The Washington herald., 1909-05-18

handed down decisions in twenty cases.
and disposed OF various other business.
It had been the intention to take a fur
journ for the term.
IN view OF the conditions Of the courts
business-due probably TO the fact that
thirty-seven cases yet remain TO be dis
posed of-Chief Justice Fuller announced
that the recess woulG last only until next
Monday. when a further recess would be
taken until Monday. May 81
The court decided that the Smithsonian
Institution vas not entitled 10 a pro-
visional bequest Of some s2.oeo.oo0 under
the VIII OF Wallace c Andrews, wt0.
with his wife. perished in a FIRE which
destroyed their house in Sixty-sevenfh
street. New York. in Is9s
He left about half OF his estate to found
TIE Andrews Institute for Girls az WI
lOughby. OHIO. his birthplace. with a pro-
visO that II for any reason the bequeSt
vas not carried out, Il was 70 so to the
Smithsonian.
The latter attacked the validity OF the
action Of the trustees in favor OF the
school, claiming that II had not been tn
cOrpOrate5 until 1892. and was not capable
Of receiving the estate beQueathed
The New York courts rejected this con-
tentiOn and found in favor OF the school.
The Supreme Court affirmed that judg
ment
Building Height Laws.
The law OF Massachusetts creating the
Boston building commission. and the &C
ton OF the latter body in fixing heights
for buildings in the business and resi-
Dental parts OF the city, were affirmed
IS proper exercise Of the police power
ci the state
The celebrated Parrish ice claim. which
has been before Congress and the courts
here for over forty years. was settled
by decision in favor Of the claimant,
or rather his executors.
II arose over q contract between Joseph
". Parrish and the government for sup
plying ice to the Federal hospitals at
ST. Louis. Cairo, Memphis. and Nash
vile, from March to December 81. 1853
which was cancelled by. the government
after some six weeks had run. The
amount OF ice involved was about 3e,oOO
tons.
Trial by Jury.
An important decision affecting the
publication Of libeIous pictures was
handed down in the case OF Elizabeth
Peck against the Chicago Tribune.
In the advertisement OF d whisky COM
pany there was a certificate signer by
Mrs A Schuman, one of ChicagO's most
capable and experienced nurses. testify
ing TO the life-giv!ng and curative prop
critics Of the whisky. and stating that
she had used il constantly for years. The
advertisement also contained what pur-
ported 70 be her portrait. but which was
that Of Elizabeth Peck.
The latter sued for libel. claiming S2S,-
OO0 damages. She also sued several other
papers out OF the one hundred or more
that published the advertisement In the
Tribune case, she averred that she was
not a nurse and was q teetotaleT. The
trial fudge. however, refused her testi-
mony. on those points, and directed YER
dict for the Tribune, that action being af
frmed by the Court Of Appeals
Justice Holmes, in delivering the courts
opinion. said the plaintiff was undoubt-
edly affected By the publication. even if
the picture contained the name Of ans
ether II was no excuse to urge that
the portrait had been published by mis-
take, and If the publication was ibelous,
the defendant took the risk.
Not Irony to All.
As 10 whether the publication was a IL
bel. Justice Holmes. referring TO the find
ing Of the lower court. that there was
no general consensus OF opinion that to
drink whisky was wrong. or TO be a
nurse was discreditable, said the lower
court might have added that possibly the
giving a certificate and the use OF ones
portrait IN aid of an advertisement would
be regarded with irony or a strange feel
ing only by a few.
The Judgment Of the lower courts. ex-
cluding the evidence. was therefore re-
versed. and the trial viii be resumed with
that testimony included
City of Des MOines Wins
The court ordered dismissed an injunc-
ton granted by the Federal Court in
Iowa to restrain the city of Des Moines
and its solicitor from pulling up the
tracks Of the Des Moines City Railway
because the latter declined to comply
with certain city ordinances. The injunc-
ton was granted on the plea that the
ordinance Impaired the obligation of the
contract between the city and the county.
under which il was granted g perpetual
right TO operate its lines.
CebaIIOs Case Reversed.
Tie court reversed the finding Of the
Court Of Claims in rejecting the claim Of
J. NJ Cebailos. CT New York. for balance
due from the government for transporting
Spanish prisoners from Manila to Spain
under the provisions of the treaty of
Paris The contract, the opinion said. vas