Evening journal., 1895-09-06
BoWLER's DECISION.
Declares the Payment of Sugar Bounties
20 BE Unconstitutional.


WASHINGTON, Sept. c. - Comptroller
Bowler has promulgated his decision in
the now celebrated sugar bounty question.
He holds that as comptroller he has juris
diction to pass upon tho claims for sugar
bounties, and also holds that that part Of
the act Of congress making an appropria-
ton for the payment of sugar bounty
claims is unconstitutional.
He, however, directs that the papers in
the case be sent to the court of claims un-
der section O63 for the rendition of a
Judgment in order that there may be fur
nished "a precedent for the future action
Of the executive department in the adj
justment Of the class Of cases involved in
these sugar bounties"
The particular claim decided is substan-
italy on the same footing as other sugar
bounty claims, for the satisfaction Of
which congress at its last session appro-
priatod So, 93S 2S9 The comptroller an
swors at great length the arguments pre-
sented by counsel mt the hearing in which
his jurisdiction in the promises was at
tackled and in the course Of his reply he
says;
"Statutes which do not conform to the
constitution are not law, and therefore
when a statute IS in apparent conflict
with the constitution it becomes the duty
Of the executive officer TO determine for
himself as between the statute and the
constitution whether tho statute is the
law. 1t is true that the statute is to be
considered prima facie constitutional and
should be followed unless it is clearly un-
constitutional IL is also true that tho
officer acts at his peril if he does not exc
cute constitutional statute, but it Is
none tho less true that he acts at his peril
n he executes an unconstitutional stat
ute
As the comptroller does not act under
the directions Of the secretary of the treas
ury or the president, his decisions within
the sphere of his jurisdiction being final
and conclusive upon the executive branch
Of the government it followed that tho
power to resist the execution Of an uncon-
stitutional statute was denied to an exeou-
tive officer, whatever it was claimed that
no executive oflicor had the right to raise
the point Of the unoonstitutionality of a
statute even in a case in court in order to
finally determine its validity by the only
branch Of the government conceded to
have the power to settle such question.
This contention cannot be sound, as
shown by the decisions of the supreme
court Of the United States and those Of
the state courts. Applied to the question
Of the payment of money from the trens-
ury Of the United States by an officer sworn
20 support the constitution, he would be
without power to protect the treasury
against unlawful claims for the largest
possible amount That position cannot
possibly be tenable.
AS to the constitutionality Of the act,
the comptroller says in part that the prin-
ciple has long been decided that taxation
must be for q public purpose; that an at
tempt to take money from the people by
tho forms of taxation for a purpose other
than public one is not an exercise of
Legislative power, and therefore that an
attempt TO do so is q mere nullity as an
effort by the legislature TO exercise power
not granted by the constitution.