Firth v. United States
| Decision Date | 03 May 1918 |
| Docket Number | 1606. |
| Citation | 253 F. 36 |
| Parties | FIRTH et al. v. UNITED STATES. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
Seymour Stedman, of Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs in error.
Lon H Kelly, U.S. Atty., of Gassaway, W. Va.
Before KNAPP and WOODS, Circuit Judges, and SMITH, District Judge.
The defendants were convicted under an indictment charging conspiracy 'on . . . day of May, 1917, * * * to defraud the said United States, by impairing, obstructing, and defeating a lawful function of the government of the said United States, to wit, the registration for military service of all male persons between the ages of twenty-one and thirty, both inclusive, as provided by the act of Congress passed May 18, 1917. ' The overt act charged was the circulation of a printed circular in these words:
On the circular was a cartoon, representing a German soldier and a member of Congress in grotesque attitudes, and a citizen speaking to the congressman. Under the cartoon were the words:
'American Father: Come now, Mr. Congressman-- none of that for my sons.'
A demurrer to the indictment was overruled. The statute providing for registration for military service was enacted on May 18, 1917. 40 Stat. 76, c. 15. Obviously the defendants were informed that they were charged with formation of conspiracy in the month of May after the enactment of the statute, for the indictment specifically alleges that the conspiracy was formed in violation of the statute. Ledbetter v. United States, 170 U.S. 606-612, 18 Sup.Ct. 774, 42 L.Ed. 1162; Day v. United States, 229 F. 534, 143 C.C.A. 602.
The indictment is not subject to the objection of indefiniteness, for it not only alleges conspiracy to obstruct registration for military service, but sets forth the precise methods the defendants intended to use to effect that purpose. Crawford v. United States, 212 U.S. 183-192, 29 Sup.Ct. 260, 53 L.Ed. 465, 15 Ann.Cas. 392.
Counsel earnestly argued that, since the citizens who were called to register for military service had not commenced any service to the government, exhortation or persuasion to them not to register was not an obstruction of a function of the government. It is too plain for argument that preparation for war by registration for military service is as much a function of the government as the actual waging of war.
There was sufficient evidence of conspiracy to go to the...
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