Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-20
Argument Resumed in the Philip
pines-Porto Rico Cases.
THRONG INSUPREME COURT CHAMBER
Replying to the Points of the
Attorney General.
SPOKE FREELY FROM NOTES

| The closing argument in the Philippines
Porto Rico cases made in the United
States Supreme Court today, and the cases
were submitted for the final adjudication
of the court. The crowds which have filed
the chamber since the cases We're taken up
were again on hand in reinforced numbers
| today entirely occupying the quarters
served for the bar and the outer area for
the public. Many people came early In the
! day to secure advantageous seats. AS the
governments had been closed by the
| Attorney General, it remained only To hear
| the senior counsel In the Philippine case
Mr.. Charles II. Aldrch of Chicago, former
| solicitor general. who had one hour and a
| half remaining Of the five hours given to
| the plaintiffs.
| Mr. AIdrich's Argument.
| Mr.. Aldrich had before him the plaintiffs
| brief and volumnous portfolio of notes,
| but he spoke freely with only occasional
references to them. At the outset he said
| he would contne himself largely to legal
| argument following the Attorney Gem
| erals points and seeking to meet them, al
though he regarded much that the Attor-
| ney General had presented as Irrelevant
| He spoke deliberately and seldom with any
| effort for dramatic force He first directed
| MS attention to the circumstances under
| which this government came into exist
| ence, the struggle for liberty and tho
American protest against Englands asser-
t1on or the taxing power over the American
| colonies. With this history before u.s. he
said 1t was a remarkable fact that the At
torney General of the United States over
one hundred years after the great struggle
Whlcn founded the American government
should come into this court and assert a
taxing power more extreme than had been
asserted by the most ardent defenders of
England S taxing power over the colonies
Justice MarshaII's Decision.
Mr.. Aldrich spoke of the decision of JUS
tice Marshall in Loughborough vs. Blake
as of decisive Importance and he summed
up that decision as bearing on the present
conditions as follows:
That the power to tax levy dut;es a,r
extends to the entire United States
Ihat the term United States embraces
cur great republic which is cOmpose5 of
states and territories
That it is not less necessary, on ,ha
principles of our Constitution that r,ui-
formity in the imposition of imposts, duties
and eXcises should be observed in the ore
than the other
1T follows from the above that the rights
ana obl1gat1ons of the territory thus part
of the United States and the inhabitants
thereof are measured and tested bv The
Constitution"
No COnsu1S i'm the Philippines
AS to the contention that the Philippines
were not part Of the United States. Mr.
Aldrich said: IF the islands ceded by
Spain are foreign territory then our cot;n-
try would have it's commercial repre-
sentatives therein consuls, who would per-
form the requisite official acts prescribed
by our customs laws regarding Shipments
OF merchandise from any of these islands
to any part of the United States The
court takes judicial notice Of the fact that
our government has no consuls In the Phil-
1ppines and that when Spanish sovereignty
ceased in those islands the United States
consuls therein were withdrawn, and that
the consular agents of foreign powers
thenceforth We're the accredited represen-
tatlVes OF the respective foreign govern
ments to the United States and our gov
ernment signed the eXequatur of such con-
sulS. what an anomaly it Is to have Spain
send its consuls to the Philippines If as
contended for the purposes of revenue
they are still foreign territory. If they are
not American territory they must be still
Spanish, for it is not pretended that any
other nation foreign to the United States
has acquired any sovereignty over thenr
nor is it pretended that the Philippine is
lands in the eye of international law oc-
cupy the status Of an Independent natiou''
Limitations of Congress.
Taking up the Attorney Generals conteu-
ton that in ordaining the Constitution the
reliance of the people was in part placed
upon the sense of justice of Congress
whose action is open to review at frequent
elections, Mr.. Aldrch said that II this
meant anything it meant an assertion Of
power by Congress more extreme and
bitrary than was ever exercised by the
British parliament. The. Attorney Iiener-
ais Interpretation of the word ''sovereigr-
ty, Mr.. Aldrich said. that this govern
ment had a right to do what any other ma
tion does. This word had become most
popular since we entered upon a colonial
policy. But Mr.. Aldrch declared that the
sovereignty of the United States was o,e
exercised under the Constitution, and that
If we are in the Philippines or Porto Rico
1t Is because of the powers given by the
Constitution.
Justice White interposed question when
Mr.. Aldrich referred to the American pro-
test against British taxation without rep
resentation.' Would this mean,'' the jus
tice asked, that Congress could not tax
the new possessions until they We're repre- .
sented in Congress-" Mr.. Aldrich said it
did not go that far, and was sufficiently
answered in the case of Loughborough
against Blake.
Questions From the Bench
MIR. Aldrich said he entered. protest
against the use of Jefferson's name in sup
port of the proposition that the United
States can acquire and hold territory in
definitely. 1t was settled beyond question
that jefferson himself had net regarded
the Louisiana purchase as constitutional
and believed that q constitutional amend
ment necessary.
Justice Gray asked his first question at
this point, inquiring if counsel held that
the Louisiana acquisition was unconstitu-
tional. Mr.. Aldrch answered that he did
not so hold, but Mr.. Jefferson did, and tho
arguments Of that day showed how politi-
cal influences affected final results.
Justice Brown asked if 1t was safe to
base judicial action the arguments Of
politicians.
II think not" answered Mr.. Aldrich,
land l refer to them only because they oc-
cupy three-fourths of the brief Of the At
torney General
II speaking of the executive action, Mr
Aidrich referred to President McKinleys
first message, stating that 1t was our
plain duty to abolish all customs tariffs
between the United States and Porto Rico
Justice Shiras asked If the President was
then speaking of the duty Of Congress.
Mr.. Aldrfch said he supposed the Presf-
dent meant the duty Of the nation.
Justice Harlan also asked If the treaty
power could go beyond the fourteenth
amendment to the Constitution, to which
Mr.. Aldrich answered that treaties could
not override the Constitution
Mr. Aldrtch closed with an eloquent ref
erence to the work Of our forefathers,
which was not for their day, but for all
time.
AS soon as he finished the court turned