of the business of the
power company, emphatically denied
The rumors, but state than an offer
nad been made to purchase the plant
and that a price of $1,0OO,000 had
been made.
AS the result of her mud hook get
ting afoul of something at the bot
tom of Hampton Roads a fishing
schooner was the cause of the dis
covery and recovery of the lost an
chor and chan of the Confederate
armorclad Merrimac or Virginia, the
last being the name given her by the
Confederate Government and under
which she fought in the Civil War
the famous battle with the Monitor
that revolutionized naval warfare
Detective Sergeants Bailey and
Wrenn returned to Richmond from
New York, whence they had gone to
bring back the trio, Charles Miller,
Edith Vance and Harry Vance, who
were arrested there charged with
the robbery of railway baggage.
They report that the prisoners in
tend to put up a stiff fight against
being carried out of New York State.
Bolossy Kiralfy, the world-famous
producer OF spectacular perform
ances, has secured the great colos-
scum on the grounds of the Norfolk
Horse Show and Fair Association
for the jamestown Exposition period.
beginning in April, and after trans
forming them into a theatre model
ed largely after the Olympia in Lon
don, will present therein during the !
Exposition spectacular performances, !
such. he announces; as have never i
before been given in America, and |
which will rival those put on by him |
in London and Paris. Mr. Kiralfy |
that his performances
here will excel both America" put |
0n af Chioo 0f, TarfnO tha VVo~IS,e