Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/194/106/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 22:14:27+00:00

Document:
Where the decision of questions of fact is committed by Congress to the judgment and discretion of the head of a department, his decision thereon is conclusive, and even upon mixed questions of law and fact, or of law alone, his action will carry with it a strong presumption of its correctness, and the courts will not ordinarily review it, although they have the power, and will occasionally exercise the right of so doing.
As to what is second class mail matter, Houghton v. Payne, p. 194 U. S. 88, followed.
This was a bill to compel the recognition by the Postmaster General of the right of the plaintiff corporation to have a periodical publication, known as "Masters in Music," received and transmitted through the mails as matter of the second class, and to enjoin defendant from enforcing an order, theretofore made by him, denying it entry as such. This case took the same course as the preceding ones. 31 Wash.L.Rep. 395.
The first number of Masters in Music was issued in January, 1903, and an application was immediately made to the Postmaster General for its admission to the mails as second-class mail matter. The application was denied, and plaintiff immediately, and before the issue of another number, filed this bill. The publication purports to be a "monthly magazine,"
"Masters in Music will be unlike any other musical magazine. Each monthly issue, complete in itself, will be devoted to one of the world's great musicians, giving thirty-two pages of engraved piano music, which will comprise those compositions or movements that represent the composer at his best, with editorial notes suggesting the proper interpretation; a beautiful frontispiece portrait, a life, and estimates of his genius and place in art, chosen from the writings of the most eminent musical critics. The text will thus constitute an interesting and authoritative monthly lesson in musical history; its selections of music will form a library of the world's musical masterpieces, and all at slight cost. . . . The announcement of the contents of the February issue, which will treat of Chopin, will be found on another page."
The Postmaster General placed his refusal to allow this magazine to be transmitted as second-class mail matter upon the ground that each number was complete in itself; had no connection with other numbers save in the circumstance that they all treated of masters in music, and that these issues were in fact sheet music disguised as a periodical, and should be classified as third-class mail matter.
as mail matter, and that the exercise of such discretion ought not to be interfered with unless the court be clearly of opinion that it was wrong. The Postmaster General is charged with the duty of examining these publications and of determining to which class of mail matter they properly belong, and we think his decision should not be made the subject of judicial investigation in every case where one of the parties thereto is dissatisfied. The consequence of a different rule would be that the court might be flooded by appeals of this kind to review the decision of the Postmaster General in every individual instance. In the case of American School of Magnetic Healing v. McAnnulty, 187 U. S. 94, 187 U. S. 104, the Post Office authorities were held to have acted beyond their authority in rejecting all correspondence with the plaintiff upon the subject of the treatment of diseases by mental action; but while it was said in that case that the question involved was a legal one, it was intimated that something must be left to the discretion of the Postmaster General.
"Whether, for instance, a certain tract is swamp land or not, saline land or not, mineral land or not, presents a question of fact not resting on record, dependent on oral testimony, and it cannot be doubted that the decision of the Land Department, one way or the other, in reference to these questions, is conclusive, and not open to relitigation in the courts, except in those cases of fraud, etc., which permit any determination to be reexamined."
(Citing cases). See also Johnson v. Drew, 171 U. S. 93; Gardner v. Bonestell, 180 U. S. 362.
"Whether he decided right or wrong is not the question. Having jurisdiction to decide at all, he had necessarily jurisdiction, and it was his duty to decide as he thought the law was, and the courts have no power whatever, under those circumstances, to review his determination by mandamus or injunction."
"This means, and it is a sound principle, that, where there is a mixed question of law and fact, and the court cannot so separate it as to see clearly where the mistake of law is, the decision of the tribunal to which the law had confided the matter is conclusive."
In Gaines v. Thompson, 7 Wall. 347, it was held that the court would no more interfere by injunction than by mandamus to control the action of the head of a department, and in United States ex Rel. Dunlap v. Black, 128 U. S. 40, it was said that the courts will not interfere by mandamus with the executive officers of the government in the exercise of their ordinary official duties, even where those duties require an interpretation of the law, no appellate power being given them for that purpose. See also Redfield v. Windom, 137 U. S. 636.
the courts will not ordinarily review it, although they may have the power, and will occasionally exercise the right of so doing.
Upon this principle, and because we thought the question involved one of law, rather than of fact, and one of great general importance, we have reviewed the action of the Postmaster General in holding serial novels to be books, rather than periodicals; but it is not intended to intimate that in every case hereafter arising, the question whether a certain publication shall be considered a book or a periodical shall be reviewed by this Court. In such case, the decision of the Post Office Department, rendered in the exercise of a reasonable discretion, will be treated as conclusive.
concur in the opinion and judgment of the Court. Our reasons for dissenting are stated in the opinion filed by us in Houghton v. Payne, just decided.
of the Post Office Department, covering a period of sixteen years and more, need not be regarded in this case, although the construction of the statute in question is admitted to be doubtful. We cannot give our assent to this view.

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