Imperial Valley press., 1912-10-14
SUPREME COURT CONvENEs
WITH A FULL CALENDAR

IBY UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATIONSI
WASHINGTON, Oct, 14.-With the
business world anXiously awaiting its
decisions in cases involving millions
of dollars to commercial interests the
supreme court of the United States
convened at noon today. The vaca-
tion season had dealt kindly with the
justices and they looked the picture
1f health they sat on the bench
listening to the old court crier an
nounce the time honored formula that
"All persons having business with tn e
honorable the supreme court of the
United States are admonished to draw
near and give their attention, for the
court is now in session"
All the officials of the court have
seen duty more than a score of years. |
The justices nodded pleasantly to dis |
tinguished members of the bar who
were present for the opening, including |
the attorney general and members Of
his staff who came to argue important !
cases which the government is prose-
cutting.
Following the opening of the court |
il is always the custom of the justices |
TO adjourn Immediately to pay theil |
respects 10 the president, Dut as PreSl- |
dent Taft was out of the city today this |
courtesy was postponed until a later
date. The court then took up a num-
Der of applications for admissions to
practice before il and heard motions |
for the advancement of cases. Follow
ing this brief session. adjournment was
taken until tomorrow, when arguments
will be heard in a number of cases
oil fnr haa rin bo.
time. The most important one will be
the so-calIed bath tub trust" case, iii
which the enamelware manufacturers
are fighting the judgment of the fed
eral courts of Maryland that they have
been guilty of violating the sherman
law in maintaining an unlawful con-
spiracY in restraint of trade. The right
of the owner of a patent to attach
such conditions he pleases in re-
gard to the use of his patented article
when he sells or licenses it is in
Volved, and the courts decision is eX-
pected to throw new light on the re
lations between patents and the big
manufacturing combines. and the ex-
tent to which the latter may go in
controlling trade by the power Of their
patent grants. Lawyers for the trust
claim that its right to control its pat
ents should not be curtailed by appli-
cation of the antitrust law.
The court will also take up a fam
Gus murder case. Porter Charlton. a
young man of 23, who was arrested
and locked up in a New Jersey prison
TO answer to the charge of numbering
his wife at Lake Como, Italy, two years
ago, denies the right of the United
States to extradite him to Italy for
trial in the Italian courts. His counsel
will contend that under the treaty rc-
lations between this country and italy
there is no warrant under the ia-- fc-
returning MIN 70 Itaiy The ease i
on appeal 10 tLe Highest court from
the federal court Of New Jersey. which
refused to issue Il writ OF habeas corpus
granting him his liberty. Charlton will
soon know whether he will be set
free here Or be forced to return to
Italy and stand trial for murder.
Cases to be argued tomorrow include
the controversy between the states of
Wyoming and Colorado over the diver
sion of the waters of the Laramie riv-
er; the contest over Judge Archbald's
decision in the New Orleans Alabama {
rate cases, and the Patten Indictment
on charge of attempting to corner
the cotton market, to which James A
Patten, the Chicago speculator, de-
INJURED in the federal courts of New !
York on the grounds that private own ;
ership of large quantities of cotton did .
not constitute a violation of the Sher-
man antitrust law.
Scheduled for early argument are
nearly half a dozen cases to determine '
the scope of the Hepburn rate law in
its application to the question of liza ,
b1llty of railroads to shippers for arti-
cIes lost in transit. In a suit originat- ,
ing in the loss of household goods
shipped in Oklahoma, the question of ,
whether this law limits the liability !
of the railroads for such articles lost
in transit will be argued; in another
case the question of whether the Ne !
braska state constitution or the Hep
burn law control the contract limiting :
such liability is involved. The loss of :
horse shipped from Iowa to Nebras- ,
ka precipitated this issue. There is all
so in dispute the question whether the ,
statute allows the express companies 7
to limit the liability incurred from the
loss of shipments. This issue had it, :
origin in the shipment of a ring from (
Ohio to Alabama. The ring was lost
The powers of the interstate COM !
heTCe commission are to be further
defined in early decisions on cases :
shortly to be argued. The commission c
claims jurisdiction over the Chicago ,
stock yards railways. The railways de- ,
ny this right. Another question re- ,
garding the commission, to be heard :
next week, is whether the commission
may compel interstate railroads TO ,
grant connections with interurban cleo q
trict railways. Certain of the latter
railways in the state of Ohio are de-
manding this privilege.
new construction of the pure food
law is looked forward to in the de- /
termination of the status of frozen eggs {
seized on the ground that they were '
deleterious to health and therefore un- |
der the ban of the law The title of
this case is -Four hundred and forty '
three cans of frozen egg product VS..
the United States" d
The court will hear argument on the !
question Of what person is authorized l
under the New York state employers a
liability law TO collect damages in re- {
covery for injuries sustained. 4
The court will hand down no opin- I
ions until week from today, when it II
S<S<<<%&<k<k OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES