The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-11-14

The uniformity clauses in the Constitution
ard its application to the present cslse,
as not depending upon the broader qneS-
ton, whether the. legislative intent and
constitutional effect of the Treaty Of Paris
was 10 give to the Governments dis
tinctive from the nation-an unlinattet or
a limited dominion over the island. So
far as the two questions are related We
rather believe that the question whether
tne powers of the Government are IN
limited Viii DC answered. IS one aspect at
least, by determining whether the mean
ing Of that phrase Is rot. that all duties,
ete must be J.Eifc1m throughout all Ter
TitOry within the 4aticnal dominion.
In order to simFdfy the argument the
appellant makes he s6Iiowing eonces-
sions:
L That the people Of the United States
is an absolute natiSn ana is, humanity
speaking. omRipotent. 7nG nat the Con
stitutIoa Of the United Slsres IS mere
expression of the viii of Ihe people and
subject tc alteration or ambition at
its pleasure.
- That the power to declare and
carry On war has been. fully and without
restrictions, delegated By the people 20
its constitutional agents; and taat 1t IN
cludes the power to occupy f0rsig2 terri
tory ana TO govern it and its Inhabitants
,
only 10 the rules and usageS OF ciFiiiZed
warfare under international law.
% That the people has. by Implica ion,
delegated to its constitutional agents the
power to add permanent acquisition to-
its territory for certain purposes, at
least; and hat when such an acquisition
is made, it must conclusiYely be pre-
stmed by HE judicial branch of the Gov
eTnEfcnT that it was made fer taose pur-
FAaeae aInn.N which the mower RaS
delegated
II That the war power. TO thc full
extent admitted above, does not cease
with the mere cessation of hcstllities,
but continues in full force until the
power permanently to acquire territory
is exercised. or until the occupation IS
terminated
IS. That the suffrage. the right Of rep
resentation, and other political fran
Chises, may be granted 10 or Withheld
from the inhabitants Of such annexed
territory, according to the discretion OF
the Congress Of the United States. until
the territory becomes a State or part OF
a State
The appellant LAYS down the prOpCsi-
ton that the people OF the United states
IN organizing the Government OF the Uni
ted States have established certain lin
its never and nowhere 10 be tEaRscended;
and that those limits may not be trans
corded. The Constitution is written. Con
stitutional limitations are the ubiquitous
ccncomitants of constitutional power
From this proposition the appellant sets
ND the contention that the claim Of IN
limited power in new territory is op-
posed to our entire theory Of cons itU-
tional Government"
In support OF This contention the ap-
pellaEt says:
The decision Of the CircGit Court IS not
based upon any consideration either OF the
nature of the par .icUIa:. power Of whose
abuse the appellant Complains or of the
particular limitations OF that power which
he invokes. The pretensions which II sus-
tains relate to the exercise OF all conceiva-
bic powers of government and the only
limitations which they contemplate is the
limitation Of constitutional limitations.
These pretensions are put forth IN the
behalf. not of the people OF the United
States, but Of the Government Of the Uni
ted States
But the Government finds its origin, its
powers. and all its attributes in the viii
of the people. nowhere expressed but in the
Constitution of the United States. There
is. then. no Government OF the United
States but that ordained in the COnstitu-
tiOn and no powers have been conferred
upon it except by the Constitution That
any power which it can exercise anywhere
ton must be conceded.
These mere =truisms are fatal 10 the
claim Of the Government at the very mo-
ment when it is fully stated, with all its
logical consequences
The claim made by our opponents is
that the Government Of the United States
has power to extend the national domain.
by cession or by conquest. to every part Of
the world. and TO govern al TERRITORY so
acquired according to its own unlimited
VIII and discretion; for the concession that
a republic cannot be allowed to govern
without any restraint is valueless when
coupled with the assertion that there is no
definition or Limitation of its powers
1T amounts to this: That 50 far as con-
| Germs such territory the supreme viii of
the people stopped short a. the mere or
ganizing of the Government. and esta5-
Iished no limit which II could not tran
scend; or in other words. that il did not
/ provide a written Constitution for the
whole, but only for part, OF the national
domain"
To cIineh this argument the following
opinion Of Chief Justice Marshall IN the
case of MarbuTy vs.. Mad son is cited.
THE original and supreme viii organizes
| the Government and assigns to different
departments their respective powers. It
may either stop here or establish certain
I limits not to be transcribed by those de-
partments. The Government OF the United
States is Of the latter descT5 pSjon. The
powers of the legislature are defined and
limited, and that these limits may not be
mistaken OF forgotten the Constitution is
written
The appellant then says:
I'VE are told now that the one and only
Government of the United States is of the
latter description, only when it acts with
in certain geographical boundaries; and
| that everywhere else the Constitution is
not constitution, N tn American sense
Of the term. but delegation of universal
power. 1t is moi 60 much to say that such
claim strikes az the very foundation of
our whole system OF s1iEutionaI govern
meHt"
In conclusion the appena art says:
THE well recognized intentions and
purposes of the makers of the Constitu-
ton, its evident spirit, the plain meaning
of its words, the judicial Interpretation or
its provisions. all lead inevitably as we
think We have demonstrated, to these
clear results:
4. The people of the United States. in
ana by the Constitution, organized and
erected one and the same government. of
| defined and limited powers, fo1, all people
who might inhabit within the domain OF
1 the nation; exercising in the States. it is
true, part only of the ordinary functions
vernment, but nowhere capable OF
any powers except those dele
The whole purpose and the