The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-05-28
DISCUSSING THE DECISIONS
Effect on the Philippines of the de
Lima Case Ruling.
Diversity of Opinion as to It's Ap-
pIicatiOn to the ArchipeIago-The
Views of Supreme Court jus
tice and the Solicitor General.


the &c Lima case that duties were IL
legally collected on fmportations from
Porto Rico subsequent TO its cession
and prior to the passage of the For
aker- Payne Tariff act, it is now held
by many lawyers that, so far as the
Philippines are concerned, the Consti-
tuition has followed the flag, and that
until further legislation is enacted the
Philippines are in effect an integral
part of the United States.
This is evidently the view Of Solici-
tor General Richards, who in a state
ment given out last night said:
Obviously, whatI have said regard
ing Porto Rico applies equally well to
the Philippines, SO that the President is
perfectly free under the Spcorer act
to govern the Philippines as their needs
and our interests may require"
Senator Lodge. Chairman Of the Com
mittae on the Philippines, who was in
court yesterday when the decisions
were announced, then remarked that
they would apparently nave the effect
of allowing goods from the Philippines
to be brought into this country free of
duty. Some opinions go so far, more
over, as to hold that the court has now
| in effect plainly decided that duties col
lected upon importations from the Phil
! ippines must be refunded.
one Of the Supreme Court justices
who concurred in yesterdays majority
| decisions, said today, in replying to a
| question on this point:
tho roco 71r-O-,
| its own bottom In the de Lima case
we have decided that the Constitution
! does follow the flag. and so far as that
goes We failed to sustain the conten-
| ton Of the Government But the de-
/ cision in the Downes case that the For
| aker law is constitutional practically
offsets that, or rather puts an end to
| the situation created. We have decided
nothing as to the status of the Philip
/ pines. There is a case pending known
/ as the fourteen rings case but it viii
not be passed upon at this term Of
| court
In reply to the question as to wheth-
! er yesterdays decisions do not leave
/ the Philippines IN just the same rela-
tion to the Government as Hawaii,
! Alaska, and New Mexico, or any other
! Territory, which, it is generally admit
/ ted are now subject TO discriminating
+ Legislation by Congress, the Justice
said:
/ planned that this answer was dictated
by the tact that there is a legal point
/ involved in the Philippines case that
did not apply to Porto Rico That
point win not be passed upon until
! the October term Of court It may
be. although the Justice above
/ quoted did not say so, that the
fact Of the Philippines still being under
military control with an insurrection in
progress may be the basis OF the state
ment that a different situation exists
IN the Philippines from that in Porto
Rico. but this is merely supposition.
| The Secretary of War is not yet pre-
pared TO express an opinion as to the
! effect OF the courts decisions upon the
| status of the Philippines, as he has not
read in full the opinion and has not
fully considered the legal points invoIv-
! ed The War Department has the re-
vised Philippines tariff ready for pro-
mitigation, and as soon as the Secre-
/ tary has fully considered the Courts
decision he will decide what action to
take.
It is possible that IN the Secretary's
mind the point being considered by the
/ court involves the difference of the
/ dates when the Philippines were cedcd
and when the United States took pos
session. It is apparently plain that IN
/ I'll the fourteen rings case" shall be de-
| cided at the next term Of the court or
until Congress shall Iegislate for the
Philippines. the military authorities
will remain in control Of the tariff as
well as other governmental machinery,
and that whether duties are coIectable
| on Philippine impoTtati0ns viii be left
| for future action by the court The
| Justices practically agree in the opin-
! ion that the decisions of yesterday can
not be cited as applying to the case Of
the Philippines.
In regard TO the status Of the Phil
/ Ippines since the insular decision yes
/ terday. upon which there seems 10 be
some difference Of opinion, Solicitor
| General Richards said today
If the Philippine case was on all
| fgurs with the de Lima case-iu other
words. if the status Of the Philippines
after the treaty cession was the same
as the status Of Porto Rico after the
| cession. the Supreme Court would have
decided the case known as the four
/ teen diamond rings case at the same
| time. This the court did not do.
| The inference Is that there was
something in the situation Of the Phil
/ ippfnes after the treaty cession that
distinguished its case from the case Of
Porto Rico. SO the court has held for
consideration the case in which sol
dier brought from the Philippines to
| Chicago in the summer Of 1899 fourteen
diamond rings upon which ne paid no
duty. The treaty cession had been held
previous to this time, but the United
| States was not in possession OF the
Philippines and has. as a matter of
fact control only of limited portion
| of the islands This was not the case
IN Porto Rico. Nj. Justice Brown holds
that there must be a treaty and posses
| sion also. Both these things must ex-
! ist. and both did not exist in The Phil
! fppine case, and no doubt that IS the
| reason the fourteen diamond rings
! case was allowed to go over
In his decision, Mr. Justice Brown
1870. rr5-.E rI-.-s g.7,I54Fay.- ,,,4,r- ~