The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-04-21
NEW MOVE IN DISPENSARY CASE
Liquor Firms May Ask Supreme Court
For Rehearing.

Washington, April 16.-It is rumor-
ed here that the Wilson Distilling
Company and the. Meischman Com
pany, who, recently lost their case
against the dispensary commission in
the United States Supreme Court. may
ask for rehearing before the time
} for issuing the mandate expires-30
/ days from the time of rendering the
decision.
The rules of the Court prescrib.
ordinarily, that its mandate shall not
issue until a full month has expired
after the announcement of the de-
cision in order that petitions NAV be
filed for rehearing, and as a rule
these petitions are not filed until the
very last day--as was the case with
, the Waters-Pierce Oil Company,
which was recently ousted from the
State of Texas and fined large
amount in addition, and other cases
Recently that company filed brief
asking for rehearing and it is being
rUmored today that such a step NAV
| be taken in the dispensary case. In
fact, such a procedure is rather look
' ed for around the clerks office of the
! Supreme Court, because it is recog-
nfzed that this case is one of the most
, important decided at the present term
, Of the Court.
! If this step is decided upon it will
probably tie up the whole matter un-
J til next fall because the petition would
not be filed until the last day. which
! would be May 5. AS the Court will
adjourn for its summer vacation
/ ABOUT May Is. it is almost certain
| that the petition would not be taken
| W for consideration until fall as ev-
cry effort is now being made to get
rid of the cases that have already
been argued at this term, in order that
as few of them as possible may be
carried over. Such course would
mean that the whole matter would
stand in statu quo for the present and
| that while the receivers would be
! practically ousted, the dispensary
commission would be powerless to act
until either the petition for rehear-
ing had been acted upon one way or
another.
| Just what would be gained by this
move except the possibility Of getting
reversal of the present decision by
a new Court in the fall by the new
/ appointees who will probably take the
| place of Chief Justice Fuller and AS
socate Justices Peckham, Harlan and
Brewer-who are expected to retire
during the summer vacation, is not
now known.
While the refinement of Chief Jus
tlce Fuller from the bench would have
no effect on the case one way or an
other because he took no part in the
recent decision, having previously sat
on the Circuit Court of Appeals
bench in Richmond, there is always
| a possibility that a decision reached
by one Court may not be reached by
another when there has been a
change in its membership. In add:-
ton to this, a rehearing would give
the Wilson and Fleischman attorneys
| an opportunity to cover any weak
sI.ots in their case that might have
been neglected in the former argu-
ments. Although apparently there
would be little reason for them to
hope for a reevrsal Justice White
having reached the decision that the
case should be reversed on the broad
ground that, being suit against the
State, it had no standing in Court.