Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-12-29
ARGUMENT CLOSED
CASE IS SUBMITTED.
Supreme Court viii Now
Wrestle With the
Flag.
CLOSING ARGUMENT MADE
BY ATTORNEY ALDRlCn
Questions Fired at Him by Justices
Ten Days Allowed for Further Brief
Protest Against Jeferson's
Name.

Washington. Dec. 90. - The clos
ing argument In the Philippine and
Porto Rico cases was made In the Unit
ed States Supreme Court today. and the
cases were submitted for the final ad-
judicatlOn of the court. As the Gov
ernment's case had been closed by the
Attorney General. II remained only to
hear the senior counsel In the Philip
pine case, Charles II. Aldrich of Chi
cago. former Solicitor General, who
had one and half hours remaining Of
the five hours given to the plaintiffs.
Mr.. Aldrich had before him the
pltintiff's brief and a volumlnous port
folio of notes, but he spoke freely. with
only occasional reference to them. At
the outset he said. he would confine
himself largely to legal argument. fol-
lowing the Attorney Generals points
and seeking to meet them. although
he regarded much that the Attorney
General had presented as irrelevant.
He first directed his attention to the
circumstances under which the Gov
eminent came into existence. the strug-
gle for liberty and the American pro
test against Englands assertion of the
taxing power over the American colo
MES. With this history before us. he
said. II was q remarkable fact that the
Attorney General of the United States.
over 100 years after the great struggle
which founded the American Govern.
ment, should come into this court and
assert taxing power more extreme
than had been asserted by the most
ardent defenders OF England's taxing
power over the colonies.
Mr.. Aldrich spoke of the decision OF
Justice Marshall in Loughborough VS..
Blake as of decisive Importance. and he
summed up that decision as bearing on
the present conditions as follows:
THAT the power to tax. levy duties,
etc. extends to the entire United
States.
THAT the term United States en-
braces our great Republic. which is
composed of States and Territories
THAT II is not less necessary. on the
principles of our constitution. that uni
formity in the imposition OF imposts,
duties and excuses should be observed
| in the one than the other.
st follows from the above that the
rights and obligations OF the territory
thus part of the United States and the
inhabitants are measured and tested by
the constitution"
As to the contention that the Philip
pines were not a part of the United
States. Mr.. Aldrich said:
"If the islands coded by Spain are
foreign territory, then our country
would have as its commercial represen-
tatives the foreign Consuls. who would
perform the requisite official acts pre-
scribed by our customs laws regarding
shipments of merchants from any OF
these islands to any part OF the United
States. If the islands are not Ameri-
can territory, they must still be Span
ish, for 1t is not pretended that any
other nation foreign to the United
States has acquired any sovereignty
over them. nor is It pretended that the
Philippine Islands, in the eye Of inter
national law, occupy the status Of an
Independent nation"
The Attorney Generals interpreta'
ton of the word Sovereignty" Mr.
Aldrich said. was that this Government
had right to do what any other ma
ton does. This word had become most
popular since we entered upon a colo.
NAL policy. But, Mr.. Aldrich declared
the sovereignty of the United States
| was oHt tAtltlstu tht 'ohS'i'u'
ton. and II we are in the Philippines OF
Porto Rico II is because Of the powers
given by the constitution.
Justice White interposed question
when Mr.. Aldrich referred to the Am
erican protest against British taxa
ton without representation"
Would this mean, the Justice asked
that Congress could not tax the new
possessions until they were represent
ed in Congress?
Mr.. Aldrich said that It did not q
that far and 1t was sufficiently answer
ed in the case OF Loughborough VS.
Blake.
Mr.. Aldrich said he entered a protes
against the use of Jefferson's name II
support OF the proposition that tn
United States can acquire and hold ter
ritory indefinitely. II was settled be
yond question that Jefferson himsel