The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-12-02
JPREME COURT DECISION IN
PEPKE MATTER
LOWER TRIBUNAL OVER2ULED
cago Customs Officers Had No Right
to Assess United States Soldiers
Fourteen Diamond Rings"
(By Associated Press.

Washington, Dec. 2.-The United States
supreme court today rendered a de-
cision in the case of Emil J. Pepke
against the United States. This is the
case known as the Fourteen Diamond
Rings" case, and involves the constitu-
tionality of the imposition of customs
duties upon merchandise brought into
the United States from the Philippine
islands, after the exchange Of the peace
treaty with Spain. The opinion was
handed down by Chief Justice Fuller.
The opinion was adverse to the claims
of the government on the ground that
the Philippine islands We're at the time
the rings We're brought in American ter>
ritory Ceasing to be foreign territory.
they became domestic territory, JUS
tice Fuller said.
The decision in the De Lim-Porto
Rican cases were cited at length and 10
was held that the resolutions adopted
by congress concerning the Philippines
were not sufficient to change the site
uation.
The chief justice concluded his opira
ion by reversing the decision of the court
below. Justice Brown read an opinion
concurring in the result, but differing
from the conclusions drawn on minor
points. Justices Gray, Shiras, White and
McKenna dissented.
The case Is one of the two impor-
tant cases left undecided by the court
at it's last term when it decided a
number of cases involving the customs
and relation of the United States with
it's insular possessions. The cases de-
cided at that time, bore entirely upon
the relations of this country with Porto
Rico, and this was the only case of
large number which were then argued
and considered, which involved the re-
lations of the United States with the
Philippines.
The other cases involve the right to
import duty on articles exported from
the United States to Porto Rico.
The record shows that Pepke, who
was the respondent in the court below,
'sos a soldier in the army Of the United
states in LuzOn; that while there and
| after the ratification of the peace treaty
1 he purchased the IA diamond rings
which are involved in the case. He after-
ward brought these rings. while still in
the service Of the United States, aboard
the United States vessel transporting
his regiment to San Francisco, where
he was mustered out.
Later Pepke came with the rings to
Chicago, where the rings We're seized
by the customs officials under the claim
that the Philippines Were foreign terri-
tory and that merchandise brought from
those islands to the United States was
subject to customs duties
Pepke set up the claim that the im-
position of duties upon merchandise un-
der the circumstances was contrary to
the United States laws and in violation
of his rights as a citizen.
| The case came to the supreme court
! from the district court Of the United
| States for the northern division Of IL
linofs. In that court the facts set up
in Pepke's plea were admitted by de-
murrer filed by the United States and
that court sustained the demurrer over
ruling the plea and entering judgment
against the merchandise thus seized and
directing that it be sold in accordance
| with the law and from this decision
the present writ of error was prosecuted.