The Weekly Tallahasseean., 1901-06-06

| C4IO Hill pI1kCS
cases and the power of Congress Il
order the collection of duties on
United States goods shipped into
Porto Rico hanging>in the air. The
Court, be it remembered, decided the
first DOOley case," concerning i'm
pOrtatiOns into Porto Rico from this
country before the passage of the
Porto Rican Act, adversely to the
Government. 1t did not decide the
second DOOley case" which arose
after that act, at all. The inference
IS that the Court is badly divided on
this question. The stumbling block
Of course, is whether such duties do
not amount to an export tax on
goods SHIPPED from the United States.
Four Justices Of the Court have held
that all Of the revenue portion of the
Foraker Act was unconstitutional.
If, therefore, one more Justice who
believed that the rest of the Foraker
Act was unconstitutional should
happen to take the notion that duties
levied in Porto Rico were to all in
tents and purposes a burden or tax
upon exports of the United States,
then a decision against the Govern
ment would become necessary. Al
together, the matter is left in such a
state that&T will take dozens of other
decisions before any one can be sure
just what the Court does hold.
The announcement by Senator
Lodge that he will, if appointed to
the Craftsmanship of the Foreign Re
latids Committee of the Senate, in
trOduce resolution looking to the
abrOgatiOn of the Clayton-Bulwer
treaty, has frightened the anglo
maniacs in the Cabinet and the rail.
way interests which have been using
the treaty to cloak their opposition
o any canal at all. Mr.. Lodge can
only become chairman by the de-.
cisiOn Of his two seniors, Frye and
CullOm, to stay at the heads Of the
important committee over which
they now preside. The chances are,
however, that one of them will be in
duced to give up his present place in
order to keep Lodge from his ab-
rogating act. Senator Cullom has
come out In an interview in which
he opposes Mr.. Lodges plan, and
shows plainly that nothing will be
done if he becomes chairman. He
says: 81 am in favor of abfegatiRg
the Glayton-Bulwer treaty by agree
ment, as this is the only way in
which it can be done properly. It'll
must be remembered that a treaty. |
is a solemn agreement between two |
nations, and merely because one
party to it becomes dissatisfied it has
no right to break the agreement alb
ruptly. To abrOgate the treaty by
legislative enactment is a forcible |
and improper manner of escaping
the carrying out Of an agreement
which was entered into in good faith.
The later course may be a cause for
war;" This is the same old story we
have been listening to for so long.
For some reason or other, Japan's
Of cotton in the last wear
have fallen off about IS per cent. as
compared with those of the preced-
ing year. This fact appears from a
report which has just reached the
Treasury Bureau Of Statistics. It
shows a steady increase in the i'm
pOrtations of Japan in 1900 over
those Of the preceding year, though
IN raw cotton there has been
marked decrease. Japan's importa-
tlOns OF. raw cotton in 1899 were
large. Owing to the higher price in
1900 and the large stock of Ameri-
can cotton laid in during 1899, her
of that article from the
United States in the nine months
ended with March, 1901, have been
but 1,7S9,58O in value, as against
S11, ,517,968 in the corresponding
months Of the fiscal year 1900. AS
4 consequence, the total figures of
American exports to Japan show a
decrease, chargeable almost !
exclusively to the single item of cot
on. z
The chiSel, the trowel and the c
clever fingers of mOdelers are busy 1
now in the new committee rooms at e
he Capitol. The sound of ham I
ners and saws can be heard all !.
through the building, but no one is {
lllOwed to see what is going on. The
corridors into which the rooms open {
lave been closed by temporary par +
itions, and the doors are locked. I
The workmen just at present are C
'uttlng in the ornamental plaster "