The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1911-04-12
West Virginia Bar, 0ficia.
Organ Of Lawyers Of
~ This State.

4 uelt case ITeidftieie Is 50 iliuuItna
tive and Instructive thai Il deserves
to be repeated ana read in every sec
4 ton of the stntc. The Telegram
IS pleased to note that this all,
legal authority agrees with it that tn,
opinion OF the supreme court recent,
rendered has no legal effect and i'm.
poses no moral obligation upon tn,
people Of wese Virginia.
The Bar says:
We bekeve all lawyers will agree
chat the action OF the United states
supreme court in The deDt controversy
between Virginia Is the most anOma.
Gus as to its procedure and result Of
any in the historysio that court.
We believe It Is a proceeding with
out precedent in any court unless 1t
be The Hague court of international
arbitration, to which it approaches
some resemblance.
Having decided to entertain a suit
in equity supporting to. be Instituted
by one state against another state
% adjudtcate a monetary claim, It
proceeds in the usual course to reach
that result until the questions of law
and fact have been fully heard, but
make no decree.
Thereupon the court takes the atti-
tude OF account Of arbitration and
leafs with it from that standpoint.
out makes no award, but rather re-
fers it back to the parties themselves
Cor arbitration with a covert threat
that IL they don't artbtrate they, may
nave to Htigate.
The questions OF law which were
prged against the plaintiffs conten-
ton and which were deemed so fun
tamental by the commission of able
amyers representing the defense, that
1hey were unanimous in their judg.
.nent and absolutely confident in their
expressed conviction, that the plain
;ifrs claim could not prevail in any
curt of law. We're CURLY brushed
aside, The conceded fact that thu
plaintiff was without any interest In
he case; that under the, constitution
ihe had no right there except as
state, making a bona fide claim in hes
l%n right, yet had already cancelled
Ill rights and Obligations OF her own
md by the very act of instituting that
suit; whether she won or lost, HAD
anrelled all claim to any recovery
the suit; had in fact admitted that
under hor agreement West VIrginlp.
would thereafter owe her nothing
md that anything that might be re:
covered would go to her assignees,
his fundamental fact, this imposture
yhis .aLbuse OF a strict constitutions
privilege, was also curly brushed
ss:de by the court; and although
'endering no decree. award or iudg.,
,ment. they seem 10 ,7haUoesreaehed &,
tinality-or hope they have-whil,
the position of the parties, is left
about as 1t was before the suit was
instituted,
This anomalous result can be eX-
olalEed only by guessing at some
.hings-for the opinion or disqulsl-
ZION which the court handed down
does not vouehsafe amy explanation
We guess that IL we had been he.
hind the scenes In the council cham.
Der of the court when this case was
being considered we would have wit.
,essed a divided court-a divided
court first ON. the matter or taking
any Jurisdiction Of the ease, we are
,ure tbot Chief Tnstice White entered
a yi-oro,,s protest q gai,st taking iur-
lSf;cfin1 In n case ana rendering a
lecr,a wia,ch the court could not en-
f,ur4 He bhd already pur himself
IN reccrl al tbo North Carolina case
= roins4 81, I, II course put he was
not chief Justice when the demurrer
to thc Virginia hill was being consid-
ersd and tha ,hep chief tustiee tEuI-
lana ,yos oe.a .,.ontra,x mind and sew
o,..,o r,onba,s ~ the court wore with.
E-,,,r,r ,,,ar I'm, bove since nasssd