Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-06-03

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 involV-
ing the relation of the United States
to it's insular possessions. The two
cases in which no conclusion was an
nounced were those known as the four
teen diamond rings. case and the Sec
ond Of the Dooley cases. The unde-
cided Dooley case deals with a phase
of the Porto Rican question and the
diamond rings case involves the right
TO free importation of merchandise
from the Philippines to the United
States. The original intention of the
court had been to adjourn for term
after yesterdays sitting, but the dis
cussion of cases passed on took about
five hours so the court adjourned until
today when it is presumed the remain
ing cases will be passed on.
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 fut-
ure relations, whereas the De Lima
case dealt " it'll the transitional phase
of our insular relations. The De Lima
case was the first to receive the at
IGNITION of the court and as it appeared
to be quite sweepingly opposed to the
governments contentious, many per-
sons precipitately arrived at the con-
clusion that the government had been
worsted all along the line. This view
suffered a decided change when the
conclusion was announced in the
Downes case. The court was very
evenly divided on both cases, but po-
litical lines were not at all controlling.
The De Lima case involved the power
of the government to collect duty Oh
goods imported into the United States
from Porto Rico after the ratification
of the treaty of Paris and before the
passage of the Porto Rican act The
court said the governments contention
in this case was substantially the
claim that Porto Rico is foreign terri
tory. The entire case turned upon
that contention. The court he'll that
the positic was not well taken AMI
foreign territory and that therefore
the duty which had been collected
mus be returned.
The decision in the Downes case fol
lowed the history Of the dealings of the
United States with Porto Rico steI
further. That case dealt with the
legality of the exaction of duties on
goods imported from Porto Rico into
New York after the passage of the
Foraker act providing for a duty upon
goods shipped from the United States
into. Porto Rico and also on those
shipped from Porto Rico to the United
States. In this case the court held
that such exaction was legal and con-
stitutional.
The point of the two opinions con-
sidered collectively is that Porto Rico
was never, after the acquisition CT that
island, foreign territory; that until
congress acted upon the question no
duty could be collected, but that as
soon as congress outlined a method OF
controlling the islands and revenues
that action became binding; in other
words, that congress has power under
the constitution to prescribe the man
ner of collecting the revenues OF the
country's insular possessions and has
the right to lay duty on goods i'm
ported into our insular possession
from the United States or exported
from them into the United States.
1t holds, in BRIEF that for taxation
purposes they are not a 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 WereI
shipped between New York and New
Orleans.
Justice Brown delivered the courts
opinion in both and there were vigor-
our dissenting opinions in both In
the DoWnes case, four of the nine
members of the court united in their
opinion, characterizing in strong Ian
guage the opinion of the majority in
that case. In this opposing opinion,
Chief Justice Fuller and Justices Har-
Ian Brewer and Peckham were united,
and the chief justice and Justice Har-'
Ian presented their views in written