Houston Coal Co. v. United States

This cause went off below on motion to dismiss the petition and the record presents a question of jurisdiction only. Judicial Code, § 238. Did the District Court have authority to hear and determine the issues tendered by plaintiff in error? The point is not free from difficulty; but, after considering the contending views, we conclude there was jurisdiction and that the judgment to the contrary must be reversed.

Purporting to proceed under authority granted by § 10 1 of the Lever Act, approved August 10,1917, c. 53, 40 Stat. 276, the President, acting through the Secretary of the Navy,…