Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-10-15
WASHINGTON CHAT.
Many Knotty Questions Before
Atty. Gen. Knox.
The Supreme Court Settles Down Ia
Fall Work.
Hazins in the Army..The Ohio Political Out.
look.

Washington. oct. 14-AttOrney Gen
eral knox's lines can scarcely be said
to be falling in pleasant places just at
this time. He has under consideration
the question whether the President
ought To grant permission to recent
ly organized cable company to land its
lines in the Philippines. 1t is a
troublesome matter. The newly or
Ranized company is an American con-
Germ. Naturally. prejudice. if any eX-
lists. would be looked for on its side,
because the company which insists the
President should not grant the per-
nit, is British corporation. 1t claims
that SpainS concession of a monopoly
of the cable business in the islands.
made to 1t some time before the Span
ish war. should be respected by the
United States. The attorney general 5
task is to decide what course would be
polite as well as right.
While nominally it is a contest be-
tween an American and 4 British cor
poration. the fact is that for all ntents
and purposes the concessionary COM
Western Union Telegraph Company $
lines. while the company which asks
the permit bears the same relation 10
the Postal. Therefore. the attorney
general is practically called upon to de-
eide one of the multitude of questions
that has arisen since the fierce com
petition between the rival American
telegraph companies was begun.
There are good arguments for and
against Il recognition of the monopoly
as binding upon the nited States.
That is what makes his task one that
almost any man might be justified in
wishing it had fallen on someone else
There is not much question that the
United States has a right 10 disregard
the monopoly. but the question is not
one merely of right. Policy must he
taken into consideration. Apparently.
therefore, there is no more reason why
sane man should have an envy of
Mr.. Knox Just now. than that he
should have murder in his heart.
While the attorney generals posi-
ton now is not the most comfortable
that can he imagined. il must not be
forgotten that this is not the most inn
portant question th2t has come betnr"
Mr.. Knox. The fact is il is quite un-
important in comparison With several
he has handled The only difference is
that the disposition of the others did
not directly involve the property rights
OF any particular corporation or in
dividudls. Although Mr. Knox has
been in office onlv comparatively
snort time. an unusually large number
of questions Of great weight haV" been
referred To him. The time the mule
cases We're pending before the federal
court at New Orleans WAS a season Of
great anxiety for the late President
and his devoted friend and legal adj
visei. II Judge ParlanGe had de
cd"d that il was unlawful for the
President To allow the shipment of
horses and mules for the British army
from that port the foreign commerce
Of the United States would have been
paralyzed. The question for Mr.. Knox
was to find some way to avoid such 4
disastrous effect. The attorney-gen-
eral found it. But, as the danger
never occurred. the question how IT.
would have been met. would perhaps
be of interest only to lawyers The
point is that Mr.. Knox was prepared
for 1t. Another instance of his pre-
paredness occurred soon after the de-
CiSiOns of the Supreme court in the
inSular cases were made. The attor-
ney general is largely. if not alto
Ccthcr responsible for the decision of
President Mckinley that there was no
necessity for an extraordinary session
Of Congress. All his colleagues and
even the President regarded a call
upon Congress for help as practically in
evitable. Mr.. Knox convinced them
that that was just what. above all
things. it was desirable for them to
avoid. because the opinions of the
members of the court indicated that
they did not consider the Philippines
as on the same footing as Porto Rico.
The Supreme court began its Octo- |
Der term Monday. There is an ex-
pectation that decision in the |
Philippine cases will be handed down |
at that time. The purport Of it has
been thoroughly discounted because
in one of the opinions of the Porto |
Rican cases it laid down was the broad |
proposition that while the military |
power is trying to reduce cession to
the fancy of the military comma nder
may be eXacted. If the decision is not |
to that effect it will be a most sur
brising deliverance. Such decision
will uphold the administration, and will |
demonstrate the correctness Of Dooleys
conclusion that tho court follows the
election returns. In other words. that
The members of the court are human
beings and that what Influences
vast ma jority of their fellow mort ais
ais" has a determining effect upon
their minds. The disaster to Company
6. Ninth Infantry. fresh in the mem
cries of the justices. as it must be.
will help them to say without fear of
contradiction that the islands are Ger
tainly stil under military control. The
utterances of the statesmen who have
returned from the islands also fully
sustain the contention the court is ex-
pected to make as the reason for de- |