United States v. Edgar

• Decision Date: 29 January 1891
• Citation: 45 F. 44
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. EDGAR.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri

45 F. 44

UNITED STATES v. EDGAR.

United States Circuit Court, E.D. Missouri, Eastern Division.

January 29, 1891

This is a suit under section 3, Act Feb. 26, 1885, (23 U.S.St. 333,) to recover a penalty for prepaying the transportation of two aliens from Bristol, England, to the United States, such aliens being at the time, as it is claimed, under a contract to perform labor for the defendant in the United States. The petition, after alleging the prepayment of the transportation, while the aliens were under a contract to perform labor in the United States, further avers that 'said contract and agreement between defendant and said aliens was entered into between them by letters forwarded and delivered by mail, which letters are as follows:

'NO 16 AIKEN ST., BARTON HILL, BRISTOL, April 11, 1890.

From Mr. I. Boyce to Mr. Gray, the manager-- DEAR SIR: I have heard that you are in want of men to work on the spilter furnaces I and one of my fellow workmen would like to come out hear as the workshear is very slack if it would be convenient for you to send us a pass each we would come out as soon as possible we have both worked in the spelter works for many years would you oblige us by writing back to let us now and oblige

'I. BOYCE, 'No 16 Aiken Street, Barton Hill, Bristol England.

'The name of my fellow workman Fred. Dorosalski.'

'S. C. EDGAR,

'Lessee Glendale Zinc Works, Manufacturers and Refiners of Spelter,

'SOUTH ST. LOUIS, 1st July, 1890.

'I. Boyse, No. 16 Aiken Street, Barton Hill, Bristol, England-- DEAR SIR: Your letter of April 11th has just been handed me, and I have this day bought two tickets for you and Fred Dorosalski from St. Louis agent of American line, and all you have to do is to take this letter to Richardson, spence & Co., No. 17 Water street, Liverpool, and get tickets through to St. Louis. We can give you steady work, and have places for about 6 or 8 more smelters, if they want to come. I run 14 Belgium furnaces. Tickets will not be good after July 18th.

Yours, truly, S. C. EDGAR.'

It is conceded by the government that the letters constitute the only evidence of a contract that it can produce. It is further averred, in substance, that on receipt of the last of the above letters, Boyce and Dorosalski presented the same to Richardson, spence & Co., at Liverpool, England, and received from that firm tickets for their passage thence to St. Louis, Mo., which had been theretofore paid for by the defendant, and that the aliens thereupon took passage on a vessel from England to Philadelphia, intending to come to St. Louis and perform labor for the defendant, but that, on the arrival of the vessel at Philadelphia, the immigrant inspector at said port, on an examination of the circumstances under which they had come to the United States, refused to permit them to land, and ordered them to be sent back to England. To the petition alleging the above facts the defendant demurs.

Geo. D. Reynolds, U.S. Atty.

F. N. Judson, for defendant.

THAYER, J., (after stating the facts as above.)

Two questions have been argued at the bar: First, whether Boyce or Dorosalski, as shown by the...