The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1898-12-22
CLAIMS AGAINST
UNITED STATES,
And How They Are Prosecuted
and Collected.
III.
The Supreme Court-Its Jurisdiction, and
Some Famous Cases.

III.
The Supreme Court-Its Jurisdiction, and
Some Famous Cases.
Article Ill, Sec 9, of the Constitution, de
fines the Supreme Courts powers as follows:
THE judicial Power shall extend to all
Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this
Constitution. the Laws of the United States
or Treaties made, or which shall be mada,
under their Authority; to all Cases affecting
ambassadors, other Public Ministers and
Consuls; to all Cases of Admiralty and Mari
time Jurisdiction; to Controversies to which
the United States shall be Party; to Con-
troverses between two or more States; be-
tween State and Citizens of another State;
between Citizens of different States; between
Citizens of the same State claiming Lands
under Grants of different States and between
a State or the Citizens thereof, and foreign
States, Citizens or Subjects"
1t is held that the Supreme Court can only
have original jurisdiction that Is suits can
be oaly begun in it in but two classes of
cases. those which 'affect ambassadors,
etc. and those in which State shall be
party The latter function naturally made
the Court the engine for the assertion of the
National power over the several States, and
| became the source of bitter antagonism by
the advocates Of State sovereignty. This
led as early as 1898, to the adoption Of the
Eleventh Amendment TO the Constitution,
which reads:
1.-The Judicial power Of the United States
shall not be construed to extend to any suit
i'll law or equity, commenced or prosecuted
against one Of the United States By Citizens
! S,,II
of any Foreign State"
That is, State could only come before the
Supreme Court as plaintiff, not as a de
fendant. Yet the assertion of the Nations
sovereignty by the Supreme Court went or,
despite the fierce opposition of the States
Rights advocates. In 1888 the Democratic
Retieac said angrily:
Nearly every State in the Union, in
turn, had been brought up for sentence:
Georgia. New Jersey, Virginia, New Hamp-
shire. Vermont, Louisiana, Missouri, Ken
lucky, Ohio. Pennsylvania, Maryland. New
York Massachusetts, South Carolina Della
ware Just escaped over Biackbird Creek, J all
passed through the Claudian forks of a sub
ljugation which has more than revived the
suability of States"
! The War of 1912 gave great impetus to
the National feeling, as against the provin-
cialism of the States, and the war of the
rebellion set at rest forever all questions Of
National supremacy.
! The Supreme Court for years encountered
all manner of obstacles in enforcing its
| Jurisdiction. President Jackson once said:
John Marshall's made his decision Now
let him enforce it.
And the matter ended there, for the
Supreme Court had no force at hand to COM
pei the recalctrant State of Georgia to obey.
The first time that the Supreme Court
really broke State law was in 1910, in the
case of the famous "Yazoo Frauds" A
brief history Of this famous case will show
that in what are commonly designated as
the earlier and puger days OF the Republic"
corruption, land. grabbing, ETC., were great
deal worse than they have been at any time
since.
Georgia entered the Union with a lot of
claims, vague as to definition, but vigorous
in assertion as to Lands stretching indefinitely
westward, but certainly as far as the Mis-
sissippi River She claimed the substantial
ownership Of all the lands that the Indians
had ceded, and sovereignty over the Indians
and their remaining lands i'll all the country
which is now Alabama, Mississippi, and
part of Tennessee 1t was an era of wild
! land speculation. IN 1889 three land cem-
pauies chartered by tie State, bought from
it about 10, Geo. 900 acres for $500, 900, but as
| the companies insisted on paying the $780,
/ 900 i'll depTecatcd Georgia money, the sale
was declared OF.
/ But the Spectators were not discouraged
+ They organized four more companies, under
different names, but which were afterward,
through period Of protracted and bitter
controversy. known as the Yazoo Com
:. 4 4t.
Georgia Legislature, In January, 179j, Of an
act which gave them about 30, 900. coo acres
of the exceedingly fertile land in the Ylzoo
country, for about i cents an acre, og
500, 900.
| Not content with this, they got q further
grant Of z. 600, 600 acres Tor - the benefit of
whatever citizens of Georgia they should
admit as partners" These 1000, 900 acres
were used TO bribe the members Of the Legis-
lature 10 vote for the measure, and every
member Of Senate and House, with one ex-
ccption, accepted the bribe.
The passage of the act raised whirIyind
of indignation III Georgia and the next year
Legislature, elected on this issue, repealed
! the law, and directed the purchase-money to
lie refunded But the companies continued
TO sell the lands ali the same, and presently
| had on them q great array OF influential and
combatiye :" innocent purchasers" In 1902
Georgia was induced 10 cede all the lands
west of her State boundary to the United
States, which proceeded to deal with the
Yazoo settlers. These latter offered to take
20 cents an acre. OR S.. 900, 900, in satisiac-
ton of their claims, but when the matter
came before Congress it met with the fercest
opposition led 10y John Randolph, with all
the acrimony he WAS master Of He was tn a
the acknowledged leader Of his party in the
House, but he attacked other members, even
those of the Cabinet, so aereely that he was
detlironed from the Leadership, though Con-
gress finally took no Legislative action on the
claims. Then the claimants went TO the
Supreme Court for relief, and i'm 1910 the
Court decided that the act Of 1875 censti-
tuted q contract between the State Of Georgia
and the claimants. and that States were for
hidden by the Constitution of the United
States to pass any law impairing the validity
of contracts; that consequently the act OF
revocation, passed in 1876, was uncoastitu-
tioral, and therefore null and void Congress
accepted this decision, and four years later
passed bill appropriating s., 600, 900 for the
! relief Of the Yazoo claimants
This decision has been the most severely
attacked, on moral grounds, of any of the
Supreme Courts rulings, except the Dred
Scott decision 1t has needed all the great