76
FE)Di;ML REPORTER.
the part oicongress to prohibit the immigration of aliens under a contract to labor, and, in view. of the phraseology of the title to the act, that body seems to have prohibited their l!'tnding with sufficient clearness. 2. The relator further contends' that he is within, the exception of the fifth section, which provides that the acts shall not apply to persons employeq strictly as or domestic servants. 'There was before the collector when he made his decision, legal and competent evidence of facts on*hich to exercise a jridgment as to the status of the relator. Under these circumstances, the matter being within the. jurisdiction of, the collector under the act, further considerl),tion of the case might be dispensedwith tinder the authority of In re Day, 27 Fed. Rep. 678, and there, ' Upon all, .the proOfs, however, as. well those which were before the collectoras·those since supplied through the answers to interrogatories; I am bfthe opinion that the relator is not within: the exception; because it appears that his labor will (in part at least) be devoted to the production of merchandise (the surplus dairy products of the herd 'b¢ing sold on the market) whieh competes with the products of, o'thei's, Whose, erHre atteIltiqp. to manufacturing such products. Manifestly, it was the intention of congress to exclude immigrants coming under contrttet', to perform such 'labor. The facts answers to .the 'ihterrogatories, however, have never been disclosed by placed before the collector, and therefore, under the authority of In re Day, Z7 Fed. Rep. 681, the whole case may be llgain presented to him, if the relator so desires. Ordered accordingly.
& parte . ' 1,'
,
",
(Jourt, " , Minneaota. August 29, 188'7.) D. . " ' , ,
A 4,ellPsite? in the letters in.closed it:l en!elopes to a debtor, on \Jne of WhICh was mdorsed: ".Carry me back m due tIme to - - , 'the Regrtlator; ifdr pUblication, 82 South Washington, Minneapolis, Minn. Persons. wh9 wool rUS ,to collect from'DEAJ) BEATS should send their accounts to 32 sou.thIMinn'eapolis, Minn. Send five cents to insure letter to the critter;" and on another: "Return in 10 days postage for'a to -'-'-'-, the'ollector of BAD ,DEBTS, '39 Washington Av. S.· Minneapolis, Minn. I am loOkiJ,l?, for an OLl> BILL. The DEAD-BEAT COLLECTOR hires tbem up.,' He It postal card addressed to the debtor, me to conts;'ining thefoIlowinA' writing:''''Sm: Considering how near you can come to fill a bill, I have decided to post you on all DEAD-BEAT lists I know of in the city, and have accordingly gir.en .the.diJferent agencies a chance at you." He!d, that the was not liable to prosecution under Rev. St. U. S. 889:l, as,:amended,m9,king it any person to deposit in the mail any "letter upon the envelope; of· whicD, or postal card upon which, indecent, IIHyd,oQlio\lne; or lascivious epithe,ts, ,terms. or language mar. be writt,enorprinted. " as the stat.u,te was intended to exclude from the maIls billy such writingfl as were impure or immodest, and tended to corrupt , morals;of the people. .
Petition, for a Writ pf Habeas OOrpU8.
:1
I
EX PARTE DORAN.
77
T. Ryan, tor petitioner. Dan.W. La'J)w, for the United States. NELSON, J. The petitioner was arrested, charged with a violation of section 3893, Rev. St. U.S., and, after a preliminary examination before a commissioner of the United States circuit court, was held guilty of the charge. Upon his commitment which followed, he presents a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that he is unlawfully and illegally restrained of his liberty, and that the act which he is charged with doing is not an offense against the laws of the United States. The petitioner admits that he deposited in the mail certain writings, and a postal-card and envelopes upon which the following are indorsed:
[Envelope.]
EXHIBIT A. Carry me back in due time to - - Persons who want us to collect from - - - The Regulator, for publica- DEAD BEATS should send their action, 32 South Washington, Minne- counts to 32 Washington avenue apolis, Minn. south, Minneapolis, Minn. Send five cents to insure postage for a large letter to the critter. Mr. D. J. COMLY, 8th &, Jackson Sts., City. . [Envelope.]
Return in 10 days to -_.- - - - , The Collector of BAD DEBTS, 32 Washington Av. S., Minneapolis; Minn. I am looking for an OLD BILL. The DEAD-BEAT COLLECTOR hires me to look them up.
EXHIBIT B.
[Stamp.] St. Paul, Minn ·.} { July 18, '87. 3p. H.
[Postal Card.]
D. J. COMLY, Cor. 8th & Jackson, 9 Corlies, Chapman & Drake, City.
JULY 18, 1887. SIR: Considering how near you can come to fill a bill, I have decided to post you on all the DEAD-BEAT lists I know of in the city, and have accordingly given the different agencies a chance at you. F. B. DORAN.
EXHIBIT C.
Section 3893,
"Every obscene, lewd, or lascivious book, pamphlet, picture, paper, writing, print, or other publication of an indecent character, and every article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception, or procuring of abortion, and every aJiic1e or thing intended or adapted for any indecent or immoral use. and every written or printed card, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement, or notice of any kind, giving information, directly or indirectly, where or how, or of whom, or by what means; any of the hereinbefore mentioned matters, articles, or things may be obtained or made, and every letter upon the envelope of which, or postal-card upon which, indecent, lewd, obIlcena, or lascivious delineations, epithets, terms, or language may be written or printed, are· hereby declared to be non-mailable matter, and shall not be conveyed in the mails. nor delivered from any post-ofllce, nor by any letter-
as amended, enacts as follows:
78 carrier: and any person who shall knowinglydeposft, C311se to be deposited, for mailing or delivery, anything declared by this section to be non-mailable matter, * * * shall be deemed gUilty of a misdemeanor, and shall for 'each and every offense be tined not less than one hundred nor more than five thousand dollars, or imprisonlld at hard labor not less than one year, nor more than ten years, or both, at .the discretion of the court. " Supp. Rev.St. 229. The claim made by the relator that the exhibits do not make out a case in which this court haa jurisdiction, and that the law has not been violated, in my opinion, is irue. To hold otherwise would necessitate a strained construction of· this statute. The purpose of the act was to prevent. the mails from being used to circulate matter to corrupt the morals of the people. The history of this legislati?n clearly I'hows that congress determined to exclude from the mails impure and immodest writings, and that rough and coarse language is not within the terms of the act. It is not the province of courts to extend the statutes so as to embrace cases not plainly and clearly within their terms; and, if there is a fair doubt whether the aet charged is within the purview of the law, the person who committed it is entitled to the benefit of the doubt. The supreme court of the United States, in FJx parte Jackson, 96 U. S. 736, say: "In excluding various articles from the mail, the object of congress has not been to interfere 'with * * * the rights of the people, but to refuse its facilities for the distribution of matter deemed injurious to the public morals." And, again: "AU that congress meant by this act was that the mail should not be used to transport such corrupting lications and articles. " The writings deposited in the mail and complained of are not excluded mailable matter, and afford no cause for criJ,ninal proGeedings. The petitioner. is discharged from custody.
WHEELER
and others
'IJ.
HART
and others.
(CIrcuit Oourt, No D. New York. August 23, 1887.) PATENTS FOR INVENTIONS-DETACHABLE RADIATOR-STATE OF ART-RESTRICTION OF CLAIM:. .
In a suit for ,infringement of claim 1 of letters patent No. 245,157, granted Messrs. GoodeJlow & Owens. August 2, W81, for an improvement in hot-air furnaces, consisting of "a furnace having a detachable radiator," "substantially as and 'for the. purposes set forth, " the specifications requiring that the radiator be attached by means of a flange, slots, and lugs, which securely lock it in poaltion, and render it detachable by bringing the lugs opposite the slots, helil, in view of the state of the art. and the language of the specifica· tions, that this claim was not infringed by: a furnace having a detachable radiator not s!:lcured by any such means, or equivalents therefor.
In Equity. Bill for an infringement ofclaim 1 patent No. 245,157, granted to Messrs. Goo,denow & Owens, August 2, 1881, for an improvement in
