The Washington herald., 1913-05-27
SUPREME COURT
DECIDES CASES
Many Opinions Rendered by
Highest Tribunal Local
Druggist Wins Suit.
FRAUD ORDER UPHELD
Interior Secretary May Collect Assess.
msnts Upon Lands in Reelama-
don Projects.

A medicine patent does not secure ex-
elusive right to fix a price. according to
decision of the United States Supreme
Court yesterday. The Bauer Chemical
Company. of New York. sued James
OConneli. Washington cut-rste drug
gist, for selling patented preparation
at less than the fixed price.
The Court OF Appeals Of the District
of Columbia, unable to pass on the aues-
tons. certified the case 10 the Supreme
Court. which found In favor of O'Don-
nell. Justices McKenna, Holmes, Lurton.
and Van Deyanter dissented.
The claim of Lieut.. Commander Jerome
e Morse against the government for the
difference In pay between the grade Of
lieutenant commander, and commander
in the navy. was rejected by the United
States Supreme Court. Morse was retired
In 1874 and commended that he should have
the pay Of the next higher grade as SUBJ
sequently provided for civil war service
Declining to interfere with the man
datory powers Of an executive depart
ment of the government. the court re-
fused to annul the fraud order issued
by Postmaster General Hitchcock against
the Wellington System Corporations, of
Boulder, Colo. The order was issued to
combat the systems alleged practice of
obtaining money from small investors TO
pursue mining and land schemes and then
allowing profits TO be absorbed by a
parent holding company rather than paid
to stockholders Four hundred and
eighty-three thousand dollars is said TO
have been collected by the system.
Secretary May Collect.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Sec
rotary Of the Interior is vested with au-
thority to levy and collect assessments
upon lands in reclamation projects, in
addition to water charges, for main
tenance Of irrigation systems.
Charles r. Swygar and r. X Tiffany.
Of the Reclamation Service. brought suit
to collect such an assessment from d. p
Baker. owner Of land in the Sunnyside
Unit, of the Yakima project in Washing
ton. who had refused to pay the tax. AL
though declaring that the Secretary has
authority TO enforce the collection, and
reversing the lower court, which had
found in favor of Baker. the Supreme
Court admitted that the reclamation act
is ambiguous on this point.
The liability of automobile owners for
injuries to employees while riding in their
machines figured in the decision of the
court in the case Of Roy Brooks. of New
Orleans. La, who sued the Central st.
Jeanne, Of Porto Rico. a Belgium cor
thrown out OF a car owned by ii. Brooks
leg was broken and he sued for $1,000
On the ground that the navigation laws
give the government supreme jurisdiction
over the beds Of navigable streams, the
court upheld the governments right to
condemn a site in the Sault Ste Marie
The government offered the Chandler
Dunbar Water Power Company s375, 600
for its site. The offer was refused and
condemnation proceedings followed.
State Law Does Not Apply.
That a laborer on a railroad track is
engaged in Interstate Commerce and
subject to the Interstate Commerce act
was the decision of the court in the case
OF Martin Petersen. of Hoboken. N j.
who was struck by a local train The
Delaware, Lankawanna and Western
Railroad. the defendant. commended that
as the train was a local. the Interstate
Commerce act was inappiiable.
The principle that crown land grants
made before the days OF the republic do
not take away the public right of navi-
cation was laid down by the court in
a decision IN the case of the Lewis
Blue Point Oyster Company against ].
Marvin Briggs Of Great South BAY,
Long Island. Briggs contracted to dredge
channel in Great South Bay and in
so doing he disturbed the oyster beds
of the Blue Point Oyster Company.
The latter sued for an injunction. claim
ing that the royal grant through which
1t derived control of the property acted
as bar to the dredging of the channel
in the interest of navigation.
Interstate problems were propounded to