Show BY TELE TELEGRAPH GRAPH PER PEK wesleen WESTEEN UNION USE une A M H IS 16 1 I C A N washington 23 A decision re rendered by the supreme court of united states today to day in the series live cases known as polygamy suits brought by certain mormon citizens of utah for the purpose of getting a judicial decision as to the power of the board of commissioners or canvassers appointed under the so called edmunds act of march 1882 to supervise elections in that territory the a applicants cants in these cases are arc jesse J 11 urphy mary alary ann pratt il ildred mildred E and alfred aifred Randal lEllen lelien C and hiram B clawson and jas al barlow the defendants and appellees appelless app ellees are alex ales ramsey and others constituting the federal board of commissioners and certain registration officers appointed by them the principal question lafed raised by the suits Is whether the board of commissioners appointed under the edmunds act had bad power to prescribe as a condition of registration of voters a discriminating test oath requiring the applicant for registration to swear that he or she has not been liviu living in a state of bigamy or pol poi poix poly me gamt gamy gamp the court holds that the rules pro promulgated mul mui gated by the board pre pro scribing the f form orin of oath to be exacted of persons offering to register as voters ennd and which constitute directions under which it is alleged the registration officers acted in the cases here complained of were without force and that no effect can be given them it cannot be alleged the court holds that they had the tile effect in law of preventing the regi registration n of plaintiffs 9 for the registration off omm meers officers were not bound nor authorized to obey ober them and if they did so ariey did didat it in their own wrong there was no relation between the board and the off officers leers appointed by them of principal and agent so as to make members of the former fonner liable for what the latter may have illegally done under their instructions and therefore no connection in law between the acts of the board is charged and the wrongs complained of if it be supposed that the board had bad the power which it seems seem they claim and exercised of putting into form as rules for the government of registration onn off officers leers their interpretation of the law andin and in that way published airone busand ous and illegal restrictions upon the right of suffrage in the territory such acts of administration were no ministerial erial and cannot be a ground of action they would be of that class which involve the exercise of judgment and discretion in public officers and which even when erroneous cannot furnish cause of action for damages in either elther view therefore jud judgment in favor of the board of com coal miss miEs loners in the court below was rightly rendered As regards tile the power and responsibility of re registration istra officers the court holds they them were merely ministerial officers and if they deprived complainants of their right to de ic registered as voters in violation of law they are responsible in all action for damages the court then takes tip lip and exi amines abines the cases separately and holds the complainants mary alary ann pratt and mildred E randall kandall were clearly deprived of their right to registration without authority of law since by cacir allegations they exclude themselves from the disqualifications qualifications dis ons of tile the act of 1882 ellen G C clawson jesse J murphy and james M barlow on the other hand were the court holds included in the qualifications of the act and had bad no right to registration in reaching these conclusions the court in its opinion makes all an elaborate re view of the act of 1882 for the pur par purpose ose OF of giving construction to I 1 bome some of its provisions and showing how they apply to the present cases by that act the court holds it is made the tile duty of registration officers to see that persons offering to register are free from the qualifications disqualifications dis defined therein in so doing they are required to dillig dilli gence enZe and good faith in their inquiries qu iries and are arc responsible in for rejections made without reas cause or maliciously in the cases mary ann pratt and mildred E randall above referred tol to the of the complaint not only show complainants nants were legally entitled to registered as voters but declare the refusal of the regist registration lation to admit them to the list was and malicious the demurrers the case as thus stated and should therefore have been overruled in conclusion justice Al atthews matthews who delivers the opinion of the court says with reference to the tlona llona lity of the abovementioned above mentioned act counsel for far appellants in seemed to question the a power ower 1 of conc Conz congress ress to pass the act 0 1 march 1 arch 1882 so far as it abridge abridges the rights of electors in the under previous laws but that question is we think no longer open t discussion it has passed beyond stage of controversy into final judg ment The people of the united as the sovereign power of the territories have supreme power ove over them and their inhabitants innabi tants in the exercise arcise of their sovereign dominion di Li leyare eyare represented by the govern men lt the united states to whom wrom all th powers of the government over abject have been delegated only to suh such restrictions as are ex pressed in the constitution or feces harily implied in its terms or in anth purposes poses and objects of the power it pur self seit of in ordaining a government to the territories auttie and the people who in habit them all discretion which belon belongs belons s t to 0 the legislative power Is vested in co congress and that extends beyond any conto nto versy t to 0 determining by law irom from time to time the form lorm of local government in a particular the quail of those who shall administer it it rests with congress to say whether in a given case any of the people resident in a territory shall participate in the election of its officers or making its laws and it may therefore take from them any right of suffrage it may previously have conferred or at any time modify or abridge it as it mav may deem expedient the personal and rid civil rights of inhabitants of territories are secured to them as to all other citizens by the principles of constitutional liberty which retains all azen asenci arenci cies cles cs of government state and national political rl rights ats are f franchises which they hold as s privileges in the legislative discretion of the tile congress of the united states if we concede this discretion in concree is nin fin limited cited by tile tiie obvious purposes for which it was conferred and that those purposes are satisfied by measures which prepare the peo cleof pie of the territories to become citizens of states in the union still the conclusion cannot be averted that the act of congress here in question I 1 is clearly within that justification for certainly no legislation can be supposed more wholesome and necessary informing afree a free self governing commonwealth mon wealth fit lit to take rank as one of the ordinate coordinate co states in the union than that which seeks to establish it on the basis of the idea of the family as consisting inand springing from the union for life of one man and one woman in the holy state of matrimony foun foundation dallon dailon of all that is stable and noole in our civilization the best guarantee of that reverent morality which Is the source of all beneficent progress in social and political improvement pro and to this end no means are ure more directly and immediately suitable than those provided by this act which endeavors to withdraw all political influence from those who are practically hostile to its attainment 91 the rhe judgment of the court below in the cases of jesse S murphy ellen C and hiram B clawson and J al barlow are ane affirmed as to all defendants below and appellees appelless app ellees here liere in the cases of mary ann M pratt and mildred E an and dAlfred alfred randall the judge ments merits are affirmed as to all defenda defendants ats and appellees appelless app ellees except E D hoge john S lindsey and harmel narmel pratt As to them the judgements judge ments are reversed and the cases are remand edwith direction to overrule the demurrers judge fb fields ids dissented from parts of the opinion ion iun washington 23 secretary manning today to day sent ga va circular letter to the beads heads of bureaus and chiefs of divisions of the treasury department requesting them to report to nim him in writing as soon as practicable whether in their opinion the force employed in their respective offices can be reduced and to what extent without detriment to the public service they are also requested to report whether the he methods of business can be simplified and in general to make such su suggestions 1 gest ions lons and recommendations as may occur to them as to how the efficiency of the service may be improved business in the department facilitated and expenses curtailed the report of the expert bookkeepers of the railroad commissioners office on the financial operations of the union unton pacific railway the past year ear has been received at the interior department an item of had been disputed bv by president adams of the union pacific company and was referred to the secretary for settlement it is understood the secretary will sustain the position taken tak n by the departments ments meats experts ex erts ad adver adversia verse hiu siu to the comin cumin panya claim y postmaster general vilas tonight to night confirmed an associated press dispatch from froin madison wis concerning concertin the appointment of general bryant and said he felt it desirable to have at the head of the law depar department ment of his bureau those whose political opinions were in consonance with those of tile administration general bryant is 13 he said a democrat and an old personal friend he Is a fine lawyer and has within a year published a valuable treatise on the judicial system of wisconsin until four years ago be he was gen law partner and was associated socia ted with him in editon editing and publishing the first twenty volumes or of reports of the supreme court of wisconsin he is about 48 years of age owing to the great pressure for in the navy department secretary whitney has prepared a circular which willbe will be furnished furnish edall edail all ali applicants re referring ferrin them to the civil service commission secretary lamar has decided to appoint a commission to investigate the workings of the interior department with a view of reorganization and rearranging work and force cb chief lef clerk lockwold Lockwo pd and assistant secretary joslyn mr atkins commissioner of indian affairs andner montgomery commissioner of patents are named named as likely to compose compo sethe the commission in is said at the white house that the president will take no action in regard to the of new york for some time montgomery Montz omery the new of patents today to day took the oath office al J durham the newly comptroller of the treasury assume the duties of his office wednesday the secretary of state is by the united states minister at stockholm that the swedish diet has to admit pork aud and all grain and meats into swedish ports duty f free ree nir sir atkins the new commissioner of indian affairs is expected here tomorrow the president today to day dav received a telegram from B B smalley of burlington vt saying the democracy of vermont 81 sincerely rickely thank you for tiie tile nomination of mr phelps it is an appointment point polut ment worthy 11 NEW york 23 three hundred striking operatives of the lace mills of duden co at williams bridge westchester west Wust chester county last night came in collision with a number of hands brought over from france by the firm to take the strikers places during the riot a number of men were seriously injured frederick roea spectator it is thought was fatally hurt ail vil all ail quiet this morning Wilkes barre barne pa 23 there is a strike among the laborers of the susquehanna que hanna coal co nanticoke which may extend to all the mines operated by the company WINNIPEG man alan 22 advices advises from prince alberi albert and carlton show that i the rising among the saskatchewan half breeds is somewhat serious they have been joined by a large 0 numb number er of indians have hase taken possession of the government stores at carlton made prisoners of the officials and threatened the fort there over one hundred mounted police have started from swift current for the scene of the trouble another detachment will leave the same point in a day or two the squad stationed at winnipeg start out tomorrow to morrow morning the tele ar graan apil line has been cut west of hurn lium bo boldt idt aad dispatches have to be br brought on ht to that point by messengers art artillery alery mounted police and volunteers are being hurried harried forward to prince albert and carlton to suppress the saskatchewan halfbreed half breed and indian uprising trouble is imminent N news e ws from frol U the scene of the disturbance ance is meagre today to day GRAND HAVEN mich blich 23 the steamer michigan whose loss was r reported e tonight to night left here feb uth in search of the pio propeller oneida which was imprisoned in the ice tee and short of provisions she was caught in and has been frozen in since she sank about 18 or 20 miles off holland about 4 thursday Thurs da afternoon last her strong g iron sides gave way under ane tremendous pressure of lee ice which piled up around her to a height of from 25 5 to 35 feet and nearly tore away or bent in all conceivable shapes her port side allowing the water to nil till her compartment part ment to ohe fhe the extent that soon made it apparent to the commander and crew that her fate was sealed the stearn steam pumps being insufficient to cope with the increasing volume of water however the men kept to work hoping to keep the tiie vessel afloat and with the help heip of the tug arctic which was near at hand to save the valuable pro but al at was of no avail gradually the body of the vessel ds appeared between huge icebergs almost equal to those of the polar regions crushing and grinding until at last the crep crew crew were compelled to save themselves and abandon the vessel the lifeboat was swung over the side and half a dozen half frozen individuals rapidly pulled it some distance from the sinking propeller while the rest prepared to follow captain was the last to leave leav tile the boat they got about a quarter of a mile from the propeller when the top masts disappeared in about feet of water the ile lle trip to th the tug arctic anich lay about out four ii li miles 11 off was attended by considerable suffering irom cold and aud danger from getting under the ice tee which ch was wag moving and continuously piling up under their feet however with the exception of slightly frozen aarsand ears and fingers lingers the entire crew crew reached the tw turf at night where they were cared for had it not been for the close proximity of the arctic not one of the crew would have reached the shore alive as all would have perished from cold on the ice during the night nigh tand and no one would have been left to tell the tale of the fate nothing of the crews personal property was saved and all went down with the propeller the crew consisted of captain mate james engineer phillip roth and ten men early this morning they left the arctic firmly packed in the ice wi with th no prospects of getting free and arrived at holland this aate afternoon anoon and here this evening with the exception of being badly worn out from their dangerous trip |