The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-02-14
Hu in3ss and Political World Is Looking Or ImpOT ant Gases
 To Be Settled
TOBACCO COMP. NY SUIT
 LEADS IN IMPORTANCE
der and Several Others VIII Be Decided Within Very
 Short Time

Washington, February 13.-When the su- preme court of the United States con- venes Monday. February 21. long list of e, oislons is expected by some of the legal D. ofession who have been following the proceedings in the court. The lawyers believe that the court during it's three weeks vacation has endeavored to dis pose of many cases in order that 1t may be as free as possible to consider this spring the great questions of the applica- tion of the sherman antitrust law to cor porations and the validity of the corpora ton tax provisions of the Payne tariff law
 Overshadowing all others, the suit of the government against the American Tobacco company and others is the most important case under advisement by ths court It was argued several weeks ago. On account of the Standard oil case td ne argued March 14 and involving sim. liar questions, it is believed the decision :n the tobacco case will not be announced until after the Standard oil suit has been heard.
 Ono of the most important laws, whose validity has been questioned in argu. inents before the court, is the hours of service law for railroad employees, passed cy Congress in 1907. The railroads have attacked the law as being applicable to employees engaged in commerce within the state as well as in interstate commerce.
 It is claimed that the law is open to the same objections which wiped out the em- pioyers' liability law of 1906. A decision in tIaf f1anA hA naH I.ala.s aIy q.
 Another sllir which has attracted much attention is that in which the government ls seeking to get possession of property amounting to nearly s400,O00 in the hands If Oberlin M. Carter, a former captain Ill the engineer corps of the army, who ~as sentenced to prison for his alleged connection with schemes to defraud the government out of s2,000 900, intended for the improvement of the harbor at Savan- nah. The court has the case under ad- visement.
 A trio of cases under advisement in- solve the authority of the federal offi- cals to bring Theodore H. Price, Fred erick A. Peckham and Moses r1aas fro~, their homes in New York to the 1 ? trict of Columbia for trial on charges growing out of the "cotton leak'' scan- dal in the department of agriculture Tn 1905.
 The validity of large number of state laws is questioned in cases which the court has heard argued, but in which it has not announced it's decision. Among these is the act of the legislature of Min nesota increasing to 4 per cent the rate of the gross earning tax upon railroads in the state. The Chicago, Great Western Railway company and the Great North ern Railway company have brought suits to the supreme court. claiming that as ap- in Ia they possess charters which exempt them from paying a higher rate than Is speci- fled in those charters.
 From South Carolina have come a num- Der of suits involving the validity of the law which awards to the complainant a penalty, if railroads refuse to adjust claim for goods lost in shipment within 20 days.
 One Arkansas suit involves the validity of the state legislature requiring local corporations seeking to do business there, to pay a fee proportionate to the capital stock of the corporation.
 Another suit attacks the validity of the Arkansas law which authorizes the revo- cation of the charter of any foreign cor poration which removes a suit or prose- cution, brought by any one against 1t, in any court of the state, to any federal court, without the consent of the other party, or which institutes an original Sult or proceeulhss dsaltist any citizen of Arkansas in any federal court
 The validity of the regulations of the railroad commission of Arkansas, requir- ing railroads to furnish cars for local shipments within five days after ordered. has been raised in another case under consideration.
 From Alabama comes a case which tests the constitutionality of the law for bidding the soliciting of orders for en- largement of photographs or selling pic- ture frames without a license, except In the case of merchants or others having a place of business in the state.