Carlson v. State of Washington, On the Relation of Charles Curtiss

• Decision Date: 25 May 1914
• Docket Number: No. 307,307
• Citation: 234 U.S. 103,34 S.Ct. 717,58 L.Ed. 1237
• Parties: P. A. CARLSON, Plff. in Err., v. STATE OF WASHINGTON, ON THE RELATION OF CHARLES P. CURTISS
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

234 U.S. 103

34 S.Ct. 717

58 L.Ed. 1237

P. A. CARLSON, Plff. in Err.,

v STATE OF WASHINGTON, ON THE RELATION OF CHARLES P. CURTISS.

No. 307.

Submitted March 17, 1914.

Decided May 25, 1914.

Mr. Corwin S. Shank for plaintiff in error.

No counser appeared for defendant in error.

Mr. Justice Pitney delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff in error was adjudged by the superior court of Thurston county, in the state of Washington, to be in contempt of that court, in that, with notice of a decree made by it, restraining and enjoining any further excavation of the Lake Washington canal, or any lowering of the waters of Lake Washington, he proceeded to blow out an embankment at the head of the canal, which, until that time, held the waters of the lake at their natural level, so as to permit these waters to flow into the canal and thereby lower the level of the lake. The supreme court of the state affirmed the judgment (66 Wash. 639, 120 Pac. 104), and the case comes here under § 237, Judicial Code [36 Stat. at L. 1156, chap. 231, U. S. Comp. Stat. Supp. 1911, p. 227], upon the ground that the acts done by plaintiff in error, and because of which he was held to be in contempt of court, were done under the direction and authorization of officers of the War Department of the United States, acting in the performance of their duties in constructing a public improvement consisting of a ship canal extending from Lake Washington to Salmon bay, in pursuance of statutes of the United States.

Our examination of the Federal question is somewhat embarrassed because the findings and statements of fact by the state courts contain no finding respecting some of the facts that are alleged as the basis of the present contention of plaintiff in error. The inadequacy is attributable, no doubt, to the mode in which the alleged Federal right was asserted. Plaintiff in error having been brought before the trial court upon an order to show cause, based upon a sworn complaint or information made by the relator, setting forth circumstantially the blowing out of the embankment in question by one Erickson and by plaintiff in error as his foreman, the latter in his answer denied that he blew out the embankment upon the orders of Erickson, and on the contrary averred that he 'did so by express orders of the engineering department of the United States government,' There was testimony tending to support this averment, but the trial court, while making no specific finding upon the subject, in effect held that the work was done in behalf of the state of Washington, one of the parties to the cause in which the restraining decree was made. To its findings numerous exceptions were taken, but in none of these was any Federal right asserted, nor was any deficiency in the findings suggested. The su- preme court, however, instead of disregarding the claim of Federal right upon the ground that it had been abandoned in the trial court, recognized the contention of plaintiff in error that the 'work was done under the direction of the United States engineers who had charge of the work for the government,' and by its decision necessarily overruled it. We must therefore deal with the Federal question. North Carolina R. Co. v. Zachary, 232 U. S. 248, 257, 58 L. ed. ——, 34 Sup. Ct. Rep. 305.

Among the assignments of error is one based upon the refusal of the supreme court to find as a fact that the acts for the performance of which plaintiff in error was held guilty of contempt were done under the direction and authorization of officials of the War Department of the United States, acting in pursuance of and in accordance with the acts of Congress. While, in ordinary cases, we are bound by the findings of the state court of last resort respecting matters of fact, it is hardly necessary to say that that court cannot, by omitting to pass upon the basic questions of fact, deprive a litigant of the benefit of a Federal right, any more than it could do so by making findings that were wholly without support in the evidence. And just as this court, where its appellate jurisdiction is properly invoked and all the evidence is brought before it, will, if necessary for a decision of a Federal question, examine the entire record in order to determine whether there is evidence to support the findings of the state court, so it is our duty, in the absence of adequate findings, to examine the evidence in order to determine what facts might reasonably be found therefrom, and which would furnish a basis for the asserted Federal right. Southern P. Co. v. Schuyler, 227 U. S. 601, 611, 57 L. ed. 662, 669, 43 L.R.A.(N.S.) 901, 33 Sup. Ct. Rep. 277, and cases cited.

Since the present record appears to contain all the evidence that was submitted to the state courts, we proceed to supplement the statement made by the supreme court by adding such further facts pertaining to the asserted claim of Federal right as might reasonably have been found, with the following result:

One Erickson, a general contractor, had entered into a contract for excavating a part of the Lake Washington canal. The contract was in writing, dated August 16, 1910, and was made between 'Arthur Williams, Captain Corps Engineers, United States Army, hereinafter represented as the contracting officer representing the state of Washington, on the one part, and C. J. Erickson, of Seattle, in the county of King, state of Washington, hereinafter designated as the contractor, of the second part.' The work covered by the contract was nearing completion when, on October 22, 1910, in an action pending in the superior court in and for the county of Thurston, between William L. Bilger and others, plaintiffs, and the state of Washington, King county, and Erickson, defendants, upon the application of the plaintiffs for an order enjoining defendants from removing the embankment between the excavated portion of the canal and Lake Washington, the court, being satisfied that such removal might tend to lower the waters of the lake to the detriment and damage of the plaintiffs, announced that a restraining order would issue. In accordance with this announcement a formal decree was made under date October 28. Erickson had notice of the announced decree, and plaintiff in error, who was acting as his foreman upon the work, had written notice of it on October 26, after which he proceeded to blow up the embankment, contrary to the prohibition. Under the state practice, the decree bound them from the time they were informed of it, although it was not yet formally entered. There was evidence tending to show that plaintiff in error acted under orders coming not from Erickson, but from Captain Williams; and his own testimony was to this effect. Other evidence tended to show that the canal strip or right of way was in the control of the War Department, with a watchman actually upon the ground. The contract was not introduced in evidence, and there was only meager testimony as to its contents, which left it doubtful whether the final work of excavating the opening between the head of the canal and the lake was within its provisions. Since there is no distinct finding upon this subject, we will consider the case in both aspects.

The act of Congress especially invoked as authority for what was done by plaintiff in error under direction of Captain Williams is the river and harbor act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. at L. 630, 666, chap. 382), which contains the following:

'Puget sound—Lake Washington waterway: Continuing improvement by the construction of a double lock, with the necessary accessory works, to be located at 'the Narrows,' at the entrance to Salmon bay, in accordance with the project set forth in House Document numbered nine hundred and fifty-three, Sixtieth Congress, first session, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars; and the Secretary of War may enter into a contract or contracts for such material and work as may be necesary to complete said lock and accessory works, to be paid for as funds may be provided from time to time by law, not to exceed in the aggregate two million, two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, including the amount herein appropriated; Provided, that before beginning said work, or making such contract or contracts, the Secretary of War shall be satisfied that King county, or some other local agency, will do the excavation in the waterway above the lock to the dimensions recommended in said project, and will also secure the United States from liability for any claims or damages on account of the grant made to James A. Moore or his assigns by the act of Congress approved June eleventh, nineteen hundred and six [34 Stat. at L. 231, chap. 3072, U. S. Comp. Stat. Supp. 1911, p. 1535], or on account of the lowering of the level of Lake Washington, raising the level of Salmon bay, or any other alteration of the level of any part of said waterway.'

In order to correctly appreciate the meaning and effect of this language, it is necessary to refer to House Document No. 953, 60th Cong., 1st Sess. (vol. 20), and to certain previous acts of Congress therein mentioned; and while reviewing these acts we may at the same time consider whether any of them contains any justification of what was done by plaintiff in error.

By way of preface, it should be stated that the city of Seattle lies between the tidal waters of Puget sound and Lake Washington, the latter being a body of fresh water 2 miles or more in width and 19 miles or more in length, and having a natural level 30 feet or more above mean low water in the sound. Between this lake and the sound is Lake Union, a smaller body of fresh water (covering about 1,000 acres), and having a natural level much lower than that of Lake Washington, yet considerably above the tide. The lakes had independent natural outlets. Salmon bay is a small body of water connected through Shilshole bay with Puget sound, and is (or was) affected by the ebb and flow of the tide. The...