The times., 1901-05-28

''It is wholly inadmissible to reject the
process of reasoning by which the Chief
Justice reached and tested the Soundness
OF his conclusion as merely obiter. The
Chief Justice held the Territories as well
as the District to be part of the United
States for the purposes of nCS Sioual taxa
ton and repeated in effect what he had
already said In McCulloch vs.. Maryland.
4 Wheaton, 4QS: Throughout this vast
Republic. from the St CrOiN to the Gun
OF Mexico. from the Atlantic to the Pa
ci6c revenue is to be collected and eX-
pended. armies are to be marched ana
supported.
THE POWER TO TAX IMPLIED.
"Conceding that the power to tax for
the purposes of Territorial government is
implied from the power to govern terri
tory, whether the latter power is attrib-
uted to the power to acquire or the power
to make needful rules and regulations,
these particular duties are nevertheless
not local IN their nature, but are imposed
as in the exercise of national powers. The
levy is clearly a regulation of commerce,
and a regulation affecting the States and
their people as well as this Territory and
its people. The power of Congress to act
directly on the rights and interests of the
people of the States can only exist if
and as granted by the Constitution And
BY the Constitution Congress is vested
with power to regulate commerce with
foreign nations, and among the several
States, and with the Indian tribes. The
Territories are indeed not mentioned by
name and yet commerce between the
Territories and foreign nations is cover
ed by the clause. which would seem to
have been intended to embrace the entire
internal as well as foreign commerce of
the country.
1T is evident that Congress cannot reg
uiate commerce between a Territory and
the States and other Territories in the
exercise of the bare power TO govern the
particular Territory, and as this act was
framed to operate and does operate on
the people of the States. the power to so
legislate is apparently rested on the as
sumption that the right to regulate com
merce between the States and Territories
comes within the commerce clause by nee
essary implication.
IN any point of view. the imposition of
duties on commerce operates to regulate
commerce. and is not matter of local
legislation; and it follows that the levy
of these duties was in the exercise Of the
national power to do SO, and subject TO
the requirement OF geographical uniform
ity.
1T is urged that Chief Justice Marshall
was entirely in fault because while the
grant was general and without limitation
as 10 place, the words, throughout the
United States, imposed limitation as
TO place so far as the rule Of uniformity
was concerned, namely. a limitation to
the States rs such.
AS the grant Of the power to lsy taxes
and duties was unqualified as to place
purpose Of preventing the uniformity re-
quired from being intrinsic, the intention
thereby to circumScTibe the area within
which the power could operate not only
cannot be imputed, but the contrary pre-
sumption must prevail.
Taking the words in their natura,
meaning-in the sense IN which they arc
frequently and commonly used-no rea-
son is perceived for disa agreeing with the
Chief Justice in the Wow that they were
used in this clause to designate the geo
graphical unity known as The United
States our great Republic. which is COM
posed Of States and Territories.
"Other parts of the Constitution furnish
of the correctness OF TINS
view. Thus the Constitution vests Con-
gress with the power to establish an /
uniform rule OF naturalization, and uni
form laws on the subject Of bankruptcies !
the United States
This applies to the Territories as well
as the States, and has always been recog-
nizcd III legislation as binding.
Aliens in the Territories are made citl-
zens Of the United States, and bankrIptS (
residing in the Territories are discharged
from debts owing citizens OF the states
Pursuant to uniform rules and laws cF-
acteG by Congress in the exercise OF TINS
power.
"Other Illustrations might be adduced,
but ii is unnecessary to prolong this opin-
ion by giving them.
THE POWER NOT QUALIFIED.
REPEAT NAldl no celAAssAeANNcA1 SASN--N@
has been suggested for restricting the
words throughout the United States, as
qualifying the power to impose duties, to
the States, and that conclusion is the
more TO be avoided when we reflect that /
It rests. in the last analysis, on the as
sertiou of the possession by congress OF /
unlimited power over the Territories.
The Government OF the United states I
9 the Government ordained by the Con- I
stitution and possesses the power con
lerred by the Constitution 'IhlS Cnglhal /
md supreme will organizes Inc Govern
neat, and assigns TO different departments 1
heir respective powers. It may either 4
sion here or establish certain tnlt5 not /
% be transcribed by those departments !
The Government OF the United states IS
# the latter description The powers or |
he Legislature are defined and limited; |
md that those limits may not be mis-
aiken or forgotten. the Constitution Is /
written. To what purpose are powers /
United, and to what purpose is that nm I
tation committed TO writing, il these |
limits may, at any time, be PASSED by !
hose intended to be restrained2
From MaTbury vs.. Madison to the |
present day. no utterance OF this court |
las fntimated a doubt that in its opera |
ion on the people. by whom and Tor |
whom it was established, the National |
government is government OF enuIner-
tied powers. the exercise of which Is re- |
tricted to the use of means appropriate |
nd plainly adapted to constitutional ends, |
no RDlCn are not DEDil4JlNEI, Jul I'AiSA7i
With the letter and spirit Of the constitu- |
'-The powers delegated by the people to
heir agents are not enlarged by the ex- |
ansion of the domain within which they /
re exercised. When the restriction on /
he exercise of a particular power by a /
articular agent is ascertainedt that Is an !
nd of the question
80 hold otherwise is to overthrow |
he basis of our constitutional law, !
md, moreover, in effect, 10 Teassert the |
that the States and not the |
,eople created the Government
1T is again to antagonize Chief Justice /
Iarshall when he said: The Government |
4 the Union, then (whatever maybe the |
influence OF this fact on the case. is.
and truly, government of
he people. In form and Ia substance It
manatSS from them. It's powers are
ranted By them, and are to be exercised
lrectly on them, and fer their benefit
his Government is acknowledged by all
o be one OF enumerated powers.
DECLARED EXISTING LAW.
The Chief Justice also reviewed the de-
isions Of the court, and concluded:
TIE truth is hat, as Judge Cex-sena-
or Edmunds wrote, the instances in
7hich Congress has declared in statutes |
rganizing Territories that the Constitu- |
lon and laws should be In force there are
10 evidence that they were not already
here, Tor Congress and all legislative !
odies have often made enactments that |
4 eject merely declared existing law. In |
UGH cases they declared a pre-existfng |
ruth 10 ease the doubts Of casuists
Much discussion, he continued vas |
ad at the bar IN respect Of the citizcn-
hiD Of the Inhabitants Of Porto Rico |
ut We are not required to consider that |
ubject at large in these cases. 1t win |
e time enough to seek n ford when jf |
yer, we are brought to the stream. Yet
Though we are confined TO the question |
4 the validity Of certain duties imposed |
fter the organization of Porto Rico as a
territory OF the United States a few OBJ
creations and some references to ad- |