The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1910-03-02

s..Naturatfyr,tham members OF the court
are Rtlle foremost+legal ttcchnicians In
the country. Their opinions are d.
rected toward. clearing abstruse legal
situations. Wherefore 1t happens that
the correspondents. who. II they weret
legal sharps, wouldn't be In the news.
paper game, have a hard time OF It
ascertaininE just what Is meant b.
such and stitch q decision. :
1t isn't safe for the reporter to send
out n bulletin, or a flash, reardgins
decision OF the court until the justice
delivering that decision shall have
said the last word-an,l sometime:
not even then. 1t IL Il favorite tricl:
for the justices in delivering opinions
to startswith one side, apparently. full,
sustain every point, and when thu
newspanermanl has Just about decided
to make his bulletin to this effect
suddenly tower OF, with the words
however" ETC.. or ION the other
and,''still. contrarywlse.r and So on
and then follow with what is appar.
emily Just as fully an affirmation OF
! the opposite view. ,.
Then, frequently. the court doesn't
directly specify affirmed" or '.revers
ed" but qualities this action with 9th.
er instructions. This Is the signal fol
the press men TO tear their hair. Foo,
| instance. last year on the courts de
cisinn on the commodities clause" al
the railway rate lava case of tire
menlous importance-each OF the
three association men mt the courr
sent out different fash. It took
them half an hour 40 figure out, after
ward. just exactly what Justice White
meant In mis- opinion. and then they
were able TO do it only with the as:
sistence or Solicitor General Hoyt,
Another instance. a press assocla
ton man at the court hears an opln
ion In case 254-the question OF
whether the Secretary OF War has the.
authority to make the Olentagy Bridge
Company raise its bridge six inches
he writes out a bulletin embracing
what he thinks the court has decided
THAT the Secretary has the power
Fifteen minutes later. when he Is lie
sparinely attempting to discover what
the Chief Justice has been saying
about case number $685." he Is handed
message from his boss-"Oppositio
says re olentagy bridge that secre
tary War mas not got the power.
Howe" a..
The correspondent doesn't dare
leave the court room until all the de
:isions have been rendered, for fear OF
losing an important one. A press as.
ISOLATION man last year left the room
for just a moment to .straighten out
query" from his Office. and In that
time Chief Justice Fuller announced
that the court had denied the petition
OF the Government for a hearing of
the s29,0OO.O00 Standard Oil case. He
didn't get this supremacy important
item for at least ten mlnutes-and
then only because he happened, to
hear some lawyers talking about It.
From the fact that the opinions as
rendered by the court contain only +
legal history" OF the case, and seldom
present the facts In u way in which
they could be used by the newspaper.
man. and. also. because very often thu
Justices merely announce case Mum.
Der so-and-so: for reasons stated In
the opinion. we reverse the judg.
! ment.' it Is necessary for the CORE
snondcnts to have 4 carefully prepar
al synopsis of every case on the dock
ct all ready from which to secure the
essential facts on the litigation in cues.
ton when the decision Is rendered.
The only way TO get this information
Is to hlesst the transcript OF the rec.
ord. which often spreads through a
half dozen volumes. The Missouri
River Rate Gases take lip seven large
books OF 400 odd pages each: the To
bacco Trust Cases I'LL up two 500-page
volumes there nreg many others Just
rs bulky. n4f
One OF the press association men
no wcoevrlng the court has been at
that work for fifteen years. and every
Monday. the. reEulnrtdecision day OF
the court, hen has; i, the same sort OF
stnge.fright us the youngsters.
e, - ~ ~ 81
Wheneter,an ON cerl iB punished, the