Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1901-06-01
THE SUPREME COURT
Sustains the Insular Policy of the
Administration.
GOVERNMENT LOSES ONE CASE.

Duties Collected Before the PASSAGE Of
the Porto Riean Act Must Be Return.
ed-Po-to Rico Never Foreign Terri.
tory After the Treaty of Paris. &.
Washington, May 2S.-In the United
states supreme court yesterday opin.
ions were handed down in all but two
OF the cases before that court inyoIy.
Ing the relation of the United States
TO its insular possessions. The two
cases In which no conclusion was an.
nounced We're those known as the Ia
diamond rings case and the second of
the Dooley cases. The undecided boo
ley case deals with phase OF the For.
70 Rican question. and the diamond
rings case involves the right to the
free importation of merchandise from
the Philippines to the United States
of the several cases decided yester
day the two which attracted the great.
est share of attention from the court
were what is known as the De Lima
case and that known as the Downes
case. and OF these two the opinion in
the Downes case is considered the
most far reaching. as it affects our fu.
ture relations, whereas the De Lima
case dealt with a transitional phase
OF our insular relations. The court
was very evenly divided on both cases
but political lines were not at all con.
trolling.
The De Lima case involved the now.
er or the government to collect duty
on goods imported into the United
States from Porto Rico after the rati.
ncation of the treaty of Paris and be.
fore the passage of the Porto Rican
act The court said the governments
contention in this case was substan.
TALLY claim that Porto Rico is foreign
territory. The court held that the po
sition was not we'll taken: that Porto
RICO was not at the time foreign ter.
Htory' ano that therefore the duty
which had been collected must be re.
turned.
The Downes case dealt with the lie.
gslity OF the exaction OF Duties IN
goods imported from Porto Rico into
New York after the passage of the For.
aker act providing for a duty upon
goods shipped from the United States
into Porto Rico and also on those shin.
ped from Porto Rico to the United
states. In this case the court held that
such exaction was legal and constitu.
lional
me point of the two opinions consid
cred collectively is that Porto Rico
was never after the acquisition of that
island foreign territory; that until con.
sress acted upon the question no duty
could be collected. but that as soon
as congress outlined a method of con.
trolling the islands revenues that ac
ton became binding; in other words
that congress has power under the con
sutuuon to prescribe the manner Of
collecting the revenues of the conn.
try's insular possessions. and has the
right to lay duty on goods imported
into our insular possession from the
United States or exported from them
into the United States IL holds In
orler that FOR taxation purposes they
are not part of the United States to
the extent that goods shipped between
their ports and the United States are
entitled TO the same treatment as
though they were shipped between
New York and New Orleans.
Justice Brown delivered the courts
opinion in both, and there were yieor.
Gus dissenting opinions in both In
lhe Downes case four of the nine mem. /
oers OF the court united in an opinion.
characterizing in strong language the
opinion of the majority in that case.
IN this opposing opinion the chief ius.
llce and Justices Harlan, Brewer and
Peckham united.
EXTRA SESSION OF coNcREee