by John Marshall Harlan

“ The circumstances under which the 147 bonds were obtained by the railroad company from the trustee, the Union Trust Company, are stated, with substantial accuracy, in the finding of facts made by the court below. Those who procured those bonds to be issued by the railroad company had knowledge of the want of authority in the company to put them on the market to the prejudice of the rights of the appellees as the holders of the 310 bonds. ”

“ We do not mean to say that the 147 bonds, and each of them, are absolutely void for every purpose and by whomsoever held. If the present holders paid value for them without actual notice of the restriction imposed by the company upon its authority to issue them, they would be deemed bona fide holders for value, unaffected by the agreements between Moore and the railroad company; and they would be deemed holders for value, even if they took the bonds in payment of, or as security for, the company's pre-existing debts. Railroad Co. ”

“ The decree below as to H. J. McMurray, A. H. Manning, and W. F. Berry, partners as Manning & Berry, Charles T. Bender, trustee for Manning & Berry, and the First National Bank of Reno, as trustee for Manning & Berry, must be affirmed; and reversed as to the appellants William Wright, A. A. Watkins, and Jerry Schooling, and the cause, as to those parties, must be remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. The appeal by all the other appellants must be dismissed. The appellants Wright, Watkins, and Schooling will recover against the appellees their costs in this court. ”