The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-11-22
A DEMOCRATIC REPUTATION.

\ York Tribune about DemOcrdtic do-
Indication of the case OF Porto Rican
who demanded citizenship. 1t will be
noticed that the judgment of the DEM
ocratic Supreme Judge OF New York
who heard the pleadings differs Ola
metrically from the decision of the Bal
timore Registration Board and the
position taken and quoted in Hawaii
of the Baltimore lawyer, Mr.. Straus
| Says the Tribune:
| Mr.. Justice Freedman in the Supreme
Court Monday handed down decision
refusing a peremptory writ of manda-
mus directing the registration OF Frank
Juarbe, a Porto Rican. The applica-
| ton for a writ was opposed by Cor
poration Counsel Whalen, who MAIN
tanned that Juarbe had no right to
vote. as the question of the poilticai
status of Porto Ricans had been ieft
bv the treaty with Spain to Congress-
which had not yet admitted them TO
| citizenship. Justice Freedman upneld
| that view.
! Thus is the doctrine of the Kansas
! CITY platform that the Constitution
follows the flag" that it extends eX
nronrio yigore to new territory and
| automatically confers on them the
rights of American citizens, repudlateu
bv a Democratic Corporation Counsei
and a Democratic Justice of the SUI
preme Court. The Interpretation OF the
constitution by lawyers or judge is in
evitably affected by his political theo-
ries The men trained in the State
rights school of John Randolph ana
John c. Calhoun when they were
Of no
states Supreme Court naturally gave
turn TO its decisions differing decidedly
from those of Chief Justice Marshall
and their Federalist predecessors.
Therefore it might have been expected
that when. the registry officers asked
the official advice of Corporation Goun-
sci Whalen about registering a Porto
Rican he would have told them thai
! the man was a citizen of the United
| States under the Constitution. and en-
titled to vote, if he himself as law
yer thought the constitutional law OF
the Kansas City platform sound. Ger
| tainly in that case, even if he did not
| feel like advising the officers to register
the man without warranty from a
court he would have followed his con-
victions in presenting the question to
/ the Judge and have done his best to
give the Porto Rican his rights as a
free man. of which the Democratic
platform complains the Republicans
are seeking to deprive him in violation
of the Constitution.
Justice Freedman also would most
assuredly have refused to sanction SO
| gross a violation of the Contitusion
when ii was in his power to prevent 1t,
| if he really believed the Constitution
was being violated. He and the Cor
poration Counsel are both faithful
Democrats. Mr.. Whalen is supporting
Mr.. Bryan. and we suppose Justice
Freedman will also vote the Demo
cratic ticket. But evidently their pol,t-
ical affiliations have not involved their
acceptance of the Democratic plat
form. Imperialism and the outcry over
rule of dependencies outside the Con
stitution" Is clearly regarded by them
as mere campaign buncombe. Polh-
ical speakers may shout that "the Con-
stitution follows the flag" and proclaim
the rights of our Porto Rican fellow
citizens" but as lawyer and judge
these good Democrats are not to be
fooled by any such claptrap. They
know well enough that Porto Rico is
territory OF the United States to be
dealt with by Congress in it's discre-
ton. unhampered by the specific pro-
visions of the Constitution. 1t was In
the power of Justice Freedman to have
said that the Porto Rican became a
citizen on the ratification of the Treaty
OF Paris and entitled to the rights and
privileges of every other citizen under
the Constitution, and therefore must be
4 registered He would have done 1t II
he had believed in the Calhoun Bryan
theory OF the anti-imperialists
Such a decision would not have set
tied the question finally. The Supreme
Court of the United States will define
the constitutional status of new ter
rltory, and its view will control. Mean
While judges can only follow their own
convictions. We believe some inferior
courts in the South have not unnat,,r-
ally accepted the constitutional law
proclaimed by their party and allowed
the names of Porto Ricans to be MI,
on the voting list. But the Democratic
platform is not regarded as good law
by Democratic officials here Its valid
lily was squarely before Justice Freed
man, and he refused to hold that the
Constitution followed the flag and lave
the Porto Rican rights of American
citizenship. If he is correct. and the
discretion rests with Congress to give
or withhold civil and political rights
then the legislation for Porto REQ vas
not unconstitutional. the Republican
party mas acted toward new territories
rs IL had right to do in refusing to
incorporate them into the United
states and the whole Democratic con-
tention rails to the ground. Thus ioes
lhe common sense of a Democratic
Judge, seriously administering the law,
Puncture the inflated balloon of Demo
cratic bluster for political effect.