Evening star., 1901-01-09
THE PoRTo~KIcAN CASES
BEGUN BIZ F.. r. COU-
DERT.
Limitations of the Consultation De.
fined - The Court Gives Another
Hour to COunAel for Importers.


Argument was begun in the United States
| Supreme Court yesterday afternoon in the
Porto Rican customs cases. The five con-
| solidated cases were taken up, and F. R.
Coudert spoke in behalf of the plaintiffs
against the governments In the case known
as the De Lima case He explained the
! case growing out of the imposition of
| duties on sugar brought into the United
States from Porto Rico in November, 1899,
| a year after the treaty of Paris was nego-
tiated. and then discussed briefly the
! questions Of jurisdiction and the method of
proceeding. He said the De Limas had
paid the duty under protest, and had
brought their suit to recover against Col
| lector Bidwell as an andividual7and not as
an official. because ssthey had not looked
| upon the bringing I'M o., the goods as an i'm
portation. Hence the act applying to the
administration of the. customs law did not
apply. s -..
Justice Harlan remarked incidentally that
if the court was foHHd to be without ju-
risdiction that discovery would determine
the case, and thus avoid the necessity of
further proceeding
Taking up the case upon it's merits, Mr..
Coudert devoted considerable time to
showing that Porto Rico is not "a foreign
country as that term is used in the Ding
ley law under which the tariff on the Porto
Rican sugar was imposed in this case. He
detailed the acquisition Of the island by the
treaty Of Paris and contended that that
treaty has the force of law until super
seded Hence by that treaty, Porto Rico
had come completely under the sovereignty
and dominion of the United States, a &C.
ographical part of what Marshall had called
the american empire.
He argued that the clause of the Paris
treaty leaving the determination Of the
civil rights and political status of the ma
tive inhabitants to Congress was merely
declaratory of the power given by the Con-
stitution to withhold political rights and
franchises and to establish civil govern
ment and enact municipal law in all
places where no state government exists"
Limitation of the Constitution.
He laid down the general proposition
that the Constitution Is charter or grant
| of powers conferred upon the federal gov
ernment by the people of the United States
and hence that the federal government has
no existence outside the Constitution.
Therefore. he said, it was an impossibiity
for the United States to possess territory
beyond it's Constitutional boundaries"
There was, indeed, no boundary to the
Constitution other than the whole sphere
of the activity of the federal government; ;
| outside Of that sphere the government
could only act by usurpation. Even the
freedom from restraint given the President
as COMMUNICATIVE chief of the army was
grant by the Constitution
With peace restored, Congress had be-
come supreme in lfgSlhting for the island
acquired. but 1t was, he thought, a ques-
tion whether Congress- Had not ignored the
prohibitions in its provisions for govern
| ment in Porto Rico whether, in other
words. Congress had not violated the con-
| sttutional restrictions (which he said
'ie at the center and foundation of the
| federal powers"
Mr.. Coudert asserted that as the Dingley
act imposed duty only on goods imported
| from foreign countries.' it could have no
! applicability to gogE brought from Porto
Rice to the United states as Porto Rico
| ceased to be foreign. after the ratification
| Of the Paris treaty. Such an act was a
violation of the constitutional provision re-
| quiring uniformity of duties throughout the
| United States 4 - 90
He also contendea that the Porto Ricans
are citizens of the United States and re-
| ferred to the anomaly of giving courts
whichs.were not, acppfdftig to the Eonten-
| tier ofthe governrneat's counsel, courts of
| the United States, power to make citizens
| of the United States as territorial courts
| do by naturalization. ="
Mr.. Coudert had not concluded when the
| court adjourned for the day.
| The court added an hour to the time
| given counsel for the importers. giving
| them six hours all told.
| The governments representatives prob
! ably will not be heard before Thursday, and
| Mr. Carlisle not before Friday.