Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-12-01
TARIFF IN COURT.
Supreme Judges Listen to the
Importers Counsel.
ATTEMPT TO INVALIDATE THE LAW

rhe whole Ct MeKiniey's BnI Attacked
Reasons Given Why the Court should
Declare 1t Nall and Void-POstofiice
Figures of Interest to the Hurried or
Careless Citizen Report from the
dead Letter Office-Secre airy Fosters
Illness serious-rhe speakership.
WASHINGTON. Dec THE importers
who want the Mckinley bill declared I'M
constitutional began having their day in
the supreme court yesterday, when the
cases of Marshall Field g. Co. of Chicago;
Charles Sternback ct al; Boyd, Sutton 6,
Co.; II. Hermann, SternLack & Co., of
New York, appellants, against Clark, COL
lecror of customs at Chicago; Erhardt,
collector at New York, and the United
) ates. came up. w. Wickham Smith, of
counsel for Boyd, Sutton s. Co, opened the
C use for the appellants. The appeal by
which this case came to the supreme court
was granted by the United States circuit
court for the southern district of New
York from decision made by the court
that the collector of customs at New York
had legal authority to levy duties on cot
ton and silk laces under the Mckinley
tariff act, and that the act was not, as
claimed b. the appellants, nugatory and
void.
Why the Bill Is Null and Void"
Mr.. Smith outlined the position of his
clients, contending that the act was null
aud void because it was never enacted in
the mode prescribed by the constitution;
because it assumed to provide for boun.
ties To producers of American sugar, a
power (Which was not among those con-
ferred on congress by the constitution:
and because it assumed to confer upon
the president of the United States the
power of imposing taxes on imports, a
power which could be exercised only by
congress under the constitution.
He Asks Five Questions.
lie said the number of questions in
volved was five. as follows:
Does the omission from tho engrossed bin,
signed by the president, of section which
formed part OF the bill rs il passed both houses
II congress, render the tariff act unconstitd-
tional:
Arc the sugar bounty provisions unconstitu-
tioual:
II the sugar bounty provisions are uncon sti-
tutiOnal, is the whole act thereby invalidated,
or may the rema udcr of the act stand as law
Is the so-called reciprocity section I'M
constitutional:
Ii the reciprocity section is unconstitutional
i the whole act thereby invalidutcd:
Points of the Couusel's Argument.
Taking up his first question, Mr.. Smith
went on to contend that the tariff act was
never constitutionally enacted because
the bill signed by the president was not
the same bill which had passed both
houses of congress, the change being due
n no Nv he ,la ~
the tobacco rebate section which bad been
restored to the bill by the senate and
house conference. Mr. Smith also con-
tended that the sugar bounty provisions
of the act were unconstitutional because
congress had no power under the consti-
tuition 10 create or TO award such bounties
and on the ground that taxes imposed on
the people for the payment of such boun-
ties were not levied for public pur-
poses
Insists on the Whole Act Going.
Concerning the reciprocity section Mr.
Smith claimed that it was unconslitu-
tional because it was delegation of the
executive power to the legislature. Mr..
Edwin b. Smith, of New York, counsel
for Charles Stern bach ct al. followed He
made the same contentious as those made
by w. w. Smith and quoted many au-
tLoriies in support OF his argument. He
claimed that the act was Il connected
whole and each of the provisions ques-
toned was so interviewer with the whole
act that they could not be picked out and
held to be unconstitutional and the re-
mainder of the act declared valid.
Loaded with Legal Citations.
The argument of y W Bliss for Mar
shall Field a Co. ". Clark, collector at
Chicago, was prolific with legal citations
in SUI port Of his contentious. He made
the same allegations against the constitu-
tionality OK the bill rs those made by the
gentlemen VINO proceeded him. At the
conclusion of Mr.. Bliss argument the
co rt adjourned for the day
THE LETTERS THAT NEVER CAME.