Rocky Ford enterprise., 1900-05-11
AN IMPORTANT DECISION.

Judge I.ssArss ms,as THAT The essstits.
tics E.sssAs Ovss rsssss nice
81. Paul. MINI. May s.-Judge Leeh-
rem to-day tiled In the United States
Circuit Court his decision on the ar.
pllcation OF Rafael Ortiz. . Puerto
Rican. to be released FROM the Minn<-
sofa state prison. Ortis was convicted
By q military tribunal In Puerto Rico
for the murder OF United 6tntes SOL
dlcf, and condemned to d, The sen
tsacs was comuiutsd TO life imprison-
meni. The application for release was
based on the claim that the military
authorities had no jurisdiction over Or.
lil; that peace had been declared and
that he should have had . civil trial.
Judge Lochren refused the lppiica.
ton in nn oral decision Thursday last.
and to-day fiied nn exhaustive opinion
thereon. The decision has evoked
great interest throughout the country.
as II bears largely on constitutional
questions Of Puerto Rico NJ . territory
OF the United States. The decision
states:
''Our general government was
founded by the men Of the revolution
who had rcbciled against the arbitrary
power asserted by Great Britain 10
govern her outlying colonies NJ the Will
Ot yrt l'urttuucut. AuNy rstubhrh'u
this government on the asserted theory
that all lust powers OF government
come from the consent Of the govern.
cd. They founded. as Described by
President Lincoln In language not yet
forgotten. n government OF the pcS-
PIE. by the people. for the people.
THE national government OF the
United Stncs was created and Its pow.
cr~ and Jurisdiction granted AMI limit.
ed by the federal constitution Its
powers can only In increased BY
amendment OF that instrument.
''Thc power Of the general govern.
mcnt to acquire additional Territory
rcsis upon Its constitutional power TO
make war. which may result In con.
quest. and its like power To make trcn.
ties. which may bring new territory by
ccssIon. The power TO govern such nc.
QUESTION territories results from theit
power to admit states and TO make all
nccdfui rules nnd regulations r~spcct.
Ing the territory or other property bo
longing to the United States.
This clause authorizes Congress 10
lcgislntc In respect TO territory In
local nv well ms national matters. be.
fore It's admission 10 statehood In the
Union. .-..--
"Thc novel doctrine That ihc power
Of Congress to govern territory crticf
to the United States may i,c conferred
by foreign sovereign by and through
the terms Of the treaty III cv.-sion. and
that the general government eau cxcr-
else powers thus granted by q foreign
sovereign independent of and In disrc-
gard Of the constitution until Congress,
mAyhnp In the future. shall by Its en-
actmcut SEQ 1t to extend tho cnnsiitu.
ton over the territory. is contrary TO
the holding Of the Supreme Court Of
the United States, to the effect that
the general government ls one Of the
enumerated powers and can claim aud
exercise no power not granted To II by
the constitution. either expressly or by
necessary Implication. II is clear That
the general government cannot l.gi~,
late over territory where the consiitu,
tion from which Its every power II de.
rived does not extend.
"1'hc constitution must bc In force
over territory before the general gov.
ernment can have any authority Ia
legIslate respecting It. No foreign SOW
crcign can invest the general govern
mcnt with nny legislative power"
Numerous decisions are cited In sup
port OF this opinion and he contIn
| ucs:
sit must be held that upon the ces
sion Dy SPAN 10 the tnitcd STATES OF
the island Of Puerto Rico. that island
became a part OF the dominion Of the
United States, as much As ~ ArizonS
or Minensotn, and that the constitution
Of the United States. ex propriH vigorc.
at once extended over that islnnd. aud
, that this extension OF the constitution
gave Congress- whose every power
must come from that Instrument. the
authority to legislate In respect to that
island ms a part Of the United States
territory. II follows that all the pro
visions of the constitution in respect
to personal and property rights. In.
cludinR the right to trial by Jury IN
criminal prosecution. became at once
when the ccssion was completed. n part
Of the supreme law Of the land The
character of an offcnse and the nature
OF Its punishment would he determined
by the law In force where and when
the act was committed. and laws OF
that character remain In force after
the cession until changed: but the man.
ner Of trial must depend on the law IN
force when the trial is had. even
though the establishment and organizn.
tion Of courts must be awaited before
the trial cnn be had"
The decision states the military law
being the sole authority. the acts Of u
military court were entirely legal and
the petition for writ OF habeas corpus
was denied.