The evening times., 1900-09-24


BALTIMORE, Sept 24-Isaac Lobe |
Straus, who has given an opinion TO Har- |
ry NJ. Marshall, member of the Board OF !
Registry of the Sixth precinct of the ThiF~ |
teenth ward. that DR.. Francisco del Yalle |
and his son. Porto Ricans. are entitled to i
register and vote in the precinct, was ask |
ed yesterday whether he had anything to |
say regarding the contrary opinion by eX-
Attorney General George R. Gather. Jr
In reply Mr. Straus said;
Mr. Gathers interview was brought to
my attention this morning Mr.. Gathers
opinion as a lawyer and otherwise is al
ways to be respected. but in this case the
authorities are altogether against him. hfe
cites but a single case, the decision in Elk
VS.. wilkins 112 Z. S. 94). which has not
the least bearing whatever the question
involved in the Del 1.slle cases for the
welI-known reason that the Indian tribes
in this country have always been held by
the courts TO be and treated by the Gov
errment as foreign nations. and a member
of one OF their tribes. although Tenounc
ing his tribal relationship, could no more
become citizen of the United States With
out naturalization by a court than citi-
zen of Russia. Germany or any other for
! eign country.
IN fact il seems to me that Mr. Gather
| has missed entirely the point in the case.
| He says: Under our laws only those per
! sons are entitled to vote in this State who
| were either born under the jurisdiction OF
! the United States or who have become nat
uraIized citizens through the process or
the courts Such is not the law at all
| The law on this subject is furnished by the
| Constitution of Maryland, which provides
! that every male citizen of the United
States of the age Of twenty-one years or
upward who has been a resident OF the
! State for one year and Of the legislative
district OF Baltimore city. etc, snail be
entitled to vote in the ward or election
! district in which he resides, etc
Mr. Seward does not say that they be
came citizens under the treaty by which
| the territory was acquired, but under the
! Constitution. Charles Sumner expressed
| the same view.
.-Reverdy Johnson who, as a Whig,
! represented Maryland in the Senate IN
! 1S4S. likewise declared in an elaborate
/ and convincing argument IN the senate
| that the people of New Mexico and Cal
/ ifornia were citizens of the United States
/ under the Constitution BY reason OF the
/ annexation of their territory to the IN
! ion. which territory, he vigorously CON
/ tended thereby became part of the INT
/ ted States over which the Constitution
| ex proprlo vigore extended.
| IN addition tn the authority Of Chief
| Justice Taney and NT. Johnson / an pre-
! pared to show that William Pinkney and
/ william Writ held and asserted the same
/ doctrine as the sound constitutional law
upon this subject, and. furthermore, that
! al me ieauIng statesmen OF the Repubiic
| from the time or its foundation until re-
! Gently with the sole exception OF Mf
! W. WIN viz however. GfHeTSu
/ widely from those O Mr.. Gather. dld
| likewisa
| Turning now for a moment to the de-
I cisions of the Supreme Court, that tribu-
nal has invariably considered Inhabitants
| Il me IerrIIorles as citizens OF the Uni
| ted States not by treaty stipulation TO
! that effect but under the Constitution
| and bv virtue of international law. Thus
/ the allegiance and nationality of the in-
! habitants of acquired territory aehne
| their citizenship. According TO Chlet
| Justice Marshall q Peters SID 'ihe same
act which transfers their territory trans
| fars the allegiance cf those who remain IN
| it-' and Chief Justice Fuller declared
| that the nationality Of the inhabitants
| of territory acquired by conquest or eeS-
| sion becomes that of the government un-
| der whose dominion they pass Boyd IS
| Thayer. ia. L. s.. 159l. And in Minor VS.
| HaDersett (21 Wallace) Chief Justice
| Waite defined the term citizen % the
| United States in a way that leaves no
| doubt on the subject
| ..The sole question. then, is whether DR.,
| del Vale is I citizen Of the United states
| Mr. Gather seems TO be OF the oplnloh tha'
| one not born within the jurisdiction of the
! United States can become citizen there
| of only by naturalization through the
| courts On the contrary. Mr.. Justice
| Cooley. in his Cons titutional Law page
| PA, says;
| Naturalization may be effected by the
| ACQUISITION of the United States Of foreign
| territory with its people, who thereby be-
| come citizens of the United States. In
! this manner the people brought within the
| Jurisdiction of the Union by the acqulsi-
| ton of louisiana Florida, and portions OF
| Mexico became citizens
IF Mr. Gather who according to the
! report of newspaper in which his opln-
| ior. was published seems Inclined to IN
ject political considerations into what is
| purely a i gal question, is not convinced
5y the authority of the late Justics Coo
ley, who was probably the most distin-
guished Republican jurist of his day, he
may be mere impressed with the views OF
the late William H. Seward, the intellect
uaI leader of the Republican party ana ore
OF the most eminent publtcfSts Of his gCn-
! Grafton. In the Senate, in July, 1850.
! speaking of the people OF New Mexico,
| over hicfl no Territorial government had
| as yet been erected, Mr. Seward said:
. They have undergone change of
sovereignty only; but in all other respects
| their positlasi and their rights are IN
! changed When they lost the rights Sc
! cured to them by the Constitution of Mex
| leo they acquired the rights of American
citizens secured to them by the Cons.itu-
tion of the United States These rights in
volve the protection of their lives of their
|