by John Marshall Harlan

“ We are of opinion, in view of the peculiar language of the act of 1894 for the protection as well of the United States as of all persons furnishing materials and labor for the construction of public works, that it is not an unreasonable construction of the words in the judiciary act of 1887, 1888, 'or in which controversy the United States are plaintiffs or petitioners,' to hold that the United States is a real, and not a mere nominal, plaintiff in the present action, and therefore that the circuit court had jurisdiction. ”

“ We repeat, the present action may fairly be regarded as one by the United States itself to enforce the specific obligation of the contractor to make prompt payment for labor and materials furnished to him in his work. There is, therefore, a controversy here between the United States and the contractor in respect of that matter. The action is none the less by the government as a litigant party, because only one of the persons who supplied labor or materials will get the benefit of the judgment. ”

“ He is a mere conduit through whom the law affords a remedy to the person injured by the acts or omissions of the sheriff; the governor cannot prevent the institution or prosecution of the suit, nor has he any control over it. The real and only plaintiffs are the plaintiffs in the execution, who have a legal right to make the bond available for their indemnity, which right could not be contested in a suit in a state court of Mississippi, nor in a circuit court of the United States, in any other mode of proceeding than on the sheriff's bond.'
Maryland use of Markley v. ”