The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-25

| Spanish Treaty Claims Commission
and n Controversy IL Likely to
| En~uc-Lel-n3 Points Relied Upon.
| A controversy has arisen between the
| Spanish Treaty Claims Commission and
/ the clerks Of the State Department. The
/ act creating the Commission contained a
provision that all reports records. pro-
/ ceedings. and other documents now on
hIe or Of record in the State Department
/ or In any other department. OF certified
/ copies thereof relating to any claims IN
/ der this act. shall be furnished TO the
/ Commission upon its order"
( The language seemed to be explicit
/ enough to the Spanish Treaty Claims
( Commission. constituted as il was in the
/ language Of the act creating it Of five
/ suitable persons learned in the law" and
/ when the time came for them to use the
| records they applied to the State Depart
/ ment for certain certified copies of pa
/ peTs. Greatly to the surprise Of the Com
mission. however. there come instead of
! the certified copies 4 huge bundle. which,
! on being opened, disclosed the original pa
pers, for which the Commission had not
/ asked. and which they did not want Ac-
! companying the bundle was a long letter
/ signed by the Acting Secretary of State,
[ )
on May q. 1t was over a month later. on
July 3. that the State Department trans
mitted the documents for which no re-
/ quest had been made. But in the mean
J time the department officials had been
+ looking up precedents, studying the stat
/ Utes, and comparing traditions.
( I regret to say" wrote the Assistant
/ Secretary. profoundly. that owing 20
/ the limited clerical force of the depart
menJ and the eXigencies OF its business,
/ it would be impossible 10 furnish certi-
1 fed copies of all the cases before the
/ Commission without delaying it's current
! business to the serious detriment Of the
( pubic service. But. inasmuuh as the real
/ intent of the act of Congress approved
l March . 1901 is eGectua; teddy thus lay
! ing before the Commission all the evil
/ dence in its possession IN relation to said
/ cases and thereby enabling the Commits
/ sion to proceed with their consideration
( without the delay and unnecessary ex-
/ pense which would be suffered by produc-
/ ing certified copies Of the great mass of
/ documents consisting OF vouminous cor
/ respondeBce on file IN the department, I
( trust thar the Commission Will accept the
/ above as a reasonable compliance with its
/ orders. of this feel the more assured. in
/ view of the language Of the act and Of the
/ diplomatic privilege invested in the eX-
/ ccutive. who in such cases IS used to the
/ exercise Of discretion from high motives
Of public policy.
If the Commission were to be deemed
authorized By the act to exercise the op-
/ ton given by section S Of said act it
could exercise the option to order the de-
/ I.artment to furnish originals in their en-
| tirety. which in some eases might involve
| latiOHs, and which. being also in deroga-
! ton Of the executive prerogatfve. could
not be considered construction of the
! statutes according % its original intent
! ment. Such construction would strip the
executive OF the discretion always exer-
/ Cised 70 furnish entire originals when re-
| 1uested OF 20 furnish certified copies OF
! such portions as are eyIdentiary. emitting
/ portions of a confidential and privileged
character While the grounds have been
| stated for supposing that the option rest
ed in the statutes was intended to be left
| TO the executive, I have taken pains to
explain. while literal compliance with the
orders is not practicable"
The Commission has reasons regarded
as all sufficient by its members why it
/ does not want to be burdened with the
/ original papers and insists upon having
/ certified copies IN their stead For one
/ thing the Offices Of the Commission are in
/ a combustibIe building while the archives
I in the State Department are in building
( supposed to be fireproof and the Commits
sion does not think it ought to run the
( risk of destroying all the original papers.
I And so It has sent back the originals aft
. ct formally refusing to receive them. The
! Secretary OF the Commission. w +
Spear, accompanied the return package
with letter written by Mr. Chandler,
President Of the Commission Mr. Chaud-
Ter says
This Commission being entirely uHpro-
vided with safes, vaults. or other means
OF properly protecting papers committed
( TO their keeping. and having adopted
( rules looking to the conservation Of testi-
mony and evidence by means calling into
exercise the interest and care Of the
/ claimants 10 present two copies Of all pa
/ pers flied one Of which is to be attested
/ by the clerk and returned to the claimant
to be used as an original in case the one
fled is lost or destroyed, are disiucIiued
to receive and hold the original papers
! transmitted to the Commission July 3.
1901 and I respectfully ask that the same
I be retained by the State Department and
no origiua! papers be forwarded here until
/ the fun Board Of Commissioners can for
]
/ communication.
There the controversy rests for the
/ present but it viii necessarily be revived
/ when the Commission settles down 20 work
in the fall The force of the Commission
/ consists Of one chief clerk and stenog-
( rapher The State Department has one
| chief clerk. seven chiefs Of bureaus, two
/ translators. two private secretaries, ten
| clerks Of the fourth class al $500 a year,
! nine clerks OF the second class at SI.40e.
/ nineteen clerks Of the first class at $500,
/ eighteen clerks Of the S1,0JJ class, a litho-
/ grapher two messengers. two assistant
I Tness& ugers. one packer, and fifteen Ia
I bOrers-a total Of eighty-fOuT
. The Commission thinks II would be pos
( siOIe for the State Department u make
/ All the copies required without delaying
its current business to the serious detri-
1 ment of the public service The case viii
probably have 10 20 TO the Department OF
Justice for adjudication unless the law
officers in the State Department decide 10
abandon their Interpretation OF the law
An Engagement Announced.
Mr.. and Mrs Isaac Gutenberg announce
the euga cement Of their daughter Jennie