United States v. Gay
| Decision Date | 30 April 1897 |
| Docket Number | 9,230. |
| Citation | 80 F. 254 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES v. GAY. |
| Court | United States Circuit Court, District of Indiana |
Frank B. Burke, for the United States.
Miller Winter & Elam, for defendant.
This is an action to recover the penalty of $1,000, prescribed for the importation of aliens under contract to perform labor and service in this country, in violation of the acts of February 26, 1885, and March 3, 1891 (1 Supp.Rev.St.pp. 479, 934).
The declaration, omitting the caption, is as follows 'The plaintiff complains of the defendant, and says that the defendant is a resident of the city of Indianapolis, in the state of Indiana, and that heretofore, to wit, on the 20th day of July, 1893, the said defendant did assist and encourage the importation and migration of a certain alien and foreigner into the United States, to wit, one James H Henderson, who was then and there a native of Scotland and a subject of Great Britain, by promise of employment, through advertisements printed and published in the city of Glasgow Scotland, and under contract and agreement made previous to the importation and migration of said alien and foreigner, and previous to his becoming a resident and citizen of the United States, by the defendant with the said James H. Henderson, by which said contract and agreement the said James H. Henderson was to perform labor and service in the United States for the sum of twelve dollars per week, and the said defendant further agreed to refund the passage money and cost of transportation of the said James H. Henderson from Scotland to the United States; wherefore plaintiff says the defendant has become liable to a penalty of one thousand dollars, for which sum plaintiff demands judgment against defendant, and for all other proper relief.'
To this declaration the defendant has interposed a demurrer, for insufficiency of facts to constitute a cause of action.
The statute in question is highly penal, and must be so construed as to bring within its condemnation only those who are shown by the direct and positive averments of the declaration to be embraced within the terms of the law. It will not be so construed as to include cases which, although within the letter, are not within the spirit of the law. It must be construed in the light of the evil which it was intended to remedy, which, as is well known, was the importation of manual laborers under contract previously entered into, at rates of wages with...
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