Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1901-06-05
CONGRESS SUSTAINED.
The Supreme Court Decides the Porto
Rican Question in Accordance
with the Presidents Views.

The supreme court has broken it's
long silence. Decisions have been
| handed down in a number of the
cases involving the status of the in
sular possessions of the United States
The administration and congress have
no reason to be dissatisfied with the
conclusions arrived at by the court
Though some of the cases have been
decided against the government, the
one which was of vital Importance
has been decided as the administra-
ton and the great majority of the
American people wished to have it.
Five of the nine justices-Fuller,
Harlan, Brewer and Peckham dissent
ing+ are of the opinion that the For
| aker act, or rather that part of it
which levies customs duties, is con-
stitutiona1. Congress has power to
levy duties on imports from the new
ly acquired possessions of the United
States and to collect duties in their
ports on goods exported from this
country. The constitutional provi-
sion that call duties, imposts and ex-
cises shall be uniform throughout the
United States" does not apply to
Porto Rico or the Philippines until
| congress shall so direct.
This decision disposes of a good
many ugly possibilities. It will not
be necessary to admit duty-free the
sugar and tobacco of Cuba if it should
| be annexed. 1t will not be necessary
either to close the "open door" in the
Philippines by imposing duties on the
goods imported from foreign coun-
tries while those from the United
/ States go in free, or to impose lower
duties throughout the United States
SO that lower duties may be charged
in the Philippines.
1t is settled, furthermore, that the
internal revenue duties levied on this
continent will not have to be levied
IN Porto Rico and the Philippines,
where conditions are so different
from what they are here that their
imposition would be inexpedient, not
to say unjust. Congress may legis-
late for the insular possessions with
out being bound by any revenue pro-
visions of the constitution. That in
strument does not follow the flag"
so far as taxation is concerned, nor
as regards certain political rights.
An obiter dictum of the court
which no one will take exception to
is to the effect that certain rights,
like that of the freedom of speech
and religious worship, which are in
the bill of rights of the constitution,
GO to the new possessions with the
flag and cannot be taken away by
congress. Congress has no wish to
take them away The president has
said expressly that these were the
rights of the Filipinos and should not
be violated.
Some of the cases decided by the
court related to the collection Of du-,
ties between the date of ratification
of peace and that of the enactment
of the Foraker law of last year. Here
the court holds the duties were i'm
properly collected. This is a defeat
for the government, but it involves
merely the refunding of some duties.
The decision in the Downs case,
which holds that at this time Porto
Rico is a territory 'appurtenant to
and belonging to the United States,
but not a part of the United States"
is the important decision. 1t sustains
fully the view of congress and the
administration as to the status Of
these insular possessions.
This is great legal victory for
the president and his advisers. 1t is
a defeat for the persons who have
been making long arguments to prove
that the ratification of the treaty of
peace made Porto Rico and the Phil
ippines part of the United States
and that the Foraker law was uncon-
acknowledging Tribune.