The times., 1901-06-06
Republican Plans.

Scarcely is the ink dry upon the
manuscript Of the decisions in the in
sular cases 5han it is announced that
the Republican leaders are laying plans
to increase their partisan majority
in the next Congress. This fur
nishes a fitting and unanswerable com
mentary upon the unwisdom Of the doc
trine as enunciated by the court that
our new possessions are not protected
by the Constitution, but are subject to
the unrestrained control Of Congress.
In the opinion read by Justice White
In the Dcwnes case, much stress was
laid upon the assumed fact that If the
Treaty of Cession made new territory
part of the United States, the treaty
making power might bring into fun
American citizenship alien and unde-
sirable populations that would cJm-
pletely subvert American institutions.
A sufficient answer to this plea is that
it had no proper place in the argument
Of a great constitutional question. That
instrument invests the President and
the Senate with the treaty-making
power-a power which clearly includes
the annexation of foreign territories
and their peoples.
The power TO make a treaty Includes
everything necessary to perfect It. In
order to induce a foreign country to
consent to the transfer of desirable
territory it might he necessary TO in
corporate q provision fixing the status
Of its inhabitants; and in fact this has
never a question Of its prOpriety. The
Republican contention from the first
has been. in part At least that Porto
Rico and the Philippines did not be-
come American territory because the
treaty contained no Incorporating ro-
vision. If by the simple expedisnt Of
having the treaty declare in terms that
the territory 70 be acquired shall be a
part Of the United States, and the peo-
/ pie citizens of the Republic, the status
Of such territory becomes hxed. JUS
! tice Whites objection upon this score
| falls to the ground.
I The point amounts to nothing more
/ than an attack upon the wisdom oe the
! constitutional provision comforting The
! treaty-making power upon the Presi-
! dent and Senate TO the exclusion Of the
/ House of Representatives. With the
wisdom or expediency Of any particular
part Of the Constitution, the court had
nothing TO do.
But there is q stronger answer to
Justice Whites point than this. name
I ly: If the question OF danger is to be
considered, it clearly is more dangerous
! TO leave the status Of such territory
subject to the varying caprice of bare
partisan majorities in Congress than
/ to have it definitely fixed by the treaty
making power. The provision requiring
a two-thirds majority of the Senate to
ratify treaty is a fairly reasonable
| safeguard against a treaty being en-
! tered into upon strictly PARTISAN
! grounds; and IL when the treaty is FIN
| ally ratified the status of the territory
| is settled for all time, it is impossible
to say what political rarty will ulti-
mately be benefited or injured thereby.
! Besides, such rule has the advantage
of certainty. Under the principle enun-
ciated by the court in the Downes CO Sc,
a territory may be fully American one
day and deprived Of that character the
next
Obviously the Republicans regard the
| action of the court as a partisan VIC
tory. and are even now preparing to
take full advantage of it-which must
be gratifying to a Justice who, like
| White. has been a lifelong opponent Of