Arizona silver belt., 1900-09-27
PORTO RICO TARIFF CASE.
Decision of the Supreme Court is
 Awaited with Interest.

| OeCtS'on or the supreme Court IS
 Awaited with Interest.
 Very soon after the United States 1 supreme court meets next month the
 interesting case which is probably to
 determine the status of Porto Rico
 and ether possessions will be revived,
 says the Washington Post. The nee.
 cssary legal preliminaries have al,
 ready been completed, and the print
 ed record of the litigation in the cir.
 cult court of the United States for
 the southern district of New York is
 on tile in the .clerk's office. On ac-
 count of the importance of the case
 and the demand that there should be an early decision. it is probable that a motion will be made to advance it.
 But, at best, an argument before the
 court can hardly be reached before the
 first Monday in November and the | chances are that it will not be till early in December. The attorneys of
 record for the appellant are Edward C. Perkins, Albert COmstock and Ey- ! erett Brown, of New York, said to be specialists in commercial law. If more famous attorneys are to be en- gagged in arguing that Porto Rico really was within the constitution as soon as the treaty of Paris was signed, 1t does not appear from the records now on file before the court. It is probable that A ttorney General GriggS or Solicitor Richards will present the case on the part of the government. There is no prospect that even the arguments can bc heard before cleo tiOn day.
 CAUSE CELEBRE OF THE YEAR.
 This litigation not only promises to be the cause celebre of the year, but also to determine efectually whether there is any substance from q legal standpoint to the so called imperial ism of President Mckinley'S adminis- tratiOn. If the court decides that the collection of tarilf on goods from POr- to Rico is constitutional, there win be but little further agitation about our constitutional right tO govern the FilipinOS as we please and without re- gard for the usual guarantieS of the constitution. There may be some di- vision in the case, which will diSap- point the large number of people who expect q tinality from the courts de- cislon, but that is not probable. IL is hardly necessary to add that there can be no further appeal, as the su- preme court is the highest of our tribunals. [ can validate or nullify the act of congress which nearly dis rupted the republican party at the last session.
 The appeal is brought by John II. Goetze. doing business in New York city under the firm name of John II. Goetle X O. Judge E. Henry LacomOe of the United States circuit court, granted the appeal, stating that he did so in view of the great legal questions at stake and the de- mand that the law should be definite ly settled The litigation arose out of the importation on June 6, 1899, of 100 bales of leaf or filler tobacco, upon which duty was assessed at 5 cents per pound, according to the provisions of the Dingley law. MT. Goetze, the importer, protested, claiming that the duty was not lawful under the as Porto Rico was part | of the United States
 It will be remembered that the | Porto Rican tariI had not then been but the right to collect | duties on goods from Porto Rico under | the Dingley law involves the same 1 principles as are involved under the Porto Rican tariff.
 BEFORE BOARD OF APPRAISERS |
 In the intervening time the case has | been through the usual process of liti- gation. First, it was heard before the board of appraisers in New York, who | held that the duty was lawfully | levied. Then it was taken into the circuit court of the United States, l through the proper legal channels, and Judge w. K. Townsend upheld | the decision of the board of appraisers. Then the appeal was granted direct to the supreme court of the United States.
 There are ten particulars mentioned | in the record, on which the supreme court will be asked to set aside the decision of the court below. II is claimed that the decision was in con iiict with the constitution, that Porto Rico was not foreign country, and that after the treaty of Paris it was a part of the United States. Various phases of these contentious are en- larged upon to make the ten par ticulars.